NORCAL-L Archives
Archiver > NORCAL > 1998-02 > 0886383379
From: "Rayburn Killion" <>
Subject: Re: Just the Facts!!
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 17:36:19 -0800
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Mr. Crookston wrote:
>It has been my experience that too many a person now engaged in the =
pursuit of
>genealogy, rarely, if ever, does much primary source research. They =
keep repeating
>the information they have found in secondary, primarily library =
sources, and now the
>InterNet sources, which in turn have been taken from secondary sources. =
As you have
>indicated, about three evolutions of these notations from three =
separate secondary
>sources about any particular event seems to indicate proof of fact to =
many researches.
>Never mind that the original quotation may have been an inaccurate =
interpretation in
>the first place, of the first source.
>
Here is a good example of just what can happen to the unwary Internet =
researcher. This is a note from one BALL researcher to another =
regarding a website that made some extraordinary claims:
Thanks for keeping me posted. I did in fact go to that Gendex site
and had a bit of a chuckle. The person who posted it, or whoever did
the "research", worked quite hard at it. In fact, I saw members of
the Fairfax, Middlesex, and Lancaster Ball families all represented
and intertwined. The amazing part of that is there is no known
relationship among them.
I've spent a long time researching the Middlesex Ball family, many
of whom had settled in Fauquier Co. VA dating from the mid-to-late
colonial period. In order to decipher who was who, I often found it
necessary to look into the other Ball families.
The BALL surname is one of the most researched in history due to=20
George Washington's mother being from the Lancaster line. Everybody=20
and his uncle wanted to connect. On top of that, General Washington=20
was known to have greeted anyone with the surname as "cousin". He=20
knew quite well what he was doing. It was a wonderful recruiting=20
tool! The BALL surname was quite common at that time, not unlike=20
SMITH and JONES today. There were unrelated Ball families from New=20
England to the Carolinas. That unquestionably gave rise to the "Three=20
Brothers" story that will drive a serious researcher nuts.
It's sad to see that Gendex web site with that information posted as
it tends to perpetuate many errors. That's not the only place you
will find such errors though. The 'LDS Family Search' and 'World
Family Tree' are full of them. In this case, computer technology is
doing us a dis-service. It's inevitable though and many of these
errors have been sourced directly from earlier DAR memberships. Some
of those have even cited Haden's "Virginia Genealogies". Suffice to
say that the DAR today is much more careful, and Haden is not
acceptable. Interesting, but not acceptable.
There's more but you get the idea. The above was written by a man named =
Jim Ball who has done a lot of primary source research. People like Jim =
and a lot of the folks on the Norcal list are the important resource on =
the internet for those genealogy hobbyists (like me) who don't have the =
time, the means, or the expertise to do the down and dirty work. And =
it's good to remember that the hobbyist should be encouraged and guided, =
not scorned or disparaged; plenty of advances in many fields have been =
made by amateurs. ---Ray
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<BODY>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3>Mr. Crookston wrote:</FONT><BR><FONT =
size=3D2>>It=20
has been my experience that too many a person now engaged in the pursuit =
of<BR>>genealogy, rarely, if ever, does much primary source =
research.=20
They keep repeating<BR>>the information they have found in =
secondary,=20
primarily library sources, and now the<BR>>InterNet sources, which in =
turn=20
have been taken from secondary sources. As you have<BR>>indicated, =
about=20
three evolutions of these notations from three separate =
secondary<BR>>sources=20
about any particular event seems to indicate proof of fact to many=20
researches.<BR>>Never mind that the original quotation may have been =
an=20
inaccurate interpretation in<BR>>the first place, of the first=20
source.<BR>></FONT><BR><BR>Here is a good example of just what =
can=20
happen to the unwary Internet researcher. This is a note from one =
BALL=20
researcher to another regarding a website that made some extraordinary=20
claims:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>Thanks for keeping me posted. I did =
in fact go=20
to that Gendex site<BR>and had a bit of a chuckle. The person who posted =
it, or=20
whoever did<BR>the "research", worked quite hard at it. In =
fact, I saw=20
members of<BR>the Fairfax, Middlesex, and Lancaster Ball families all=20
represented<BR>and intertwined. The amazing part of that is there is no=20
known<BR>relationship among them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>I've spent a long time researching =
the Middlesex=20
Ball family, many<BR>of whom had settled in Fauquier Co. VA dating from =
the=20
mid-to-late<BR>colonial period. In order to decipher who was who, I =
often found=20
it<BR>necessary to look into the other Ball families.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>The BALL surname is one of the most =
researched=20
in history due to <BR>George Washington's mother being from the =
Lancaster line.=20
Everybody <BR>and his uncle wanted to connect. On top of that, General=20
Washington <BR>was known to have greeted anyone with the surname as=20
"cousin". He <BR>knew quite well what he was doing. It was a =
wonderful=20
recruiting <BR>tool! The BALL surname was quite common at that time, not =
unlike=20
<BR>SMITH and JONES today. There were unrelated Ball families from New=20
<BR>England to the Carolinas. That unquestionably gave rise to the =
"Three=20
<BR>Brothers" story that will drive a serious researcher =
nuts.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 size=3D2>It's sad to see that Gendex web site =
with that=20
information posted as<BR>it tends to perpetuate many errors. That's not =
the only=20
place you<BR>will find such errors though. The 'LDS Family Search' and=20
'World<BR>Family Tree' are full of them. In this case, computer =
technology=20
is<BR>doing us a dis-service. It's inevitable though and many of =
these<BR>errors=20
have been sourced directly from earlier DAR memberships. Some<BR>of =
those have=20
even cited Haden's "Virginia Genealogies". Suffice to<BR>say =
that the=20
DAR today is much more careful, and Haden is not<BR>acceptable. =
Interesting, but=20
not acceptable.<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#000000 face=3D"" size=3D3>There's more but you get =
the idea. =20
The above was written by a man named Jim Ball who has done a lot of =
primary=20
source research. People like Jim and a lot of the folks on the =
Norcal list=20
are <U>the</U> important resource on the internet for those genealogy =
hobbyists=20
(like me) who don't have the time, the means, or the expertise to do the =
down=20
and dirty work. And it's good to remember that the hobbyist should =
be=20
encouraged and guided, not scorned or disparaged; plenty of advances in =
many=20
fields have been made by amateurs. =
---Ray</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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