Second Life: Tuesday's EVIDENCE chat

DearREADERS,
For Tuesday night's 6pm "Evidence" chat at the fire pit in Second Life's JUST GENEALOGY we will discuss Elizabeth Shown Mills' article titled “Deliberate Fraud and Mangled Evidence: The Search for the Fictional Family of Anne Marie Philippe of Natchitoches, Louisiana.” The American Genealogist 72 (July–October 1997): 353–68. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. http://www.HistoricPathways.com/. 

Today's direct link to the article is: http://www.historicpathways.com/download/delibphil.pdf

Elizabeth's experience is  what we will likely encounter with an undocumented family history. She and her late husband spent years comparing surviving records with the suspect compiled genealogy, and overcame challenges when learning about:

-- women's naming patterns in colonial Louisiana
-- church records recently indexed in alpha, not chronological order
-- surname spelling "standardized" (Dupre, Depres, Dupres, Duprez)
-- common use of the given name "Marie" (a + or -?)
-- proving place of origin in the old world
-- German town names and origins
-- political and religious factors encouraging emigration
-- consulting experts on German ancestral research (Burgert and Jones)
-- nicknames versus given names

This article summarizes the Mills' multi-decade effort to verify the work of that so-called "professional" genealogist they had hired. This article also serves to teach us that the road to a reasonably exhaustive search may be long and winding, and demonstrates how to explain dependencies found in info provided by compiled genealogies and extant records.

IF YOU ARE NEW TO SECOND LIFE
1. Download the free software, create an avatar and select a name for that avatar by visiting http://secondlife.com and clicking JOIN.

2. Once you "log in" to Second Life, click the small magnifying glass and "Search" for JUST GENEALOGY. 

3. From the list click "teleport" so your avatar will be taken to our meeting area.

4. Stop by Monday night at 5pm Second Life Time (same as Pacific US) for our weekly Meet & Greet held at the Just Genealogy Fire Pit, hosted by Genie Weezles. It is time for practicing getting your avatar sitting, adjusting your headset or speakers. Very informal chat, Q and A or general help with Second Life. Everyone is welcome.

My name in-world is Clarise Beaumont.

Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt     :)
DearMYRTLE,
Your friend in genealogy