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The Accuracy of Inherited Genealogy – The Family History Guide Blog
Note: This article appeared previously on the Genealogy's Star blog site. Many genealogists inherited their interest in genealogy from a relative: parent, a grandparent, or some other relation. I became interested in genealogy in a different way, but I still inherited a lot of documents and information from two great-grandmothers. One of my great-grandmother published an almost 700 page book about her ancestral lines. The other great-grandmother left a pile of boxes 5 feet tall with thousands of documents and letters. In addition, for over fifteen years, by visiting the then Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, I accumulated a pile of photocopied family group records and pedigree charts over three feet tall. This all began about 42 years ago. Consistently, for all of those 42 years, I have been involved in correcting and augmenting the massive amount of information I initially received from my relatives and ancestors. Fortunately, all of that paper has now been incorporated into the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. But what I found over the last 42 years is that the initial information was incomplete and in very many cases inaccurate. The fact that my great-grandmothers spent a major portion of their lives doing genealogy did not make their efforts particularly accurate or complete. As I have worked with other would-be genealogists over those many years, I find a common theme. The theme is the same from hundreds of people. The theme is the story of the perfect genealogical relative; the researcher who spent his or her life gathering genealogical information about the family with an accuracy that is now carved in stone. Much of my 42 year genealogical effort has been spent correcting the errors I and others have inherited from these perfect ancestral genealogists. This monumental effort is ongoing due to newer generations of would-be genealogists who insist that their perfect ancestral genealogist recorded on paper or old Personal Ancestral File disks is absolutely correct and anything that appears to disagree with the perfect ancestor in the FamilySearch Family Tree has to be wrong. It is very hard to argue with perfection. The reality is that we have an enormously larger availability of historical records than my great-grandmothers had to use in doing our own research. One quote from one of the published books by one great-grandmother is a perfect example of the changes wrought by technology. Here is the quote: We know our ancestors were in London as early, possibly about 1700 to 1735. Perhaps in the future records will come into our hands to prove where they came from to England. We hope so. We have gathered names from various countries, cities, churches, through correspondence, &c.. and have them on hand, but cannot connect them to our line. We have also quite a number who are connected. Overson, Margaret Godfrey Jarvis. George Jarvis and Joseph George De Friez Genealogy. [Mesa?, Ariz.]: [M.G. Jarvis Overson], 1957. The answer is I now have records dating back to the early 1600s in the Netherlands with this same family. This does not diminish or denigrate the work done in the early 1900s on my lines, but it does illustrate the fact that, in many cases, those perfect genealogists realized the limitations of their work which are now being considered to be perfect. Now, I am in no way disparaging the work done by these wonderful people. I have always felt honored to have such diligent research that was done, but I now have a lot more information than they had access to and unless there are citations to actual historical records the traditional paper-based genealogy has little value. We are now coming to the end of the major transition that began in about 1970 and now those people who did the original work are all gone and most of their children are now gone. I have also seen a significant decrease in people bringing me questions about pre-computer information. Although, it is interesting that the use of this ancestral record is still haunting the FamilySearch Family Tree. You can see this phenomena by looking at almost any person in the Family Tree from New England and born before 1700. Here is a randomly chosen example. You can see the list of changes by clicking on the image or going to John Kenyon I KNQL-7VM in the Family Tree. The reality here is that there is no controversy or question about this family and none of these changes have been made because new documents have been found. The last source added that pertained to this individual or family was added almost ten years ago, but the changes just keep coming from people who have outdated and unsubstantiated inherited records.
A Father’s Example in Family History – The Family History Guide Blog
In publishing blog articles I rarely write about my own family. However, since we just celebrated Father's Day I thought I'd share a few thoughts about my dad—and of course, family history. You see, my dad was the one who first got me interested in genealogy and family history. I remember going into his office as a youth and seeing stacks of pedigree charts and family group sheets strewn across his art table. What made them stand out to me at first was that the information was filled in with the most beautiful India ink calligraphy. Genealogy was not a let's get this thing done type of venture for him; instead it approached a work of art. The same was true with the other facets of family history: he loved to tell stories about relatives and family, although not so much about himself. He grew up as an American citizen in northern Mexico, and life was certainly not easy. As a young man during the Depression years, he came to the U.S. and rode the rails in the western states looking for work. One of his favorite jobs was as a pinsetter in local bowling alleys—customers would knock down the pins, and he would scramble to get them set up in perfect order, as quickly as possible. Back to the cluttered office ... In those long-ago days before the internet, Dad would send letters almost every week to distant relatives and contacts, hoping to gain some clues about research, photos, stories, or anything he could get his hands on. It wasn't a rigorous Genealogical Proof Standard effort; it was more like collecting all he could and making sense of it all. Often the result of sending a letter would be Sorry, we don't have any information on that line ... and it was back to the next person on the writing list. But when he got a hit, it was pretty exciting for him, and I loved watching his reactions. Beyond group sheets and stories there was the visual component. Dad was an avid amateur photographer and videographer (back in the days of 16- and 8-millimeter film). There was so much he collected that all of it sort of washed over me. It wasn't until my later years that I more fully appreciated what he had accomplished. His pictures and home movies captured our growing up years and brought his and my mom's extended family into more clear focus. But there was more. He had a burning desire to capture and share his memories of growing up in Mexico, as well as the lives of prominent settlers in the area, and even the tragic death of how own father, who was killed in a land dispute by bandits associated with Pancho Villa. In his later years, Dad was back in his office—but this time to put together a history of Northern Mexico. I remember seeing him first at the typewriter and then at an early PC keyboard, typing out voluminous pages and selecting photos for paste-up (no digital drag-and-drop in those days). What resulted from several years of intense work and collaboration with others was the book Memories of Militants and Mormon Colonists in Mexico, which ended up totaling over 470 pages. It included many biographical sketches and historical accounts, some of them proving extensive details of the Pancho Villa years in Northern Mexico. My dad's love of family history turned out to be an amazing gift to me. Not only did I develop a passion for family history and genealogy, but I carried it over to the educational realm by developing The Family History Guide. Like that cluttered art desk, The Family History Guide started small but with big hopes. I tried my best to carry on my dad's love of people and their stories in a website that would help others throughout the world advance their family history more easily and enjoyably. Dad, I hope I made you proud.
