Family History Research

Before you start your family history research

What can be better than researching your family history?! While it is a fulfilling pursuit it is also a lot of work. You should expect to run into some problems along the way. It’s important though, that you not create your own frustrations by making mistakes in the initial stages of your research.

A couple of don’ts

Don’t make any assumptions.
Don’t believe anything you are told unless it can be confirmed by documentation.

Beware of stories suggesting royal or noble descent. Most of our first ancestors had occupations connected to agriculture and the land. The most important order of action is to always start with the known and find your way to the unknown.

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Whose genealogy do you want to trace?

As early on as you can in your project, you should try to make this decision. You may want to trace just your father’s ancestor, or perhaps a maternal line, or all of your children’s ancestors. If you research all four grandparents’ families, then you are tracing your complete lineage, both female and male ancestors. The number of ancestors you will find will double for each generation completed. If you are successful in researching 10 generations, you will have 1022 ancestors.

Our course, Methodology-Part 1: Getting Started, will assist you in using correct research methodology as you trace your family tree.

Genealogy?

What does Genealogy mean?

A definition found in the dictionary states that “genealogy is the science of tracing your family back through the centuries.” Genealogies record the descent of an individual or a family from a certain ancestor. It is the study of your pedigree.

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What the dictionary does not explain is the fun and the challenge you can have as you climb your family tree. Think of genealogy as a big, huge puzzle. And you are but one piece of that puzzle.

The mystery in this puzzle is that once you get started, you never know where you’re going or what you’ll find once you get there. With our Methodology-Part 1: Getting Started course you will learn more about these genealogy puzzle pieces.

Recording Your Information

Recording your information

The Pedigree Chart (or Ancestral Chart) will record your direct line ancestors’ information. In other words, you will record the dates and locations of births, marriages, deaths and burials from one father and mother to the next father and mother. While the potential is there for an endless number of ancestors, most of us in the beginning only have knowledge of two or three generations.

Genealogical Numbering Systems

The Sosa-Stradonitz genealogical numbering system is very common. This system assigns a number to ancestors, beginning with the descendant. So your pedigree charts start with the first line, labeled number 1. Number 1 is the name of the person whose genealogy you are doing. So, if you’re doing your own genealogy, your name will be on line number 1. The abbreviations used on the form to record places and dates include:

B for date of birth
M for date of marriage
D for date of death
P for place or W for where (location of above events)

The number 2 person on your chart, if number one is yourself, will be your father’s name and his factual information. Number 3 will be your mother’s name and her information. Number 4 is your father’s father, in other words, your paternal grandfather and number 5 your paternal grandmother. Numbers 6 and 7 are your maternal grandparents. Numbers 8-15 are your great-grandparents. Notice that all the even numbers indicate your male ancestors and all the odd numbers indicate your female ancestors.

Taking our course Methodology-Part 1: Getting Started will help with you learn more the charts and reports used in genealogical research.

The Business of Learning: Methodology 6

ME-301 Methodology: Part 6

By Shannon Combs-Bennett, Student

Methodology Part 6: Professional Preparation and Practice concentrates on professional development and further educational opportunities. This is a topic I am always looking into, so I was very excited to jump into the information provided.

Unlike many professions, there really is not a standard way a person becomes a professional genealogist. Sure, you can take programs like the one from the International Institute of Genealogical Studies and others. You could go for certification or accreditation. Maybe you decide after 30 years of researching your own family tree that you now want to try your hand at someone else’s. However, no matter your path, genealogists are left to learning about being a professional on their own.

Anytime I am offered insight from a course, webinar, lecture, etc. that gives me a clue to what it means to be a professional (or just bring myself up to that level) I am all ears. You know what? You should be too. Even if you never “hang your shingle” you should still strive to be as professional as possible in your research. It will make your descendants very, very happy. Trust me.

Through the course I learned about:

Setting up a business
Managing clients
Writing reports
Teaching others

These are all things that I do, nearly every day, and I still was able to pick up new pointers. Especially in the aspect of working for others (aka client work). Even if your “clients” are friends or family (and they may or may not be paying you), the ideas and skills taught in this course were outstanding and will be beneficial. In fact, I have already started to use them.

