Historiography’s definition is much debated, but those definitions proposed all have some overlap. In a library guide, Princeton librarian for History and African American Studies Steven Knowlton explains historiography as “In the broadest sense […] the study of the history of history (as it is described by historians). ” In 2007 article, Caroline Hoefferle explained “Like most historians, I previous valued it [historiography] as a way to explore the methods and theories of other historians who have studied the topics I am researching; to gain a better sense of where my own research fits in and to see more clearly where there are gaps in the scholarship. ” (Hoefferle, Caroline. “Teaching Historiography to High School and Undergraduate Students.” OAH Magazine of History 21, no. 2 (2007): 40–44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25162115.) To summarize, historiography might be considered the analytical study of the writing of history.
How might historiography influence your Connecticut genealogy research?
\When we study our ancestors, one of the things we look at is historical context. What was going on around them? What experiences might they have had? What might they have lived through or seen? What laws or experiences might have shaped the sources we have about them? Oftentimes, we’re drawing the context material from some sort of reference text, whether it be a professional genealogist’s website or a history book.
We don’t often think about what approach the text’s writer might have taken in writing the material, what they might have chosen to emphasize or what they might have left out – but perhaps we should. Those gaps can sometimes prove crucial to better understanding our ancestors’ lives.
Just to provide an example, the experiences of families of color in Connecticut has been the focus of much recent scholarship. Many of the references texts focus on the pre- and post-Antebellum period, by which they mean the Civil War. Yet, in 1792, the Connecticut militia was restricted to white males, while had it been integrated prior. What changed in 1792? And is that some thing that might have impacted the life of an ancestor? Would it make more sense to our individual study to take a different approach and focus on a different timeline?
Connecticut Roots by Charter Oak Genealogy 