The Power of Words. Ellen Liberman: Disproving history

7/8/98
Ellen Liberman: Disproving history

       I had heard about Craig Anthony's research while waiting in an antiquarian bookstore to interview the owner on a different subject. I contacted Anthony and asked to read his paper. It was interesting, but I wasn't going to write about it unless other historians confirmed Anthony's conclusion that Sara Tefft's gravestone was not the oldest in New England, as had been touted for a century. After a couple of months, two independent historians made their evaluation. I decided it was ready to be a newspaper article.
       Then the big challenge was marshaling Craig Anthony's avalanche of research into a readable story that was not too long. I had the piece about the gravestone being ineligible for the title of oldest in New England and I had Anthony's interesting new perspective on Joshua Tefft's true place in Rhode Island history. Although I think there is great reader interest in history stories, I knew I had to chop down and simplify Anthony's complicated proof.
       Then I had to weave these strands together -- after all, Sara never lived very long with Joshua. That was the key and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I had some concerns about whether I could do it. But I am a strong believer in the power of nut grafs. By sketching out the story at the outset, my aim was to hold the reader's interest. It also neatly organizes the sections of a long story for you.
       Here's one gauge of whether it worked: reader response was strong.

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