Genealogy

Genealogy the study and tracing of family pedigrees. This involves collecting the names of relatives, both living and deceased, and establishing the relationships between them based on primary, secondary and/or circumstantial evidence or documentation, thus building up a cohesive family tree. Genealogy is sometimes also referred to as family history, although these terms may be used distinctly: the former being the basic study of who is related to whom; the latter involving more "fleshing out" of the life and family histories of the individuals involved. One way to find the family lineage is with the use of the genealogical method. It is a well-established ethnographic technique. The early ethnographers developed symbols that covered the issue of kinship, descent, and marriage. Studying one's genealogy is important in terms of social organization, especially where people live and work with their kin everyday. It plays a very important role in understanding the current social relations and reconstructing the history. Marriage is also looked at because it is important in creating alliances amongst tribes, clans and villages.

In this article, the terms genealogist, researcher, and family historian refer to every participant, from the inexperienced hobbyist to the professional.

Modern Research

Genealogy, an extremely popular hobby, received a big boost in the late 1970s with the premiere of the television adaptation of Alex Haley's fictionalized account of his family line, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. With the advent of the internet, the number of resources available to genealogists has vastly increased.

In addition to particular historical events and places, research efforts can focus on other types of relationships between people such as kinship to a particular group of people, e.g. a Scottish clan; to a particular surname such as in a one-name study (see Guild of One-Name Studies), or to a particular person such as Winston Churchill or Jesse James.

Genetic Analysis

With the discovery that a person's DNA contains information that has been passed down relatively unchanged from our earliest ancestors, analysis of DNA is just beginning to be used for genealogical research. There are two DNA types of particular interest. One is the mitochondrial DNA which we all possess and which is passed down with only minor mutations through the female line. The other is the Y-chromosome, present only in males, which is passed down with only minor mutations through the male line.

A genealogical DNA test allows for two individuals to determine with 99.9% certainty that they are related within a certain time frame, or with 100% certainty that they are not related within a certain time frame. Individual genetic test results are being collected in various databases to match people descended from a relatively recent common ancestor, for example see Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. These tests are limited to either the direct male or the direct female line.

On a much longer time scale, genetic methods are being used to trace human migratory patterns and to determine biogeographical and ethnic origin. The results can be used to place people within ancient ancestral groups, for example see Genographic Project. Participation in all such projects is, of course, voluntary.

In a related development, non-genetic mathematical models of ancestry have been devised to determine the approximate year when the most recent common ancestor of all living humans existed.

Records that are used in genealogy research include:

Adoption records
Baptism or christening records
Biographies and biographical profiles (as in Who's Who, etc.)
Birth records
Cemetery records and tombstones
Census records
City directories and telephone directories
Daughters of the American Revolution records
Death records
Diaries, personal letters and family Bibles
Emigration, immigration and naturalization records
Land and homestead records, deeds
Marriage and divorce records
Medical records
Military and conscription records
Newspaper columns
Obituaries
Occupational records
Oral history
Passports
Photographs
School and alumni association records
Ship passenger lists
Social Security Administration records (within the USA)
Tax records
Voter registration records
Wills and probate records

As a rule, genealogists nearly always start with the present and work backward in time rather than forward. Written records have the property of hindsight in that they only tell where a person might have lived and who their parents are, not where they and their descendants will be living in the future. Two exceptions are when a genealogist might interview living relatives as to who and where their children and grandchildren are, or tries to locate long-lost cousins who have already traced their families backward to one of his ancestors (which is forward in time from his point of view).

Reliability of Sources

Experience shows that genealogical "facts" can be unreliable. The top five classes of genealogical information — place names, occupations, family names, first names, and dates — differ in their degree of reliability.

Place Names

Place names are normally the most accurate because they tend to be long lasting. Nevertheless, place name data may be occasionally inaccurate or confusing. Inaccurate place names in records may be caused by a number of factors. First, place names may be subject to variable spellings by partially literate scribes. Second, small places in neighbouring counties may have the same or substantially similar names. For example, the name Brocton for villages occurs six times in the border area between the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire). Third, place names may be confusing or deceptive due to changes in political borders. For instance, county borders in the C17th-C19th England were frequently modified, with outlying and detached areas being reassigned to other counties. Old records may contain references to Middle Age villages that have ceased to exist due to disease or famine. Finally, census returns may simply have recorded inaccurate information.

