Unwritten Code of Conduct for Genealogy

Genealogy Rules to Remember

1)  There is no Easy Button in Genealogy.  Genealogy requires work.  If you try to skip over facts or decide to not record what research you have done (successful ones AND ones that didn't bring you any info) then it will catch up to you.  You will end up doing more work than you planned.  You can also get burned out.  Even though there is no easy button, there ARE helpful tips to make your research more effective. Just remember that because it is hard and takes effort, it will be more meaningful and will be worth it.  

2)  Be open-minded to what to what you find.  Every family has its stories.  Every family has information that may not agree with what you find in documents.  Be open-minded.  Research with a "ignorant" point-of-view.  It's better to learn on your own, instead of copying.  Take what others say as a grain of salt.  Facts can get jumbled over time.  If you do find some discrepancies, refer to Rule #7!

3)  Record everything!  

Keep track of where, what, and when you are researching.  Write down where you found the source.  This would be a book, website, a family member, a recording, the back of a photo, etc. Write down what you found with the source.  Even if you didn't find anything, still right it down so that you don't go back to it.  It also helps those who want to research more later, so that they don't have to do double work either.  When you researched is also important.  For instance, perhaps in 2009 you looked for an ancestor on census reports and didn't find anything.  However, in 2010, the 1940 federal census became available.  You may not have found anything in 2009, but 2010 could bring something up.  It is good to have a research/source log for each ancestor and to be filed.  (You can file these in a file folder or on your computer or through Dropbox or Evernote).

Genealogical Proof is important in research.  What is the proof to show that the facts assigned to a person are as accurate as possible?  Here are some Genealogical proof standards that can help you know if you have more research to do on an individual.

4)  No such thing as a stupid question.  

There are lots of blogs, Facebook pages, family history centers, genealogical societies, libraries and much more to help you with your questions.  There are plenty of webinars, training videos, and classes to help train you effective genealogical practices or on software, or to help with the tough or easy questions.  Remember that you are not alone in this and feel free to ask for help.

5) Put yourself in your ancestor's shoes. 

 Sometimes answers to questions come in the strangest places.  Many times it is about thinking outside the norm or outside the box.  Put yourself in the time period your ancestor was in and the location in the world they lived.  What was going on historically in their region of the world.  What might their daily life have been like?  What struggles might they have faced?  Did they live during times of war?  Were they in the military, and was it voluntary or involuntary?  If they immigrated, why might they have?  So many questions to ask.  The more questions you ask the more connected you will feel to them, and the more answers you can find, even if in the strangest of places.

6) Share what you find.  

Do not take ownership of your research but share it!  Let others see what you have done instead of hoarding it to yourself.  Remember that we are all in this together.  The more sharing you do to others, the more others will do to you.  Do your research and then let it go.  

7)  Be patient, forgiving, and kind.  

Mistakes happen.  Stories get messed up or facts get misspelled or entered in wrong.  Be forgiving of others' mistakes.  Trust me, you will make some of your own.  For many, family history discoveries are sacred and special.  Be careful how you address mistakes, you may be ripping their heart out.  Remember that if we go back far enough we are all related somehow.

Want more ideas?  Here are some more:

I got this from here.

  

Beginner Training Lesson 3 - The Pedigree chart

The Pedigree Chart

A pedigree chart is an overview look at individuals who are connected to each other directly.  There are a few terms to know before getting started on a pedigree.  

1) The Direct Line -  this is the line of descendancy or Ascendancy (depending on how you look at it) where the child, mother and father are shown; siblings, aunts, uncles or cousins are not.  For example, my mother and father had six children.  My mother had two brothers and two sisters.  My father had two sisters.  For a "direct line" pedigree, I would only show myself, my mom and dad, and my mother's mom and dad, as well as, my father's mom and dad.  I would not put on the pedigree the other children in the family.  (The Family Group Record would list siblings) 

2)  The Paternal Line - This is the child to father to father to father to father...line.

3)  The Maternal Line - This is the child to mother to mother to mother...line.

There are also different types of layouts for pedigree charts, the one to use is up to you.  Here are some examples of pedigree charts and how to download your own.

