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Genealogy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Recreation

   Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. This involves
   the collection of the names of relatives, both living and deceased, and
   establishing the relationships among 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 lives and personal histories of the individuals
   involved.

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 family reunions, both of distant cousins and of disrupted families.
   Genealogists sometimes help reunite families separated by war,
   immigration, foster homes and adoption. The genealogist can help keep
   family traditions alive or reveal family secrets.

   In its original form, genealogy was mainly concerned with the ancestry
   of rulers and nobles, often arguing or demonstrating the legitimacy of
   claims to wealth and power. The term often overlapped with heraldry, in
   which the ancestry of royalty was reflected in the quarterings of their
   coat of arms. Many of the claimed ancestries are considered by modern
   scholars to be fabrications, especially the claims of kings and
   emperors who trace their ancestry to gods or the founders of their
   civilization. For example, the Anglo-Saxon chroniclers traced the
   ancestry of several English kings back to the god Woden (the English
   version of the Norse god Odin). 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, 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; however, some
   of these sources must be treated with caution due to 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 project entailed the
   compilation of the International Genealogical Index (IGI). The IGI
   contains information submitted by Mormon researchers for vicarious
   ordinances, records obtained from non-Mormon contributors, and 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. By making so many resources available, the
   LDS Church has helped contribute to the increasing interest in
   genealogy since the 1970s. Its information is available free or at a
   nominal cost. Resources include the Family History Library in Salt Lake
   City, Utah, and its 4,000+ branches (called Family History Centers). In
   addition, FamilySearch, an interactive internet site, provides free
   access to extensive files for personal and family information.

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 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 output
   information about persons and their relationships in GEDCOM format, so
   it can be shared with other genealogists by e-mail and Internet forums,
   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 aids 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, deeds 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

   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 timelines of persons' lives.

   Records that are used in genealogy research include:
     * Vital records
          + Birth records
          + Death records
          + Marriage and divorce records
     * Adoption records
     * Baptism or christening records
     * Biographies and biographical profiles (as in Who's Who, etc.)
     * Cemetery records, funeral home records, and tombstones
     * Census records
     * City directories and telephone directories
     * Coroner's reports
     * Criminal records
     * Diaries, personal letters and family Bibles
     * Emigration, immigration and naturalization records
     * Hereditary & lineage organization records, e.g. Daughters of the
       American Revolution records
     * Land and homestead records, deeds
     * Medical records
     * Military and conscription records
     * Newspaper columns
     * Obituaries
     * Occupational records
     * Oral history
     * Passports
     * Photographs
     * Poorhouse, workhouse, almshouse, and asylum records
     * School and alumni association records
     * Ship passenger lists
     * Social Security Administration (within the USA) and pension records
     * Tax records
     * Voter registration records
     * Wills and probate records

   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 due to 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 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.

   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.

   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
   between two 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.

   Difficulties can also arise when researching family lines with common
   surnames such as "Smith", or surnames common to a particular geographic
   area. Many times, an amateur researcher will assume that a person is a
   direct ancestor based solely on the given/surnames, only to later find
   out that this person is not related or is a more distant relative.

   Surname data may be found in trade directories, census returns, birth,
   death & marriage records.

Given names

   Genealogical data regarding given names (first names) is subject to
   many of the same problems as 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. Also, Amy
   used for Alice, and 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.

   Historically, naming conventions existed in some places, where the name
   given to one's children was sometimes dictated by a particular formula.
   It is important to recognize, however, that naming conventions were not
   used in all families and did not always follow the same formula. They
   are just a pattern of naming that was common in a particular area
   during a particular time.

   An example is Scotland, where the following convention existed:
     * 1st son - named after paternal grandfather
     * 2nd son - named after maternal grandfather
     * 3rd son - named after father
     * 4th son - named after father's oldest brother
     * 1st daughter - named after maternal grandmother
     * 2nd daughter - named after paternal grandmother
     * 3rd daughter - named after mother
     * 4th daughter - named after mother's oldest sister

   If a child died, generally the next child of the same gender that was
   born was given the same name. Quite often, a list of a particular
   couple's children will show one or two names repeated, sometimes 3 or 4
   times. Although this can be confusing, it can also assist a researcher
   in discovering the date of death for the previous siblings of the same
   name.

   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).

Dates

   It is wise to exercise extreme caution and skepticism with information
   about dates. Dates are more difficult to recall years after an event,
   and are more easily mistranscribed than other types of genelogical
   data. Therefore, one should evaluate whether the date was recorded at
   the time of the event or at a later date. Dates of birth in vital
   records or civil registrations and in church records at baptism are
   generally accurate because they were usually recorded near the time of
   the event. Family Bibles are often a reliable source for dates, but can
   be written from memory long after the event. When the same ink and
   handwriting is used for all entries, the dates were probably written at
   the same time and therefore will be less reliable since the earlier
   dates, at least, were probably recorded well after the event. The
   publication date of the Bible also provides a clue about when the dates
   were recorded since they could not have been recorded at any earlier
   date.

   People sometimes reduce their age on marriage, and perhaps those under
   "full age" may increase their age in order to marry or to join the
   armed forces. Census returns are notoriously unreliable for ages or for
   assuming an approximate death date. The 1841 census in the UK is
   rounded down to the next lower multiple of five years. Also, caution
   should be used when estimating a date for a husband's death based on
   his absence from the census. A woman at home while her husband is away
   could be identified as head of household or assumed to be a widow.

   Baptismal dates are often used to approximate birth dates; however,
   some families wait 3-5 years before baptising children, and adult
   baptisms are not unknown. In addition, both birth and marriage dates
   may have been 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.

   Calendar changes must also be considered. 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.

The "maximum relationship"

   One of the aims in professional genealogy circles has been to determine
   the maximum degree of separation which currently exists between all
   people in the world. That is to say, how many generations back is the
   first common ancestor that the two most distantly related people on
   earth share.

   Latest models, taking into account sexual differentiation, monogamy and
   realistic migration patterns suggest that the most recent common
   ancestor (MRCA) of all humans probably lived 75-150 generations or
   2000-4000 years ago. Moreover, the MRCA is likely to have lived
   somewhere in Southeast Asia (increasing the likelihood of his or her
   descendants reaching the remote islands of the Pacific), is equally
   likely to be a man or woman, and is not characterized by an unusually
   large number of children. These models also show that while a large
   group (indeed all humans) share recent common ancestors, a given person
   is likely to share the vast majority of his or her genes with a very
   small local group.

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 individuals, including births,
   marriages, and deaths. Many programs allow for additional biographical
   information, including occupation, residence and notes. Many genealogy
   programs also offer an easy method for keeping track of the sources for
   each fact.

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

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

   A move is on 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 allow for the export of data in the GEDCOM
   format that can be shared with people using different genealogy
   software. Certain programs allow the user to restrict the information
   that is shared, usually by removing information about living people to
   protect their privacy.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
