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| Mrs. Emaline (Emma) Jeter, my 2nd Great Grandmother |
Honesty is not inherent in any medium. Honesty is inherent in a person.
Back in
October of 2011, I was reading an article on ‘The Ethics Of Retouching’ by
Kevin McNeal in Outdoor Photographer magazine. That’s where the statement comes
from. See http://bit.ly/Pt13SK
This applies just as easily to genealogy and family history as it can to any craft.
The
stories of our Ancestors are as honest as our telling and the context in which
we place them. We gather our information from many sources:
- Oral history; stories told by our elders
- Official documents; vital stats as recorded by clerks
- Census records; as recorded by enumerators
- Photographers; portraits framed by backdrops and props
Once all
of this information is gathered and placed in your hands, then and only then
should the specter of honesty be demanded. It is your responsibility to
consider all of the data and evidence and give it your best shot at
interpretation. You are the last link.
If all of
the data you have collected tells that your Ancestor was a slave owner, or a slave, or bi-racial, and you
believe it to be evidently so, then you declare it so - with honesty.
Honesty
is inherent in you. You were born to be truthful. Dishonesty or untruthfulness
are learned constructs. Being dishonest and untruthful is just wrong.
We
genealogists, family historians and even journalists need to review our data and ask ourselves;
are we interpreting the stories of our Ancestors accurately and are we being
honest in our tellings?
