{"id":241,"date":"2009-02-12T14:10:35","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T21:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/?p=241"},"modified":"2009-02-12T14:10:35","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T21:10:35","slug":"celebrate-lincolns-birthday-can-you-prove-history-with-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/2009\/02\/12\/celebrate-lincolns-birthday-can-you-prove-history-with-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday: Can You Prove History with Technology?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The question?<\/strong> Can you prove history with technology?<\/p>\n

The answer:<\/strong> The Great American Stories live on.<\/p>\n

Been watching the History Channel discover Abraham Lincoln anew.\u00a0 To celebrate his birthday–which we sometimes lose in Presidents’ Day.\u00a0 And with some of the most amazing technology–computer software that can compare, analyze, and purports to decide what is true and what is myth.<\/p>\n

Facts: <\/strong> Abraham Lincoln was born in a log cabin in 1809.\u00a0 He died from wounds received at Ford Theater the next day in April 1865.<\/p>\n

Tests<\/strong> for truth:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Lincoln Cabin<\/strong>–soldiers searched for the cabin during the War to destroy it.\u00a0 It was gone.\u00a0 Enterprising promoters searched for the cabin to display it.\u00a0 They were told the cabin had been moved a mile away from its original location.\u00a0 They found a cabin in the woods and dismantled it for travel.\u00a0 Over the years they added the cabin of Jefferson Davis to their tour.\u00a0 Taking the logs apart and re-assembling them at each fairground or park.\u00a0 Mixing the logs with each other.\u00a0 The cabin now on display in Springfield IL was tested–drilling core borings so the ring patterns of the oak could be studied.\u00a0 Rot, decay, and insects have taken their toll so only selected logs could be tested. And the logs have been trimmed to fit their housing. \u00a0 Conclusion:<\/strong> cabin in Illinois dates from 1848.\u00a0 Cannot be Lincoln’s cabin. Unsure <\/em>if the logs tested could by from the Jefferson Davis cabin.<\/li>\n
  2. Lincoln’s Photographs<\/strong>–tested newly discovered daguerreotypes against huge database of nineteenth century photos.\u00a0 First, measured dimensions of face and distances between features.\u00a0 Second, compared the faces against the database.\u00a0 One photo matched closely 3 photos–all of them were Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0 The dimensions compared exactly.\u00a0 The other photo did not match pictures of Abraham Lincoln.\u00a0 Conclusion:<\/strong> probably<\/em> an earlier photo of Lincoln demonstrating that Lincoln had a certain view of himself–consistent over many years.<\/li>\n
  3. Lincoln’s Writings<\/strong>–tested a copy of the Bixby letter of condolences to a mother who had lost 5 sons in the War and the Gettysburg Address with corrections approximating what people said Lincoln stated in his address–items that were not in the published version of the speech.\u00a0 Comparison of frequency of words used, penmanship general and use of language, crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s, etc.\u00a0 Conclusion:<\/strong> Bixby letter may have been<\/em> written by Lincoln’s secretary and just signed by Lincoln.\u00a0 Gettysburg Address was a forgery–written on authentic paper with similar ink–and traced from an archival copy<\/em> of the speech made by Lincoln at the request of a friend.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Fascinating presentation.\u00a0 And how much it sounds just like evidence and justification of relationships in a genealogy.\u00a0 Nothing precise about the results–even with technology added. Conclusions reached above are still<\/strong> challenged by trained, technical and historical experts.\u00a0 Can you prove your lineage with technology? Stay tuned in?\u00a0 We’ll discuss this too.<\/p>\n

    What gives integrity to the whole is including both sides with their various arguments.\u00a0 Assessing the evidence from traditional as well as digital mechanics.\u00a0 Listing the problems associated with both the tangible and intuitive aspects.\u00a0 Stating the facts as well as the suppositions.<\/p>\n

    Fact or myth?\u00a0 The Great American Story lives on. <\/strong> The story that grows up along side the person or event, is, in itself, worthy of record and preservation–“for the pleasure and the profit it derives.”\u00a0 Your favorite evidence guru, Arlene Eakle\u00a0 http:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com<\/p>\n

    PS\u00a0 My Power Point is gorgeous.\u00a0 I didn’t do it, Barry Ewell did.\u00a0 Now I have to practice so I deliver it gorgeously.\u00a0 If you have not registered for the Family History Expo in St. George at the Dixie Center–you will miss one gorgeous presentation.<\/p>\n

    PPS\u00a0 Once you register for the Expo, you can log in and access all the handouts for the event beforehand!\u00a0 With live links!\u00a0 And my Keynote Address is 21 pages of gorgeous links!\u00a0 You can even download the syllabus pages–once you register.<\/strong> http:\/\/www.myancestorsfound.com <\/a><\/p>\n

    PPSS\u00a0 Tune in next issue–the Custer Archives is for sale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The question? Can you prove history with technology? The answer: The Great American Stories live on. Been watching the History Channel discover Abraham Lincoln anew.\u00a0 To celebrate his birthday–which we sometimes lose in Presidents’ Day.\u00a0 And with some of the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241\/revisions\/242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}