Re: ".. alternatively anyone with input as to my faulty investigative skills, also. ;')" Brian, Seems like your investigative skills are pretty good; you've found all this. It's how to deal with the evidence after you've got it that you, maybe, could strengthen. Conflicting information is fairly common, as are missing pieces. Sometimes, you have to ask "Which is the more believable record?" and "What's the more reasonable actuality?" Evaluation of the evidence is one of the reasons for being precise as to sources. For example, John would be the English form of the French "Jean" (pronounced zhon, not gene) and "Babette" would be a French nickname for a woman named Barbara. (I don't see a conflict.) Is it possible that dates weren't remembered exactly? Or, that someone other than the person enumerated in the census was interviewed by the enumerator? Is it possible that Jean/John knew both farming and weaving, able to pursue whichever occupation had more opportunity? Did Ferdinand visit him in Philadelphia before going to Massachusetts? BTW, I suspect there were some small farms in Philadelphia in the late 1880s. (Sort of like Mrs. O'Leary's dairy cow that was reported to have started the Chicago fire.) -rt_/)

Hello Ralph, All very good information. I realize of course there will almost always be some conflicting data, but not having any primary sources to confirm reject my conclusions is what keeps these records from making me say I'm 99.44% sure I have made the right connections. I've had other ancestors who have had various dates of birth over wide and narrow ranges of time in various resources. I have a fairly extensive collection of the Anneheim family members over a four hundred year time period; thanks in large part to the research of others, some of which I have myself verified. I wasn't necessarily implying that due to conflicting information that I was discounting it, but more to be thorough in detailing what data I have collected. Lastly, there is no doubt that the fire started in Patrick and Catherine O'Leary's barn. However it is probable that the cause of the fire was human in origin, and through a number of mistakes made in answering the fire, the damage was worse than it should have been. One last bit of trivia. The O'Leary's house was unaffected by the fire by some odd twist of fate. The story is an interesting read in conflicting evidence, and also would make a good Keystone Cops ala Firefighter's story. Thanks, Brian On Tue, October 21, 2008 2:38 pm, Ralph Taylor wrote: > Re: ".. alternatively anyone with input as to my faulty investigative > skills, also. ;')" > > Brian, > Seems like your investigative skills are pretty good; you've found all > this. > It's how to deal with the evidence after you've got it that you, maybe, > could strengthen. ... > BTW, I suspect there were some small farms in Philadelphia in the late > 1880s. (Sort of like Mrs. O'Leary's dairy cow that was reported to have > started the Chicago fire.)