Well done! The mindless clicking on Ancestry “Hints” and copying misinformation from tree to tree drive me crazy.
One ancestor in particular is credited as being a soldier in the Revolution, a “fact” promulgated, among others, by a woman seeking DAR membership. I got a copy of an old DAR application that had been accepted, but it was based on incorrect information, and the applicant wasn’t even his descendant, among other errors. I laid out all the evidence and shared it with the current seeker of membership. She shrugged it off and said he might qualify under DAR broad qualifications—supplying the army, giving a sermon supporting the patriots,etc, etc.
Great stuff DRG, I must say on Confirmation Bias is also NOT wanting it to fit. I have a Great uncle, who seems, if the records are correct, to have a period in his life best forgotten. I uncovered it and cannot shake off that feeling,if it weren't true his long life would be that much easier to record. Warts and all....
Good summary of the biases I battle on a regular basis. I've been watching the new Hulu series "The Lowdown" (Sterlin Harjo of Rez Dogs is creative genius) and the character Lee Raybon (played by Ethan Hawke) declares himself a "truth-storian" -- a citizen journalist who seeks to uncover the truth outside of institutions (newspapers, universities, political office), relies on original research and interviews, and confronts powerful figures, narratives, and corruption. And I might add challenges these cognitive biases.
That’s such a perfect connection. I love that term “truth-storian.” That’s exactly what genealogists should be. We’re not just building trees, we’re interrogating the past. We dig through bias, revision, and silence to find something that still bleeds truth. I’ll have to check out The Lowdown—it sounds like it hits the same nerve this project does.
It's a hoot! My friend Rachel Crowl is the actress who plays Sally, the waitress in the Tulsa diner.
This piece of yours hit home as I'm struggling to identify Ojibway women whose names have either not been recorded, recorded only as a spouse with husband's name, have multiple names, transliterated/translated (butchered) names, records that may be in the US or Canada (family straddled border), records that are incorrect or incomplete, missing, lost or simply absent. Wading through all of the misinformation and finding corroborating evidence is a challenge.
Well done! The mindless clicking on Ancestry “Hints” and copying misinformation from tree to tree drive me crazy.
One ancestor in particular is credited as being a soldier in the Revolution, a “fact” promulgated, among others, by a woman seeking DAR membership. I got a copy of an old DAR application that had been accepted, but it was based on incorrect information, and the applicant wasn’t even his descendant, among other errors. I laid out all the evidence and shared it with the current seeker of membership. She shrugged it off and said he might qualify under DAR broad qualifications—supplying the army, giving a sermon supporting the patriots,etc, etc.
Great summary!
Great stuff DRG, I must say on Confirmation Bias is also NOT wanting it to fit. I have a Great uncle, who seems, if the records are correct, to have a period in his life best forgotten. I uncovered it and cannot shake off that feeling,if it weren't true his long life would be that much easier to record. Warts and all....
Good summary of the biases I battle on a regular basis. I've been watching the new Hulu series "The Lowdown" (Sterlin Harjo of Rez Dogs is creative genius) and the character Lee Raybon (played by Ethan Hawke) declares himself a "truth-storian" -- a citizen journalist who seeks to uncover the truth outside of institutions (newspapers, universities, political office), relies on original research and interviews, and confronts powerful figures, narratives, and corruption. And I might add challenges these cognitive biases.
That’s such a perfect connection. I love that term “truth-storian.” That’s exactly what genealogists should be. We’re not just building trees, we’re interrogating the past. We dig through bias, revision, and silence to find something that still bleeds truth. I’ll have to check out The Lowdown—it sounds like it hits the same nerve this project does.
It's a hoot! My friend Rachel Crowl is the actress who plays Sally, the waitress in the Tulsa diner.
This piece of yours hit home as I'm struggling to identify Ojibway women whose names have either not been recorded, recorded only as a spouse with husband's name, have multiple names, transliterated/translated (butchered) names, records that may be in the US or Canada (family straddled border), records that are incorrect or incomplete, missing, lost or simply absent. Wading through all of the misinformation and finding corroborating evidence is a challenge.
Greetings friend, I’ve been on Substack for around 3 weeks now.
Your content is interesting, and it appears on my feed often, so I thought you may like one of my articles.
This one is about Giants, and the evidence in early newspapers:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jordannuttall/p/giants-in-newspapers?r=4f55i2&utm_medium=ios