OK...new rule...

I don't normally research in North Carolina (NC). However, I do have two people who died there. Luckily, NC has transcribed death records on both Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. I assumed (never a good idea) that the transcriptions on both sites were the same. I found the record I was looking for on Ancestry first. Later, on a whim, I decided to see if the same record appeared on Family Search. It did...and there were additional details in the Family Search transcription. In addition, the Ancestry.com transcription included details that the Family Search transciption did not include.

I do cross check for other states (Texas most notably); however, with this recent experience, I have a new rule: When you find a record on one site, you cross check it with at least one additional site. So there! A new lesson learned. Now, if I can just remember who else out the 1,700 people in my database died in NC, I can impliment my new rule.