Despite their limitations, genealogical database programs have evolved to organize and store family information. Although researchers may disagree with the utility of any particular program, there are enough programs out there that nearly all researchers can find one that suits their particular needs. If you need to see users evaluations of most of the programs available today, you can go to GenSoftReviews.com for current reviews of over 900 programs.
If your level of research is highly sophisticated and you are at the level of publishing serious, academic oriented books or journal articles, there are many professional research and citation programs that can provide that level of support. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries supports three programs; EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley. These programs also have corresponding mobile apps. Of the three, Zotero is a free, open-source program available for Mac, Windows and Linux. An example of a genealogy-specific program for organization is Evidentia2 available from Evidentiasoftware.com.
Doing genealogical research is more than just gathering source citations. It is the process of answering questions from historical records and documents and then answering the questions that arise as a result of answering the initial questions. A good example happened today while we I was assisting one of my friends with some research in Puerto Rico. We were examining Catholic parish registers for information about the birth of his great-grandfather. When we found the record of the birth, we also found a notation about the same ancestor's third marriage made by the parish priest. We had not asked the question (yet) about the documentation of the individual's marriages, but the answer came through looking for entirely different records. In addition, the information then raised additional questions. Of course, digital images of the records were captured and the information integrated into my friend's records.
Unless you thoroughly understand the organic nature of research, you might even be annoyed at being "distracted" by irrelevant information. As a matter of fact, my friend and I were even more "distracted" by adding in a number of Record Hints from the FamilySearch.org Family Tree in the middle of our continuing search of the parish records. The distraction is not a problem as long as you remember your original question and continue to work on its solution. At this point, I usually find someone objecting to any consideration of a distracting research issue. This reaction is similar to the problems faced by scientists whose discoveries are influenced by their pre-existing beliefs. This type of situation is evidenced by the current disagreements over such subjects as climate change and the regulation of power companies. You can think of a distracting discovery as a furtherance of your research objectives or an interference.
The questions you choose to investigate are also influenced by your pre-conceived notions of what actually happened in the past. From my point of view, imposing an artificial organizational structure on your genealogical data impedes rather than assists discovery. I sense this whenever I am helping someone who want to have everything "organized." The epitome of this attitude is the genealogist who blindly adds people to a pedigree without evaluating sources and watching for inconsistency. This name gathering my appear to be "research" and "organization" but it is does not qualify on either count. During the past week, I was helping a patron in the Brigham Young University Family History Library that had some issues with the "Record Hints." It turned out that she did not want to consider any such hints for people she did not want to "research." It also turned out that she did not want to spend the time attaching records to the people she did not "like." She was extremely "organized" but entirely ineffective in her research. Don't substitute organization for research.
Now, before you get all bent out of shape over the issue, I must clarify. Any legitimate research effort involves an effective way to organize the results. What I am saying is that the organization should not dictate the direction of the research. When I am asked what "line" I am working on, I usually respond "all of them." I take advantage of the time and place to do my research, that is, I answer the questions appropriate to the resources I have on hand at the time. The analogy is the FamilySearch.org Research Wiki. From a certain perspective, my contributions to the Research Wiki would be considered inconsistent and somewhat chaotic. On the other hand, I consistently add information and correct existing entries. Over time, the amount of information increases dramatically and I answer a lot of questions. I will often go back to the topics and areas I have worked on in the past and add more information and corrections. Combined with all of the work being done on the Research Wiki by others, the total amount of data increases dramatically over time.
Genealogical research today, is in the same category as my work on the Research Wiki, I may not spend a huge effort on any one line for any appreciable period of time, but over the past 30 years or so, much of the basic information that went into FamilySearch.org Family Tree about my own lines was initially entered into computer programs by my efforts. Now the research task has shifted from initial data entry to correcting and augmenting the additional information added by other sources. Genealogy is not unique in this overriding dependency on collaboration, but since the Internet and computerization of the data, the task of the researcher has been substantially modified.
In the next installment, I will discuss the need for formal codification and presentation of research results.
