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Archiver > TMG > 2000-05 > 0957231388


From: "Mills" <>
Subject: [TMG-L:] Re: TMG-L: curious question
Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 20:36:28 -0500
References: <028301bfb3c4$00983440$a3032526@0016374473> <001201bfb3d0$cd2840c0$a8ebfea9@700>


Arlene wrote:
<I know who all of my gps were (I knew them), knew my parents and their
siblings -- including birth, marriage and death dates. I even know where and
when they lived in a particular house/apt. . . . Do I have to go & "prove"
all of this????>

<I do have paper proof, just wanted to know if it is really necessary to go
looking for all papers, etc.>

Cliff offered an excellent answer, but may I add another thought with regard
to the phrase *all papers* that Arlene used?

Lawrence of Arabia wasn't a whole lot off the mark with his statement "All
records lie," and we put ourselves at great risk if we trust any one
source -- be it a record or person. Yes, we drastically slow the pace of our
"progress" when we decide to search out *all* possible records each forebear
might have left, as well as records created by collateral kin. But finding
every relevant document and weighing each against the other to determine
where the truth most-likely lies is the only way to ensure that we aren't
"progressing" up the wrong tree. Every genealogist I know who lives by this
principle (yours truly, included) learned it the hard way and can offer some
gosh-awful tales about "former ancestors" on whom we wasted oodles of time
and boo-coodles of money.

Elizabeth Shown Mills





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