One of my jobs the other day was with someone whom I had the privilege of having an interesting discussion about genealogy. When I walked into his office there were old pictures, documents, and maps all over his walls. On his desk were various family history charts and research papers. As I worked on his system I began asking about his research. I excitedly told him about Geni and how great it has been to see our family contribute and collaborate. He had heard of Geni and was interested in learning more and as I shared my knowledge with him he asked me what research I had done to develop our "Family History." I replied by telling him that I have family members who have researched extensively our heritage. I personally know of family members travelling far to research leads, visit cemeteries etc.
I then asked of his research and found out that he has not gone as far back as his great great grandfather in his family tree. He stated that he has some suspicions of where his lineage goes from there but he cannot PROVE it. He then began admonishing me the importance of discovering your true genealogy based on documented facts and not hearsay. He explained in details about his research, how he had paid researchers to gather information only to find out much of it was taken from sources that did not exist. Specifically he mentioned a man who stated to have found some of his family history and documented in details certain sources. When he went to validate the sources they never existed or were irrelevant. This was very new to me in that my interest in family history has been merely to gather what research has already been done. I never considered that the cited Church history documents may have been fabricated or cited films may not exist and so on. As I have thought about this conversation I have realized a couple of things.
Family history research evolves and in this information age we have the greatest opportunity to gather and share information than ever before. With this blessing comes great responsibility as well. It is important to be as accurate as possible in your research. To detail how you came about the data you are submitting.
Geneology.com has a great article on the value of documentation in family history research. They discuss the following benefits of detailed documentation.
· Documentation Will Make Your Research Easier and Faster
· Documentation Helps Prevent Duplication of Research
· Documentation Gives Others Confidence in Your Research
· Documentation Doesn't Have to Be Hard
That said it is also important to realize that Family History is like any History. Not only is it
history but
herstory too. Some of the greatest moments in history cannot be proven without a doubt but it is these “stories” that create the historical moments that captivate and motivate us. There have been many such stories told to me by my family true or not they are now a part of our family history.
This leads me to my final point. I have a responsibility to document my sources for family history information. I also recognize the fact that my lineage cannot be detailed 100% and that there may be some inaccuracies in my history. My personal goal in our family history is to provide a means for our family to collaborate our own research, “stories,” and histories. Most importantly it is to communicate and share our own immediate family’s history. I hope the work we have done in Geni will provide us the means to do so.
