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OVERVIEW Genealogists collect oral histories and preserve family stories to discover ancestors and living relatives. Genealogists also attempt to understand not just where and when people lived but also their lifestyle, biography, and motivations. This often requires — or leads to — knowledge of antique law, old political boundaries, immigration trends, and historical social conditions. Genealogists and family historians often join a Family History Society where novices can learn from more experienced researchers, and everyone benefits from shared knowledge. Even an unsuccessful search for ancestors leads to a better understanding of history. The search for living relatives often leads to and of disrupted families. Genealogists sometimes help reunite families separated by War , Immigration , Foster Home s, and Adoption . The genealogist can help keep family traditions alive or reveal family secrets. In its original form, genealogy was mainly concerned with the March 11 . If these descents were true, Queen Elizabeth II would be a descendant of Woden, via the kings of Wessex . (See Euhemerism .) In fiction, it is common to give a character a complicated Fictional Genealogy to make his or her background more interesting. A picturesque one is the genealogy for Godwulf Of Asgard . MODERN RESEARCH Genealogy, a popular hobby, received a big boost in the late 1979 ; McClure, Rhonda. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, Second Edition,'' Indianapolis, IN: Alpha, 2002. Page 3. ISBN 0028642678. With the advent of the Internet, the number of resources available to genealogists has vastly increased; however, some of these sources must be treated with caution because of issues of accuracy. Research efforts sometimes specialize on: types of relationships among people such as kinship to a particular group, e.g. a Scottish Clan ; a particular surname such as in a One-name Study ; a small community, e.g. a single village or parish, such as in a One-place Study ; or a particular person such as Winston Churchill or Jesse James . LDS collections In the 20th century, The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints (LDS) engaged in a large-scale program of copying all available records of genealogical value onto Microfilm . The Church also sought to compile an index of the submissions of its members. The two projects have since resulted in two major databases, the International Genealogical Index , or IGI, representing transcriptions of filmed civil and ecclesiastic records from various cooperating locales worldwide, and the Ancestral File, or AF, representing the contributions of Church members. The IGI contains data taken from various birth or marriage records that Church members have microfilmed; in all, the IGI contains hundreds of millions of records of individuals who lived between 1500 and 1900, primarily in the United States, Canada and Europe. The IGI also contains numerous duplications of AF records. Resources include the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, which houses the original microfilms and microfiches, its 4,000+ branches (called Family History Centers, where films and fiches can be rented for on-site research, and FamilySearch , an interactive internet site, provides free access to research guides and numerous databases, including the Ancestral File, International Genealogical Index, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, and Social Security Death Index. Genetic analysis See Also: Genetic genealogy With the discovery that a person's DNA contains information that has been passed down relatively unchanged from our earliest ancestors, Analysis Of DNA has begun 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 estimate the probability that they are (or 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 Molecular Genealogy Research Project . 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 The 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. Sharing data among researchers Data sharing among genealogical researchers has grown to be a major use of the Internet . Most Genealogy Software programs can export information about persons and their relationships in GEDCOM format, so it can be shared with other genealogists by E-mail and Internet Forum s, added to an online database such as GeneaNet , or converted into a family Web Site using online genealogical tools such as PhpGedView . Many genealogical software applications also facilitate the sharing of information on CD-ROMs and DVDs made on personal computers. One phenomenon over the last few years has been that of large genealogical databases going online and attracting such large Flash Crowds that the database's host server collapses, causing service to be quickly suspended while hurried upgrades are made to accommodate the traffic load. This happened with FamilySearch , the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's database of war graves, and in January 2002 with the much-anticipated British Census For 1901 . Volunteerism Volunteer Efforts figure prominently in genealogy. These efforts range from the extremely informal to the highly organized. On the informal side are the many popular and useful Message Boards and Mailing Lists regarding particular surnames, regions, and other topics. These forums can be used with great success to find relatives, request record lookups, obtain research advice, and much more. Many genealogists participate in loosely organized projects, both online and off. These collaborations take numerous forms of which only a few are mentioned here. Some projects prepare name indexes for