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From: Rebecca Christensen <>
Subject: Re: [PACE] Frederick of Wales - evidence analysis
Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 11:04:54 -0800 (PST)
In-Reply-To: <BAY124-W43FEF9FECEA76996A961DCAB900@phx.gbl>


The sources Joe Anderson cited do provide evidence. Family Bibles are a great source of evidence, in this case, Dempsey Pace giving evidence of who he knew as his father. Don't we all wish we had a family Bible!! But, the biographies, especially, are derivative sources which don't give primary information but secondary information as none of these were created at the time of the events being described by people who were physically there. But the secondary information from the different sources appears to be in agreement, at the very least suggesting that the Pace family in Clarke Co., AL had all heard the same family stories as they were growing up. I wouldn't discount these sources out of hand without good evidence to the contrary.

For those wanting to learn to better research and analyze their research findings, I recommend reading the following:

Elizabeth Shown Mills, _Evidence! Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian_, (Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997). Especially the chapter on "Fundamentals of Analysis."

Board for Certification of Genealogists, _The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual_, (Salt Lake City: MyFamily.com, 2000). Especially the section on "Evidence-Evaluation Standards."

and

the National Genealogical Society, Quarterly, Special Edition on Evidence which I can't seem to place my hands on at the moment and which I can no longer find for purchase on the NGS website. This issue is well-worth tracking down a copy.

Rebecca Christensen

Janders 45 <> wrote:
Roy,

I would like to hear comments from the many who are more competent genealogists than I am about what constitutes documentary evidence versus what is merely family legend. I concede that no proof of the existence of a Frederick Pace who was born in Wales has been found in legal or government documents such as wills, estate settlements, etc. We have no record of when this Frederick was born nor of when and where he died. However, I maintain that a man is likely to know who his father was (barring non-paternal events and being orphaned or adopted at an early age), so I am inclined to give a lot of credibility to the word of the son.

I posted a list of sources a couple of days ago, but let me review them again:

1. The Dempsey Pace bible (can be found in the PSA database) states that his parents were Frederick and Elizabeth Pace. This is the Dempsey Pace who died in Clarke Co, AL, in 1864. I am willing to believe that he knew who his parents were.

2. The biography of William Pace published in 1889 in "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of South Arkansas" states that "William Pace---was born in Kentucky in 1807, a son of John and Elizabeth Pace. The father (Williams father, John) was born in Wales about 176*, a son of Frederick Pace who came to this country before the Revolutionary war. . . ." William was 13 or 14 years old when his father, John, died in Clarke Co, AL, so I am willing to believe that he heard his father tell the story of his grandfather, where he was from, and when he came to North America.

3. The biography of Dr. J.M. Pace (son of the above William) published in 1892 in "Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas" tells essentially the same story, but he also lists the other Clarke Co Paces (Dempsey and William) as sons of Frederick Pace. ". . . his great grandfather, Frederick Pace, was born in Wales and came to the United States in 1768, seven years before the Revolutionary War. He was the father of five children, three sons and two daughters, all born in Wales. William the eldest son, --was eleven years of age when he came to America, ---John, the second son, and our subjects grandfather, was eight years of age ---Dempsey, the third child of Frederick Pace, was six years of age. . . ."

4. The Rev. Timothy H. Ball, minister, educator, and amateur historian, in his "A Glance into the Great Southeast, or Clarke County Alabama, and its Surroundings from 1650-1882" includes some references to the Paces of the West Bend area of Clarke Co. Rev. Ball was a native of Indiana who lived in Clarke Co during the 1850's during which time he started up and taught at West Bend Academy. He married a girl from Clarke Co, and he visited there several times during the 1870's while collecting material for his history. He would have had the opportunity to know the Paces of the area including Dempsey Pace and his descendents as well as "Aunt Patsy" Pace, the widow of Stephen Pace who was a son of John Pace (d. Clarke, 1820/21). As recently discussed on this forum, Ball included some significant qualifiers in some statements relating to the Paces, but I believe that his comments generally support the above three sources.

[Some of the above is copied from Val Tice's "Clarke County, Alabama Paces Finding Aid" which can be found in PSA database].

I would like to hear the opinions of others as to what constitutes valid genealogical evidence and what weight we should give the above sources. My personal opinion is that the combined weight of the above sources rises far above what I would characterize as "family legend". I would suggest the following as a substitute for your introductory statement:

Several Pace families (Dempsey, John, and William) settled in Clarke Co, AL, between 1809 and 1822. These sources (name the four above, or just say "several sources" if you want to keep it short) say that they descend from a Frederick Pace who was born in Wales and who came to America not long before the Revolution.

Joe Anderson

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