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Caroline,
Here is part of an article written by Sharon Debartolo Carmack regarding both the Peckham
book and Christopher Carmack:
Finding and Using Published Genealogies
by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, CG
http://www.genealogy.com/77_carmack.html?Welcome=984238636
Example #2
I recently found a published family history on the Carmacks, titled The Carmack Family, by
Charles W. Peckham Sr. (1998). Because the origins of Cornelius Carmack of colonial
Maryland have baffled family researchers for decades, I was anxious to see if Peckham had
uncovered anything new.
Peckham postulates that Cornelius was not the immigrant ancestor, as descendants have long
surmised. Instead, he believes that Cornelius was born in Cecil County, Maryland, about
1681. Peckham also listed a possible father for Cornelius - a Christopher Carmick - who
was born probably in Scotland in 1653 and was transported to Maryland in 1678 aboard the
ship St. George of London. That's new information, but how accurate is it? Even though
the author credits numerous professional genealogists as working on the Carmack family
history, I was skeptical, considering many descendants had been working on this line for
decades and never uncovered these details.
My first course of action was to analyze the source citations. I noticed that some of the
information came from published sources, such as abstracts of records compiled by another
researcher. I then looked at Peckham's argument for connecting Christopher and
Cornelius as father and son. Although the author carefully noted that the identity of
Christopher as Cornelius's father was "pure assumption," he apparently based
this assumption solely on Christopher coming to America before Cornelius was allegedly
born in 1681, and that this Christopher was supposedly the right age to be Cornelius's
father.
So I checked out Peckham's source. Peckham references Gust Skordas's The Early
Settlers of Maryland. This book then had a reference to the original record — patents
series of the Maryland Land Office, liber 15, folio 553 — which allowed me to find a
microfilm copy of the original record to examine myself. The record indeed named
Christopher, along with 179 other people, who were transported in 1678 and claimed for
headright land grants. It did not give anything more, however, such as Christopher's
age, where he was from, or what became of him. For all I know, Christopher could have been
dead upon arrival, since all the headright claimant was required to do was present a list
of the names for whom he paid passage. It didn't matter if one of the transported had
died on board ship or after arrival. Maybe this is why Peckham's researchers found no
further record of Christopher in America.
Based on this information alone, I can't accept Peckham's theory that Christopher
was Cornelius's father, so I'll use Peckham's work as clues, do my own
original research, and draw my own conclusions.
Remember, finding published genealogies on your family is a starting point, not the end of
your research. Even if the book is well documented and you are satisfied that the lineage
covered is sound, no family history is comprehensive. There are always other surnames to
pursue that aren't covered in this particular book. Look for a published genealogy for
all of your lines. But remember to use them cautiously, not as gospel truth, until you
analyze and evaluate for yourself whether the information is accurate.