records, such as Probate cases, and often place the indexes online. Genealogists use the indexes as Finding Aid s to locate original records. Rather than index, some projects transcribe or abstract records, especially when genealogists may want to search the records by something other than surname. For example, a genealogist using the Cluster Genealogy research technique might want to search records by Land Description . For this reason, Deed s are a good candidate for transcription. Offering record lookups is another common service, and projects are usually organized by geographic area. Volunteers such as RAOGK offer to do record lookups in their area for researchers who are unable to travel. Those looking for a structured volunteer environment can join one of thousands of Genealogical Societies worldwide. Like online forums, most societies have a unique area of focus such as a particular surname, Ethnicity , geographic area, or Descendency From Participants In A Given Historical Event . These societies are almost exclusively staffed by volunteers and can offer a broad range of services. It is common for genealogical societies to maintain a library for member's use, publish a newsletter, provide research assistance to the public, offer classes or seminars, and organize efforts such as cemetery transcribing projects. RECORDS IN GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH era family Bible.]] Records of persons who were neither Royalty nor Nobility began to be taken by governments in order to keep track of their citizens (In most of Europe, for example, this started to take place in the 16th Century ). As more of the population began to be recorded, there were sufficient records to follow a family using the paper trail they left behind. As each person lived his or her life, major events were usually documented with a license, permit or report which was stored at a local, regional or national office or Archive . Genealogists locate these records, wherever they are stored, and extract information to discover family relationships and recreate Timeline s of persons' lives. In China and other other Asian countries, Genealogy Books are used to record family members' names, occupations, etc. Some books are kept for hundreds or even thousands of years. Records that are used in genealogy research include:
As a rule, genealogists begin with the present and work backward in time. Written records have the property of hindsight in that they only tell where a person might have lived and who their parents were, not where they and their descendants might subsequently reside. 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 relatives who may already have traced their families backward to an ancestor they have in common (which is forward in time from his/her point of view). TYPES OF GENEALOGICAL INFORMATION The classes of information that genealogists seek include: place names, occupations, family names, first names, and dates. Genealogists need to understand such items in their historical context in order to properly evaluate genealogical sources. Place names While the place names of an ancestor’s residence or location of their life events are certainly core element of a genealogist's quest, they can often be confusing. Place names may be subject to variant spellings by partially literate scribes. Additionally, locations 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 . Shifts in political borders must also be understood. For instance, county borders in 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 because of disease or famine. Many sources provide locations for our ancestor’s life events and place of residency; these include vital records (civil registration), censuses, and tax assessments. Oral tradition is also an important source, although it must be used with caution. When no source information is available for a birth, death or marriage location, circumstantial evidence may provide a probable answer based on the place of residence of the individual or the individual’s family at the time of the event. Maps and gazetteers are important sources for understanding the places where our ancestors were born, lived, married, and died. They show us the relationship of the area to neighboring communities and may help us understand migration patterns. Occupations Occupational information may be important to understand an ancestor’s life. Two people with the same name may be distinguished by their occupation. Also, a person’s occupation may have been related to his or her social status, political interest, and migration pattern. Since skilled trades are often passed from father to son, occupation may be indirect evidence of a family relationship. It is important to remember that occupations sometimes changed or may be easily misunderstood. Workmen no longer fit for their primary trade often take less prestigious jobs later in life. Many unskilled ancestors had a variety of jobs depending on the season and local trade requirements. Census returns may contain some embellishment; e.g., from Labourer to Mason , or from Journeyman to Master Craftsman . 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 regionally preferred terms. For example, “shoemaker” and “cordwainer” have the same meaning. 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 occupational licenses, tax assessments, membership records of professional organizations, trade directories, census returns, and vital records (civil registration). Occupational dictionaries are available to explain many obscure and archaic trades. 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. |
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