Stretching the Truth

In response to my post on the search for the truth, my friend Tracy sent me an e-mail which perfectly illustrates how the truth can be misconstrued and non-truths can be spread like a virus across the Internet, without publishers bothering to verify the source.

First, I will re-post the content of the e-mail received without using any surnames. This will hopefully prevent any readers from repeating the information as truth and thus causing others to use the information in their family tree.
I am posting this as an example of how information can be written with a particular slant, which gives the reader a false impression of events, without actually giving false details.

The following is a fictional story!

Judy, a professional genealogical researcher, discovered that she shared an ancestor with a famous politician.

Her great-great uncle, Remus, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture is this inscription: "Remus; horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889."

Judy e-mailed the politician for comments. The staff responded with the following biographical sketch as they saw it:

"Remus was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

Now that is an example of creative writing at its finest!

Now here are some links I found where this story is repeated, only with different surnames added. The following are for entertainment purposes only!
I use them to illustrate how false information can spread like wildfire on the Internet, thus showing the need to verify, verify, verify sources!

http://mcg-pe.com/Documents/Remus%20Reid.pdf

http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?t=9480

http://www.bloggingtories.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6431&start=15


Not only is this a prime example of erroneous information that may affect some unknowing amateur genealogists, it is also a prime example of political propaganda.
Don't always believe what you hear or read. Find the source and seek your own answers.

Also, you should not even rely on one source for verification of information. You should make a sincere effort to find as many different sources as possible. Because what I find in my history research is that often times the same story is used by many different historians and biographers, without question or verification of facts. Sometimes it takes a lot of digging to get to the bottom of things. I encourage others to not post information on-line without firm documented sources, UNLESS, you place a disclaimer at the beginning cautioning the use of the information.

There are positives and negatives to everything. While oral family stories do give clues to the truth and are useful, even if they contain inaccuracies, they can lead one on the wrong trail. And while I do believe in a individual's self-responsibility in all things, thus placing the burden on the user of the inaccurate information, I must say that I get tired of wading through the voluminous amounts of repetitive mis-information in regards to genealogy. Especially, things like a mother being 9 years old at the time of her first child's birth. Come on now, use a question mark if you don't have the documents to back up the birth, marriage or death??????? Don't just put in what someone else has on their tree.