A delicate genealogical balance

A wonderful articulation of a delicate balancing act all genealogists must strike - pride and interest in history personalized through family without ever seeking status or benefit from that history. What was done by others generations ago, reflects nothing on the actions and values of those today. Present accounts can only be supported by present actions.

From a distant cousin in East Texas at the turn of the last century, writing to his siblings about a trip he was taking north to Kentucky to research a shared ancestor, Major Richard Bibb. He wrote that

If they (his younger siblings) find in this anything that will tend to create vanity, I hope that they will realize that though a just pride in the deeds and breeding of our ancestors is not only permissible but is to be admired, yet at the same time we must realize that no credit is due us and the world owes us nothing for their qualities, and that the man who attempts to rely upon his ancestry for a place and position in life, or who appears to demand recognition and expect subserviency from others by reason of his ancestry, is generally the most contemptible specimen of humanity