Talk:George William Smith (politician)

George’s second wife’s name is incorrect; how best to cite the correct name?
Background: George’s first wife, Sarah Adams (1766-1806), is my fifth great-grand aunt. At this time, I have been researching my family for about a decade, so I am fairly confident of my research skills. My research, based on resources on Ancestry.com, says that George’s second wife was named Lucy Franklin Read (1773-1845). Lucy had also previously been married and widowed; her first husband was Meriwether Jones (1766-1806). Lucy Jones, née Read, married George William Smith on 8 June 1808. Ancestry has two sources listed to support this: 1) Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1700-1850, page 561 2) Virginia, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1740-1850 My questions are: Is Ancestry.com, or are certain types of records on Ancestry.com, considered a good source? I would think so, at least the first citation given here, but would appreciate confirmation. Corollary to that, does it matter that this source is only available on Ancestry.com to those with a paid U.S. membership? This appears to be an image from an actual book, so presumably there are other, offline ways to verify the source. Is there a standard way to cite this type of source? Ancestry.com helpfully provides “citation information,” but I am uncertain how to format it appropriately for this venue. 2600:4041:157:7A00:6096:4137:CB56:4AF5 (talk) 05:05, 1 March 2023 (UTC)