I have just almost finished my book of direct line ancestors after 6 years of research and have come up against this same problem. In fact I actully found where a great-grandfather had gone to gaol for 7 years in his twenties for forgery and uttering. He was a pharmacist. None of the family knew this fact and it was only the availability of records on the internet that allowed it to pop up. I included the details of this in my story but, in the case of other gossip about family members, I choose to use careful language about the issues. For example, one might say that there had been family ancedotes that a certain person was a "ladies' man" or that he "enjoyed a drink or two and it didn't always agree with him". It just doesn't seem real if the story ends up with everybody looking like saints. Good luck. I am pleased with the way my stories sit within the overall. Diane
On Tuesday, September 11, 2012 4:06:16 AM UTC+9:30, Leonard Silva wrote: > I have been researching my grandfather in the hopes of writing a history > for the coming generations and to satisfy the curiosity of my family about > their heritage. > > After some research, I find that the kindly old man that I knew as a child > may not have been all that nice. Stories are starting to arise of abuse, > excessive drinking, and estrangement of his children. > > My father was a product of his second marriage and cared a lot for his > parents. Vovoo was an old man of 75 when I was born, and I only knew a > sweet, kind old man who loved me. Now, I am finding that the children of > his first marriage did not hold him in such high esteem. > > So, my question for the group is: If you were putting together a family > history for the generations to come, how would you handle this? > > Most of the stories are hearsay as there is no one alive with direct > knowledge, but there must be something to them. > > I am inclined to be very honest in relating family stories, but I wonder > how some of you might handle this. > > Thanks for your input, > > Len > -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
