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We all recall the children's game in which something
was whispered to one person at one end of a line and then whispered
successively down the line. Finally repeated aloud by the last person
in the line, the resulting product usually bore little or no
resemblance to the original telling.
Family stories are like that too. With each oral
telling by a different person, the facts may become altered or
embellished upon until the current telling is quite different from
the original facts. Accounts written at or near the time of the event
are, like good primary sources, much more likely to be correct, while
oral accounts usually suffer from age and retelling.
What is important in family stories is the kernel of
truth that forms the reason for the story to exist in the first place.
Here is one approach you might use in your attempt to
validate the information in a family story. First, recognize that
family stories may contain only a grain of truth, and be skeptical of
all the details. Second, with that as a beginning point, carefully
dissect and examine all the component pieces of the story. Try making
a list of each of the details, and ask yourself these questions:
1. Do I know the person(s) in the story?
2. Does the time frame seem correct for the person(s)
in the story?
3. Do the details ABOUT the person seem consistent
with other facts in evidence about the person(s)?
4. Are the details consistent with other historical
facts about the time, place, and events in question?
5. Could this have happened?
6. Are there other, alternate versions of the story?
If so, what points agree or disagree between them?
7. What other facts do you have that can corroborate
the detail of this story?
8. Are there records available that can prove or
disprove the story?
Sometimes, no matter how hard you research the
details, you will be unable to conclusively prove the truth of the
story. In those cases, you should certainly document the family story-and
every version you encounter-and include it as a piece of family
folklore. Be sure to document any research you performed, as well as
your sources, and make notations of what you could and could not
prove. This will be valuable for future generations of family to know
that you did, indeed, attempt to verify information and what success
you may have been able to achieve.
Don't be discouraged if you can't corroborate all your
family stories. Those that you can document and prove are excellent
additions to your compiled evidence. Those that cannot be proved
become another rich addition to the tapestry of your family's lore.
As long as you can differentiate in your research between proven and
unproven fact, and clearly document each for what it is, you may
still include all your family stories in your genealogy. In any
event, family stories are a wonderful addition to your family's documentation. |