tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post2944927565119326885..comments2024-03-21T19:08:05.737-07:00Comments on Genealogy's Star: Comments on Finding the 'Core Truth' in a TraditionJames Tannerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02989059644120454647noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1527613590529958801.post-67331171696327854942014-08-21T08:42:15.833-07:002014-08-21T08:42:15.833-07:00In a case like this, if I didn't have specific...In a case like this, if I didn't have specific information to prove the story wasn't true, or was highly unlikely, I'd probably just leave it alone, but not repeat it myself, and spend my time on something else.<br /><br />I do have a technique for deciding which family stories to share. I take the source, usually a family history, and fact check everything possible. Are dates and places correct? Where the people where the author says they were? Is the history told in the family story backed up by reliable community or world history found elsewhere? Are there other sources that confirm the history? Does the history include credible details and show some understanding of historical context and extended family and community? Does the author leave out things that should be mentioned? Who was the author and how close was he or she to the events? (You mention many of these techniques.)<br /><br />The more facts I can confirm, the more likely I am to believe the entire account. <br /><br />Here's one of my biographies (not a relation) in which I started with a sensational family story and tracked down what was and wasn't true about the story. It was a tragedy, but not every detail was true as originally told:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2013/10/23/eminent-women-caroline-blake-hardy/" rel="nofollow">Caroline Blake Hardy</a>Amy Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04037263182287268748noreply@blogger.com