Family Lore Vs. Fact
In my first blog post I discussed the basics of getting started with your research. One of the first steps I suggested was gathering information you already know and asking relatives for information. However, asking relatives for information can have a major flaw—family lore. We all have them. Maybe you heard your grandfather had an affair and there is some illegitimate child out there somewhere that no one knows. Maybe you heard a relative was in prison because he was never around and had suddenly disappeared and no one really wanted to discuss him. Whatever it may be, we all have these family stories. Yes, some may actually be true. Some, however, are not. Take family lore with a grain salt.
Over the years stories get exaggerated, speculations are made and eventually become ‘fact’, and details get left out. I have been told that my great great grandmother was an orphan. I have this in my notes and source it as ‘according to family stories’ because I have not been able to verify this.
Accurately recording your family history requires dealing with facts. I am not suggesting you completely dismiss the family lore. Keep stories in a notebook and make sure to mark them as ‘family lore’. These little stories can be great starting points for research.
I have had relatives tell me how family members have died only to find out the real causes on death certificates. I trust death certificates more than what relatives believe.
Things to know about family lore vs. fact:
- Trust in birth, marriage, and death certificates. Those records usually have information direct from hospitals/doctors, parents, or the relatives themselves. I would trust these resources over lore.
- Be cautious of census records. I will do more posts on census records later, but the lowdown on census records is that they are full of inaccuracies. Often census workers would simply go door to door and get information on all residents from one person. Immigrants often could not speak English. Whomever the census taker interviewed did the best they probably could with names, dates, etc., but human error and simple inaccuracies were very common. Nicknames could be used and last names were often written how they sounded and not how they were actually spelled.
- Keep family stories separate from your research. Keep a special notebook or separate folder on your computer for family stories. If you have family tree software do not enter in information until you have a resource–a document or way of proving the story is true. This will keep your facts from possible fiction. Not doing so will only lead to confusion later in your research.
- If various records are not identical- take the majority. There have been instances in my research when I have a birth, marriage, death, and census record and maybe there are slight inconsistencies. I will take the majority and enter that in as fact. For example: My great great grandmother went by several different names on records- Teresa, Carissa, and Tracy. After finding all the records I could on her, I went with the majority and entered her name in as Teresa. However, I still make a note somewhere that she had nicknames because those may still come in handy when doing further research.
Bottom line– Use facts when doing your research. Use family lore to guide you, but do not believe it as fact until you have the documentation.
