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Correct paternal ancestry? [14 May 2012]
Does anyone have a good source for Gov Leete's ancestors? What I am finding online is contradictory. All show him as a son of John Leete and Anne Shute, but there are problems with his parents generation. Some continue his father's line through three Thomas Leetes, others connect him to a different Leete family branch that goes through another John Leete. And I can find nothing strong for Anne Shute, either.--DMaxwell 07:29, 13 May 2012 (EDT)
- No I don't have a good source, so I never put parents for him. There is no area of colonial genealogy that is more prone to error than connecting immigrants to their origins and no answer should be trusted unless you understand the reason why it is thought to be true, whether it is a parish register, an English will naming an heir in New England, a letter written back to England, etc., etc. What you find online is unreliable if it doesn't have sources. Take a colonial person you are sure about and go investigate them online and you will find contradictory answers. I did a survey of one case once because I got so piqued at the widespread disinformation, and found that of the first 100 websites returned by google listing that person, over 50% (51-49) had the wrong answer. People tend to look at only one source, and once they have a name to put in the blank, they stop looking instead of asking, "How do we know that?". Only by drilling down until you find an answer supported by primary documents can you have any confidence in the answers. Fortunately the Internet makes it easier to find primary sources, if you can filter out the noise of genealogy websites. --Jrich 09:32, 13 May 2012 (EDT)
That's not how I do research (random searches) except to get a feel or find a good source. His parents dont seem to be in doubt, even the more prominent sources give them as John Leete and Anne Shute, but they go no further. Aside from a one hundred year old genealogy on him, there doesnt seem to be anything newer that fills in the blanks beyond just the parents names (again, which I dont doubt).
I agree with you the most caution is when we are identifying the origins of a colonial immigrant, but most of the Colonial Govs like Leete have at least a fair pedigree.--DMaxwell 09:44, 13 May 2012 (EDT)
- You don't need to doubt his parents because they are proven by the Visitations of Huntingdonshire as outlined in that hundred year old genealogy. For a more detailed pedigree, see TAG 31:114, "Descent of William Leete from Charlemage". However, that may need to be doubted, as one of the authorities is the "Register of Pedigrees", Society of Colonial Wars in Conn, which is basically a user-submitted family tree. --Jrich 10:33, 13 May 2012 (EDT)
- Yeah my recollection was that the 'royal ancestry' is all but disproved, I understand Gary Boyd Roberts put Leete in the 'doubtful' column in the latest edition of RD600. IIRC it was through his maternal ancestors. It would be nice if WR had a collaboration request tag, there are so many misconceptions about Leete online that it would be great if we could straighten it out. --DMaxwell
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