Avoiding Faux Genealogy
The times have changed considerably from when the Genealogical Helper was the Bible for researching family history. Information is so much faster and easier to obtain than in those years when research involved many trips -- and now, with the internet, much less so -- to libraries and various archives, to county and state historical societies, letters written to county court clerks, visits to county courthouses and state libraries and archives, finding others who were researching the same name and corresponding with them through the US postal service. It was slow, laborious, and expensive.
With the digitizing of the records in the archives in the LDS Family History Center in Salt Lake City the future promises that it will be even faster to obtain the documentation to more readily verify and confirm the links to the generations that creates a family history. Without documentation names are little more than a collection, and as do coin or stamp collectors enlarge and expand their collections with items of worth, so must the family historian enlarge and expand a family history with tested and credible documentation.
In that context, a word about DNA testing. DNA testing is proving to be - without having to expend as much time and expense as previously needed - a phenomenal means by which surname bloodlines can now be extended. However, without a documented paper trail for persons with the same DNA the degree of kinship cannot be proven. DNA can only prove that within a parameter of generations they shared a common ancestor with the person with the surname, or its variant surname, with as many as fifteen generations separating them - depending on the number of markers used in the test.
Genealogy is always a work in progress as new information is found that can modify and clarify previous information. So, does it matter if the information is incorrect? "Genealogy is just for fun and is just a game, so what if it is wrong, it is just a hobby," an attitude assumed by some is addressed in the following quote from her book, Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASC.
"...Amid the fun we're having, if we liken genealogy to a game, it's definitely not Scrabble...it's Truth or Consequences....whatever consequences we experience for our bad plays are not just consequences for us and us alone. They are imposed on everyone else we play with, on everyone who trusts that our garbled accounts are indeed the truth. Truth is that genealogy is a serious pursuit. It's only when a player does not take it seriously and creates a mess on the game board for others to clean up, that all the fun is lost amid the consequences." [End of her quote.]
To avoid making as few errors as possible in establishing a family history, the first rule to observe of genealogy research is to try to avoid compounding mistakes made by others and as Kimberley Powell, genealogist with About.com, writes:
"Many newcomers to genealogy research are thrilled when find that many of the names in their family tree are easily available online. Proud of their accomplishment, they then download all the data they can from these Internet sources, import it into their genealogy software and proudly start sharing their "genealogy" with others. Their research then makes its way into new genealogy databases and collections, further perpetuating the new "family tree".
" While it sounds great, there is one major problem with this scenario; namely that the family information that is freely published in many Internet databases and Web sites is often unsubstantiated and of questionable validity. While useful as a clue or a starting point for further research, the family tree data is sometimes more fiction than fact....That's not to say that all online genealogy information is bad. Just the opposite. The Internet is a great resource for tracing family trees. The trick is to learn how to separate the good online data from the bad.
"Don't Trust Everything You See in Print
"Just because a family genealogy or a record transcription has been written down or published does not necessarily mean that it is correct..... normal mistakes.... transcription errors and invalid assumptions. Once compiled, it becomes a secondary source and subject to the rules that apply to secondary sources of infromation. Each level of removal from its primary source, the more prone to error, it becomes...a fact that cannot be too highly emphasized for anyone who desires a credible family history.
The times have changed considerably from when the Genealogical Helper was the Bible for researching family history. Information is so much faster and easier to obtain than in those years when research involved many trips -- and now, with the internet, much less so -- to libraries and various archives, to county and state historical societies, letters written to county court clerks, visits to county courthouses and state libraries and archives, finding others who were researching the same name and corresponding with them through the US postal service. It was slow, laborious, and expensive.
With the digitizing of the records in the archives in the LDS Family History Center in Salt Lake City the future promises that it will be even faster to obtain the documentation to more readily verify and confirm the links to the generations that creates a family history. Without documentation names are little more than a collection, and as do coin or stamp collectors enlarge and expand their collections with items of worth, so must the family historian enlarge and expand a family history with tested and credible documentation.
In that context, a word about DNA testing. DNA testing is proving to be - without having to expend as much time and expense as previously needed - a phenomenal means by which surname bloodlines can now be extended. However, without a documented paper trail for persons with the same DNA the degree of kinship cannot be proven. DNA can only prove that within a parameter of generations they shared a common ancestor with the person with the surname, or its variant surname, with as many as fifteen generations separating them - depending on the number of markers used in the test.
