Folks, we all need to try to edit the posts we send to the list. It is especially necessary when answering the post of another . The tendency is to simply add your comments and send it off , but after this happens several times, the post just grows and grows like Topsy. So, while it is essential to include enough if an old post to let us know what you're responding to, there is generally a great deal we can remove. So. before sending off a post please scroll down through it and delete what is not necessary. S. Sent from Sandra's iPod ????

One of the saddest things I see is when people place todays standards on our ancestors and judge them for what they did and didn't do. The New Science (1725) by Giambattista Vico showed that the past should be understood sympathetically -- the historian should not judge the past according to present standards and values. The past ought to be examined in light of its historical context (the "pastness of the past"). When I first started genealogy with my father 10 years ago, he told me there were two things required when researching. 1. Do not take anything personally. 2. Do not judge. While Pennsylvania may not have had much for public schooling does not mean they were ignorant in the need for an education. My Revolutionary War Ancestor had one son scalped and another kidnapped by Indians and taken to Detroit. With the dangers our ancestors constantly faced, I doubt even I would have allowed my children to walk to school with the very high chance of being killed versus teaching them myself at home. Regarding WDYTYA. This is exactly the reason I stopped watching the show. Watching people cry and apologize over what their ancestors did was truly sickening. Our ancestors did the best they could with what they had and what they knew. We should not be so quick to judge. ======= Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found. (Email Guard: 9.0.0.898, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.20820) http://www.pctools.com/ =======