[Personal_archives] Thank you!

[RICKBARRY at aol.com]

Like Jennifer Douglas, I too wish to thank Maryanne and other list  
contributors belatedly for this excellent discussion. Because  of technical 
difficulties, the discussion was far advanced by the time  I joined in, but I enjoyed 
reading the exchanges nonetheless. 
 
I was especially interested in the thoughts on how personal  archives can be 
as telling by what isn't recorded as by what is (not so much  unlike public 
records as we have come to see in the sad story of the  huge volume of now 
missing White House emails), and how much may be spun for  future historians by the 
withholding of recorded messages or by purposely  leaving messages written to 
reshape a picture of what really happened. 
 
On the love letter theme, I found the SISPA discussion  frequently causing me 
to reflect on the extraordinary story of love  and American national history 
revealed in the 1000+ personal letters between  Abigail and John Adams that so 
substantially informed David McCullough's "John  Adams". Sadly for them in 
many ways, but to posterity's and our great benefit,  we simply would not have 
had the rich sources from an inside couple who wrote in  privacy not for 
history about what really was happening during this  most crucial and fragile time 
in America's history had John and Abigail not been  apart for those many years 
of his government service while he served during  nation-making times in 
France, the Hague, London, Philadelphia and at the  new Washington City White House 
while she had to remain in Massachusetts.  Indeed, in so many ways, our 
understanding of history is so much circumscribed  by the limitations of what is 
recorded. 
 
Regards.
 
Rick Barry
_www.mybestdocs.com_ (http://www.mybestdocs.com)  
 
 
In a message dated 4/26/2008 1:32:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
jendoug at interchange.ubc.ca writes:


Hi  everyone,

I also wanted to say thank you to Maryanne and everyone else  for the 
discussion. Although I didn't have much time this week to contribute  in a meaningful 
way, I followed with interest and appreciated very much all  the posting.

Jennifer




--
Jennifer  Douglas
jendoug at interchange.ubc.ca

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