The traditional pedigree chart can be found here.

For a unique way of looking at your chart, try a fan chart.  

Are you, your child, or other family member adopted?  

Here is an Adoptive Family Ancestor Chart on the Family Tree Magazine site.  It will require you to enter your email address.  If you do not want to get emails from them you can print or save the forms you are wanting and then unsubscribe later.  

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN FILLING OUT THE CHART:

*Information to add are the full name (woman have Maiden name), birth date, death date, marriage date.  Codes are (b) for Date of Birth, (d) for Death Date, and (m) for marriage date.  You will also want to add the places of these dates.  A pedigree chart (with the overview view) will help in planning where you want to start or seeing blanks that need to filled in.  

HOMEWORK:  Fill out your 5 generation pedigree chart as much as you can.

After filling out your 5 generation pedigree chart you might want to put it on your wall.  Here are some cute, clever or unique ideas.  

  

Beginner Training Lesson 2 -The Timeline

Capture History One Year at a Time

The next most important document to fill out is a TIMELINE.  A timeline is a glimpse of someone's life.  After completing a family group record for you and your immediate family, next do a timeline for each individual.  The image below is just an example of what one might look like.

You start with the year they were born (age would be 0) then have a line for every year up until the present day.  You will need more than one page or (as I did) make up a spreadsheet on your computer.  A timeline will need at least the birth year and the years up to the present or if the ancestor died to their death date.  Then you would need a column of their age in that year.  Then you would need an "Event" column.  This says what the event was. The next thing-you don't necessarily need, but it is definitely helpful-is to put down a "Documented Proof" or "Sources" column.  This column shows a brief source cited. 

Here is an example of a Timeline:

What I love about timelines is seeing where the "missing pieces" are.  Look at all the blanks.  Was there anything significant that happened in thier lives in those blanks that I am missing?  Also, for the ones I do have, what documented proofs are there out there for that event?  Did you know that you can also do a timeline for the history of the U.S. or the World or any other specific country to see what was going on in your ancestor's life during that time.  Or perhaps what was even going on during your lifetime.  Isn't this fascinating?  

HOMEWORK:

Make a timeline for you and your immediate family members.  Try to fill up the years.  Don't worry about Documented proof until after you have filled in the years.  Then you can look at what kind of searchable, documented proof is out there to prove it. 

If you get a chance, check out this website that let's you enter in the parameters of a birth date and death date and will tell you what was going on during that period of time in the U.S. or the world.  Go HERE to see.  They can do from 1000 AD to current.  You can also specify what types of facts you want shown on you timeline too.  Also, if the fact is underlined it means there are links to more information about the event.  Cool right?  

Beginner Training: Lesson 1 -The Family Group Record

The Family G...what?

In order to keep track of names and families and, for example, which "John Smith" is a Senior and which one is a "Junior", we have a form called a Family Group Record.  It is the most simplest breakdown of a family pedigree.  On a group record there is the mother, the father, and the children.  As you do research only research one family at a time.  When you work one family at a time it will be easier to keep papers together, it will be easier to file what work you have done (if you keep a physical copy) and it help you not get confused as your family pedigree gets larger and more vast.  It is also the way that all online or offline family pedigree charts work.  So to keep with the norm (per se), fill out a family group record for each geneological family.  

Here is a simple Family Group Record form you can download. 

If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Saints and would like a family group record that includes temple ordinances go here.

If you want one with a little different format, here is one by ancestry.com. 

If you want to get cute and fancy you can get one here. This one can also be fillable online.


Things to REMEMBER:

1)  When filling out the Last Name Capitalize it.
2)  When filling out the last name of the mother, always use the Maiden Name
3)  If you don't know the name of someone leave it blank (you can put possible names and spellings or nicknames in your "notes" area)  Also nicknames should be in quotations.
4) If there is a middle name add it to the first name.  If there is more than one middle name add them all.
5) Dates should be written in the military system, i.e. 4 July 1776
6)  When filling out the place:  try to have the town/city, county, state and country.  It will be written as such Gilbert, Maricopa, Arizona, USA if I was writing down the birth place of my daughter, Elsie.  Notice the comma placement.  If you are missing the county or the city for instance, still put the comma in place.  For instance with my example, if I didn't know the county I would write it as:

Gilbert,,Arizona, USA

 Remember that this record is not just for you but for your descendants who will come across it later.  Write eligibly or type if possible.  Be thorough and specific as possible.  You can't say too much in the notes.