Individual recollections also provide a source of place names, and sometimes inaccurate place names. The place where someone describes growing up may not be the place of birth or where the records are eventually found. For instance, while an ancestor may recall growing up in one location, records documenting that ancestor may only be found in other locations. There is a good likelihood that the place (parish) of a birth for a girl is the place she marries (unless 'sent abroad' as a servant), and that the place of residence for a man is where he is buried; certainly a neighbouring parish.

Additionally, records may be found in many different locations due to family mobility

Genealogists may rely on several references for place names: Maps (online), especially detailed maps such as the British Ordnance Survey (OS) maps and OS Old Map website; gazetteers (place name dictionary); census returns; birth, death & marriage records; and historical records such as the Domesday Book.

Occupations

Reported occupations may be semi-accurate. Many unskilled ancestors had a variety of jobs depending on the season and local trade requirements. Occasionally skilled trades pass from father to son. Census returns may contain some embellishment; e.g., from Labourer to Mason, or from journeyman to Master craftsman. Workmen no longer fit for their primary trade often take less glamorous jobs later in life. Names for old or unfamiliar local occupations may cause confusion if poorly legible. For example, an ostler (a keeper of horses) and a hostler (an innkeeper) could easily be confused for one another. Likewise, descriptions of such occupations may also be problematic. The perplexing description "ironer of rabbit burrows" may turn out to describe an ironer (profession) in the Bristol district named Rabbit Burrows. Several trades have regional preferences, for example, shoemaker or cordwainer. Finally, many apparently obscure jobs are part of a larger trade community, such as watchmaking, framework knitting or gunmaking.

Occupational data may be reported in trade directories, census returns, birth, death & marriage records.

Family Names

Family names are simultaneously one of the most important pieces of genealogical information, and a source of significant confusion for researchers.

In most cultures, the name of a person references the family to which he or she belongs. This is called the family name, or surname. It is often also called the last name because, for most speakers of English, the family name comes after the given name (or names). However, this is not the case in other cultures, e.g., Chinese family names precede the given name.

Patronymics are names which allow identification of an individual based on the father's name, e.g., Marga Olafsdottir or Olfa Thorsson. Many cultures used patronymics before surnames were adopted or came into use. The Dutch in New York, for example, used the patronymic system of names until 1687 when the advent of English rule mandated surname usage. See the article "Dutch Patronymics in New York in the 1600s" at Olive Tree Genealogy for a beginner tutorial on the patronymic system.

As with place names, surname and personal name data may be subject to variant spellings. Older records may include greater variation in spelling than modern records. Phonetic spelling may be the only link variantly spelled names; e.g., "Quilter" and "Kieltagh". Records may also include completely different variants of names, such as MORT for MORDECAI.

The transmission of names across generations, marriages and other relationships, and immigrations also causes significant inaccuracy in genealogical data. For instance, children may sometimes take or be given step-parent, foster parent, or adoptive parent names. Women in many cultures have routinely used their spouse's surnames. When a woman remarried, she may have changed her name and the names of her children; only her name; or changed no names. Her birth ("maiden") name may be reflected in her children's middle names; her own middle name; or dropped entirely.

Official records do not capture many kinds of surname changes. For example, fostering, common-law marriage, love affairs, changes in career or location may all result in name changes which are not reflected as such in official records.  Surname data may be found in trade directories, census returns, birth, death & marriage records.

First Names

Genealogical data regarding first names is subject to many of the same problems of family names and place names.

Additionally, nicknames for personal names are very common — Beth, Lizzie or Betty is common for Elizabeth, which can be confused with Eliza. Patty has been used as a diminutive form for Martha. There is Amy used for Alice, Nancy/Ann, and Polly used for a number of feminine names including Mary Ann and Elizabeth. While the feminine names are the most confusing, masculine names can also interchange: Jack, John & Jonathan, Joseph & Josiah, Edward & Edwin, etc.

