New England Genealogical Society refuses to defend or comment on its earlier statement about Warren’s ancestry

Cornell Law School professor William Jacobson, after underscoring that the basis for Warren’s great great great ancestor’s Indian identity is non-existent (as I reported Saturday), writes:

I reached out to Christopher Child, the well-known genealogist who was the source of the claim, and his employer, the prestigious New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), but they have gone silent, refusing to comment on, defend or correct their claim that Warren was 1/32 Cherokee. The e-mail exchange appears at the bottom of this post.

Here is the e-mail exchange:

Jacobson wrote:

Can you provide me with a copy of the 1894 marriage record for the son of O.C. Sarah Smith which you referenced in various media interviews as forming the basis for your conclusion that Elizabeth Warren is 1/32 Cherokee?

Do you still stand by that conclusion? Does NEHGS stand behind it?

Consider this a request for comment. Please respond today.

Thomas Champoux of the New England Historic Genealogical Society replied:

Mr. Jacobson, NEHGS is not conducting research on Elizabeth Warren nor are we commenting beyond what has already been covered by the media. Thank you.

Jacobson replied:

Mr. Child stated publicly on or about May 1 that Ms. Warren was 1/32 Cherokee and that he had a document to prove it. That statement has been reported far and wide.

Does Mr. Child and NEHGS stand by that statement anymore? Is there such a document? I would think you would want to comment on that, since NEHGS is perhaps the most prestigious genealogical society and its reputation has been put on the line by a categorical statement as to Ms. Warren’s ancestry. If NEHGS and/or Mr. Child no longer stand by the statement, I would think you would want to correct the record.

Will there still be no comment by NEHGS or Mr. Child either standing by or correcting/clarifying prior commentary?

Jacobson received no further response.

Jacobson concludes:

There is nothing left of the claim that Elizabeth Warren is 1/32 Cherokee. The documentary sources have been debunked, and the genealogist and genealogical society which originated the story and upon whom the Warren campaign relies are not talking.

Of course none of this will will be reported in the mainstream media, at least in any factual and definitive way. For liberals, the fraudulence of Warren’s Indian ancestry claim has no more reality than … than … black-on-white mob violence.

In fact, based on what a liberal acquaintance said to me a few weeks ago about the Martin-Zimmerman case (see entry “How I lost it”), I wouldn’t be surprised if liberals now claim that “the Right has racialized Elizabeth Warren.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 14, 2012 03:17 PM | Send