Previous installments of this series include:
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-twenty.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-nineteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eighteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-seventeen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-sixteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-fifteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-fourteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-thirteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-twelve.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eleven.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-ten-when.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-nine-am-i.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eight-on.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-seven-can.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-six-when.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-five.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-four.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-three.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-two.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-one.html
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Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
A Quick Count: The Revolution in Genealogy Blogs
Late last night, I reviewed the list of posts on my blog reader program, Feedly.com. This morning as I got going early, I had 18 new blog posts from the 280 or so blogs I am following. Ten of the eighteen were from commercially sponsored entities. Of the eight remaining blog posts, seven were from well-known, established bloggers. There was only one post from a "family blogger," that is, someone writing about their own family research. I only subscribe to a relatively few non-genealogical blogs, but of the 18 posts that showed up this morning, seven of them were from non-genealogical blogs such as my subscription to the JSTOR Daily.
The most remarkable thing about the posts was the number. From time to time, I will post some more observations and see if there is a trend or if I am merely acting like Chicken Little.
The most remarkable thing about the posts was the number. From time to time, I will post some more observations and see if there is a trend or if I am merely acting like Chicken Little.
Finding Business Records -- A Real Challenge
If the only genealogical records you have ever researched have been available in digital format online, then you will have to wake up to the real world of hard-to-find records. I am reminded of the Wizard of Oz movie (and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) where the movie starts out in black and white and then turns to full color. Genealogy is sort-of like that. You usually begin by searching easily available records, such as the U.S. Census records online, but ultimately you end up in county courthouses and smaller libraries and museums around the country. One of the comments to my recent blog post on business records suggested the following:
If you want to get a sample of what gaining access to these collections entails, you can look at the instructions for the following institutions:
Where do you find records, such as the business records I have been writing about? Where ever. Yes, literally, where ever. You can start at the top and go to the bottom or from the bottom to the top. I suggest that the most efficient way of doing research is to start with the largest repositories, such as state archives, state libraries, university libraries etc. and work your way down to the local level. You may find most or all of the local records are in the larger repositories. This process will not necessarily be free. There is an expense in traveling to the locations, but there may also be substantial charges for access to the records.
It is not infrequent that researchers in a repository are told that the records they are looking for are not in the facility or not available, when this is simply not true. This even happens from time to time at the Family History Library. One of the patrons I was helping at the Family History Library recently, was told more than once that the records she was looking for were not available at the Library. In every case, I was able to find the records with very little effort. It pays to know what you are looking for and how to find it without relying on the staff.
Business records in particular may be kept in special collections repositories around the country. Many occupations have trade organizations and their records may be in their own special library. For an example, see the FamilySearch.org Research Wiki article on United States Occupations Finding Railroad Records (National Institute).
I was talking to another researcher who related a story about a traveling to look for cemetery records. When they arrived at the cemetery, the whole plot was covered with weeds and the grave markers were hardly visible. She and her husband were simply not prepared to face weeds and did not find the markers they were looking for. Another relative, more prepared, visited the cemetery shortly thereafter and found the markers. In this case, the added preparation included praying for help.
A few last comments on this topic: there is no greater teacher than experience. The more you take the opportunity to visit libraries and other institutions, the easier the process becomes. I am constantly amazed that people come to the huge Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library and sit and use the computers and never look at the books and other materials sitting right there in view. Don't be blinded by the Internet. There is a rich experience in looking for records and finding the originals.
An article on how to search/obtain these records would be helpful. In my experience, most times library/archive-held collections need to be researched in person rather than via request for information correspondence or online, which limits several people, including myself from using these sources.Yes, the commentator is correct. These valuable records must be "researched in person." This means that if you are disabled or otherwise limited in your ability to visit libraries and other archives, you have a double challenge.
If you want to get a sample of what gaining access to these collections entails, you can look at the instructions for the following institutions:
- U.S. National Archives, Plan Your Research Visit
- Information for Researchers, Using the Library of Congress
- Research Services at the New York Public Library
- Research at the New England Historic Genealogical Society Library
- Research at the Huntington
An alternative to personal visits to these and many other libraries and research facilities around the country is to hire some one else to do the research. There is no sure-fire way to choose a competent researcher, but in the United States there is the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Board for Certification of Genealogists and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. Each of these organizations has lists of qualified professionals. Some of the repositories involved may also have their own lists of qualified researchers. But the reality of doing onsite research is that there may be no other way to find the records other than going and doing the research yourself.
