I also have a family history written in 1940. Much of what was included is validated by research that I have done. This history even included my mother, her siblings and her parents. However, after connecting with others researching this history-Smith-I have found that some of it is wrong and have found proof that some of it was wrong. I suspect that the person who wrote this-he was born in 1885-got some of it from my great grandfather-he died in 1910-but where great grandpa got it is anyone's guess. At any rate with the help now of the internet,lots of those things can be proven or disproven with further research.