Genealogy – A Rumsfeldian approach
There are known knowns – things we know we know… There are known unknowns – things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
(Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defence, 2002. https://familytr.ee/known)
I wish to apply Rumsfeld’s doctrine using a bivariate analysis tool like this: This model suggests a strategy for our genealogy studies. An ‘Ariadnean’ thread for navigating this labyrinth. I find it helpful when trying to tackle genealogy conundrums I am faced with – such as:
• How did my father’s ancestors settle as small farm tenants into a recently established manor of 5,000 acres which had ‘20 English houses’ in 1620 but maybe 2,000 in 1820?• Was my first ancestor in Ulster a• When was an adjacent marsh drained to give a same-surname tenant a new pasture farm?• How did my father inherit part of that?