Long before you plan a trip, you should be very well assured that you have exhausted your online prospects. It can be discouraging to arrive at a potential research facility only to find out the records are only available online because they have been digitized. I have also heard first-hand stories about people arriving in foreign repositories, only to learn that all the records have been microfilmed and are in the Family History Library. Travel is not always the answer.
Long before you plan a trip, you should be very well assured that you have exhausted your online prospects. It can be discouraging to arrive at a potential research facility only to find out the records are only available online because they have been digitized. I have also heard first-hand stories about people arriving in foreign repositories, only to learn that all the records have been microfilmed and are in the Family History Library. Travel is not always the answer.
The key to doing onsite research is to be throughly prepared before you begin your travels. Gather all the information you can about your family from the sources available to you. I might point out that traveling to the place where your ancestors lived may be fulfilling in itself, but there may be very limited research opportunities for pertinent records in the exact location where they lived. Before getting in your car or taking a plane, train or bus, you should be well prepared with knowledge of the locality and requirements for access to the record repository. A simple example will suffice. The Family History Library has a huge onsite collection of microfilm that is readily available. However, many of the films from the entire collection are only available from the Granite Vault. It may take two or three days from the time the film is requested to obtain a copy. It is extremely important to know this before you visit the library and request that the films be brought to the main library before your visit. Here is what the Library has to say about their microfilm collection:
Before visiting the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, you can request the microfilms you need. Go to https://familysearch.org and use the online Family History Library Catalog to determine if the films you need are immediately available in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Films listed in the catalog as "Vault" films need to be requested and may take up to three days to retrieve. For larger vault film requests of 15 or more films, please give at least one week notice. Visiting groups requesting 30 or more films need to give at least two weeks notice. The films may then be picked up in the Library corresponding to their collection designation. For example, an international film can be located on the B1 International Floor of the Library.This type of requirement is very likely to be common in almost any repository. You must also remember that the films in the Family History Library can be rented and sent to a Family History Center nearer to you than Salt Lake City, Utah. I do have to admit that doing research in Salt Lake City is far superior that sitting in a small Family History Center and looking at microfilm. But I must also point out that just being in a Library does not solve your research problems. You cannot rely on receiving any help from the staff or volunteers at the library in Salt Lake City or anywhere else for that matter. Unless you know how to find the materials you are looking for yourself, your experience may be very frustrating.
Where do you find records, such as the business records I have been writing about? Where ever. Yes, literally, where ever. You can start at the top and go to the bottom or from the bottom to the top. I suggest that the most efficient way of doing research is to start with the largest repositories, such as state archives, state libraries, university libraries etc. and work your way down to the local level. You may find most or all of the local records are in the larger repositories. This process will not necessarily be free. There is an expense in traveling to the locations, but there may also be substantial charges for access to the records.
It is not infrequent that researchers in a repository are told that the records they are looking for are not in the facility or not available, when this is simply not true. This even happens from time to time at the Family History Library. One of the patrons I was helping at the Family History Library recently, was told more than once that the records she was looking for were not available at the Library. In every case, I was able to find the records with very little effort. It pays to know what you are looking for and how to find it without relying on the staff.
Business records in particular may be kept in special collections repositories around the country. Many occupations have trade organizations and their records may be in their own special library. For an example, see the FamilySearch.org Research Wiki article on United States Occupations Finding Railroad Records (National Institute).
I was talking to another researcher who related a story about a traveling to look for cemetery records. When they arrived at the cemetery, the whole plot was covered with weeds and the grave markers were hardly visible. She and her husband were simply not prepared to face weeds and did not find the markers they were looking for. Another relative, more prepared, visited the cemetery shortly thereafter and found the markers. In this case, the added preparation included praying for help.
A few last comments on this topic: there is no greater teacher than experience. The more you take the opportunity to visit libraries and other institutions, the easier the process becomes. I am constantly amazed that people come to the huge Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library and sit and use the computers and never look at the books and other materials sitting right there in view. Don't be blinded by the Internet. There is a rich experience in looking for records and finding the originals.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Have you thought about researching business records?
