Category Archives: Wisdom Wednesday

Wisdom Wednesday: Uncle Paul and Andy Griffith

My Uncle Paul loved Andy Griffith, especially the Andy Griffith show.  He says all of life lessons could be learned from the show. It seemed to be a simpler time back then didn’t it?  When we look back, life made more sense, people were more pleasant, life was easier.  At least in our memories.

My sister and I sitting with my Uncle Paul

My sister was very young in this picture, she is sitting Uncle Paul’s lap. I’m guessing this was taken sometime in 1965, probably in South Carolina where we lived or North Carolina where Paul lived.

This one is for you Paul. And Andy. And all that lives only in our memories.

Wisdom Wednesday: Indian Princesses and Self-Delusion

Finding random documents to support what we want to believe is not research.  It’s self-delusion. — Elizabeth Shown Mills

This from a Quick Lesson that ESM wrote about the ever popular family legend about Indian Princesses in the family tree. 1

There is no point in finding a forgotten story if it isn’t true. Everyone who does research or even just casual family history should recite this to themselves everyday.  We want to know our ancestors as they were, not as we would imagine they were.

Footnotes

1. Elizabeth Shown Mills, “QuickLesson 7: Family Lore and Indian Princesses,” Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage (http://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-7-Family-Lore-and-Indian-Princesses : 27 Jun 2012).