Shush be quiet. Should we forget the Sins of our forefathers in genealogy

Question

I am working on the family tree of the Shippan family in South Australia.  This family is connected indirectly to my family the Dohnt and Buckley trees.  A new book is out about the Towitta Tradegy, the true story of the Bertha Schippan Murder on New Years Day 1902.  This book is desperate  to exonerate Bertha's sister Mary of the murder, who was acquitted, and put the blame squarely on the Father.  I don't want to get into any biblical theology about why you should not say anything about the Sins of the fathers.  Buy why should the descendants be left out of the family history books because of it?  Have the innocent family members, descendants and their neighbors suffered enough?

Comments

We don't chose our ancestors. Everyone has some ancestors whose actions they would rather not admit. Think of all the thousands of people who went into making your DNA. They can't all be saintly.

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My family tree has an illegitimate child in it. Some family members want me to keep it a secret.

Geneology books I have read say to document the good, the bad, and the ugly. They are all parts of our past.

I agree. This person is a main character long dead, yet I want to be sensitive to those around me. I documented the illegitimate child, but did not widely publisize it.

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Did you know that mystery writer ANNE PERRY was convicted of murdering her female lover's mother ?

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" document the good, the bad, and the ugly"  I'm all for that!  My family didn't want me to document two sisters that had 5 illegitimate children between them, from the same man.  What does it matter, it wasn't me, it was along time ago and those things happened back then too.

My Mom was upset to learn that a distant relative  of her family had children by a slave and then moved to Ohio and married her..  She got over it, finally, but i always think it funny how people think what our ancestors did somehow is new and taboo.  I'm all for bringing it out of the attics and into the parlor!

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Most of my direct ancestors were mulattos. I tell peeps the white blood screws up my music preferences. Hate rap/hip hop, love heavy metal and Johnny Cash. My blood cousin is Kool Bell of KOOL AND THE GANG. Dont like his music LOL.

I'm six feet four inches tall - combination of tall Watusi on the black and tall Highlanders from ancient Scotland on the white.

Of course, my nickname is KONG because I'm big and dark and ugly LOL

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Eddie, the fictional King Kong was a powerful, natural creature at home in his environment. Nothing ugly about that and nothing ugly about you!

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Smooches and hugs

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SandraVines - I'd be proud that he married her.

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What is one person's family shame is another person's epic love story!

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My favourite ancestor of the 1800's is a young lady call Alice Crisford from London. She is recorded as an unemployed barmaid. I think it may be a euphemism for another less genteel occupation?

Answer 1

Once upon a time, having an Australian convict in one's ancestry was considered shameful, now those same convicts are considered "Australian Royalty". That aside, it's ironic that I came across this G2G post, as I'm researching the ex-husband of a great-great-aunt who turns out to have been quite the rogue, womanizer and small-time WWII war criminal. To some, genealogy is stats...who was born when, etc, but to me it's about the STORIES, both good and bad, of those who went before us!

Answer 2

As many philosophers and others have said, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. It's not guaranteed, but there's a chance of it if it's forgotten.

Aside from that, ancestors? They're dead; if you want to get religious, they are either in the afterlife, have taken on a new life of somebody or something else, have rejoined the greater, or have wholly ceased to exist... pick whichever is relevant for your religion and political mindset. Speaking of what they did should not be taboo. Some of those terrible things some ancestors have done led to more than a handful of people being born.

In my own line, adultery led to me existing. Does that mean I should never speak of those ancestors or the fact they had committed adultery or encouraged it? No, of course not, it's part of the larger picture of who I am, even if I cannot immediately spot its impact in myself - not that I myself am adulterous in any fashion, but just because you're safe from the snow by being in your house doesn't mean that mice haven't snuck in to get warm and cause you problems!

Should these historical facts be washed from history for the sake of easing the minds of any descendants that might be born of these no-good-doers? No. It does nobody any good for the past to be erased.

Accept it for what it is: people exploring the past and history of their or someone else's ancestors. They might be passionate about it, you might not be; you might be passionate about it, they might not be; you might agree or disagree. Whether or not you participate in the conversation or read any of the books or articles or blog posts or what have you around it, that is squarely up to you and to any other person out there who is made uncomfortable by these sorts of things.

Comments

Thank you for your answer.  I do not wish to offend anyone, but the persistent rumours that Mary Shippan was still guilty of her sister's murder, should be corrected.  She died unmarried at the age of 41 years. As well as another person involved in the trial, have disappeared or changed their names.

