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Archiver > NORCAL > 1998-02 > 0886353101


From: "roland elliott" <>
Subject: Re: Just the Facts!!
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 09:11:41 -0800


The truth is rarely the accumulation of the facts,but rather ones
interpretation of the facts-Roland Elliott.Who is to say that the dod,dob is
correct? I had rather use Marriages and Baptisms,and most of all what I can
learn of the customs,history,weather,crops etc of the era being research.I
agree with Walt.R
-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Herbert Crookston <>
To: <>
Date: Sunday, February 01, 1998 8 59
Subject: Re: Just the Facts!!

>This may come as somewhat of a disillusion to you Walt, and all.
>
>But Alex Haley's book has a goodly sum of fiction throughout its whole
story.
>There are too many assumptions and conclusions made by Haley that cannot be
>documented. Much as any of our genealogies.
>
>The fault, if one looks at it carefully, and as such, with most Historians,
or
>otherwise, and Biographers is that they too often expand, color, glorify
the few
>good and true facts that they know, the facts of a whole live or period of
time,
>in order to mold them into a good story or read. This is many times their
>publishers fault. They wish to sell books and make money.
>
>That is not the purpose of a Genealogy!
>
>A Genealogy is not meant to be entertainment, though it maybe and sometimes
is, if
>the people written about were interesting, and led interesting lives.
>Unfortunately most of our ancestor led pretty average, normal,
everyday-mundane
>lives, much as we do.. Important, sure is, but hardly the stuff fiction,
or
>exhilarating history.
>
>When working with my own family lines I read as many Social and Political
>Histories of the times of the people I am researching as I can. From this
one can
>get a fair sense of how they lived and what they were thinking and talking
about
>and how they may have amused themselves in the little leisure time they
they
>seemingly had. Where I have interesting factual history, or personal
anecdote
>about an ancestor, I use it. But I to hold to a strict rule to specify
which is
>fact from what is anecdote, and what is assumption or conjecture.
>
>Charles
>
> wrote:
>
>> I have two books on my Kennedy side of the family One is the Reading
Howell
>> book and it has many stories about each main character and lots of
interesting
>> reading giving one an idea of how they lived and what they did for a
>> livelyhood.
>> The book is on the Quick family it has only names dates and places.
As
>> aunt Charlotte said about Mrs. Whitmans diary " I could hardley get
through
>> the whole boring boring book"
>>
>> There is a lot more to genealogy than just the facts. If you don't
believe me
>> then read Roots by Alex Halley.
>>
>> Walt Davies
>> Monmouth, OR
>
>
>
>

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