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Subject: [HWE] Huguenot Ancestors et Philosophie
Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 12:32:35 -0700 (PDT)

Ah to ponder all things philosophical about Huguenot
matters and history in general. Tis the life.

So fellows, and of course those subscribers who are the
fellowettes, I have had a small delay, a set of
circumstances that caused a minor halt to the pursuit
of genealogical study.

This then caused my mind to examine once again how we
as modern day thinkers see and react to the deeds of
our ancestors.

Once before I made mention of one Gregory de Tours, and
how his writings of history are the base of much of our
understanding of his times or indeed the times of
others. Now he wrote about Clovis. Not a very nice
person was Clovis but write did Gregory, only problem I
see is a point of accuracy.

Afterall, he was writing some 100 years after Clovis.

So what has any of this to do with anything ? Nothing
in short. I simply am passing on some discussion points
or perhaps provide the reader with thoughts on their
own study of their ancestors and the truth behind the
story or family legend.

So as to keep our most wonderful concierge from typing
something about being "on topic", I shall attempt to
push this and these thoughts toward things Huguenot.

By the way.. Where is our concierge Andrea ?

My goodness a digression and from me who is always to
the point !

So! Huguenot story, legend, family truisms.

Ever wondered, perhaps silently to yourself, just how
true is a story about say ancestor 'Henri' or 'Jean' or
'Mildred' ?

A list is discovered, or worse, compiled some 300 years
after the Huguenot time period that you discover in a
library or on that thing that always offers truth, the
Internet. "Truth" and "Internet" ??

Now on this list is your family name.. ergo.. your
ancestor was a Huguenot.

Let us presume that it is early spring, 1534, southern
or northern hemisphere is up to the reader, and
ancestor is out shearing his flock or tending his goats
etc. A local with a largish sword says "we need a crowd
at the town square, be there or else". So off our
ancestor toddles to dutifully take up a position in the
square. A day out for the entire family is always fun.

The speaker is thundering words of damnation and other
horrors, "well gosh Mildred, he is an educated man so
what he tells us must be true". The speakers' cohorts
mingle among the dutiful uneducated farmers whipping up
enthusiasm for the speaker.

And just so the speaker can show his friends later just
how many 'converts' he has gained, he has his workers
have folks sign their names.

"Sign?"

Well now you see way back in those days, farmer 'Henri'
or ancestor 'Mildred' didn't even have a cheque book to
sign. So this idea of all our Huguenot ancestors
signing this attendance list is not really possible, is
it ?

Ah, I hear a mutter of thoughts, 'Henri' et 'Mildred'
made their mark! Hmm, ok ok, so they made their mark.
How does an out of towner know later on just who made
the mark ?

He doesn't and so to make a nice piece of paper (which
was expensive) look really pretty, and legal, the mark
is slightly changed to read a name.

Woohoo 'Henri' and 'Mildred' are now recorded for
posterity as being in attendance at a Huguenot rally.

Historians will take that document, do some swift
translating, et Voila!... the document is now a record
of a Huguenot meeting where all were paid up members of
the Huguenot faith and so some 400 years later our
modern day genealogist discovers this dusty document,
see's his or her name and proudly announces that they
are of Huguenot descent.

Is there any other way of varifying the contents of the
document ? Probably not.

How does one discover that 'Henri' and 'Mildred' were
Huguenot positively ? You can't.

And there fellow and fellowettes is the marvel of
recorded history. We swear on a stack of aethiest
bibles that Henri was Huguenot. The question is, how do
we really know?

And so it goes for all recorded history, unless of
course your research discovers several hundered copies
in chronological order of personal diaries of that one
ancestor. Ah! but then there is the slight problem,
just because he had a diary it does not mean he
actually wrote in it, does it?

After all, who had the money to be educated in reading
and writing in 1534? A very very small minority of
France.

So the odds of ancestor 'Henri' recording the fact that
he was a Huguenot in France in 1534 are very slim.

Mind you there is the other situation.

'Henri' owned the whole farm, town and province, was a
student of the Sorbonne and did carry a diary which has
been found for modern genealogists to pour over.

So my fellow listers, be aware of failed truths in your
documentation of an ancestor, and be very aware of the
accuracy of family gedcoms' sitting on personal
webpages.

Some folks seem to have a "proven" ancestry going back
50 generations and after only 2 years research. They
are the sources that one needs to seek other sources to
varify the information contained.

And be aware, kind and youthfull subscribers, that the
accuracy of even some well known professional sites on
the Internet are prone to be highly inaccurate due to
the sources of the uploader providing that information.

ok that is enough philosophising for today. Good luck
with all our researching of all things Huguenot.

Kind Regards,
Peter Leroy

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