I Don't See Dead People but I Do See History

You know the popular phrase  "I see dead people"  said by Haley Joel Osment in the 1999 movie "The Sixth Sense".  I am happy to say that I don't see dead people, but I do see history - everywhere I go.

I particularly see history when I'm driving as there is nothing else for me to do but watch the road.  As I  drive I make note of the road.  Was it an old road or built more recently?  Would it be on an 1850 or a 1790 map?  Not sure - look at the houses.  Are the houses all new, all old or a smattering of both?  Is there a row of similar old houses or is there one old farm house in the midst of ranches and splits?

I look at trees too. How many large mature trees are standing alongside the road?  Could they have been there a hundred years ago or perhaps longer?  Is there only one large tree or is the street lined with old trees? I chastise myself for not knowing more about trees and their growth rates.  Some trees grow faster than others and I'm not sure how to tell the difference.  Note to self: determine growth rates for oaks, maples and chestnuts.

As I pass a railroad crossing I try to determine if the railroad is active or dormant.  There are many dormant or even removed railroad tracks in the area that I live.  Was there an old railroad station nearby? If so, are there old photographs of the railroad station?  Are there likely to be Sears "houses by mail" built in the area which were predominantly delivered by railroad?

When I pass by a church or an old store I wonder how old it is.  How long have people been attending service there or buying their goods there?  Is the architectural style colonial or Greek Revival or something else?

As I continue on I pass stone walls swallowed by new growth woods.  I think back to how this was all farmland at one point.  I try to imagine the landscape devoid of trees and glistening with green pastures and animals or crops.

Everywhere I go, whether countryside or city, I see history.  But don't get me wrong - I am very much in the present.  I make note of  history and try to determine how it has fared through the years and lasted until the present.   Why has it survived?  How can we help other links to the past continue to survive to the present day?

What does this have to do with genealogy? Everything.  My ancestors saw and touched those links to the past.  Those relics of history which exist in my present were in their present too.  It connects us and enriches my understanding of their lives and my own.

How is it that I started to see history everywhere?  I blame it on James Deetz.  You can read more about that in an earlier post "How James Deetz Changed My Life."

Prove Genealogy Backwards, Read History Forward

As genealogists, we are taught to start with the present and prove our genealogy backwards in time. For each generation we gather enough information to prove our connections and only then do we step back to the next generation. The idea behind this is if you start with an ancestor way in the past you could end up researching someone who is not really in your family tree at all.

Imagine my ears perk up as I was driving this week and heard Professor Gary W. Gallagher tell me to read history forward.

When I go on long distance driving trips I love to listen to a series of CDs called The Great Courses. These CDs cover a multitude of topics from art history to music appreciation, philosophy, history, etc. My local library has a number of different topics but my favorite set is the History of the United States, 2nd Edition.

Typically I listen to the CDs that cover early American history but for my most recent drive to Connecticut I chose to listen to Civil War history for the first time.  The lectures are presented  by Professor Gary W. Gallagher of the University of Virginia.  They were fascinating. 

In the midst of listening to all the political and military details of the times, Professor Gallagher said "Read History Forward."  In the course of the CDs he repeated this not once but twice.

Here's one of the examples that he used to explain what he meant.  The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most important battles of the Civil War.  It was the battle with the largest number of casualties and was considered as the turning point in the war.  Professor Gallagher cautions that how we regard the Battle of Gettysburg today is based on knowledge gained after the war was over. Our historical retrospective provided greater importance for how we now view those events.

Professor Gallagher argues that at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg Americans did not feel that it was a turning point in the war.  His hope is to impress upon listeners the importance of reading contemporary history forward from the time of the actual event to learn how contemporaries really felt about the event.  He stressed that it is important to put historical events into proper contemporary context and be sure that we are accurately recounting how the people at that time felt rather than how we now view an event.

This was like an aha! moment for me.  I had never really considered with such precision the concept that Professor Gallagher presented.  Yet it occurred to me that this philosophy is crucial for everyone who wants to add flesh to the bones of history or genealogy. 

To accurately represent historical figures or our own ancestors we need to not only do extensive research using primary and secondary sources but we need to accurately interpret the context of the times by understanding contemporary point of view.  Contemporary context of public (and private) interpretation of historical events seems as important as adding social history facts to the lives of our ancestors.

Not only should we be saying that the Civil War occurred during our ancestors lives but we have the opportunity to show how people in America felt about those events as they happened.  And we should be accurately representing their contemporary point of view rather than how we feel about those events today.

"Read history forward."  It's definitely food for thought.  I'm going to embrace it and add it to my tool box.