These two books are good examples of the way historians and genealogists, once groups with little mutual respect, are drawing upon each other's work in the 21st century. John MacGibbon is a genealogist, and his book tells the story of his great-grandfather's migration from Scotland to Dunedin in 1849. But the book is far more than a family history. It uses the work of historians to place the first John MacGibbon's voyage in a much wider context, and is of value to anyone trying to imagine the movement of peoples from Britain to New Zealand in the 19th century.
By contrast, Settlersis a work by two academically trained professional historians and is based on detailed statistical analysis. But the authors also drew extensively upon family histories prepared by members of the Society of Genealogists, and it has become important background reading for family historians seeking to understand their ancestors' voyages south.
Courtesy of Ngaio Press and Auckland University Press
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