5/3/01 11:40am EDT Judy & all, >The Mary who sent the info I posted earlier which Larry states has some >mistakes was a librarian. I assume she fould the info in a history book. >She was a very careful researcher but research is only as good as the >sources and she may have used some sources with errors. The point that she was making that she had figured out that "TN was settled from Nashville East" gave me the most trouble. Nothing that I have every read or seen has ever suggested that. As for history books and accuracy: if no one today can really agree with what happens around us on a daily basis, it is very dangerous to rely on history books for what one would consider to be "absolute" facts. Every writer writes from their point of view and knowledge base. No person can possibly have all of the facts, therefore, all written history is distorted, if not by inaccuracies, then by omission. One needs to consider: was the writer a trained historian or an amateur? Writing from personal experience, or simply copying what others had written (without verification)? Did their writing show bias (local historians can be notoriously biased)? I once read a county history book written by a person living in that county and mention was made of what most historians would classify as a very minor battle as "one of the most important battles of the Revolutionary War", a considerable exaggeration. >This is a good reminder that anything anyone gives us should be a starting >point for research and we should always verify it ourselves. I am glad >Larry was alert and pointed out some things that at the least need more >research before they are accepted as fact. > >Judy This especially true of what one finds on the Internet and on mailing lists. A book publisher puts its reputation on the line when it prints a book....subject to all manner of public review and embarrassment if it contains gross errors. Fortunes can be lost and businesses ruined if a reputation becomes tainted. Not so with Internet content.....anyone can publish anything without concern about censure. With free web sites readily available, a person does not even have to spend money to "publish" and can easily hide their identities, or distort them to imply credibility.....and no entity (government or otherwise) can police all of this. Remember, just because you read/hear it doesn't make it true......if you can't personally verify the information in some way, and especially if you can't verify the source (know the identity of the "speaker") to ascertain their reliability, then put it in the "rumor" file. Thanks, Judy, for that reminder. Larry