Dear Terrell Dorn: I just want to be certain that you know that the transcript that you have asked Ms. Farnsworth to send you contains significant errors. If you have followed the thread on the Whitney Research Group mail list on this matter, you will have seen the posting by Mr. Robert Ward that indicates where the correct information can be found on the Whitney Research Group wiki web site. As Ms. Farnsworth often says, she doesn't research anything, she just copies and publishes what she finds in other sources. Her efforts in this area provide much good and useful information and some material that has been discredited and proven to be in error. Mr. Ward, on the other hand, is a retired research mathematician, and since his retirement, a qualified professional genealogist who undertakes research services for others. He is also one of the two or three most respected members of the Whitney Research Group, of which I am proud to say I am one of the founders. This group is dedicated to the gathering and publishing of information on the various branches of the Whitney family in the United States. In so doing, we are committed to protecting the accuracy of what we publish by demonstrating clearly the sources of the material published and that they are primary sources wherever possible. The late 19th and early 20th century was full of extended family genealogies being published by well intentioned persons who were using what they thought were the best methods of research at the time. Certainly, they were done before research tools like the published series of MA town Vital Records were prepared and made available. Likewise, all of the Census data was not indexed and certainly not available unless one was able to visit the Bureau of Census archives and get permission to search the physical documents themselves. So, much of what was written in that time frame was done by writing letters to others and getting replies that included "facts" which were then incorporated without further checking or verification. If you choose to visit the Whitney Research Group web site, it will be possible for you to take something like the Frederick Clifton Pierce book on the descendants of John and Elinor Whitney and see how the errors in that publication have been identified and corrections offered. Is every fact verified? Probably not, because some of what is presented is not possible to check in available public records, or the records are not readily available to those of us who are interested in protecting the integrity of the information that we, as the Whitney Research Group, try to present as the best and most accurate possible version of the generational structure of this family. I realize that the above is a huge chunk to digest, but it is an important chunk. It is also the reason that, when material that is known to be inaccurate appears on our mailing list, that it is challenged as quickly as possible, so as to not allow our less experienced researchers to be led astray unknowingly. I would be happy to discuss this matter further with you, if you have any further questions about the WRG and it's efforts. I'm sure that others in the WRG would also be willing to contribute, so you may address your questions either to me directly or to all through the medium of the Whitney mail list. Happy Hunting!! Allan E. Green ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour