HISTORY IS RELATIVE TO THOSE WHO ARE WRITING IT!

An editorial opinion and explanation of the biographies on the eternal links website

I started doing Family history Research many years ago. When I was 18, I became intrigued in solving several mysteries and blank walls that are found in my family Tree. For a long time, I worried about the accuracy of the biographies and provability of the information that I was given and the things that I found out. I remember getting angry because someone else had published another version of the same facts about an individual. And over the years there have been many attempts to perform the LDS ordinances for many of my ancestors that did their own ordinance work while they were alive, thus making the new record inaccurate.

When I began to collect and publish information for this website, I was concerned that I strive for accuracy and I have done the best I can. In my studies of biographies left over the years I have found many different versions and facts that were not checked and conclusions that were jumped to. A case in point: in the early history of the Fisher’s there was an assumption made and conclusions drawn that not only was impossible, but I have discovered that other families from that time period had drawn the same conclusion about their family history.

In the story, an ancestor came over with Lafayette and fought in the American Revolution. Our ancestor was supposedly the supplier of ships and had one ship sink during the voyage. Now there are many holes in that story but the most obvious, is that his son was born in New Jersey, years before his father was supposed to have made the trip from France for the first time. Now before you start to rationalize possibilities, keep in mind that I have discovered the same story in other people’s family histories.

Recently, I had occasion to speak with a man that provided me with a clue, He told me that many immigrants during the Revolutionary War were afraid of having their allegiance questioned. Some of their neighbors were being deported. Then after the war, if your neighbor suspected you of being a sympathizer of England, then life could be very hard. The solution was simple: make up a wild story about your families involvement in the war and make sure that everyone knows that you are true blue Americans. This is the reason that so many families will say that their ancestor just appeared in a place and no one knows where they came from.

I have been reading historical accounts lately. I have an interest, but beyond that I would like to try and get an official record of some of the family traditions that have been passed down over the years. I have discovered an interesting thing: As the title of this article implies, Those who write the history have the power of including facts or not. If you make a contribution to history it may be lost in the pages of time simply because the person who writes the story may choose to exclude your contribution. Case in point: An ancestor of mine had a very important role in the building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints, and in the building of Utah. While reading a text book on the history of the church, I found that his contribution was completely left out even though it had a huge impact on the survival of the pioneers at Winter Quarters in the winter of 1846-7. Now this man lived his life to serve his Savior. He did alms in secret as the scriptures tell us to do, so I’m sure that he would prefer to remain anonymous therefore he would be happy. But the story remains and if it is told, then his posterity will begin to understand one of their ancestors.

Because of that understanding and the love that develops from it, I have discovered that complete accuracy is not as important as telling the stories. This work will forever be revised. If a fact is found that refutes the story, it will be changed. But I have decided to publish the stories (unless they are obviously false). The dates that people were born, died, and married are very important and those facts, by necessity, must be as accurate as possible. But the family traditions should be kept alive and should be told.

Now with all that being said, the user of this website should know that I will, from time to time intentionally leave out certain bits of information either because of space requirements, or because the facts are too personal. Since most of what I have included is the result of many other’s labors over the course of hundreds of years, it is obvious that I cannot compile this alone. If you the user, would like to include something in this work, please contact the author and contribute what you have. And enjoy your family history. Learn from your ancestors. Keep the memories alive, then when you meet them after this life is over, you will know them and you will feel their love for you.