For all of humanity, truths are often hurtful or painful to the living; to the dead they can be desecrating. The truth it seems, does not just set you free, it can sometimes set the woods on fire.
Historical truth explores the duality of man; of clay feet and halo’s. We all exhibit the traits, however when history reflects them in others, a decision is made to approve or disapprove. Those whose hair time has whitened cannot say they have no regrets, yet judgment of previous generations are not given identical understanding.
The most reputable resources for information are eyewitnesses. With this in mind, it is not a surprise certain historical perspectives, given at the time, receive greater respect than the same information related later by historians. The reason that personal recollections are important is not only because it is first-hand, but the memories are related at the time; reflecting what occurred without trying to make a point, as historian’s are often led to do from the sidelines.
Additionally important is the way these eyewitnesses speak to the affairs they recall. The prose reflects the era. The verbiage, societal norms and common beliefs of the time are obvious; maybe even blunt, but they speak a truth that anyone that follows is tempted to interpret or judge. While judgment might be the job of sociologists, it is not the job of the historian.
Frances Parkman was such an explorer and writer, and is widely known for his honest portrayal of the Oregon Trail, the year he traveled it. Thankfully, Tillamook County, Oregon, had a settler named Warren Nicholas Vaughn that provided in-your-face honesty in a history of Tillamook he had begun, before he passed away in 1907. Though the book only covers approximately the first 15 years of settlement, it is detailed and bluntly truthful, if sometimes incomplete.
Recollections by sons, grandsons, etc., in later years often portray pleasant things that happened or simply neglect to go into facts that their current culture find distasteful; to reflect what has become acceptable by their current-yet-evolving culture.
The challenge in documenting history is to relate what happened without making judgment on the person, place or thing. This is not easy but adding judgment is a disservice to facts and the reader, because it does not leave it to the reader to make their own determinations.
Eater Eggs in the writing are not Easter Eggs if they are drilled into the reader.
Gaps in memory or a lack of detail leave room for interpretation that must not be used to push an agenda. The truth in and of itself, is enough and there is no better source than first-hand.
There are times when it would have been nice to have Tillamook settler, Warren Vaughn, go into more detail about some uncomfortable facts that he related in his journal, but it’s possible that as he documented history, Vaughn was wrestling with the line between history and hit-job.
– Jimmy Fox, Author, The American Fox Tales Series
Further reading;
Vaughn, Warren N. Till Broad Daylight: A History of Early Settlement in Oregon’s Tillamook County. Wallowa, Or., Bear Creek Press, 2004