People Who Write Books Using Other People's Research

[Henry]

This past week, someone was down at the Town Office looking for information on Civil War Veterans From Fairfax.  He was given my name and I am sure my e-mail address as I do not respond to telephone calls, because I just do not have the information most people want on the tip of my tongue.  Anyhow, he called my house today while my wife and I were having our afternoon nap.  My wife was not going to wake me for this type of thing, so after that he ended up sending me an e-mail asking me for information as to where these Civil War Veterans might have lived here in town.  I sent him back an e-mail telling him that I had family information on most of them and it was in a book by name down at the town office, but I did not have the information on where they might have lived as that would require me searching the Town Land Records and I did not do that, so I would not be able to provide him with that information.

He quickly sent me back a note that said, "Well, I guess Fairfax won't get much of a chapter in my book."

You would be amazed at the number of people who write books and papers that get somebody else to do all the research work for them.

This guy did not place any guilt trip on me as several of us are now in the process of updating our own Fairfax town history book.  It will involve a lot of work and time and we have some wonderful dedicated people working on it, not someone trying to make a fast buck.

Not a quilt trip, just a little ticked at someone trying to take advantage of others.

[Cat]

It sounds like he was trying to find the info/do the research at the town office but was sent to you.

[Henry]

He was not aware that I was familiar with him, but back a number of years ago The Catholic Diocese of Vermont hired him to write a history of the diocese - I was selected from Fairfax since I had done a history on St. Lukes and represented St. Luke's parish.  He recorded what I said and put it in the book and that was the extent of his research.  He pretty much takes people's research and puts it in a book.

I spent close to two years researching St. Luke's including going through old St Albans Messenger Editions at The Franklin County Museum.  If anyone is interested, I have it on The St. Luke's Web Site:

http://www.vtgrandpa.com/stluke/stlukhis.html

[Mike Raburn]

Sarah Pailin, who???