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Archiver > APG > 2003-11 > 1068161068


From: Ray Beere Johnson II <>
Subject: [APG] Blind Spots in Searching
Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 15:24:37 -0800 (PST)


Recently, on this list, someone (I am not
mentioning any names, to avoid singling anyone
out) stated that they found the "Race" category
in census records useful for quickly eliminating
certain individuals. I am humiliated to have to
admit that I have caught myself thinking this way
as well on a few occasions.
Leaving aside what it says about our
attitudes towards race, what does such an
assumption say about us as genealogists?
We know that names can be misspelled, the
wrong surname can appear, or even the wrong first
name. No one expects the record has to show the
name exactly as they know it to be a 'match'. We
don't trust ages, as some of them appear to be
guesswork, and others copying errors. We assume a
person might have briefly held another
occupation. Even the sex of a person can be wrong
- in the 1880 Census, in my wife's family, there
is a child named "Percival" and listed as Male.
Further research established, without much doubt,
that "Percival" was really Persis, and was
Female; she married and had children, so there
would have been no physical reason for confusion
(such as hermaphroditism).
We know that anyone with black ancestry
would have had sound practical reasons for
"passing" as white if their skin colour was light
enough to allow it. It seems possible a person
without black ancestry might be mistaken as black
if their skin was dark enough; this is not any
less likely then getting a person's sex wrong.
Certainly, if any other piece of information on
the Census forms could be copied incorrectly when
the enumerator transferred that information to
the sheets sent on to Washington, the letters in
the Race column could become mixed up.
In spite of all this, it seems natural to
many of us that, if a person is listed as black,
they cannot possibly be the ancestor of a white
family. This is just plain bad genealogy! Who
knows how many brick walls would crumble if that
assumption could just be forgotten?
It appears to be an attitude inherent to our
culture, and thus one we should be especially on
our guard against. It is the points we don't even
think about which will trip us up, every time.
Ray


=====
Ray Beere Johnson II - Genealogist
279 East Central Street, Suite 259
P. O. Box 95
Franklin, Massachusetts 02038


FAX: 508-541-6788

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