If compiling an entire genealogy seems like too large of a task, start small: write a biography of an ancestor. Try and limit yourself to what you can document with actual records. Your citations don’t have to be perfect (the genealogy world will not end), but they should indicate where the information originated and how you obtained it. Avoid including details that are purely speculation. It doesn’t have to be overly literary and, if you are not feeling all that artistic, the writing can take the form of an extended chronology.
Or that can at least be a starting point on which to build.
And when you’re done, you have a finished project. Or you realize you have gaps to fill in. Either way something has been accomplished.
5 Responses
Good advice but disagree about not including speculation. I see nothing wrong in a family historian including thoughts about possibilities as long as it is clear that is what they are. After all these speculations are often a distillation of all the facts that you have and how they were acquired. Only one person can do that. Regards. Ed
Yes, include the speculation. As more and more documents are available on line that speculation might be provable. I have a brick wall that has stumped people in my family for over 100 years. I included my speculation parents when I uploaded all my family stories to internetarchive.org. If the day ever comes that someone else wants to work on my family, they can start with my speculation and either prove or disprove it. Every one of my family names has multiple people credited with being the first in America. Choose one of the 3 brothers who each changed the spelling of their name, moved far away and never spoke to his brothers again, and married a wife named Elizabeth. The only thing missing is the Indian princess.
My personal take on “speculation” is to leave pure speculation (also known as totally wild guesses) out. Speculation based upon something concrete is something else and, if it’s included, I clearly indicate that it’s something I’m not certain of and what leads me to think it.
[…] I am currently working on for my own tree, “Write an Ancestral Biography.” You’ll start to see these under the “My Genealogy” […]
Speculation and family history should be added in a biography if the author will clearly state a) what the speculation is based on and b) uses language that suggests the speculation.
For instance, a former slave family speculates that the former owner was the biological father for a few of a slave’s children. A paragraph explaining the current theory utilizing words that suggest the theory is unproven, can be included without implying the claim to be verified.
Now, where you place the speculation is open for consideration. Perhaps the speculation is in the main body of a narrative as it would fit into the chronology of the story. Or, the author can utilize a footnote at the bottom of a page or a pull quote style box to segment theory from the proven evidence. A final option that comes to mind right now is the use of the appendix. Theories can be placed in the appendix. It’s a great place to debunk theories and corral family theories that remain unverified.
To exclude speculation and theories in a family history biography ignores the legends and theories families pass down from generation to generation and does little to combat or consider the merits of such postulations.