Comments on: The Sound of Music Effect

By: Follow Friday – January 20, 2012 « All My Branches Genealogy

Follow Friday – January 20, 2012 « All My Branches Genealogy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:14:43 +0000

[...] the wonderfully informative (tongue-in-cheek humor) post on The Sound of Music Effect from Donna Pointkouski at What’s Past is Prologue. As only she can, Donna explains the [...]

By: Abigail Singrey

Abigail Singrey — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:29:19 +0000

Haha yes! My family has a story about an ancestor who deserted from the Civil War and joined a wagon train going west. On the wagon train, a young man had a fight with the trail boss, shooting a horn off the oxen and forcing the trail boss to leave. After they reached their destination, he revealed he was Frank James, fleeing after they shot his brother Jesse.
My ancestor did fight in the civil war, but as far as I can tell, never deserted. Also, the dates don’t match at all for him to have met Frank James on a wagon train. Jesse James was shot in 1882, long after the Civil War. But I bet the grandkids enjoyed hearing him tell the embellished version.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:02:56 +0000

What a good subject for a post. I guess we all have the family stories that may or may not be true. So many tales are, as you said, based on a true story but the narrative has wandered far afield over the years or even centuries. The amateur detective in all of us will probably eventually uncover the kernel of truth – and that makes it worth the effort and much fun.

By: Randall Dickerson

Randall Dickerson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:39:58 +0000

Good point! But it can be so hard to find the facts behind the fancy. I have a few of those stories, only one is verified (the KKK “riding” on my family due to untrue gossip) by my sister who was there. The other stories…… well, they are just another brick wall to chip at.