I have been writing about business records lately for several reasons. Most importantly because business records are generally ignored by genealogists when researching their ancestors. I come to this conclusion because over the years of supporting researchers, I almost never have questions about finding different types of business records. I have a very long source checklist prepared for assisting researchers with over a hundred categories of records to search, but "business records" are mentioned near the end of the list in a single, unexpanded category called "Collections."
The FamilySearch.org Research Wiki has an article entitled "United States Business Records" that breaks the general category down into separate topics:
Pfeiffer, David. Records Relating to North American Railroads. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2001.
The FamilySearch.org Research Wiki has an article entitled "United States Business Records" that breaks the general category down into separate topics:
- Mortuary records
- Farming and agricultural records
- Slaves, Apprentices and Indentured Servants
- Insurance records
- Newspapers
- Union records
- Mining records
- Business formation records
- Churches
- Railroads
- Shipping and other transportation records
- Business licenses and bonds
- Professional licenses
- Medical and Dental office records
- Photography businesses
- Business and other types of directories
- Utility records
There are probably additional topics that could also be addressed. Another indication of the lack of interest and knowledge about business records is the fact that almost all the states in the Research Wiki, even important commercial states, such as Pennsylvania and New York, are lacking "Business Records" even as a category of records to search. This lack of awareness of the importance of business records extends to many instructional manuals and reference books about genealogical research.
Not surprisingly because of its detailed and complete contents, The Source, (Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997.) contains a chapter of 46 pages on Research in Business, Employment and Institutional Records. Many of the categories listed above, but not all, are generally discussed but there is a relatively extensive list of reference books at the end of the chapter.
If a popular book such as The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, has a chapter on business records, why is the subject so infrequently addressed? I would guess that if I proposed a presentation about "mining records in Utah" or "railroad records in Arizona" at a conference, the subject, even if accepted by the organizers, would attract almost no interest.
In thinking about this subject, I have come to several conclusions that touch on basic issues concerning genealogy and research in general. I look at the online family tree programs and the database programs developed to record genealogical data. There is an obvious concern with vital record information; births, deaths, marriages. All of this type of information is easily recorded. In many instances source categories are also provided by these programs (or as they are called today "apps"). However, the categories of events or facts about a person's life focus primarily on recording these events. Occupation, for example, is just a label to be attached. The idea that the person's occupation is a source of further records is not acknowledged. Of course, you could use the notes and other places in the programs to record additional information, but the whole idea of doing genealogy seems to be a process of recording dates and categories rather than the details of someone's life. The lack of source citations in online family trees highlights this fact.
In other words, genealogy is mainly conducted as an activity of labeling ancestors. If your ancestor worked in a factory or on a farm, they are labeled as such and that is the end of the inquiry. Almost all researchers fail to recognize that the label is actually a category of records about that ancestor. Once we have our organized set of labels (like specimens in a museum) we are finished with our genealogy. We sometimes go beyond this level when we decided to compile a biography, but generally, except for some notable ancestors, those summaries focus on topics other than what that person did most of their life.
The biggest challenge to using business records (and many other categories of records) is locating and accessing them. If your ancestor worked for a railroad, would you know where to start looking for his or her employment records? Even if you found the records' location, do you think you could gain access to them to do research? Despite these issues, it turns out that many of these records have found their way into accessible, public archives and repositories. For example, here is a search I made in the BYU Harold B. Lee Library, L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library:
You can see that this list of resources contains 253 results, some of which seem obviously interesting to genealogists looking for an ancestor employed by one of these railroads. I suggest that any major college or university in the state where your ancestor lived may have such records on a variety of topics. You should also consider state archives, historical societies and specialize collections of records from a particular business or industry. For example, continuing on the topic of railroads, here is a reference document from the U.S. National Archives:
I could continue writing about this topic indefinitely. There are so many records available.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Computers, Cameras and Cars: Updating the Big 3 C's
A short time ago, Canon Cameras announced a major upgrade to their Canon 5D Series of cameras. The upgraded camera includes a 50.6 Megapixel full-size (35mm equivalent) sensor and lot of other new features. The new Canon EOS 5DS R is initially priced at $3,899.00 for the camera body alone, no lenses are included. This may seem more than a little expensive for a camera, but, as I have observed in the past, you can spend $45,000 on a Hasselblad H5D-200c camera body, so about $4,000 dollars does not seem extraordinarily high. But, if you come at the $4,000 or so price (tax etc.) from the other end, you can buy a perfectly adequate, 20+ Megapixel camera for about $100.