Fill out a Family Group Record for each marriage.  If there were children with the second marriage for instance, put that child with the second marriage, not the first.  If a child is adopted, you fill out two Family Group Records - one for the biological parents and one with the adoptive parents. (I would also put in the notes to see other family record).

**If there are questions regarding how to fill out a family group record on an online pedigree such as FamilySearch.org or Ancestry.com family tree, you will need to see that site to get more information.  Or perhaps I will have a separate blog post specifically about that.

HOMEWORK:  Fill out a family group record for you and your direct family.  If you are single with no children, your direct family would start with you and your siblings and mom and dad.  If you are married, it would be your spouse and children (if you have them), and if you are Single with children, it would be the father of the child/dren.  If there are more than one father, then you would have a family group record for each father (even if you were never married).

To Copy or Not to Copy

"My __________ has already done all my family history there is nothing more for me to do."

There are a few out there who may think where do I start when someone else has already done it for me?  Or they have done all the easy stuff and all that is left is the hard stuff.  First of all, you are not alone.  There are many who are in the same predicament as you.  I am going to tell you a secret. Repeat after me FAMILY HISTORY IS NEVER DONE.  Yep, that's right it is never done.  For one, think of the definition of family history work.  Perhaps the genealogy has been done, but the stories behind your ancestor are waiting to be discovered every day.  As technology becomes more advanced, as documents, papers, books, and records are becoming available every day online, so are possible clues to your ancestor's life.  Perhaps you researched all you could about an ancestor 10 years ago and couldn't find any more.  Billions of records are added every year, which means more data for you to search relating to your ancestor.  There are more and more websites available for searching all across the world.
I am amazed at how popular family tree websites such as Ancestry.com, familysearch.org, and findmypast.com are advancing their website to be more user-friendly.  Did you know that some already do the searching for you?  They give you hints of records in their database that have your ancestor's name and birthdate on it so that you just have to go check it and verify.  Then whamo, you can move on to the next step. Amazing!  

When I first started doing genealogy I was pencil and papering what I found.  Now you can have an online one that is public or private.  You can share with others.  You can even collaborate with others online to see what they have found or see where they have searched.  In the beginning of my genealogy journey it was about trying to find access to documents.  It was about traveling to a location to look in their libraries to see what they have and going through a full book to hopefully find your ancestor's name in it.  Now the hardest part is knowing where to start because there is too much information available. The hard part now is where to find it online from the comfort of your own home.  I love it!  I hope you do too or will come to love it!

So back to my title:  To Copy or Not to Copy.  If someone has done all the work should you just copy what they have done and start where they left off or do you start at you.  I think it depends on if you want to do just genealogy or if you want to also do the family history.  If you just want the minimal facts to get you to the next person, then I would say go ahead and copy.  (Be aware that people do make mistakes.  I would at least reccomend verifying the dates and names and relationships and to check for errors).  If you want to KNOW your ancestor and the life they lived, then I reccomend starting with you and your direct family.  You and your spouse and children.  Or if you have no children, start with your parents and siblings.  Then move on to grandparents and great-grandparents on mother's and father's side.  Get the minimal facts from the genealogy that has been done (birth date, birth place, death date, death place, marriage date and place.) and use that as a framework for your research to find out more about your ancestor.  Use the framework to ask questions, lots of questions.  Don't just look at a census report to find out the names of the person's children, but also find out what the head of the household did for a living.  Did they have relatives living with them at the time?  Ask lots of questions.  I will go more into detail about this in a later post.  

I will tell you though, that if you really want to KNOW your ancestor, you will want to start from the beginning and then go back.  For one, you will be able to correct mistakes along the way (yes, there will be some).  For another, you will start seeing connections.  You will start recognizing names in seemingly unrelated places.  Something special will happen.  I guarantee it!  As you come to KNOW your ancestor you will feel more compassion, you will be more forgiving, you will have greater understanding.  