Genealogy is always a work in progress as new information is found that can modify and clarify previous information. So, does it matter if the information is incorrect? "Genealogy is just for fun and is just a game, so what if it is wrong, it is just a hobby," an attitude assumed by some is addressed in the following quote from her book, Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian, by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASC.
"...Amid the fun we're having, if we liken genealogy to a game, it's definitely not Scrabble...it's Truth or Consequences....whatever consequences we experience for our bad plays are not just consequences for us and us alone. They are imposed on everyone else we play with, on everyone who trusts that our garbled accounts are indeed the truth. Truth is that genealogy is a serious pursuit. It's only when a player does not take it seriously and creates a mess on the game board for others to clean up, that all the fun is lost amid the consequences." [End of her quote.]
To avoid making as few errors as possible in establishing a family history, the first rule to observe of genealogy research is to try to avoid compounding mistakes made by others and as Kimberley Powell, genealogist with About.com, writes:
"Many newcomers to genealogy research are thrilled when find that many of the names in their family tree are easily available online. Proud of their accomplishment, they then download all the data they can from these Internet sources, import it into their genealogy software and proudly start sharing their "genealogy" with others. Their research then makes its way into new genealogy databases and collections, further perpetuating the new "family tree".
" While it sounds great, there is one major problem with this scenario; namely that the family information that is freely published in many Internet databases and Web sites is often unsubstantiated and of questionable validity. While useful as a clue or a starting point for further research, the family tree data is sometimes more fiction than fact....That's not to say that all online genealogy information is bad. Just the opposite. The Internet is a great resource for tracing family trees. The trick is to learn how to separate the good online data from the bad.
"Don't Trust Everything You See in Print
"Just because a family genealogy or a record transcription has been written down or published does not necessarily mean that it is correct..... normal mistakes.... transcription errors and invalid assumptions. Once compiled, it becomes a secondary source and subject to the rules that apply to secondary sources of infromation. Each level of removal from its primary source, the more prone to error, it becomes...a fact that cannot be too highly emphasized for anyone who desires a credible family history.
" The Internet is a valuable genealogy research tool, but Internet data, like other published sources, should be approached with skepticism.....The trick is to learn how to separate the good online data from the bad, by verifying and corroborating every detail for yourself...
" The accuracy of any database is, at its best, only as good as the original data source...The validity of such information is largely dependent upon the care and skill of the researcher...
"Unless the Web site or database includes digital images of the actual source, the next step is to track down the cited source for yourself. If the source of the information is a genealogy or history book, then you may find a library in the associated location has a copy and is willing to provide photocopies for a small fee. If the source is a microfilm record, then it's a good bet that the Family History Library has it. To search the FHL's online catalog, click on Library, then Family History Library Catalog. Use place search for the town or county to bring up the library's records for that locality. Listed records can then be borrowed and viewed through your local Family History Center. If the source is an online database or Web site....see if you can track down a listed source for that site's information.
" ….if the reference source is a person try to contact the person, who posted the information online, to see if they will share their information with you, though you may find that some genealogists may be wary of sharing their resources with you. [End of Kimberly Powell quote.]
[Editor's note: That wariness of some genealogists stems from their concern that their hard-earned research will be expropriated by commercial interests. That has been the experience of many genealogists who spent years and years and many thousands of dollars in travel expenses researching and compiling a family history, desiring, especially in the early days of the internet, a reciprocal sharing with others. By freely unloading their information onto genealogy bulletin boards in what they, then, thought was a free exchange of information, it, then, was expropriated by those who would profit from their labors, charging subscription fees to obtain what they, themselves, obtained without compensation to those whose information they expropriated. If you encounter this hesitation, this is the likely explanation.]
It is important to remember that all the databases on the internet and all the books that researchers compile, or will compile, and publish will not be complete fantasy; it is to say, that unless you verify and confirm the information contained in them, the genealogies will lack credibility, creating a false sense family identity.
The histories will be much like those faux genealogies compiled in the early part of the twentieth century for the newly rich and famous looking for forbears with connections to important early American personages or European nobility. Such was the genealogy, Our Forbears, compiled by John Bouvier, Sr., the grandfather of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy-Onasis, which he periodically updated and made great ceremony in presenting copies to members of his family. Jackie Bouvier Kennedy grew up thinking that she was recently descended from French aristocracy, which was not the case, as, also, did her cousin, John Davis, who exposed the faux genealogy in the chapter Image in his book, The Bouviers, to my mind, one of the best family histories ever written by someone who was a member of the family of whom he was writing.
