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Archiver > NOVA-SCOTIA > 1999-06 > 0928448641


From: "C B Knox" <>
Subject: Re: [NOVA-SCOTIA-L] LDS site, how reliable??
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 18:24:01 -0400


Sorry, Vicki, but I disagree:

You wrote:
> ...it is unheard of for a non-royal or noble line to go this far back.
That is much too sweeping an assumption. ALL lines go that far back -- and
more! But not all of them were documented. And what might be the
counterpart of noble? Ignoble? :-)

You wrote:
> ...I don't keep the older editions, so I can't check on that...
That's a mistake, because the older editions were probably written closer
to the time certain events occurred and could be more accurate because they
might even have included first-hand or eye-witness accounts (e.g., a copy
of Bartlett's History of The American Revolution, written in 1881 and in my
library).

You wrote:
> ...it is safe to say that the COFFIN line can't be taken back that far.
Not necessarily. Nothing is that definite. I once met a man at a Family
History Center who had his pedigree neatly arranged in a fancy post binder
and who claimed that it traced all the way back to Adam. I assume his
information must have come from a footnote on the gold plates that were
presented to Joseph Smith.

C B Knox

----------
> From:
> To:
> Subject: Re: [NOVA-SCOTIA-L] LDS site, how reliable??
> Date: Thursday, June 03, 1999 2:26 PM
>
> Brian Smith wrote --
>
> > Recently I checked the
> > line of my ancestor Peter COFFIN (circa 1535- 1560) who married Mary
> > Boscawen (20 JAN 1552 - 4 SEP 1622). I had nothing further on his
ancestry.
> > I was amazed to find out that they had his ancestry back to 569 A.D.
That's
> > right 569 A.D.!! I have been doing this for 8 years now and was told
early
> > on that "if you can't document it, it didn't happen".
>
> As someone who "specializes" in medieval genealogy, let me comment on
> this.
>
> It is unheard of for a non-royal or noble line to go this far back.
Hence,
> I assume that COFFIN's ancestry is supposedly noble or royal. So I
checked
> the resources I have in my home library and found nothing, I repeat,
nothing.
>
> It was very common, especially in the 18th century, for family
genealogies
> to be perfectly correct going back to the immigrant ancestor, sometimes
even
> one or two generations further back. But then they began to graft the
line
> onto more "prestigious" lines, even going so far as to fake
documentation.
> There were several rather famous people who are noted for this type of
thing.
> It was usually a matter of giving the client what he wanted, inventing
> illustrious
> ancestors if need be.
>
> So, it appears that this COFFIN line may have suffered the same fate. Or
it
> is possible that it really was thought that the line was correct but new
> evidence
> was uncovered to refute it, so it is not included in the newest editons
of
> the
> various reference books on medieval lines. I don't keep the older
editions,
> so
> I can't check on that. However, it is safe to say that the COFFIN line
can't
> be
> taken back that far.
>
>
> Vickie Elam White
>
>
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