Middle names provide additional information. Middle names may be inherited, or follow naming customs. Middle names may sometimes be treated as part of the family name. For instance, in some Latin cultures, both the mother's family name and the father's family name are used by the children. Official records may record full names in a variety of ways: First, Middle, Last; Last, Middle, First; Last, First Middle; Last, First, M.

The same personal name can also be given to several children, especially where an older child has died.

Personal names go through periods of popularity, so it is not uncommon to find many similarly-named people in a generation, and even similarly-named families; e.g., "William and Mary and their children David, Mary, and John".

Many names may be identified strongly with a particular gender; e.g., William for boys, and Mary for girls. Other names may be ambiguous, e.g., Lee, or have only slightly variant spellings based on gender, e.g., Frances (usually female) and Francis (usually male).

For a search engine designed for researching your family by unique first names, visit "First Name Basis" at Genealogy Today.

Dates

The general rule is to never trust a date! Accurate dates of birth may be given for modern registrations and in a few church records at baptism. Family Bibles may be a help, but can be written from memory long after the event - beware of the same ink and handwriting for all entries; a sure sign the dates were written at the same time and therefore will be less reliable. Women will commonly reduce their age on marriage, and perhaps those under "full age" may increase their age upon marriage or joining the armed forces. Census returns are notoriously unreliable, particularly when looking for a date for a husband's death - if the woman is at home while the husband is away, she could be given as Head of household or assumed a widow. The 1841 census in the UK is rounded down to the next lower multiple of five years. Dates around birth may be confused between birth and baptism. Some families wait 3-5 years before baptising children, and adult baptisms are not unheard of. Both birth and marriage dates can be adjusted to cover for pre-wedding pregnancies. It is very common for the first child to be born before or within a few months of a marriage and sometimes baptised in the mother's name, later adopting the father's name after the parents' marriage. The father's name can be used even if no marriage has occurred.

In 1752 the date of the new year was changed in England and the American Colonies. Before 1752 the new year started on the 25th March, but in 1752 this was changed to the 1st January. This was part of the transition to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar. Many other European countries had already made the change, and by 1751 there was an 11 day discrepancy between the date in England and the date in other European countries. The date continued to be recorded as usual in 1752 until 2nd September 1752, the following day became 14th September 1752. Dates that were recorded in the older system can be shown by "double dating". For example; Original date: 24th of March 1750; Modern date: 24th March 1751; Double dating: 24th March 1750/51

For events occurring before 1752 in countries where the Julian calendar was still in use, it is best to use double dating whenever the exact year can be ascertained. When transcribing an original record where the exact year is evident but not expressed, the double date can be written as, for example, "24th March 1750/51".

One should also be aware that, in those places using the old Julian calendar, the numbering of months also varied. The "1st month" of the year was considered March, the second April, the third May, and so on. Those 24 days in March which fell before the beginning of the year were generally regarded as being part of the first month.

NOTE The foregoing may be true for British genealogical records but does in no way apply to records in other countries. A notable exception is the Nordic countries, especially Sweden, which have very detailed and mostly accurate records in the form of church records from the 18th century onwards.

But there, as in any historical research, a critical review of all information and an assessment of the reliability of each source is required.

Software

Genealogy software is computer software used to collect, store, sort, and display genealogical data. At a minimum, genealogy software tends to accommodate basic information about births, marriages, and deaths. Many programs allow for additional biographical information and a host of features.

Certain programs are geared towards specific religions, and will include additional fields relevant to that religion. Other programs focus on certain geographical regions.

Some programs will allow for the import of digital photographs, and sound files. Other programs focus on the ability to generate kinship charts. Some programs are more flexible than others in allowing for the input of same sex marriages and children born out of wedlock.

There is currently a move to incorporate fields for the input of genealogical DNA test results, though this information can be added into the "Notes" field of almost all genealogy software.

Most genealogy software will allow for the export of data in the GEDCOM format, which can then be shared with people using different genealogy software. Certain programs allow the user to restrict what information is shared, usually by removing information about living people for privacy purposes.