Genealogy is, by definition, the “study” of one’s family lineage. Study is the real significance here. Once the “study” reaches the point that has obtained information that is totally accurate, with no room left for even the slightest need for “calculated” judgment, then you have reached beyond genealogy and entered into the realm of history.
I know of some families who are entering into the third generation of searching for the truth. Many of us have “family history” that has been passed down, sometimes through many generations. Sometimes it rings true, sometimes there is a small shred of truth to the stories, and sometimes it winds up being just a story, with not a bit of verifiable truth.
I remember a story of my own family. There were three brothers; one a preacher, one a carpenter and one who was a bit of a “dandy” who was not really good at anything. The carpenter went to Hawaii and became a famous boat builder. The dandy went to California and was eventually hanged for stealing horses. And the preacher...well, that’s the one my family is from.
There is no doubt that many elements of the Rockholt family “went to California”, some went early, some later on. We know Elizabeth Sisk (Rockholt, Burgett, Flowers) and several of her children with Alfred Rockholt were present in California from 1858. There is adequate documentation available for this to be a fact. There is no documentation that I can locate that explains what happened between Elizabeth and her husband Alfred. Did they divorce, or maybe they just decided that they couldn’t stand each other and went their separate ways.
I did find an entry in some San Francisco port of entry documents that had a lady with the surname of Rockholt arriving from Hawaii in the early 1900’s. And yes, there certainly was a Rockholt Boat Company. It was in Marysville, California, not Hawaii. I gather it was quite a popular boat back in the forties and fifties.
And as for the preacher…there have been many of them over the years. I have found evidence of them as far back as the 1700’s (well, they were listed as “Deacon of the Church”, close enough). And my own Grandfather was a preacher.
Sorry to say, I have yet to find any evidence, not even the slightest indicator, that any of the Rockholt/Rockhold/Rockhould family was ever hanged for stealing horses. Not that I doubt it ever happened, for it certainly could have. I just have not found any evidence to support the idea.
Genealogy and the family tree building can be an interesting look into one’s family lineage and history. It cannot be the “all known”, factual depiction, because there will always be changes taking place. There will be births and deaths as the years go by. And there can always be new information brought to light through research. Our children and grand children might consider that what we considered the “best” fit for our fifth great grandfather, or some similar family member, as just totally wrong.
My Grandfather might be William Walter, or Walter William Rockholt. Not that it could be either of two persons, but it could be either of the two names. Documentation exists that shows it in both forms, at different times. When I knew him, he lived with us for a while in the 50’s, I knew him as Walter, that’s what everyone called him. When he died, his grandson took care of the arrangements and his tombstone is inscribed, “Reverend Walter W Rockholt 1886-1980”. Maybe someday there might be discovered a family bible that would be the deciding documentation as to what exactly his name should be. Until that “someday” should come, we are all free to make our own “best judgment” one way or the other.
And with that said, it is surely a possibility that you can view any number of family trees, all depicting the same family with some differences. In some you will find persons placed sometimes a generation ahead or behind where you believe them to belong. You can find children attributed to different mothers or fathers. And there will surely be differences in dates of birth, death and marriage.
When we encounter these differences, what should we do about them? Or maybe more appropriately, what “could” we do about them? Laugh at them? After all it’s not our mistake. Discuss them? Who knows, maybe yours is the one that’s wrong. Or simply overlook them? After all it’s not something that is going to have any real affect on anything.
For myself, I prefer an open dialog. I want to know what you base your position on, and hopefully you will be willing to listen to what I have to support my position. There may be some resolution; one or the other might yield to the other’s position. Or, there just may be sufficient strength in our convictions that neither of us is willing to move off of our position. OK, so we agree to disagree. No harm in that.
I actually have four trees that I am working on. They are all the same family, but two of the branches simply cannot be connected to my main tree, the linking family members just have not been found. And then there is my tree of questionable connections. Much of what I have depicted on my main tree is supported by various forms of documentation. Early land records, immigration documents, public records such as births, deaths, marriages, wills, and various forms of litigation, federal and state census records, newspaper archives, church and cemetery records, military and draft registration files, and various other sources. Much of my documentation is recorded on the tree; much more of it is not. Someday I hope to complete the task of recording all of the applicable documentation, but for the time being it is relegated to many files on my computer, various faxes and emails, excerpts from a few history books, and box upon box of hand written notes. Will I live long enough to fully transcribe it all into a living family tree? I don’t know. It’s too easy to get distracted as new bits of information are revealed. It’s just too interesting and my curiosity gets the best of me and I have to dig deeper to try to find that shred of truth that has eluded me for so long. Usually it’s just another dead end, nothing new to be had. But then again, once in a while there is just a little bit of never before known evidence. Simply one more little piece of the tree, to place on its ever growing branches.