Documentation, correctly analyzed, interpreted and qualified, are the means by which one establishes a reliable and credible family history and the following rules for compiling a history are recommended by the National Genealogy Society:
" Understanding the difference between the different types of sources will help you best assess how to verify the information that you find.
" Primary Sources are records created from someone with personal knowledge of the event. Example: The doctor, present at birth, who provided the birthdate would be the most accurate.
" Secondary Sources are records created long after an event occurred, or by a person not present at the event. An example would be a death certificate where the descendant provided a birthdate for a birth for which he could not have been present. Compiled records are also secondary sources and they include abstracts, transcriptions, and information from these types of records. Compiled records would also include the LDS Family History Center archives of IGI and ancestral file sources, all of which have have strong possibility of errors.
"Unless the Web site or database includes digital images of the actual source, the next step is to track down the cited source for yourself. If the source of the information is a genealogy or history book, then you may find a library in the associated location has a copy and is willing to provide photocopies for a small fee. If the source is a microfilm record, then it's a good bet that the Family History Library has it. To search the FHL's online catalog, click on Library, then Family History Library Catalog. Use place search for the town or county to bring up the library's records for that locality. Listed records can then be borrowed and viewed through your local Family History Center. If the source is an online database or Web site....see if you can track down a listed source for that site's information.
" ….if the reference source is a person try to contact the person, who posted the information online, to see if they will share their information with you, though you may find that some genealogists may be wary of sharing their resources with you. [End of Kimberly Powell quote.]
[Editor's note: That wariness of some genealogists stems from their concern that their hard-earned research will be expropriated by commercial interests. That has been the experience of many genealogists who spent years and years and many thousands of dollars in travel expenses researching and compiling a family history, desiring, especially in the early days of the internet, a reciprocal sharing with others. By freely unloading their information onto genealogy bulletin boards in what they, then, thought was a free exchange of information, it, then, was expropriated by those who would profit from their labors, charging subscription fees to obtain what they, themselves, obtained without compensation to those whose information they expropriated. If you encounter this hesitation, this is the likely explanation.]
It is important to remember that all the databases on the internet and all the books that researchers compile, or will compile, and publish will not be complete fantasy; it is to say, that unless you verify and confirm the information contained in them, the genealogies will lack credibility, creating a false sense family identity.
The histories will be much like those faux genealogies compiled in the early part of the twentieth century for the newly rich and famous looking for forbears with connections to important early American personages or European nobility. Such was the genealogy, Our Forbears, compiled by John Bouvier, Sr., the grandfather of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy-Onasis, which he periodically updated and made great ceremony in presenting copies to members of his family. Jackie Bouvier Kennedy grew up thinking that she was recently descended from French aristocracy, which was not the case, as, also, did her cousin, John Davis, who exposed the faux genealogy in the chapter Image in his book, The Bouviers, to my mind, one of the best family histories ever written by someone who was a member of the family of whom he was writing.
Documentation, correctly analyzed, interpreted and qualified, are the means by which one establishes a reliable and credible family history and the following rules for compiling a history are recommended by the National Genealogy Society:
Standards and Guidelines For Research
1. record the source for each item of information collected.
2. obtain credible evidence and test it, rejecting conclusions not supported by the evidence.
3. seek original records or reproduced images of them, if possible.
4. use compilations, communications and published works,for their value as guides to locating the original records.
5. state something as a fact only when it is supported by convincing evidence.
6. limit any statements with words like "probable" or "possible" any information based on less than convincing evidence, and state the reasons for concluding that it is probable or possible.
7. avoid misleading other researchers either intentionally or by carelessly distributing or publishing inaccuracies.
8. state carefully and honestly the results of own research and acknowledge use of other researchers’ work.
9. make available to others by placing publications or copies of research in libraries & repositories.
10. consider all new evidence and the comments of others on their research efforts
.© 1997, 2002 by National Genealogical Society. Permission is granted to copy or publish this material provided it is reproduced in its entirety, including this notice.
All comments, corrections, and suggestions on the material posted on this site are welcome and appreciated, and it is hoped that this site will be of use to all who seek information on this family with its variant of the P*rdue surname from information that will be posted here.
From Pardue/Perdue DNA test project we know there is no one history of a people sharing the Pardue surname!
Genealogy is never done; it is always a Work In Progress!