I use two levels of camera. At the high end, I am still using a Canon 5D Mark II. At the lower, lighter and more portable end, I have been using a Nikon L830. The Canon 5D Mark II is a 21.1 Megapixel full-size sensor camera. The Nikon L830 is a 16 Megapixel "point-and-shoot" camera. I doubt anyone who views my photo blog, WalkingArizona.blogspot.com, would be able to tell which camera took which picture.
If I were to get into a similar discussion with computers and cars, there would be exactly the same price range and similar considerations upon purchase. Obviously, purchasing an automobile is more of a major concern than purchasing a camera, unless you buy really inexpensive used cars and like very expensive cameras. But even at $45,000, the Hasselblad camera is only getting into the average price range of new cars in the United States. I could also buy a perfectly adequate computer for under $500 including a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Then again, I could also spend tens of thousands of dollars on a computer. If I decided to buy the top-of-the-line Apple Macintosh Mac Pro, with all of the add-ons, I could spend just about $10,000 for just the CPU without a monitor or keyboard.
What do all three of these products have in common? They wear out and also become technologically obsolescent. If you haven't purchased a new car for a while, you might not be aware that buying a car is becoming more and more like buying a computer. You also need to be aware that the new cameras are really sophisticated computers. So what does someone who "keeps up with technology" supposed to do as new "advanced feature" products come online?
I just decided to upgrade my Nikon to a Sony HX400V/B 20.4 Megapixel camera. It is getting to the point that calling this sophisticated camera a "point-and-shoot" solution is inappropriate. I am still debating the option of upgrading my Canon 5d Mark II. I am also facing the prospect of upgrading my iMac, probably not to a Mac Pro.
What has this to do with genealogy? Almost all of us use cars, cameras and computers and all of us that do use these devices will have to face the prospect of upgrading them from time to time. I have written about upgrading in the past, but it is always a currently relevant topic. How and why you upgrade is a highly personal choice and decision. But one thing is certain, you will upgrade or stop using the equipment at some point in time. Cars can be rebuilt, maintained and kept far beyond their normal years of use. Computers and cameras are not in that category.
What we don't realize quite so graphically is that what we learn and know as genealogists has a product life. Just a few short years ago we did not have the expansive Internet where we can all go for almost instantaneous answers to questions that would have very tedious to answer in the past. Documents and records are available at the click of a mouse or trackpad. The technological world is evolving more rapidly than we can easily manage. We are not like mechanical/electronic devices. We cannot be easily upgraded nor can we purchase a new model to replace the one we were born with.
We can face these challenges are threats or as opportunities. We can decide that we are "too old" to change and learn or we can simply dig in and start learning. As Samuel Butler wrote,
I use two levels of camera. At the high end, I am still using a Canon 5D Mark II. At the lower, lighter and more portable end, I have been using a Nikon L830. The Canon 5D Mark II is a 21.1 Megapixel full-size sensor camera. The Nikon L830 is a 16 Megapixel "point-and-shoot" camera. I doubt anyone who views my photo blog, WalkingArizona.blogspot.com, would be able to tell which camera took which picture.
If I were to get into a similar discussion with computers and cars, there would be exactly the same price range and similar considerations upon purchase. Obviously, purchasing an automobile is more of a major concern than purchasing a camera, unless you buy really inexpensive used cars and like very expensive cameras. But even at $45,000, the Hasselblad camera is only getting into the average price range of new cars in the United States. I could also buy a perfectly adequate computer for under $500 including a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Then again, I could also spend tens of thousands of dollars on a computer. If I decided to buy the top-of-the-line Apple Macintosh Mac Pro, with all of the add-ons, I could spend just about $10,000 for just the CPU without a monitor or keyboard.
What do all three of these products have in common? They wear out and also become technologically obsolescent. If you haven't purchased a new car for a while, you might not be aware that buying a car is becoming more and more like buying a computer. You also need to be aware that the new cameras are really sophisticated computers. So what does someone who "keeps up with technology" supposed to do as new "advanced feature" products come online?