Genealogy or Family History

Although the terms genealogy and family history (mostly used in the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints culture) both relate to connecting descendants to ancestors and visa versa, they also have a subtle difference.

Genealogy vs Family History

Genealogy according to dictionary.com is "a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family or group".  The focus is on the "record".  It is about the paper trail.  What do the sources, documents, data say about your ancestor (the date of birth, the date of death, the date they were married, etc.) and who they were related to.

Family History can be familiar to those who have had to fill out a form at the doctor's office noting any history of family members with particular medical problems.  Although that could be interesting to find out, family history is a little more than that.  Family history is the "stuff" of a family or person.  What was the ancestor like?  What types of tragedies did they face?  What was their family like?  What was their occupation?  What was going on in the world or the country during their time period and how might it have affected them.  

I like the way someone once defined it to me: "Genealogy links charts.  Family history links hearts."  

You need genealogy in order to get the facts right.  You need to make sure that the "John Smith" listed is the "John Smith" related to you.  The paper trail is important in keeping the history organized and easy to manage.  Geneology is the starting point or the framework.  Next comes the family history.  Family history is the bloodline or the "cream of the crop".  Geneology is about dates, names, places, and facts.  Family History is about stories, histories, personalities, and discovery.  

Vital records (as an example) can give us birth and death dates and the names of the parents or spouses.  However there may also be some family history that can be pulled from it.  For example on a death certificate it will tell the cause of death.  On my mother's death certificate it shows that she died from heart and lung failure.  It also said that it was due to complications from COPD.  What can this tell me about her history?  COPD is chronic.  Those who suffer from COPD had other complications with the lungs while growing up.  It can tell you that she was most likely on oxygen in order to help her breathe which would affect her lifestyle.  This can lead to questions of what was her lifestyle like growing up?  What kind of life did she live before she died?  These types of questions will connect you to your ancestor.  Without the genealogy you would not have a starting point to go on.  But family history pieces it all together like a puzzle.  Family history fills in the blanks.

Genealogy: It's About Family

WHY THIS BLOG?

I have been researching, collaborating, and learning about my ancestors for over 10 years now.  I am amazed at how quickly the desire to learn where we come from is spreading and more and more people around the world are wondering "Who was my Great-Great Grandfather?"  "Where does he fit in the history of my county or the history of the world?"  Some may think "How do I fit in my family tree?"  "Do I have anything in common with my great-grandmother?"  and so forth.  The questions are endless.  Are you that someone?  Are you wondering where you come from?  Are you feeling the itch, the desire, the pull to learn more about who you are and where you come from?  Do you find yourself watching the show "Who Do You Think You Are?" and wish that you can find interesting stories like the celebrities on the show do?  

Genealogy: It's About Family.  So why do I say that Genealogy is about family and what do I mean by family?  As time goes on and the dynamics of family relationships continue to change and shift in societies, the definition of family naturally changes as well.  100 years ago it was normal for family to mean father, mother, child, grandma, grandpa and cousins.  Now adays, family is "those who love you" whether they be friends, boyfriends or girlfriends.  Family is now not just mother and father, but sometimes father and father, or mother and mother.  That is the way society is moving towards.  This blog is not to get into what beliefs or morals say about what family is.  What family is to this blog is how family relates to genealogy.  How do we connect to our roots?  This does not include, for instance, the "adopted families" of friends and neighbors who have come to our aide acting as mothers, fathers, or grandparents when such were not available.  (I have some of those in fact).  A genealogical family is about connecting child to mother and father and brothers with sisters (and visa versa).  A genealogy family is connected through birth and sometimes even through legal adoption.  This is the family I talk about in my title.

How have you connected to your genealogical family lately?  Have you felt a desire to learn more about them?  I hope that this blog will help fuel that desire and bring that desire to fruition as you learn to start genealogy, learn helpful hints and tips, discover your own family history, and continue on that journey to connect with those who have passed on before you.  Your ancestors have a story to tell and they want you to learn about them.