Do you find it possible to abandon the family stories you have grown up with, or amend your interpretation of them?
I have just put Best Mate in contact with a distant cousin. The link is the Lannings. We heard so many stories when we were children and most proved distorted - unsurprising since one dated back to the 1820s.
Distant cousin states that her ancestor was cut out of a will.
£15k, some eight children and he copped a share of the residue, so probably £3-4k. BM was unable to convince her that just because he didn't get a named amount it didn't mean he didn't get anything and he actually got considerably more than his elder half-siblings.
I've had to completely reverse long held opinions, particularly when I've heard the same story, but with a very different slant put on it. I sometimes think my mother and her sister grew up on different planets.
What about you?