Is Gary Boyd Roberts' work considered a high standard in Royal-Gateway Genealogy Research?

Question

I know that Gary Boyd Roberts has recently released his The Royal Descents of  900 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States:  I hear various opinions of his work. Some give high accolades placing him up there with Douglas Richardson as the gold standard in royal, gateway genealogical research. 

However, I also see reviews that question his work such as his inclusion of illegitimate descents with a high degree of inaccuracy, lines that haven't  been proven, his emphasis on the pedigree of celebrities, and that his works are viewed in low regard in genealogy circles and not valid for admission into lineage societies.  

What are your views on Gary Boyd Roberts and his books?

 

Answer 1

It is simply not research ... it is a compendium of other people's work.

Without the full list of immigrant people, and looks at it for specific iffy cases, we simply don't know for the current version. Roberts is a careful person, and will not knowingly include lines with proven mistakes.

He's been caught including what was later proven the wrong side of controversies in the past, however.

Comments

Think of these type of works as a collection of well-developed clues.  Many of these books do not include the source information to independently verify what has been assembled.  That leaves you to trust what he has done.  Additionally, you will want to then find out what has been updated and corrected and thus need to find where these addendums are posted.

If you are left to trust the work of others, then you have stopped doing genealogy.  You can neither defend nor refute what is written.  If you just want the story, he tells a pretty good story but others have their own versions.

If you want the truth, you will need to see and examine the evidence.