New "Down Under: Florida" Episode at RootsTelevision.com

The Genealogy Guys (a.k.a. George G. Morgan and Drew Smith) made a great video some months ago, called "Down Under." It featured the long-lasting memories illustrated by tombstones. Now the one video is expanding into a series.

George wrote with a description of the latest episode:

Hello Dick!

The Genealogy Guys have a new episode of "Down Under: Florida" at RootsTelevision.com. This one, “The Miltons” is a poignant story of the deaths of a mother and daughter on the same day in 1940, and follows the fates of the other members of the family. You can access the episode directly at http://rootstelevision.com/players/player_dearlydeparted.php?bctid=1721792910

This one really captured my heart and I want these people to be remembered.

In addition to the video, I’ve written an article for the next issue of Family Chronicle magazine titled “The Milton Family Tragedy” that is a case study of the research behind the video. The article also includes some additional details.

Comments

[Sherry Ohern]

What a touching story! This should be a TV series. As a genealogist I have been brought to tears on many occasions when I piece together the story of a family with the loss of spouses and children and other tragedies in their lives. And now with so many census and death certificates available online that tell more of their stories, the names on my charts are becoming dimensional and answer so many unanswered questions. Anyone who says that genealogy is boring is just not looking beyond a name.
Can't wait to see more stories!

[Sherry Ohern]

What a touching story! This should be a TV series. As a genealogist I have been brought to tears on many occasions when I piece together the story of a family with the loss of spouses and children and other tragedies in their lives. And now with so many census and death certificates available online that tell more of their stories, the names on my charts are becoming dimensional and answer so many unanswered questions. Anyone who says that genealogy is boring is just not looking beyond a name.
Can't wait to see more stories!

[Andrea Batcho]

It kind of doesn't sit well with me that they went and "stalked" these people just for fun and to kind of exploited them for this tv bit. I'd be very upset if these people were my family and now they were online with this story. A lot of my family members are very private people. I'm also amazed that the cemetery gave permission to film these monuments for a commercial venture. In NJ, the monuments are property of the family (or so they tell me when I complain that they left money to the cemetery for the lot upkeep, which I argue includes the stone).

I thought it was very nice that they left flowers for them at the end :). I would have gone with artificial flowers as they last longer.

I put temporary markers for my family members who do not have graves. I always contact the cemetery if I cannot find them, but again, I only bother the sextons when it's for my family. I don't want to give genealogists a bad rep.

Anyway, that's how I personally feel. I was wondering how they/you/everyone else feels about it. Did they get permission from the family? I rewatched it a few times to check the wording and they never explicitly said. If they did get permission, I wonder what type of family member would "sell out" the tragic story of their aunt/cousin or grandmother/aunt.

[Linda House Enz]

What a kind and caring thing to do. I have always been interested in grave yards but have never gone above and beyond the call of duty. I am sure this family is very appreciative of the time and research that went into this project. If anyone in this day and age believes that they have a private life they are very naive. One can only hope that there are more kind and good people in the world than bad or mean spirited. I find this to be especially true with those who do geneology. They had only the best of intentions and should be viewed as such.

[Andrea Batcho]

Linda,
I agree that this endeavor was completed with the very best of intentions. However, I do not think it's ethical to talk about a dead person and speculate on their lives. As George said, "The son drops out of school, has some unsuccessful marriages, goes into the military. Left Florida. Maybe he even ran from Florida to get away from the unhappy memories. We just don’t know."

I know a lot of people who would be very angry if someone said that about them on any sort of publication. Just because Charles is no longer alive and we can say anything about him that we find in public records and make money off of it (rootstelevision sells ads, so they make money off of these shows), does that mean we should?

Think about your grandparents. How would you feel if you tuned in next week and saw George and Drew dug through your family's dirty laundry and showed your great grandfather's death certificate on the internet, then speculated about your grandfather's bad luck in marriages?

Just something to think about as a genealogist. Where do you draw the line?

-andrea

[Leonard McCown]

Sorry, I feel that they did a nice job of remembering and memorializing this family. In a short episode you cannot recognize every one who shared information. Maybe they did assume, but maybe those assumptions came from family too. Really, once you are dead, you have no rights. I learned that when I wanted the burial date corrected on my Dad's death certificate. The county clerk said it didn't matter. Well, it did to my sister and I. I enjoy going through the cemetery in my hometown as those stones trigger memories, and remind me of folks I once knew.

[Andrea Batcho]

Leonard,
You are correct. Once you are dead, you have no rights. It is perfectly legal to say anything you want about dead people and make money off of it. However, my point is whether or not you should. Where do you draw the line? At what point are you disrespecting the dead? That's a personal preference that we as genealogists need to think about when we publish information.

You can get a burial date corrected on a death certificate. I've seen it done before.

-andrea

[James J. Cagle]

From the comments above, assume it is unethical. Is it ethical for professional genealogists to be paid for looking (stalking) into any person's history. Is it unethical for someone to charge $300 retainer, plus $60 an hour?
Or is this a soap-box for some to vent jealousy for not coming up with the idea for profit? As seen above, there will be another retort. Having the last word does not mean one is right.
Suggest finding another hobby or profession, if the intention is to flame good people that have created an outstanding video.
For the most part, the genealogy community treats each other with respect. Learn some internet manners.

[Andrea Batcho]

James,
It is ethical to look for public documents for family members.

If you write for a death certificate to the State of NJ and are not a descendant, they block out the cause of death on the certificate, no matter what. Unfortunately, Jesse Milton did not have that courtesy and his was broadcast online in a for-profit venture.

It's what you do with that information that goes into a grey area. I pesonally feel that anything beyond publicly mentioning facts and figures is where it crosses the line. However, that is what I personally feel as a genealogist. You are not wrong if you feel different. I just wanted to raise the issue and get a discussion going since the video left me with a bad feeling.

I think that the genealogy community may treat one another with respect, but perhaps they should extend the same respect to the deceased. I have listened to every single episode of Genealogy Guys and I love their podcast. I've seen most of the videos on RootsTelevision (I've been a fan over a year) and I have enjoyed all of the other videos.

I only do print work for private families. I prefer to not work with time based mediums (so no video work for me!). I would never randomly pick two people in a cemetery and discuss their lives in a public forum. I have enough family and private clients to keep me busy.

-andrea