Interesting to think about the sources he would have had access to for his family history and your deductions of who he would have known during his lifetime.
In that time period Genealogy was quite a fad, consequently many are badly written and poorly sourced. Their resources at the time included interviews with oldsters in the family and connecting through genealogy want ads in newspapers. So much of it is backed by the collective memories of the oldest memories of the family. The purpose of those books was not facts and truth, it was the creation of the families' origin story.
I have always been charmed by that aspect of this book - there's a sense of conflict between wanting to build up the family legend and wanting to tell the truth.
Clearly family history research is in your genes, Tad! As you have found, while George didn't draw information from official records, his interviewing, and recording of, older relatives and their memories is invaluable and provides a treasure trove of information to draw on!
Interesting to think about the sources he would have had access to for his family history and your deductions of who he would have known during his lifetime.
That book never ceases to fascinate me. The questions I am able to answer always raise more questions!
In that time period Genealogy was quite a fad, consequently many are badly written and poorly sourced. Their resources at the time included interviews with oldsters in the family and connecting through genealogy want ads in newspapers. So much of it is backed by the collective memories of the oldest memories of the family. The purpose of those books was not facts and truth, it was the creation of the families' origin story.
Yes, exactly!
I have always been charmed by that aspect of this book - there's a sense of conflict between wanting to build up the family legend and wanting to tell the truth.
Clearly family history research is in your genes, Tad! As you have found, while George didn't draw information from official records, his interviewing, and recording of, older relatives and their memories is invaluable and provides a treasure trove of information to draw on!