Yes. this is quite legitimate where records were destroyed... all too common in Virginia - Revolutionary War, Civil War... But 'No', Wharton Dickinson was a shyster genealogist it turns out. I actually found a handwritten ms of his in the NYC Public Library - one of about four known to exist. None of them agreed with each other on much.
***Aren’t family stories WONDERFUL!***
YES! It is a field worthy of sharp minds, and folks who need to sharpen their minds. The rewards are fantastic! But be careful taking on one of our founding fathers! ;^)
Gotta run...
>>But be careful taking on one of our founding fathers!
Think about taking on Clement Moore!!!!!!!!!! THAT has been an absolute upheaval. The man who had just bought a handwritten copy of the poem, whose value plummeted when our research came out in 2000, hired a paranormal investigator to attack us in two articles. He still goes after the new prof I’ve been working with, even though he did eventually sell the piece. Not for the price he had hoped for, though, I think.