Looking Back—The First Lying in Honor Ceremony | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
On July 24, 1998, on a crowded, muggy Friday afternoon two weeks before the planned August recess, a gunman ignored orders from the Capitol Police, bypassed the metal detector near the gift shop in the U.S. Capitol, and stormed the offices of congressional leadership nearby. Following an exchange of gunfire, one tourist was injured and two Capitol Police officers—Officer Jacob J. Chestnut Jr. and Detective John M. Gibson—were killed. Through the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police, the gunman was subdued and arrested, saving lives in the process.In the wake of the shooting, Congress honored the fallen officers and sought ways to prevent future incidents. “In all the history of the United States, no one had ever been killed defending the Capitol,” Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia said on July 27. “In all the history of the Capitol Police, never before had officers been killed in the line of duty. I believe that it drove home to all of us, certainly to me and those Members I have talked to, to the staffs I have talked to, how real and how serious the process of security is, and how much we are a Capitol Hill family; that the larger family of freedom has within it a smaller family of individuals who work together every day.”The House and Senate unanimously passed resolutions creating a memorial fund for the officers’ families and authorized the Capitol Rotunda to be used for a memorial service. On July 28, Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson became the first individuals to “lie in honor” in that chamber. Officer Chestnut was also the first Black man to receive such an honor. Congress later placed a plaque in their honor in the U.S. Capitol Building.Three months after the shooting, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill which included $100 million in funding for the construction of a new Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) and an additional $106.7 million in funding for the Capitol Police Board to provide security enhancements across the Capitol complex. House Sergeant at Arms Wilson “Bill” Livingood testified that these improvements “would resolve many of the sensitive security issues that exist in the current security plan.” Plans for the new CVC had been in the works for years, but the attack in 1998 heightened the urgency of improving Capitol safety. The CVC’s new funding passed as an emergency provision under an antiterrorism portion of an omnibus spending bill that year.This is part of a blog series looking back at major events and legislation in House history as told through oral histories, data, written narratives, and multimedia—all available digitally on the History, Art and Archives website.Featured HighlightThe 1998 Shooting of Two Capitol Police Officers On July 24, 1998, two Capitol Police officers, Officer Jacob J. Chestnut Jr., and Detective John M. Gibson, died in the line of duty. An armed assailant stormed past a U.S. Capitol security checkpoint, mortally wounding Officer Chestnut. In the initial crossfire between the gunman and Capitol Police, a gunshot injured a tourist. As congressional aides and Capitol visitors sought cover, the assailant ran toward a door that led to the suites of then–Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas. Detective Gibson, a member of DeLay’s security detail, told aides to seek cover. Gibson and the assailant exchanged gunfire. Although fatally wounded, Gibson’s action enabled other officers to subdue the gunman.Featured Collection ObjectFeatured DataIndividuals Who Have Lain in State or in Honor Beginning with Henry Clay in 1852, the U.S. Capitol has been used as a place to pay tribute to the Nation’s most distinguished citizens. Made available for public viewing in the Capitol, persons who have “lain in state” traditionally have been American officials, judges, and military leaders, including 12 U.S. Presidents. In 1998, to recognize two Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty, Congress granted use of the Rotunda for their caskets to “lie in honor.”This chart lists all those individuals who have been granted this high honor within the U.S. Capitol.Featured Oral HistoriesLearn more about the lives and careers of U.S. Capitol policewoman Arva Marie Johnson and longtime Office of the Clerk employee Roger Addison in their oral histories.Sources: Congressional Record, House, 105th Cong., 2nd sess. (27 July 1998): 17441; Congressional Record, House, 105th Cong., 2nd sess. (24 September 1998): 21844; Jacob Joseph Chestnut-John Michael Gibson United States Capitol Visitor Center Act of 1998, H.R. 4347, 105th Cong. (1998); Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681(1998); Washington Post, 25 July 1998.