Everybody likes a good family story. However, genealogists who are considering preserving the stories of their families may wonder which stories should be written down and otherwise preserved and which might be inappropriate for inclusion in a family history book. I don’t say “inappropriate” as far as subject matter, because perhaps stories that are scandalous or best read by mature audiences could be recorded in a separate volume than those that are to be freely read and enjoyed by everyone. What I mean by the use of the word “inappropriate” is that not every family story is securely rooted in fact.
Many family stories are at least somewhat true, but some have no factual basis at all. Those that contain some facts may also contain a large amount of fiction. Even the most believable of our relatives may unintentionally embellish upon the details of an event as they recount it. With time, memories of hard facts may give way to recollections of events the way that the rememberer would like to remember them.
You can see where I am headed with this one. Genealogists spend time and effort researching their ancestors and collecting facts that prove who did what when and where as well as how all of those people are connected. Genealogists want proof. While family stories are entertaining and fun, if you want to preserve accurate accounts of things that actually happened for the purpose of sharing them with future generations, you may want to fact check those incredible tales before turning them into a family history book, scrapbook, or whatever you were going to do to preserve them.
The fun part is listening to the family stories as they are told. As you listen, take notes about who supposedly did what, where, and when. These details will point you towards things that you can check up on to see how much of the story is true. For example, your grandfather may have told you a story about how his grandfather (your great great grandfather) was a famous Civil War General. By checking birth and death dates as well as wartime records, you can see whether your great, great grandfather was likely to have fought in the war. You may also be able to find out what rank he was, and whether he was in fact a famous General or just had the same name as another person who was really the famous General who has no relation to you whatsoever.
Be forewarned, though. Fact checking may disprove some long held beliefs and stories from your family. You may wish to tell your family what you find, or you may find it best to keep that information to yourself and let them have their fun. After all, you have already found out what you need to know as far as whether or not to record the story in your family history book.
Photo by taliesin on morguefile.com.