I just decided to upgrade my Nikon to a Sony HX400V/B 20.4 Megapixel camera. It is getting to the point that calling this sophisticated camera a "point-and-shoot" solution is inappropriate. I am still debating the option of upgrading my Canon 5d Mark II. I am also facing the prospect of upgrading my iMac, probably not to a Mac Pro.
What has this to do with genealogy? Almost all of us use cars, cameras and computers and all of us that do use these devices will have to face the prospect of upgrading them from time to time. I have written about upgrading in the past, but it is always a currently relevant topic. How and why you upgrade is a highly personal choice and decision. But one thing is certain, you will upgrade or stop using the equipment at some point in time. Cars can be rebuilt, maintained and kept far beyond their normal years of use. Computers and cameras are not in that category.
What we don't realize quite so graphically is that what we learn and know as genealogists has a product life. Just a few short years ago we did not have the expansive Internet where we can all go for almost instantaneous answers to questions that would have very tedious to answer in the past. Documents and records are available at the click of a mouse or trackpad. The technological world is evolving more rapidly than we can easily manage. We are not like mechanical/electronic devices. We cannot be easily upgraded nor can we purchase a new model to replace the one we were born with.
We can face these challenges are threats or as opportunities. We can decide that we are "too old" to change and learn or we can simply dig in and start learning. As Samuel Butler wrote,
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. See Butler, Samuel, Notebooks, 1912 (often attributed to Winston Churchill).The changes in electronic devices are only one evident symptom of the need to constantly adapt to change.
The Elements of Research -- Part Twenty: Research is more than looking
There is a fundamental relationship between documents and records and acquiring genealogically significant information. Every discovery of a document or record will also suggest additional documents that may be found. Searching is a repetitious activity and is limited to a single discovery. Research produces a chain of documents and records that lead to answering questions. Research also goes well beyond merely finding records or documents, it includes wringing all the information from them until they are dry. Most historical documents and records will answer more than one question about an ancestor. Genealogical research usually produces more questions than it does answers.
At this point, it is important to realize that the research process is not lineal, it is organic. The traditional Research Cycle would have you believe that discovering information about your ancestors was an orderly and systematic process. This representation of genealogical research is basically flawed. Because every document or record discovered may contain unexpected information, genealogical research jumps from topic to topic, family line to family line and from individual to individual. Anyone who attempts to tame this chaotic process will always feel overwhelmed and frustrated. One of the most dramatic examples of the organic nature of genealogical research is the diagram drawn by the Puzzilla.org program from the information in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. Here is a diagram of the descendants of one of my ancestors, Joshua Tanner, down only four generations:
This diagram highlights, in a very limited way, the underlying organic nature of genealogy and further illustrates, with gaps and missing lines, the overall nature of research. At the same time, this diagram also shows the challenge that some of us face in choosing a research topic. The lines and dots here each represent a family in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. The dot in the center is one single ancestor. There is a similar pattern and diagram that could be produced for each of my ancestors. This shows that I have literally tens of thousands of relatives, i.e. cousins for each of my lineal (direct line) ancestors. What is obscured by this diagram is that many of these lines share the same individuals. In reality, my ancestors and all of their descendants are more like a huge cloud with an interlocking internal structure. If we could somehow connect all of these descendant nodes in more dimensions and include geographic links, we would begin to see the complex nature of the relationships. Producing more categories of relationships, such as occupation, religion, etc. would become so complex that only at a very large scale would the overall patterns be discernible.
Failure to recognize that these macro-patterns exist is one of the fundamental ways in which most genealogical research fails. I can illustrate this with a simple example. My 3rd Great-grandfather, George Jarvis and his wife immigrated to the United States from England after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After living in Boston for a number of years, the traveled to Utah and ultimately settled in St. George, Washington, Utah. As they traveled to St. George, Utah, they stopped and met some settlers in Toquerville, Utah, a town near St. George, the Parkinsons and the Stapley families. Years later, Eliza Ellen Parkinson married Henry Martin Tanner, my Great-grandfather. Ultimately, George and Ann Jarvis' Great-great-granddaughter married Henry and Eliza Tanner's son, Leroy Parkinson Tanner, my Grandfather. Henry Martin Tanner also married Eliza Ellen Parkinson's cousin, Emma Ellen Stapley.
