Madness Monday: Misinformation Makes Me Crazy!!! Part Two

Misinformation makes me absolutely, positively, stark-raving, barking mad! Did I use enough adjectives there? Please bear with me. I am not often given over to rages and rants, and I titled this post Part Two because you've seen the first sentences of it on a previous occasion, the last time I let my anger get the better of me back in July.

Recently I have come across sites presenting completely inaccurate information about Irish history as it pertains to family history research. With respect to Irish history, I have two specific instances in mind, the Irish Civil War and the history of the quarantine station at the Port of Québec Canada, known as Grosse-Île. As genealogists/family history researchers we pride ourselves on documenting events such as births, deaths, marriages, military duty, emigration, and the list goes on ad infinitum. Many have written about the need to use reliable sources; however, it seems that in some cases when it comes to reporting the history of a given time or place which played an integral role in the history of our families, then accuracy goes right out the window.

In my opinion if we have any respect for the memory of our ancestors then, if we choose to write about the history of the times in which they lived, we will endeavour to accurately report that history. Such reporting will require additional research using reliable sources. You may even have to, dare I say it, READ A BOOK, or two. If you are using online resources to document a history, you will have to cross check the veracity of the claims made on a given site. You will have to look at more than one resource.

Just because Irish history is very important to me does not mean that Irish history is important to everyone, and I do not expect that others will invest years of their lives doing history research; however, family history and the history of a nation are intimately connected. You cannot accurately report the one without at least attempting to accurately report the other.

Tomorrow on Tuesday's Tips I will briefly outline the history of Grosse-Île and suggest sites for research.

Okay, now I feel a little bit better. Thank You for reading/listening.

Copyright© J.Geraghty-Gorman 2011.