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I'd write up her profile as a narrative. Can you find out more about the trial? She was judged once and that judgement should be made to stand unless new evidence is forthcoming. What happened afterwards? Was she rejected by her family? It is highly unlikely that anyone who knew and loved her is still alive so I think it's fine to tell her sad story.

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Deb, I have no pony in this race, but I was just saying history shouldn't be ignored -- if you really strongly have one stance, get your sources and citations together, write a book, challenge it!

I also second C.'s suggestions.

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The book The Towitta Tragedy - The Story of the Bertha Schippan Murder, by Richard Dutschke tells the story of the Schippan Murder.  Ron Nitschke has studied the case for many years, taken evidence from newspaper articles and interviewed people who knew the Schippan family at the time of the murder.  This book as been written with much detailed evidence and a final confession on Mathias Schippan's death bed to Pastor Stolz.  I recommend the book to anyone interested in how the early families lived in South Australia.

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Bravo/a, G. Bartomeo !

I have a paternal GF whose name was kept from my father's birth register in Frankfurt, Germany. Either he was Jewish (What were the RULES in 1907 in Deutschland?) or my GM's parents didn't like him for other reasons. Look at all the trouble it's caused down the genealogical line !  I want my paternal GF   identified in my tree. At this point, I'm guessing I'll never be able to find him!!

Answer 3

Hi Deb, I have a number of sad events in my Tree. Some directly, others indirectly. A couple of murders a hanging, a possible infanticide, at least 3 suicides, a bigamist (My gr gr grandfather), lots of illegitimate births & neglectful parents. I just try to be as honest and factual as possible, without becoming emotionally involved or giving an opinion. Just facts, Then I make sure I have as many sources & references as I can find. Hopefully, by being open and unbiased, the truth is clear, without being exaggerated or minimized. I also add full transccrips of arrests, Court cases & judgements, and as many as i can find, plus anything else pertaining to the case. I always ignore wishful thinking, myths, innuendo & supposition by not including them, as that tends to cloud the facts.

Comments

There is a branch of my family that is likely something from a Tennessee Williams play -- murder, infanticide, suicide, out of wedlock children, if you name it, it's there. They were human beings who were complex, difficult, and even tragic, as is in our natures.

Perhaps we should all keep in mind that while they are our ancestors, they are not our possessions.

Answer 4

to error is human, to forgive is divine

Answer 5

I have been told for many years that there is a distant cousin connection between me and a very famous traitor from the revolutionary war times. I have not been actually able to prove this on my own but if I ever did make the link I would not hide it but put the information out there for all to see. Yes the connection has been made thru WikiTree but there is an uncertain link and it is not thru the line I was told about so I am still searching.

Comments

Bravo, Dale!

Answer 6

I am of German descent and while my immediate family has no connections to Nazi machinations there are distant cousins who were party members and participated. I refuse to whitewash that part of my family history.

Comments

I've been told that there were both Gestapo (Nazi secret police) officers and Nazi victims (died in their custody, to remain neutral until I figure out more details) in my family.

It's often more complex than having a "good" or a "bad" family.

Answer 7

As Genealogists, or as just regular human beings, we have no right to judge the actions of people who are now deceased, and who took the actions that they did in the past. We can never totally understand their motivations or the pressures and constraints upon them - and as L P Hartley wrote "the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

That said, it's OK for us to have opinions. In some instances it's very difficult not to have an opinion. But those opinions are neither grounds nor excuse for us to try to conceal, edit or 'improve by airbrushing' the facts as recorded. We certainly ought never to deny anyone's existence in order to avoid the possible revelation of unfortunate or embarrassing facts.

Anyone who prefers to 'let sleeping dogs lie' probably shouldn't study genealogy or family history. To make a workmanlike job of either, many sleeping dogs must at the very least be gently examined, and we must simply accept all of that which we find. All discoveries are in fact a privilege - one-time secrets now entrusted to us which our deceased forbears might not have spoken of before us. It is not for we the living to choose what should or should not be made known on behalf of the dead.

Comments

There is too much covering up of what happened in the past. If we sugar coat everything, the Holocaust didn't happen, slavery is fiction, sex slaves & sexual discrimination don't exist and neither does the murder of Aboriginals in Australian history or the ethnic cleansing that seems to be happening all over the world due to religious & racial differences. We must record it as it happened to hopefully learn from it and start to live civilized lives in a world where all are equals.

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Thank You, Anonymous !!

I find that as the population of the world is LESS JUDGMENTAL IN A DIAMETRICAL WAY, such as B/W and no alternatives, we become more humane and considerate of others. The parameters of those who must make these choices are working within an array of choices, each of which is thoughtfully made.

We need NO PUSH BUTTON DECISIONS, truly and period and forever into the future.