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The Lighter Side / Re: Myths debunked when doing family histroy.
« on: Friday 26 April 24 03:18 BST (UK) »It's hard to see how some of these things can be considered "myths" or even commonly held, but erroneous, beliefs.
"the census will give which cottage our ancestors lived in"
"Everyone should be on the censuses ..."
"you should be able to always find a record of a death"
These may be misapprehensions held by some, but they're not myths. A myth is a traditional story handed down from generation to generation. They are the things you heard at your mother's knee or simplified historical 'facts' you learned in elementary school. Myths put spin on historical reality; they teach us the accepted party line. But who among us grew up beleving anything at all, whether true or false, about censuses or death records? Censuses and BMDs are not the subjects of mythology.
There are genealogical myths, though. For example, that North America was largely settled by people who were fleeing religious persecution. Some settlers were, but not the majority. That is a myth.
Only in your part of North America. There is no Canadian myth about the first Europea settlers fleeing religious persecution; they were French men and women who continued to practice Catholicism in New France.
Many of the early settlers here of English and German backgrounds were fleeing the American Revolution.
The large number of early Scots who came here worked in the fur trade. No fleeing religious persecution that I have ever heard.
I agree, religious persecution did not enter into the reason for the early settlers coming to Canada. They were here to make fortunes in the fur trade. We also must never forget the Blacks fleeing slavery via the Underground Railway, large numbers ended up in Nova Scotia and in BC.
Religious persecution did enter into immigration into Canada but not until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially from certain areas of Europe .... Doukhobor, Mennonite, Amish, etc ........ but that is well-documented!