Any traditional methodology for doing genealogical research would likely never discover this deep, and rich relationship or realize that these families knew each other for generations. Why will true research find these types of relationships? Because it proceeds serendipitously from topic to topic and from individual to individual. Those researchers who try to impose a rigid, linear structure, locked into compartmentalized filing systems, impose their own pattern on the data rather than allowing the data to reveal its own underlying pattern. The new graphically oriented tools such as Puzzilla.org are for the first time revealing one type of two dimensional relationships that have been previously obscured. The next step is to extend those relationships into three dimensions.
There are some programs out there that appear to be graphically three dimensional. However, they are graphic tricks. Their apparent additional dimensionality is not based on any additional criteria showing three dimensional relationships. When I refer to this ability, I mean that the software would show that the Jarvis family, the Parkinson family and the Stapley family knew each other and that their descendants intermarried. I am not talking about two dimensional relationships visualized in three dimensions. I am waiting for a graphic representation that will show that my mother and father were second cousins. To do this, the software must recognize this type of extended relationship.
The difference here is between shallow, two-dimensional relationships and rich, many dimensional relationships that only become apparent as research proceeds in an organic fashion. The problem I face in conceptualizing this type of organic research (growing in different directions at the same time) is that all two-dimensional representations are inadequate to show these complex and in many cases, beautifully chaotic relationships.
This extended series has all the hallmarks of continuing for some time. The goal of this series is to explore the concept of genealogical research and expand that concept to include the multi-faceted, organic nature of the process. This includes expanding the idea of research to include a truly multi-dimensional view of our shared ancestry.
Previous installments of this series include:
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-nineteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eighteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-seventeen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-sixteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-fifteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-fourteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-thirteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-twelve.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eleven.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-ten-when.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-nine-am-i.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eight-on.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-seven-can.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-six-when.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-five.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-four.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-three.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-two.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-one.html
At this point, it is important to realize that the research process is not lineal, it is organic. The traditional Research Cycle would have you believe that discovering information about your ancestors was an orderly and systematic process. This representation of genealogical research is basically flawed. Because every document or record discovered may contain unexpected information, genealogical research jumps from topic to topic, family line to family line and from individual to individual. Anyone who attempts to tame this chaotic process will always feel overwhelmed and frustrated. One of the most dramatic examples of the organic nature of genealogical research is the diagram drawn by the Puzzilla.org program from the information in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. Here is a diagram of the descendants of one of my ancestors, Joshua Tanner, down only four generations:
This diagram highlights, in a very limited way, the underlying organic nature of genealogy and further illustrates, with gaps and missing lines, the overall nature of research. At the same time, this diagram also shows the challenge that some of us face in choosing a research topic. The lines and dots here each represent a family in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. The dot in the center is one single ancestor. There is a similar pattern and diagram that could be produced for each of my ancestors. This shows that I have literally tens of thousands of relatives, i.e. cousins for each of my lineal (direct line) ancestors. What is obscured by this diagram is that many of these lines share the same individuals. In reality, my ancestors and all of their descendants are more like a huge cloud with an interlocking internal structure. If we could somehow connect all of these descendant nodes in more dimensions and include geographic links, we would begin to see the complex nature of the relationships. Producing more categories of relationships, such as occupation, religion, etc. would become so complex that only at a very large scale would the overall patterns be discernible.
Failure to recognize that these macro-patterns exist is one of the fundamental ways in which most genealogical research fails. I can illustrate this with a simple example. My 3rd Great-grandfather, George Jarvis and his wife immigrated to the United States from England after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After living in Boston for a number of years, the traveled to Utah and ultimately settled in St. George, Washington, Utah. As they traveled to St. George, Utah, they stopped and met some settlers in Toquerville, Utah, a town near St. George, the Parkinsons and the Stapley families. Years later, Eliza Ellen Parkinson married Henry Martin Tanner, my Great-grandfather. Ultimately, George and Ann Jarvis' Great-great-granddaughter married Henry and Eliza Tanner's son, Leroy Parkinson Tanner, my Grandfather. Henry Martin Tanner also married Eliza Ellen Parkinson's cousin, Emma Ellen Stapley.
