I also am in agreement.  About a decade ago, a cousin sent out a form letter
to all of us other "cousins" informing us medical conditions that we should
be watchful of, etc. that could be hereditary.  For one cousin, the letter
had arrived too late.  For another, it was just in time.  For the rest of
us, we are very grateful as we are being vigilant.

Shirley Cox Schroeder
Ellsworth, KS

On Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 3:31 PM, Margaret Kerr Beckwith <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Very well said, Elizabeth!
>
> I was just about to email Paul when I got this email!
>
> I wholeheartedly agree with both of you!
>
> To all others on our "list", it is important to remember that we can all
> learn from each other; we can do more with positive communication and
> assistance than by working against others!
>
> I have gained much valuable information in my 28+ years of genealogical
> work through out-of-the-ordinary resources!
>
> As genealogists, we do much to make our ancestors real, understandable
> people!
>
> I consider it an honor to do just that!
>
> Margaret Kerr Beckwith
> Elkins, West Virginia
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Shown Mills" <
> [log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 4:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [VA-ROOTS] Book Talk Wednesday, Oct. 29
>
>
>   Paul Drake wrote:
>>
>>>  I feel that recognition, treatments and results of mental problems (or
>>>
>> any other serious illness) are vital to understanding
>> our ancestors and their lives.
>>
>>> [What does this have to do with genealogy?] Very much, in my opinion;
>>>
>> genealogy is the study of ancestral families of any age and place, and
>> surely finding her at that institution explained her absence from the
>> census
>> rolls and revealed the reason for the long periods (1862-1896) when she
>> seemed to have been absent from all family records and anecdotes.
>>
>> Well said, Paul. We cannot properly reconstruct our families without
>> understanding the context of their lives and we cannot understand the
>> records relating to our ancestors if we do not understand the context in
>> which they were created and the social and political views of the time.
>>
>> The "traditional" view of genealogy as an assembly of names, dates, and
>> places has led to many erroneous guesses and assertions about identities
>> and
>> kinships. IMO, there is no type of record that is irrelevant to genealogy
>> and no type of history that will not make us better genealogists if we'll
>> make the effort to expose ourselves to it. Across nearly four decades of
>> helping others resolve their brickwall problems, I've invariably found
>> that
>> the breakthrough came from either information or context that the client
>> assumed to be "irrelevant" to genealogy.
>>
>> Elizabeth
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
>> Advanced Research Methodology & Evidence Analysis
>> Samford University Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research
>>
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>>
>
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--
"Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow"  ~ Lawrence Clark
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