Ah to ponder all things philosophical about Huguenot matters and history in general. Tis the life. So fellows, and of course those subscribers who are the fellowettes, I have had a small delay, a set of circumstances that caused a minor halt to the pursuit of genealogical study. This then caused my mind to examine once again how we as modern day thinkers see and react to the deeds of our ancestors. Once before I made mention of one Gregory de Tours, and how his writings of history are the base of much of our understanding of his times or indeed the times of others. Now he wrote about Clovis. Not a very nice person was Clovis but write did Gregory, only problem I see is a point of accuracy. Afterall, he was writing some 100 years after Clovis. So what has any of this to do with anything ? Nothing in short. I simply am passing on some discussion points or perhaps provide the reader with thoughts on their own study of their ancestors and the truth behind the story or family legend. So as to keep our most wonderful concierge from typing something about being "on topic", I shall attempt to push this and these thoughts toward things Huguenot. By the way.. Where is our concierge Andrea ? My goodness a digression and from me who is always to the point ! So! Huguenot story, legend, family truisms. Ever wondered, perhaps silently to yourself, just how true is a story about say ancestor 'Henri' or 'Jean' or 'Mildred' ? A list is discovered, or worse, compiled some 300 years after the Huguenot time period that you discover in a library or on that thing that always offers truth, the Internet. "Truth" and "Internet" ?? Now on this list is your family name.. ergo.. your ancestor was a Huguenot. Let us presume that it is early spring, 1534, southern or northern hemisphere is up to the reader, and ancestor is out shearing his flock or tending his goats etc. A local with a largish sword says "we need a crowd at the town square, be there or else". So off our ancestor toddles to dutifully take up a position in the square. A day out for the entire family is always fun. The speaker is thundering words of damnation and other horrors, "well gosh Mildred, he is an educated man so what he tells us must be true". The speakers' cohorts mingle among the dutiful uneducated farmers whipping up enthusiasm for the speaker. And just so the speaker can show his friends later just how many 'converts' he has gained, he has his workers have folks sign their names. "Sign?" Well now you see way back in those days, farmer 'Henri' or ancestor 'Mildred' didn't even have a cheque book to sign. So this idea of all our Huguenot ancestors signing this attendance list is not really possible, is it ? Ah, I hear a mutter of thoughts, 'Henri' et 'Mildred' made their mark! Hmm, ok ok, so they made their mark. How does an out of towner know later on just who made the mark ? He doesn't and so to make a nice piece of paper (which was expensive) look really pretty, and legal, the mark is slightly changed to read a name. Woohoo 'Henri' and 'Mildred' are now recorded for posterity as being in attendance at a Huguenot rally. Historians will take that document, do some swift translating, et Voila!... the document is now a record of a Huguenot meeting where all were paid up members of the Huguenot faith and so some 400 years later our modern day genealogist discovers this dusty document, see's his or her name and proudly announces that they are of Huguenot descent. Is there any other way of varifying the contents of the document ? Probably not. How does one discover that 'Henri' and 'Mildred' were Huguenot positively ? You can't. And there fellow and fellowettes is the marvel of recorded history. We swear on a stack of aethiest bibles that Henri was Huguenot. The question is, how do we really know? And so it goes for all recorded history, unless of course your research discovers several hundered copies in chronological order of personal diaries of that one ancestor. Ah! but then there is the slight problem, just because he had a diary it does not mean he actually wrote in it, does it? After all, who had the money to be educated in reading and writing in 1534? A very very small minority of France. So the odds of ancestor 'Henri' recording the fact that he was a Huguenot in France in 1534 are very slim. Mind you there is the other situation. 'Henri' owned the whole farm, town and province, was a student of the Sorbonne and did carry a diary which has been found for modern genealogists to pour over. So my fellow listers, be aware of failed truths in your documentation of an ancestor, and be very aware of the accuracy of family gedcoms' sitting on personal webpages. Some folks seem to have a "proven" ancestry going back 50 generations and after only 2 years research. They are the sources that one needs to seek other sources to varify the information contained. And be aware, kind and youthfull subscribers, that the accuracy of even some well known professional sites on the Internet are prone to be highly inaccurate due to the sources of the uploader providing that information. ok that is enough philosophising for today. Good luck with all our researching of all things Huguenot. Kind Regards, Peter Leroy