Any traditional methodology for doing genealogical research would likely never discover this deep, and rich relationship or realize that these families knew each other for generations. Why will true research find these types of relationships? Because it proceeds serendipitously from topic to topic and from individual to individual. Those researchers who try to impose a rigid, linear structure, locked into compartmentalized filing systems, impose their own pattern on the data rather than allowing the data to reveal its own underlying pattern. The new graphically oriented tools such as Puzzilla.org are for the first time revealing one type of two dimensional relationships that have been previously obscured. The next step is to extend those relationships into three dimensions.
There are some programs out there that appear to be graphically three dimensional. However, they are graphic tricks. Their apparent additional dimensionality is not based on any additional criteria showing three dimensional relationships. When I refer to this ability, I mean that the software would show that the Jarvis family, the Parkinson family and the Stapley family knew each other and that their descendants intermarried. I am not talking about two dimensional relationships visualized in three dimensions. I am waiting for a graphic representation that will show that my mother and father were second cousins. To do this, the software must recognize this type of extended relationship.
The difference here is between shallow, two-dimensional relationships and rich, many dimensional relationships that only become apparent as research proceeds in an organic fashion. The problem I face in conceptualizing this type of organic research (growing in different directions at the same time) is that all two-dimensional representations are inadequate to show these complex and in many cases, beautifully chaotic relationships.
This extended series has all the hallmarks of continuing for some time. The goal of this series is to explore the concept of genealogical research and expand that concept to include the multi-faceted, organic nature of the process. This includes expanding the idea of research to include a truly multi-dimensional view of our shared ancestry.
Previous installments of this series include:
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-nineteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eighteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-seventeen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-sixteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-fifteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-fourteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-thirteen.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-twelve.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eleven.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-ten-when.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-nine-am-i.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-elements-of-research-part-eight-on.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-seven-can.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-six-when.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-five.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-four.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-three.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-two.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-elements-of-research-part-one.html
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Don't Forget the Coops -- Farming and Agricultural Records for Genealogy
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As you go back into the past with your genealogical research, the chances increase dramatically that your ancestors were involved in some agriculturally related activity. In 1935, the number of farms in the United States peaked at 6.8 million. Currently, only about 2% of the population live on farms. see National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center, Demographics. But back in 1790, 94.9% of the population of the United States lived on farms as opposed to urban areas. See U.S. Census: United States Urban and Rural.
As it states in the FamilySearch.org Research Wiki on Farming and Agricultural Records:
Most researchers do not think of using farming and agricultural records, but it is important to know that from 1850 to 1900 Agricultural Schedules were compiled in conjunction with the U.S. Census records. For more information on these records see United States Census Agricultural Schedules. See also Agricultural Schedules: 1850 to 1900. There is some information available as early as 1840. See Census of Agriculture
Agriculture Schedules can help where land and tax records are missing or incomplete.
These records can be usedOne of the basic types of agricultural organizations were and are the agricultural coops or cooperatives. Many of these organizations have been active for over a hundred years or longer and still have records of their early activity. Here is a sample of some of the resources you might look for in finding information about your farming ancestors:See Non-Population Schedules and Special Censuses.
- to distinguish between people with the same names
- to document land holdings of ancestors with suitable follow-up in deeds, mortgages, tax rolls, and probate inventories
- to verify and document black sharecroppers and white overseers who may not appear in other records
- to identify free black men and their property holdings
- to trace migration and economic growth
- University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives
- U.S. National Archives, Records of the Agricultural Cooperative Service
- Farmers Union Central Exchange (Saint Paul, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society
- Iowa State University, Special Collections, Iowa Institute for Cooperatives Records
- National Farmers Union, History of Cooperatives
Records from these and many other organizations can usually be found in state and local historical societies, stake and local libraries, college and university special collections libraries, state archives and many other repositories. Here are some examples of the types of collections you might find:
- United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, Special Collections
- Agricultural History Society
- Middletown Thrall Library, Documenting the Agricultural Records of the Black Dirt Region
- University of Manitoba, Archives of the Agricultural Experience
This list could go on. Searching online for agricultural records, livestock organizations, and many other organizations will show a wealth of records.
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