Soapbox issues--my opinion - long
Re: Information which is out-of-date, mistaken, unproven or not currently
accepted.
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Oops - yesterday I was completing a draft of my visit to the NYPL and
accidentally sent the draft to the list, actually I had visited when I
found that a pencilled notation did not show up on the microfilm -- and
wanted to check it. Yes the notation was there -- "Unknown author No 5"
I was in the middle of a paragraph in which I meant to illustrate that
different cultures and different epochs have different perceptions of the
world. Didnt get to mention the statue of Atlas holding up the
world,
or the 16c. debate on whether the sun goes around the world or vice
versa.
I think this is the same for genealogy. Compilers of information will find
very, very different -- or harder to work with -- very similar, accounts
of the same lines and families. Differing accounts of any surname appear
in print, and on the internet. Anyone who searches will find references
to what we call "former relatives" and "myths", misspellings and,
possibly, descendants of the same person establishing lines with a
different spelling.
I believe that historical information has a place in the mailing lists and
the permanent archives. Those who are compiling information on their
ancestors need to know about the information and as they gain experience,
evaluate it. Perhaps someone in the 19c had access to information or
people no longer available.