Lately, I've been researching one of the collateral Kavanaugh's from my family tree, specifically Charles Kavanaugh Jr., husband of Frances Powell. I've been sifting through his records in multiple states and counties and sorting through his children. I've been trying to amass as many primary documents as possible. I thought I had something promising when I came across this biography of Rev. Abbot Hancock on his Family Search page. It reads like it was copied from an early county history, but is it has no source information. What seems especially promising is the information that Rev. Hancock "married Miss Lucynthia Kavanaugh, daughter of Dr. Charles Kavanaugh and his wife Frances (Powell) Kavanaugh." That would seem to prove that Charles Kavanaugh was a "Dr." What is suspect about this is that Frances's maiden name is in parenthesis, a convention that 19th-century country histories usually did not use.
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| Family Search Click Image to Enlarge |
So, I pressed on to see what else I could find along these lines, and I investigated Rev. Abbott Hancock's Findagrave memorial.
These two biographies are identical right down to the title in all caps: REVEREND ABBOTT HANCOCK. Clearly, they originated from elsewhere, but where?
I continued to probe and found the original in The History of Carroll County, Missouri published in 1881. It's worth noting that the author of the original biography knew Rev. Abbot Hancock.
There are some notable differences between the original and the copies of it on Family Search and Findagrave. First, the spelling of Rev. Abbot Hancock's name is different. The information that Lucinthia Kavanaugh was the daughter of Dr. Charles Kavanaugh and Frances Powell is absent. Lucinthia's name is spelled differently. The original was about two sentences longer and included the writer's impression that Abbot Hancock was born in about 1795 or 1796.
Again, it is important to seek out the original source. In this instance, the original source does not confirm that Lucinthia's parents were Dr. Charles Kavanaugh and Frances Powell. Since this was written by one who knew Abbot Hancock, being able to confirm this would have been helpful.
I am not saying that Lucinthia Kavanaugh was not the daughter of Charles Kavanaugh and Frances Powell. Since there are other marriages between Hancocks and Kavanaughs, it seems likely that she is, but this biography cannot be used to document it. This is also another example of people who alter the transcript of original sources to suit their own narrative. That is always the danger of transcripts. It seems likely that one of the contributors, to either Family Search or Findagrave, altered the original, and the other contributor unknowingly copied and pasted it to the other site. It's also possible that both contributors copied and pasted it from elsewhere. As researchers, we have a responsibility not just to cite sources, but to refrain from altering them to suit our own purposes.
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| Findagrave Memorial Click Image to Enlarge |
These two biographies are identical right down to the title in all caps: REVEREND ABBOTT HANCOCK. Clearly, they originated from elsewhere, but where?
I continued to probe and found the original in The History of Carroll County, Missouri published in 1881. It's worth noting that the author of the original biography knew Rev. Abbot Hancock.
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| History of Carroll County, Missouri, 1881 |
There are some notable differences between the original and the copies of it on Family Search and Findagrave. First, the spelling of Rev. Abbot Hancock's name is different. The information that Lucinthia Kavanaugh was the daughter of Dr. Charles Kavanaugh and Frances Powell is absent. Lucinthia's name is spelled differently. The original was about two sentences longer and included the writer's impression that Abbot Hancock was born in about 1795 or 1796.
Again, it is important to seek out the original source. In this instance, the original source does not confirm that Lucinthia's parents were Dr. Charles Kavanaugh and Frances Powell. Since this was written by one who knew Abbot Hancock, being able to confirm this would have been helpful.
I am not saying that Lucinthia Kavanaugh was not the daughter of Charles Kavanaugh and Frances Powell. Since there are other marriages between Hancocks and Kavanaughs, it seems likely that she is, but this biography cannot be used to document it. This is also another example of people who alter the transcript of original sources to suit their own narrative. That is always the danger of transcripts. It seems likely that one of the contributors, to either Family Search or Findagrave, altered the original, and the other contributor unknowingly copied and pasted it to the other site. It's also possible that both contributors copied and pasted it from elsewhere. As researchers, we have a responsibility not just to cite sources, but to refrain from altering them to suit our own purposes.
I may have been the originator of this post. It was indeed from The History of Carroll County. I believe there was another daughter - Susan Caroline Hancock. I have the marriage of Susan to a Mr. Fly and a Mr. Fisk. I believe she may have been married when very young to a Mr. Brooks as I have a childs death listing Susan Hancock and John Brooks as parents and the Susan listed as a Brooks on the 1870 census. In Rev Hancock's history it mentions a daughter still living in Montana and Mr. Fly and Mr Fisk's marriages to Susan were in Montana. I cannot confirm Susan's birth but since Rev Hancock moved from Kentucky where he was born into Missouri about the approximate year of Susan's birth , she may have been born in Kentucky, Missouri or somewhere on the road in between. If you have more information or find that my research is lacking in discovery please contact me. I have spent several days trying to find sources for this daughter of Rev. Abbott Hancock. Priscilla Delventhal-pd3900@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I do not have more information on Rev. Abbott Hancock or his wife.
DeleteOne suggestion: Try Family Search's Full Text Experiment. It's an every name search of many deeds, probates, and the occasional marriage. I put the name in quotation marks in the keyword search rather than the name fields. Then I narrow down to place or time. It may be the fastest way to solve a lot of our unanswered questions.
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