Throughout my research on Clay MacCauley, I experienced many roadblocks and challenges. Creating a biography is no easy task, and it involves careful research and making hard choices on what information to present.
Challenges
- The Spelling of MacCauley's Name- Arguably the biggest challenge I encountered with my research on MacCauley was the spelling of his name. When I first encountered MacCauley in the alumnae directory, his name was spelt "McCauley". I did not question this at the time and that led me to be discouraged. When I searched for "Clay McCauley", very little information came up. I stumbled across a finding aid that mentioned that MacCauley's name was sometimes spelt "McCauley". This caused me to change the spelling of his name in my searches, and that lead to more fruitful results. Don't assume that the first spelling of a name you come across is the correct spelling. Be mindful of the fact that people sometimes change their names or people make mistakes when creating records. Names can be the most frustrating part about research. If your subject has multiple spellings of their names, it is important to choose one to make your biographical work consistant. In this case, I chose MacCauley because there was a lot more information about him under the name MacCauley, and I found a signature of his using the spelling "MacCauley".
- The Lost Papers- Clay MacCauley's papers were lost in the 1980s. I can only imagine all the fruitful information these papers contain and how these papers could help tell the story of Clay MacCauley. It is frustrating, but sometimes you have to work with what you have. That being said, you should always try to find new material. Research does not end. Perhaps one day Clay MacCauley's lost papers will be found, and there could be so much more to say about him. Use all your resources and do not give up when conducting research. You will eventually stumble upon something great. Whether or not it is the lost papers of Clay MacCauley, there is something out there to be discovered. For example, the first time I went to the Dickinson College archives I found absolutely nothing on him. There was not anything on him in the card catalog and when I searched for collections I did not find anything. However, a few weeks later I found a signed copy Memories and Memorials. This document turned out to be the most important part of my research. Moral of the story: do not give up when it comes to research. If you are interested in pursuing Clay MacCauley further, there is a collection at the Princeton University library on Clay MacCauley. I reached out to the library staff hoping to get an electronic copy, but it did not work out. I encourage anyone interested in MacCauley to pursue the collection at Princeton University.
- Dealing with Obscurity- MacCauley is a pretty obscure figure in American history. He is not completely obscure, but he is certainly not the easiest person to find information on. The confusion over his last name does not help this. With obscure figures, you need to work harder. It is definitely frustrating, but the feeling when you finally find an important piece of information is very rewarding. Working with obscure figures will improve your research skills because it forces you to work harder. There is also a feeling of doing something original and important when researching an obscure figure. Clay MacCauley is important but he is forgotton. While I certainly had my moments of doubt, there were also moments when I felt the need to tell his story and that history had neglected him. My biggest hope for this project is that my work will inspire further study in Clay MacCauley's life.
How to portray maccauley's life?
When I decided to make my multi-media exhibit a biographical representation of Clay MacCauley's life, I was unsure how to go about it. I ended up focusing on his personality and his faith, and how he maintained them throughout his life. This is keeping with John Lewis Gaddis's concept of "self-similarity across scale" in his novel, The Landscape of History. According to Gaddis, "biographers seek patterns that persist as one moves from the micro- to macro- levels of analysis, and back again" (117). The pattern is the self similarity across scale. When creating a biography of a person, it can be hard to find this pattern. In my work with Clay MacCauley, it was certainly hard to find this pattern. He was a man who had such an eventual past that it was hard to connect them together. Self-similarity across scale can be almost any factor. In MacCauley's case his personality and faith were the knots that tied the many events of his life together. Self similarity across scale is what can make a biography compelling and important. If you are in the process of writing a biography, try to find an example of self-similarity across scale in your subject.
Some stories are left out of history. Throughout my work with Clay MacCauley's story, I felt as though his story had been neglected from history. I began to wonder why his story has been excluded from the narrative. Perhaps it is due to the lost papers. Or perhaps the confusion over his last name plays a role in his being forgotton. Clay MacCauley definitely tried to preserve his memory by writing his autobiography, Memories and Memorials. However, the autobiography is very lengthy and convoluted at times, and jumps from his experiences to his philosophical and theological thoughts often. In the introduction to his autobiography, Clay MacCauley writes:
Some stories are left out of history. Throughout my work with Clay MacCauley's story, I felt as though his story had been neglected from history. I began to wonder why his story has been excluded from the narrative. Perhaps it is due to the lost papers. Or perhaps the confusion over his last name plays a role in his being forgotton. Clay MacCauley definitely tried to preserve his memory by writing his autobiography, Memories and Memorials. However, the autobiography is very lengthy and convoluted at times, and jumps from his experiences to his philosophical and theological thoughts often. In the introduction to his autobiography, Clay MacCauley writes:
Special Thanks
I would like to acknowledge many people who helped me during this project. Thank you to Professor Pinsker for giving me a lot of advice, guidance, and ideas on this project, and encouraging me to stick to Clay MacCauley. Thank you to the staff at the Dickinson College archives who are always very helpful and make doing research a lot easier. Thank you to Christine Bombaro from the Dickinson College library for helping me with research. Thank you to my fellow History 204 classmates who helped me throughout this semester.
Sources:
John Lewis. Gaddis, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the past (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).