But, if you are like me, and have no business skills but want to make a living at your hobby then you will want to take this course purely for Module 2. It walks you through everything you need to consider when setting up your business. I found the part on office planning (in the home or out of) to be very insightful. Along with setting up your work area and marketing yourself. There is so much that goes into creating a business from scratch!

Most importantly is the section on ethics. Being the best, and most ethical, genealogist is always my goal. I hope that it is yours too. The last module in the course covers the Association for Professional Genealogists code of ethics and a discussion of what we should all be doing to cover our bases. It is a section that we should all take to heart.

Overall, Methodology Part 6: Professional Preparation and Practice had excellent information, even if you never take money for genealogy work. It is good to know what is out there and how to stay on top of the game. Plus, if you are not a lecturer it will give you a lot of insight into all the preparation we go through to bring you our topics. Hours and hours of planning.

Well, off to the next course! See you online!

My Favorite Course: Methodology

By Lisa-Dawn Crawley, Student

Greetings from Nerdville and the geek who picks the Methodology series as her favourite offering (so far!) from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies!

It’s only logical, (said Mr. Spock, from Star Trek) that we start with the first course in the series, right? Right.

Reporter Table by koratmember/Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Methodology Part 1: Getting Started was my first peek into the world of practical genealogy study. In fact, it was only the second course I took through the Institute! I had been doing my own thing for a couple years at that point, climbing and pruning my trees in a consistent though haphazard manner. As such a typical beginner, I knew there must be better, more efficient ways to manage what I was doing and I was eager to begin learning Proper Techniques for researching and organization. I was not disappointed.

I get excited just going back to the outline for this course on the website and reading through my submitted assignments (which you can do by clicking the S beside any completed course in your Student Briefcase). I remember how new and wondrous it all was at the time. So much to wrap my little brain around! Fortunately, this course (and the series, for that matter) took it slow and steady. Not only did it give me a realistic idea of “how far back you can go” and of the caveats involved in most human interaction versus what is recorded and/or remembered, it introduced and explained frequently used and helpful forms (ie, pedigree charts, family group sheets) and provided the reasoning behind such things as the standards for recording abbreviations and dates. I have found that understanding the reason why a practice is considered standard often makes it easier to be consistent just as looking back at this course material and my notes was a great refresher — are you listening, More-Seasoned Researchers??

Methodology Part 1 is a solid overview of this Hobby-That-Is-Also-A-Skill. I believe it would serve as a good review for an experienced genealogist. It is most certainly a course for eager beginners to get their feet wet in all the areas of general research most interesting to them — from the many types of records and repositories available to interviewing living relatives and collecting clues closer to home — while developing a solid foundation of practical knowledge. In fact, it offers hands-on experience at working through a research problem and building a research plan. Confusing terms and situations which will likely arise are also discussed. Similarly, types of sources (original versus derivative) and information (primary versus secondary) are introduced — WITH EXAMPLES, thankfully!!

Indeed, this is the course series where you first really begin learning about those strange and sometimes scary but significant terms new genealogists stress over — numbering systems? proof? evidence? transcribe?? abstract?? extract?? CITATION???? But not to worry!! Your completion of The National Institute’s Methodology series will ensure any terror and trepidation subsides considerably, if not disappears completely!

Until next time – Happy Hunting!

Lisa-Dawn Crawley is a current student of The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. She is enrolled in four certificate programs (Methodology, Professional Development, Canadian Records and English Records) and hopes to graduate with honours in her hometown of Ottawa, Ontario at the 2017 OGS Conference, in the National Capital’s celebratory year of Canada’s 150th birthday. Her new blog LDC: The Zombie Genealogist chronicles her sleepless endeavours to bring the dead back to life, to interest her relatives and the younger generation in family history, to preserve some of her own thoughts, experiences and memories and, ultimately, to become a professional genealogist. Besides genealogy, LDC’s vices include books (so, so many books!), movies (and Netflix), boardgames and geekery (zombies, minions and Star Wars, oh my!), photography, contesting, bargain hunting, social media and privacy (yes, conflicting).