I woke from an oddball dream this morning with some questions rattling around my head. It’s been a couple of months since I cracked open Barb’s grandmother’s scrapbook and started to tumble down the genealogy rabbit hole. It’s been a few weeks since I finished transcribing the scrapbook into a series of posts and added family trees for both Barb’s side of the family and mine. The process raised some questions that I haven’t had time (or the necessary inclination) to chase down, but I feel like I ought to have a catchment area for these questions: a place to store breadcrumbs for future research or family conversations. In no particular order, they include:
- Was Helen Delamater a member of the DAR? It appears certain she was eligible, both through her Ward-Pinckney line and also through the DeLamater line. But did she actually join? There’s no definitive document or statement, though one of Barb’s memories is that Helen was very proud of her DAR line. Will the DAR answer questions about previous members?
- Does Helen’s Delamater line actually connect with the DeLamaitre line? It seems like she believed it did, but I can’t find the actual link.
- Where does an adopted child fit into a family tree? Barb rather clearly feels that Helen’s family tree is separate from her own. Barb clearly got that impression from Helen (and from the DAR) who felt that an adopted child was not quite in the same league as a blood relative. I don’t completely agree with this attitude and it seems to be a somewhat open point in the genealogy world. I wonder what Betsy, Allie, Sara and Kristen think of this question. I think there’s a legitimate claim of the heart, if not the blood. It’s a complicated psychological issue as much as a legal or genealogical one. Barb has come to terms with her choice and it’s a legitimate one, but it may not be everyone’s.
- Speaking of psychological issues, there’s the question of Barb’s birth lineage. Who were her birth mother and father and what were their stories? Barb seems to have little interest and no clear way of investigating, but it’s a touchy subject. We haven’t had many conversations of any depth about it over all these years together. I think Betsy’s situation is somewhat different; I think Fred and Louise had an idea of who Betsy’s birth mother was, at least. But I don’t know Betsy’s attitude on the whole topic, nor that of Allie, Sara or Kristen.
- What about DNA testing? Should Barb or I take DNA tests? What would they find? How many other questions or answers would they raise? How much privacy would we forfeit?
- Bumping into the Duncan, Goodloe and Pardee family trees on Geni.com revealed a much longer line of connections than I knew existed beyond my grandparents. Who are these people? What are their stories? How much time am I ready or willing to invest to find out?
- Should I join Ancestry.com or one of the other genealogical websites? What information do they already contain? How many other questions or answers would they raise? What about privacy?
- I sent a single email to Leecy Barnett asking about the Goodloe family genealogy book and any other information she may have via Susan Rech’s research. So far, I’ve had no reply. Laurie suggested messaging her through Facebook (where Leecy is active) but then I realized I haven’t signed up for Facebook Messenger and so far have little inclination to do so.
- Speaking of Leecy and Facebook, it appears she is publishing a new book and it turns out she already has an older one, Everything New, a bible study guide published in 2008. If I connect with her, will I be obligated to get her new book?
- If I connect with Leecy, will I be obligated to invite her see Billzpage? Invite other Barnetts?
- Handling the Civil War letters of Giles B. Allen was a bit of a revelation. I don’t think I’ve actually held documents that old. It creates a tiny connection.
- I wonder if the Civil War letters are of actual historical value. I wrote the University of Michigan library to see if they were interested. I got a reply saying my request was forwarded to their field archivist but I’ve had no follow up. I sent one more email request today.
- Once I transcribed his letters, I found Giles made some troubling comments about the colored regiments stationed in Louisiana with him. It’s not what I was hoping to find. It opens the door to questions of racism, social justice, legacy and more, all of which are particularly sensitive and relevant today. That seems the subject of a different post that I haven’t been able to write yet about my own attitudes and history with race. A very touchy subject.
- Should I take time to watch Finding Your Roots, the PBS series hosted by Henry Louis Gates? The show gets widely praised. I’ve watched a few episodes and find them somewhat interesting but also find Gates overly earnest and borderline condescending. I haven’t given the show a good chance, however, and feel like I should probably watch more episodes.
Each of these topics take time to explore or start further conversations. This post is a placeholder to collect them and any new questions that crop up. We’ll see where they lead. Feel free to discuss.
An addendum from March 2021 after I went down a similar rabbit hole for the Garbutt family: I raised some more questions (some troubling) and thoughts at the end of the Garbutt Family Documents post and in the separate post, 8 Miles from Mayday.
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