Research geek. Retired Librarian/facilitator of genealogy classes and workshops. Never heard a family story I didn't find fascinating. Find me late at night, like many of you, down a genealogical rabbit hole. Regarding one's ancestral discoveries, I believe everything you learn is best taken with a grain of salt: you may have been told you are a descendant of royalty, only to learn you are in fact the progeny of a rogue affair or of an unrelated orphan or farm hand taken in and recorded as family. Many family researchers run across genealogical records in which information has been blotted out, altered, or fabricated. Likewise, some carefully-worded narratives have been engineered to conceal "distasteful" truths: babies born out of wedlock, unflattering causes of death, mental and physical health conditions, drug or alcohol addictions, time spent in institutions, family abuse, criminal activities, and so forth. I've seen the pain and frustration such tactics can cause to family members who, upon learning the actual facts of a situation, find they have been the duped recipients of purposely altered info. In classes and worksops, I regularly met attendees who had pinpointed a set of historical data in which "facts" were not lining up. When their own verified research uncovered a different scenario than what had been formerly asserted, they often described feeling deeply betrayed, saddened, or angry, depending on the egregiousness of the fabrications or omissions. Further, I have worked with people in such scenarios who then felt compelled "to set the record straight" with their families by sharing the "new" truths in an aggressive manner. Please remember, as you record your own findings, we are documenting real life histories. Whatever your discoveries, I believe it is important to record your findings in plain language, faithfully and fully, with no omissions/deletions/veiling of persons or facts due to shame, dislike, or differences in religious beliefs/ race/ culture/ orientation/identity/politics/etc., or the side on which one's ancestor fought in the Civil War. Arguments can be made for withholding certain details of a person's life out of respect for her/his memory. However, I believe "withholding" is a dubious practice and should never be extended to significant material facts, like parentages, marriages, causes of death, etc. In my mind, the honesty of detailing the facts as we find and verify them in reputable sources brings honor to a person's memory. In the process of our research, we may learn some context, too, in which the facts took place

Research geek. Retired Librarian/facilitator of genealogy classes and workshops. Never heard a family story I didn't find fascinating. Find me late at night, like many of you, down a genealogical rabbit hole. Regarding one's ancestral discoveries, I believe everything you learn is best taken with a grain of salt: you may have been told you are a descendant of royalty, only to learn you are in fact the progeny of a rogue affair or of an unrelated orphan or farm hand taken in and recorded as family. Many family researchers run across genealogical records in which information has been blotted out, altered, or fabricated. Likewise, some carefully-worded narratives have been engineered to conceal "distasteful" truths: babies born out of wedlock, unflattering causes of death, mental and physical health conditions, drug or alcohol addictions, time spent in institutions, family abuse, criminal activities, and so forth. I've seen the pain and frustration such tactics can cause to family members who, upon learning the actual facts of a situation, find they have been the duped recipients of purposely altered info. In classes and worksops, I regularly met attendees who had pinpointed a set of historical data in which "facts" were not lining up. When their own verified research uncovered a different scenario than what had been formerly asserted, they often described feeling deeply betrayed, saddened, or angry, depending on the egregiousness of the fabrications or omissions. Further, I have worked with people in such scenarios who then felt compelled "to set the record straight" with their families by sharing the "new" truths in an aggressive manner. Please remember, as you record your own findings, we are documenting real life histories. Whatever your discoveries, I believe it is important to record your findings in plain language, faithfully and fully, with no omissions/deletions/veiling of persons or facts due to shame, dislike, or differences in religious beliefs/ race/ culture/ orientation/identity/politics/etc., or the side on which one's ancestor fought in the Civil War. Arguments can be made for withholding certain details of a person's life out of respect for her/his memory. However, I believe "withholding" is a dubious practice and should never be extended to significant material facts, like parentages, marriages, causes of death, etc. In my mind, the honesty of detailing the facts as we find and verify them in reputable sources brings honor to a person's memory. In the process of our research, we may learn some context, too, in which the facts took place