In a previous post, I had talked about how this ancestor,
who is my great grandfather’s sister, seemed to be pretty active in genealogy
and was even a member of the DAR. The
downside is that she wasn’t so great in providing accurate information about
her relatives’ important life events.
It’s always tossed around in genealogy texts and the like
that you should consult original records and I had seen some strange
information on Rhoda Caroline on FamilySearch and felt that I should check it
out by ordering a copy of her death certificate. I realize that yes, I didn’t actually view the original record,
but it is a copy of the document held at the Metro Archives. Now, the strange information on FamilySearch
is explained by the source of for Rhoda’s information and it’s her daughter who
likes to provide misinformation on her family members!
I’d been hoping that I would learn more about Rhoda’s
family, but unfortunately I find that I have more digging to do. I do have a few leads that might lead to being
able to find out who Rhoda’s parents really were.
Maude information hasn’t been a complete wash, the upside is
that she has provided me with clues to follow up on or sometimes follow and
without them I would have nothing.
However, hopefully this post is a wake up call to those genealogists out
there who say they don’t have any family members who are interested in what
their research. HA! I say, you think
now no one’s interested in what you’re writing, but you never know who will
come across your research.
Case in point:
- Maude provided the information about her mother in 1904 when she might not have thought about pursuing genealogy.
- In 1934, she applied to the DAR and filled out an application in which I’ve discovered some errors.
- Later, one of her daughters, Helen May Cudworth Parrish wanted to join the DAR in about the 1950’s, she wrote up a one-page document of information about her grandfather, John Womble and his descendants, which also contains errors.
It’s currently 2012 and I’ve come across this information
and am attempting to glean information from it, taking the time to separate the
accurate from the inaccurate data. So
yes, someone in your present time and place may not be interested, but perhaps
in about 60, 80, or 100 years from now someone, a distant relative that you
will never meet comes across your research somewhere. Consider this possibility, the next time you encounter
disinterest from the relatives or people around you—you never know what future
generations will be interested in and it could just be your research!
