Writing about his passion for book collecting, Walter Benjamin notes:

"Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector's passion borders on the chaos of memories." (Benjamin quoted in Healy, 1994, p.34)

But the interpretative authority now imposed by museums and other historical sites to their collections can undermine the invocation of associations, memories, unanswerable questions, confusion and fragmentary recognition which lie at the heart of any collector's passion.

Museums and other sites of historical significance now promise us "experiences", carefully filtered and crafted from available resources, in an attempt to limit the range of possible interpretations. One no longer visits the Tower of London: one endures the "Tower of London experience", with its emphasis on times and dates and only cursory references to the ghosts that may reside within its walls. The authoritive 'reading' of history serves to undermine and inhibit other possible readings and reinforces the rationality and, hence universality, of the historical experience.

Similarly, family historians, in an attempt to legitimise their activities as 'genuine history' historicise genealogy as a 'timeless and universal practice' as in the example below:

"Genealogy can be defined as the study of ancestry. It is found in all nations and in all time periods. The history of genealogy can be divided into three stages: 1. Oral Tradition 2. Early written records - certain pedigrees were committed to writing. The term “pedigree” is used to describe a genealogy that is set forth in a chart or other written form. 3. The recording of births, marriages and deaths and the keeping of public records - This is generally accepted as having begun in Western Europe after 1500 A.D."

They also demand a consistently coherent approach to the collection, preservation and interpretation of materials. The following comes from a site which seeks to outline the basic principles of genealogical research:

Guidelines for Controlling Data and Research
3.1  How to Begin - 8 Steps
3.2  Some General Genealogical Rules (29)

3.2.1   Read a Book on Genealogy ; 3.2.2   Seek Assistance From a More Experienced Genealogist ; 3.2.3   Check to see if Anyone has Already Collected Data ; 3.2.4   Begin With Yourself - The Golden Rule ; 3.2.5   Converse With Family Members and Relatives ; 3.2.6   Obtain Facts ; 3.2.7   Record Everything Immediately - Be Consistent ; 3.2.8   Record Exact Data ; 3.2.9   Record Unchecked Data Separately ; 3.2.10 Record Sources of Data ; 3.2.11 Record the Date Data was Recorded ; 3.2.12 Record Surnames and Names -  Correctly and Completely ; 3.2.13 Research Family, House Names ; 3.2.14 The Key to Finding Data Pertaining to Oneself are Locations of Events ; 3.2.15 Record Dates Correctly (Format) ; 3.2.16 Use a Standard Form For Recording; 3.2.17 Do Not Use Your Own Abbreviations ; 3.2.18 Do Not Skip Generations ; 3.2.19 Record Comprehensible Notes ; 3.2.20 Label Individuals and Events in Photographs Carefully ; 3.2.21 Prepare Copies/Duplications of Collected Data ; 3.2.22 Save Copies of Correspondence ; 3.2.23 Become Familiar With the History of the Place ; 3.2.24 Be Aware of the Altered Meaning of Terms ; 3.2.25 Extend the Research and Collection of Data to Many Relatives ; 3.2.26 Test - Question The Accuracy of Data (Genealogical "Skepticism") ; 3.2.27 Combine Numerous Sources
3.2.28 Learn to Read the Gothic Alphabet ; 3.2.29 Publish What Has Been Collected

These injunctions read like an introduction to a course in historical methodologies and the reference to 'Genealogical skepticism' invokes a relation to truth that has its ancestry in 19th century rationalism.

But the essential spirit of family history is concerned with the construction of identity - an activity which finds itself buried beneath interminable 'facts' and 'records' when approached in the manner outlined above. Family history is exciting precisely because of its incongruity, its gaps and fissures, its unending mysteriousness , its latent possibilities.