Ethical Genealogy

All families have secrets, and it’s almost inevitable that when we undertake genealogical research, at least some of those family secrets will emerge. The truth will come out.  Discovering family secrets might be fascinating, but they can also be distressing, upsetting and even confusing, for those involved. There may be times when we find it helpful to stop our research and reflect on what we have discovered and even question ourselves over what we should do with this newfound information. 

There is no easy answer to this problem, but it is something that we should all be aware of before undertaking any research. Many of us will have ordered a certificate or uncovered a newspaper article and discovered something that we were not expecting.  When that’s the case, what happens next? To tell or not tell, that is the question! The decisions we make can have an impact on relatives still living, and cause family disputes and distress.

Ethical dilemmas don’t just stop there. Another big part of the ethical dilemma that you might face when researching your family history concerns how much information should you publish online, either in a public tree for example, or a blog like this one. While some may find stories of a criminal ancestor, or one with health issues, physical or mental, to be fascinating, others may find such news confronting, especially when it is published online.

The opposite side of this dilemma is whether it is right to conceal information just because it is negative.  Should we not reveal that great great grandad James had a criminal past?  Should we hide the fact that Great Uncle Peter died in a lunatic asylum?  Should we not include in our records that Great Aunt Mary was divorced?

We need to find a balance between being open about our family history and not causing distress.  There is no such thing as a perfect family and none of us are without the occasional black sheep in our family tree.  When we are researching our family history we need to be aware that inevitably we will uncover uncomfortable facts, and we need to find a balance between not concealing facts and not causing harm or distress.