Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

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On Monday, James Tanner wrote a blog post titled Inclusive or Exclusive? then on Tuesday Jenny Lancelot wrote a response post, titled Inclusive or Exclusive? How about Just Accurate?. Both of these posts were excellent and I had been contemplating a similar issue and I wondered if James and Jenny were inspired by the same thing that prompted my thought process.

Casting my mind back to a few weeks ago, when Thomas at Geneabloggers raised a similar issue and I responded that post, which you can read HERE, so this discussion has been “out there” in the genealogical Internet arena for several week although in different guises. I am not implying it is old news, but I believe that there is a consistent theme of discontent within genealogy community, and that is important.

Genealogy and Family History are for me entwined. Recently I had cause to think about what they meant, not just to me, but to other genealogists and I came to the conclusion that whilst they are entwined for me, they perhaps mean different things to different people in different countries; and that the individual definitions are neither right or wrong, just different.

Just as I was considering responding to James, I received an email in relation to a completely different matter, however, in that email was a comment about a “leading genealogist” that I had in fact never heard of. So how leading was this person? So I Googled the name. The person is a well known genealogist in their Country of origin. I responded to my email, suggesting that the phrase leading genealogist is perhaps about perception.

Whilst I was gathering my thoughts to write a response in a hopeful coherent manner, Jen Baldwin shared Jenny Lancelot’s post via Google+ and I made a comment on that thread, as did Tessa Keough.

The crux of the debate is the Internet has revolutionised the way in which genealogy and family history is undertaken by the masses. We are, from a young age encouraged to be competitive, thus, we strive to always do better and therefore in a response to that competitiveness professional qualifications have started to appear on the education horizon. The moment that happened the bar was raised.

In the G+ thread it was commented that people attempt to compare genealogy to medicine and law, and probably other disciplines too, and there is no comparison. I believe people do this to try and apply the thought processes they know to genealogy. I have spent over two decades in pharmacy management. There is no comparison to genealogy apart from the level of detail and accuracy that is involved. As part of that thread Tessa made the following comment –

“Genealogy, in my opinion, is a mixture of social science (history, geography, economics, sociology and psychology) and natural science (biology, and probably some others here as well).”

I completely agree with Tessa and I then I went a stage further. Firstly, in response to the accuracy debate. Should we even be debating accuracy? If we do not research carefully and accurately, seeking answers and clarity to those facts, it does seem pointless to pursue such a interest. Who wants to own a genealogical tree with data that can not be proved? Surely no one simply adds data that is not confirmed to their genealogy? – actually, yes they do. There are some that add material from the internet with the belief that if it is online then it must be true. No, there does need to be evidence and we head back to the statement cite your sources.

Genealogy is in someways almost flexible. As we research our ancestry, not just collecting the names and dates, but fleshing out the detail we can expand our interest into other disciplines thereby researching in an almost holistic approach. I have a particular interest in the fact that a very close relative to me had Polio when they were a child, by pursuing this section of their life I have a better understanding not just of those earlier events but also the current. As medical advancement has developed, so has the diagnosis of post Polio activity become more widely known and treatment managed. There is no cure for post polio syndrome.

Genealogy is in part all about the detail, and wider context of our ancestors.

So, back to the initial point. Is genealogy inclusive or exclusive? There is no easy way to say this, to some, genealogy and profile is about massaging their ego. It is as simple as that. I base my opinion on the evidence that I have seen within the genealogical arena from some members of the community, and thankfully they are in the minority.

To research your own ancestry you do not need a degree in history, nor a professional qualification in genealogy. I have a history degree that I undertook as a mature student and by the time I completed my degree I had already been working in the pharmacy profession for over 13 years. When I took my degree it was for me, rather than part of a personal development plan to professionally migrate from pharmacy to history, although in part; another 13 years on I have done so.

There is room in genealogy and family history for everyone. There is no room, in my opinion for those who need to be stroked like a Labrador and made to feel important, because that sends out a very different message.

Just recently there was the rock star genealogy awards. I shake my head in horror. That said, there were some very well deserving names on the list and I was, in the spirit of friendship and respect for some of those individuals delighted that they were nominated and that so many others agreed. In the case of several that were publicly  acknowledged it did nothing more than massage those egos I mentioned earlier. It is those awards, that send out the message of exclusivity and elitist behavior.

The genealogy community is, in effect a buffet in a restaurant. It is made up of some really wonderful people who bring an enormous amount of knowledge to the very large table. As a collective we should be feel proud to belong to such a wonderful and informative group and be mindful that we should not wish to be heading back to the popularity of the “in crowd” akin to the school playground.

I should point out, that I have never been part of that “in crowd”, either at school, in my pharmacy career or now. The reason being, that I value being an individual and being treated as such. I challenge and have no issue with stating how I feel or presenting an opposing argument, whilst believing that if we stand together and share our knowledge and resources we become a strong and more educated group.

My final comments are therefore this.

• We should acknowledge the contributions of many people within the genealogy community, not just the ones that shout the loudest or who appear to be high profile.
• There is room in genealogy and family history for everyone.

Thomas at Geneabloggers posed the following question for his Thursday Thread yesterday.

“Is there a right to do genealogy?

When I eventually toddled off to bed I was still pondering the question and I was not sure that I had an absolute answer, and as I type this, now late on Friday evening I still am not sure, but I will put my thoughts out there, into the ether.

Perhaps rather than a right to do genealogy, it is a privilege to do it. I do not mean that I have an never ending bank account and therefore it is simply a way of filling an abundance of hours. I mean that it is a real privilege to utilize the numerous tools at our 21st Century disposal to unravel the past, whether that is my own family or researching someone else’s.

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Looking at the question from my own family perspective. I am always amazed at the paper trail that my own family left behind. It is not about wealth, either then or now, it is about unraveling their lives, the good, bad, happy and sad and understanding the series of events in the context in which they happened.

To look at events with an open mind, pass no judgement or shame. Simply follow the trail of evidence that is available and accept, what has happened in the past, has happened and that sometimes you simply have to do the best you can do, when you are caught between the rock and the hard place. It is easy to pass judgement on events that happened in the past with a modern view; and that can simply not be accurate. Who allows us to be judgmental?

Through the course of our research we will undoubtedly come across events that will make us cringe; the abortions, adoptions, murders, suicides and illegitimacy and goodness knows what else. We should behave with dignity and record those facts as exactly that, fact. Whilst not damaging the reputation or legacy those individuals left behind. You can not alter history, but should seek to understand the events as they happened and whilst we might be troubled by some facts that unearth themselves, we should behave accordingly.

Genealogy is not about apportioning blame. It is a journey that we undertake in order to establish our roots and to flesh out the details of our ancestors lives. It is our privilege to do that and we owe it to the memory of our ancestors to document the evidence and yet pass no judgement or spread malicious details no matter how long ago those events happened.

Through the course of this blog I share details of my ancestor’s lives and in some cases my relatives. I never disclose information of a sensitive nature or perhaps I word it in a way that tactful, almost a little vague. I never refer to living people by name, maybe initials, or perhaps I make a generalized statement. That is about respect and to me it does not matter if the individual concerned was born in 1910 or 1710, our ancestors deserve respect.

My final thoughts are summed up with this.

“Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his boots. Don’t criticize another person’s work until you’ve tried to do it yourself; don’t judge another person’s life until you’ve been forced to live it.
Source – Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings” (1996)