Weekend Wonderings: Debunking?

This week the New England Historic Genealogical Society email publication Weekly Genealogist (July 18, #592, not yet in the archive) reported on responses to a reader survey question: Have you ever debunked a family myth? Editor Lynn Betlock quoted one that involved a diehard relative who maintained against the evidence of the 1900 census and an obituary that a male ancestor had deserted his family.

Now that's impressive. I have an undying fascination with how people can continue to believe in the face of evidence. How do they do it?


Harold Henderson, "Weekend Wonderings: Debunking?," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 21 July 2012 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]