Let’s not judge our ancestors

By Nancy Battick

Occasionally I write about the necessity not to judge our ancestors by today’s standards. It’s important to know something about the history of when they lived. 

That can mean facing some uncomfortable facts. If an ancestor did something you dislike, does that mean your ancestor was a terrible person or just a child of his or her time? Is it fair to judge an action taken by someone who lived in a different world, under laws no longer deemed appropriate? 

My own family tree is dotted with people who sometimes did things I don’t condone. I try to leave my judge’s robe in the closet when dealing with them. These are philosophical questions only you can answer. Just don’t be too hard on your ancestors. Remember, 300 years from now, someone is going to be judging your actions. That should give us all pause. 

While many people like to believe their ancestors were all saints (they weren’t) or that they came from perfect families (they didn’t), the truth is that our ancestors were no better or worse than people today. Does that mean they did everything the way we would or that we can’t disapprove of what was done by them? We can deplore an ancestor who owned slaves or was a murderer or just a cruel person, but we need to understand they may have acted from fear, the need to protect their family, or in accordance with the customs and laws of that time. 

History is full of uncomfortable facts. Our national heroes often had clay feet. For one example, our first president, George Washington, while the commanding general of American forces in the Revolutionary War, authorized the sending of blankets infected with smallpox to native tribes who sided with the British, resulting in many deaths. 

Today that would be a war crime, but Washington was fighting for the life of our infant nation with few resources. The truth is every president of our country committed actions that they thought were called for to preserve our country and which we would probably be ashamed of, or wish hadn’t happened.

Many Eastern Europeans were raised in Catholic churches where they were taught to hate the Jews because they killed Jesus. Antisemitism was widespread. When the Nazis invaded eastern Europe, their roundup of Jews was made easier by the cooperation of Catholic Christians who believed they were doing the right thing in betraying their neighbors. How do we judge people indoctrinated from childhood to hate an entire race especially when that hatred was sanctioned by their religious authorities? 

My advice is don’t waste time condemning an ancestor for their actions using today’s moral code. As I said, 300 years from now your descendants will be judging you, fair or not. 

Instead of judging your ancestors, learn all you can about them and accept what you learn as fact. It may not be necessarily something you endorse, but as they say, it is what it is. Nobody human is or was perfect.

Columnist Nancy Battick of Dover-Foxcroft has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UM. Reader emails are welcome at nbattick@roadrunner.com.