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A chronicle, they say, is the detailed
historical account of events arranged in order of time without interpretation or analysis. And while the following narrative
fits the definition of an orderly historical account, it is not without interpretation or analysis. This account, then, is
perhaps more an expedition of personal archeology that attempts to piece together the parts of a puzzle that reveal a snapshot
of a person’s story, in order to shed light on it.
The account of a life’s story, as it presents itself here, is made all the more difficult when
the person giving the account has no connection to that person’s story beyond a post-mortem reading of his edited, published
diaries, which is further complicated by the editor’s use of pseudonyms and her fusion of persons to represent individual characters.
Much of this research was begun in a time (1993) when
widespread Internet access to the general public was in its infancy, and easy-to-use graphical web browsers and search engines
for use on the World Wide Web were just making it onto the scene, though later the Internet would play a role in the process
of discovery. Today, clues turn-up on the Internet with irregular frequency,
and with varying degrees of reliability. All non-original material presented herein was extracted from the public
domain, garnered from clues contained within the edited diaries.
Because
of the fragmented nature of conducting research on hidden clues and composite characters within the diaries, this account
is necessarily uneven in its results. Where facts abound, it treats the entries in more detail; where facts are
less certain, the information is more sparse. No attempt has been made to address the unevenness of this account, at
present. This is an interim work that is in no sense finished.
Since I live a good distance from where most of the actual historical events took
center stage, much of the research was conducted via distance through regular postal correspondence; a slow, arduous and often
frustrating process. Had I lived in the region where the actual events had taken place, this research would necessarily be
more detailed and rich. For now, however, I offer what I have here, to those who might be interested, in an effort to bring
one man’s story to light.
The book form that
I have chosen has practical ramifications for lending itself to revision, as I continue to research and update the history
as new evidence comes to light.
It does occur
to me today, a decade beyond the first year in the process of discovery, that the editor may have since deposited the original
diaries in some research institution or library, which would seem
to render this account somewhat irrelevant. But upon further reflection, the material contained herein offers additional historical
documentation not contained within the diaries themselves, as well as some non-traditional research sources that may be of
interest to the genealogical or historical researcher. In addition, it documents some of the events of my own quest.
In the years since writing the Prologue, Ina Russell, editor Jeb and Dash: Diary Of
A Gay Life, 1918 – 1945, has indicated publicly that the Library of Congress has asked to take
possession of Carter’s diaries, and she intends to deposit them there. “Jeb & Dash: Behind
the Diaries” http://jebanddash.tripod.com/JD_copy/behinddiaries.html
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All contents of this website Copyright ©2005 - 2012, Neal Cordan. You are prohibited from downloading, storing,
reproducing, transmitting, displaying, copying, printing, distributing or using any material found on this website without
first obtaining explicit permission from Neal Cordan. The copyright extends to all displayed images; all of which are copyright
their respective owners.
NealCordan@aol.com
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