As one of my primary sources, Kathleen Chambers’ memories were vital to the writing of Mrs. Oswald Chambers.
Interviewed in 1991 by Oswald Chambers biographer David McCasland, Kathleen told wide-ranging stories of her parents and her life.
She was nearly 78 years old when she talked with McCasland. Her father had been dead for 73 years; her mother for a quarter century.
Kathleen had no siblings and no first cousins, aunts, or uncles still alive.
McCasland used her information when he wrote his book, as did I. She provided stories that charmed me and offered great insight into her mother.
Most of her memories were true.
But not all.
The need to verify
As a one-time reporter, I knew to check Kathleen’s facts when possible.
Before I began my in-depth research, I did a genealogical workup of the Chambers and Hobbs families.
I sought answers to specific questions about Biddy’s past — particularly where her stenography skill came from and why.
In hunting down that information, which took me a month to reach my conclusions, I learned about Kathleen’s ancestors.
When I read the transcript, I realized Kathleen had the outline of the story fairly correct. However, she muddled the generations and didn’t know basic facts.
That surprised me until I recalled how few relatives she had to tell her family stories. None were alive by 1991.
Her uncertainty was not her fault. All my information is backed up with endnotes in the biography for those who are curious.
How true are memories?
Nearly fifty years ago, my family spent an entire summer camping around Europe.
As a young teenager, I was tasked with keeping a travel journal.
Twelve years ago, I transcribed those notes into a story for my siblings.
Last spring, I reworked the story and was surprised by facts I had not remembered correctly.
Unlike Kathleen, I could ask three other people still alive who took the trip with me.
My uncle and I discussed one of the stories last night — about his birthplace in Sicily.
I was sure we visited Normandy’s veterans’ cemetery.
The journal, a map, and someone else’s memory said we stood aghast at Verdun.
I’m a lot younger now than Kathleen Chambers was when she sat for her interview.
I’ve got written notes and other eyewitnesses.
Yet I still got the story — events I eyewitnessed and wrote down —wrong!
What’s a biographer to do?
Make your best guess, cite any references you have, and verify everything you can. Then use endnotes to explain puzzles.
Logic, reasonable doubt, discussions with others, and books can help.
Ultimately, I had to ask myself whether I trusted Kathleen Chambers.
Who else knew Biddy Chambers as well?
Tweetables
Kathleen Chambers and a need to verify the source. Click to Tweet
Handling an unintentionally unreliable narrator: Kathleen Chambers. Click to Tweet
How to verify the unverifiable? Click to Tweet
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