Where are the horse thieves?

One of our family genealogy treasures is a document called "Brief Sketch of the Kendalls and Gibsons" written in 1889 by a Martha Ann Kendall Jones. One of my great-grandmothers was a Kendall and Martha's story covers the family history from 1700 forward.

It not only has names/dates/places but many stories, too, which is wonderful. I just have one little complaint about Martha: If you accept her version, you'd think everyone in the family was walking around with wings and a halo.

Samples of Martha's profiles: "...each were men of strong wills and dauntless courage..", "she was truly one of the most devoted, wise and Godly women of the times in which she lived..." "she was a cheerful happy-hearted Godly woman, kind to all, and tender-hearted to her dear children..."

While it's gratifying to know that my ancesters were such models of virtue, I gotta wonder. Dad told me once that his father, who was half Kendall, told him (with a chuckle) that he "suspected there were a few horse thieves in there somewhere, too."

Do people ever record the negative stuff in family histories? Or do they ignore the bad? Or flat-out lie about it?

Martha actually knew these people and I didn't, so I guess I gotta take her word for it. But how many saints can one family hold?