Come to think of it, I have to admit myself, I have a bit of history for my
ancestor from the Baptist Historical Society - he was an early Virginia
Baptists minister. The article tells how he swore of alchohol one day. It
was as if he had an epiphany. The article tells how he ordered his servant
(a slave of course) to take away his sherry or something he was drinking and
he never had another as long as he lived. Of course he kept his slaves until
the day he died. The article doesn't tell this - his will does. I found this
quite ironic myself. But who am I to judge? I'm glad to have this bit of
history about him, though. Even if I do think his thinking was just "messed
up" LOL. And just think someone will read my thinking when they look at this
VA-HIST list generations from now. And maybe they will say, "Hey, that
Lonny - her thinking was just messed up". Now I think I might like that,
because maybe humanity will have made some progress.
Lonny
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sally Phillips" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 6:20 PM
Subject: Re: Transcribing Civil War Diaries
>I have an eight-page letter from a family member setting forth the family
> history. The letter is a clear demonstration of racism and elitism. But
> it
> is a true picture of the time when it was written and it shows history
> just
> in its attitudes. In addition, the personality of the author comes
> through
> in these asides. It would ruin the letter to edit it to make it
> politically
> correct. I am using it unedited, in order to show future generations what
> the times were like. That is the whole point. --Sally Phillips
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Melinda Skinner" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 5:57 PM
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Transcribing Civil War Diaries
>
>
>>I certainly agree with Mr. Omohundro. I am not a historian but a writer
>>who has been dismayed to be saddled with the desire to clean up primary
>>source material for some kind of political correctness. What ever
>>happened
>>to truthful reporting? We need to view history with all its warts and
>>problems. Just my very unofficial 2 cents.
>> -Melinda Skinner
>>
>>
>> -------------- Original message ----------------------
>> From: [log in to unmask]
>>> When co-editing recently a Civil War diary my collaborator and I
>>> encountered
>>> various critical references to slaves and free blacks, Jews, women,
>>> Yankeees,
>>> Abraham Lincoln, etc.
>>>
>>> We could have left all such items out, thereby gutting this primary
>>> source.
>>>
>>> There was some pressure about or resistance to including the most
>>> derogatory
>>> references, but we held fast, and were able to get the entire
>>> text--everything--published.
>>>
>>> To do otherwise would have been a disservice to history, and to
>>> scholarship.
>>>
>>> Michael Chesson
>>> U/Mass-Boston
>>>
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>>
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>>
>
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