The Internationalization of Genealogy

 

By Anonymous - Universitätsbibliothek Salzburg, Handzeichnung H 35 (aus dem Wolf-Dietrich-Klebeband 15.846 III), via http://www.ubs.sbg.ac.at/sosa/graphiken/handzeichnungen.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5328236

Genealogical research methodology in the United States and elsewhere is almost entirely based on a Western European and Indo-European language model. Everything from pedigree charts to the terminology used in accumulating, interpreting, and storing genealogical information has codified the Western European world view. It is more than apparent that the roots of the pedigree came from the development of livestock variations. The focus is almost entirely on biological rather than cultural or social relationships. Cultures and societies that do not fit into the model are either forced into fitting or ignored. The family tree emphasis, while useful for organizing some types of information, strips away all the cultural kinship relationships that more accurately depict how people interact. 

One illustration of the limited view of genealogy comes from a list of countries where my DNA matches occur. On MyHeritage.com there is a list of locations where my "DNS Matches live." There are 54 countries listed. Some of these countries are surprising, such as Malaysia, Turkey, Cote D'Ivoire, Vietnam, Qatar, Argentina, Morocco, Senegal, Latvia, Singapore, and Czechia. How would the current model of genealogy account for these potential relationships? When I am asked about my "race" or "ethnicity" what do I say? What if the larger numbers of DNA matches in the British Isles and Scandinavia is merely a function of the number of people who have taken DNA tests? 

Maybe what you think you know about your ancestry is based on a very limited and ethnocentric evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of your own culture.

How do we go about internationalizing genealogical methodology? Perhaps we need to broaden our view of categories. Our English-based (Indo-european based?) characterization of relationships,(i.e. father, mother, aunt, uncle, etc.) narrows our view of how families operate outside of a purely biological relationship. Perhaps we need to revise our method of recording geographical information. Perhaps we need to revise our ideas of calendar dates. Maybe there is more to internationalization than merely listing all the people you share DNA with. Maybe we need to recognize that our obligation to record all of the pertinent information about our genealogical relationships and not just pick and choose the information we keep or ignore. 

Analyzing a Complex Challenge on the FamilySearch Family Tree: Part Two

 

Image from PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

You might want to read these posts in sequence. They will make more sense that way. Although you are welcome to jump in wherever you want to start. This series might go on for a while. In starting this analysis, I had no idea if the apparent issues could be solved. I still don't. 

Let's go back to the original image from the FamilySearch.org Family Tree of the Richard Boorman (b. 1668, d. 1743) and see what can be done immediately. 

From the dates in the Family Tree, it looks like his wife, Amy Fontaine (b. 1684, d. 1750) outlived him so there is no reason to suspect that there was a second marriage with two children. In England in the 1600s and 1700s divorce was practically unknown. Here is a screenshot of the supposed second marriage. 

Mary Boorman KGCM-WPV is duplicated in the first marriage listed and so she supposedly has a known mother. Upon checking the sources it is even more apparent that she is a duplicate because there is a record of her christening in a consistent place, date, and with the same parents' names. 

The process to correct this in the Family Tree involves detaching the child from these parents. She is not the child of this father with an unknown mother. Detaching her from this family will not affect the entry in the first list of children. But that leaves the second, older child who is named Thomas Booman b. abt 1709 in Goudhurst, Kent, England. I have detached the duplicate daughter. Always check the ID numbers to make sure you are identifying duplicates or apparent duplicates. This is not the same as a merge because the entries have the same ID number. 

That still leaves Thomas Boorman KP4W-SZN as a child with Richard Boorman as the father. However, Thomas's birthdate is recorded as about 1709 and there is already a child in the family born in that year. Twins do exist but normally you would see some notation on a birth record. There is a birth record for Elizabeth Boorman KNSB-NLJ. 

But there is no record attached (so far) for a Thomas Boorman. With records in the 1600s and early 1700s, it is not uncommon to have only a partial record of an individual. The main issue here is that the entry in the Family Tree indicates that Thomas is the only child listed that was not christened in Headcorn, Kent, England which also raises a question if Thomas is actually a member of this family. It is interesting that the father, Richard Boorman's parents were married in Goudhurst (although misspelled), Kent, England but the father, Richard Booman L7GK-6QM is the only one identified without a specific birth record. 

So what do I do with Thomas Boorman KP4W-SZN? There are two strikes against him being a member of this family. He is said to have been born in Goudhurst rather than Headcorn like the rest of the children in the family and there is already a daughter, Elizabeth KNSB-NLJ christened 14 August 109 with a supporting record in the sources. Time to do some research. A quick check on Findmypast.com shows 132 results. There is not one person with a christening record named Thomas within 10 miles of Headcorn or Goudhurst (which by the way is actually Goud Hurst on Findmypast.com). Without a christening record, it is unlikely that Thomas Boorman can be accurately identified. Goudhurst, by the way, is a small town with a present population of about 3200 people. 

Since there are no sources supporting a child named Thomas in the Richard Boorman/Amy Fountain and another child with the same year of birth and there are evenly spaces children in this family, I conclude that Thomas Boorman KP4W-SZN is not a child in this family but I am going to leave him in the Family Tree for a while to see what happens. 

Without making any more changes we have five people named Richard Boorman. As shown by this list:

Richard Boorman (C. 1747, d. 1748) LC9Z-SZR Christened in Headcorn, Kent, England 17 January 1747-48

Richard Boorman (C. 1749 no death date) LH1K-8CN Christened in Headcorn, Kent, England10 September 1749

Richard Boorman (C. 1707, d. 1771) LH1G-W2D Christened in Kent, England 7 September 1707

Richard Boorman (C. 1668, d. 1743) Christened 22 November 1668 in Goudhurst, Kent, England 

Richard Boorman (C. 1641, d. none) Christened 26 April 1635 in Goudhurst, Kent, England

Theoretically, there could be a father/son relationship going on here but one of the Richards does not have an accurate  christening record that only identifies Kent as the place. 

I am suspicious of the move from Goudhurst to Headcorn. 

Here is the first post in this series:

https://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2021/07/analyzing-complex-challenge-on.html

RootsTech Connect to be online again in 2022

 

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/rootstech-connect-2022/

On 7 July 2021, FamilySearch.org announced that the big RootsTech Connect family history conference will be held online again in 2022 as fully virtual event. The Conference will take place on March 3 - 5, 2022. The in-person events anticipated for London this fall and Salt Lake City in 2022 will not take place. 

As I see it, the question for FamilySearch was whether or not the conference would continue to be a local, Wasatch Front event attended by about 20,000 to 30,000 people or continue to be a world-wide event with well over a million people participating. It is also very apparent that although the initial cost of presenting a world-wide event was likely substantial, once the systems and programs are in place, continuing the online virtual conference would cost less per participant than a more limited in-person conference. There are some advantages gained by an in-person conference but the huge increase in coverage would seem to me to far outweigh the advantages of meeting in person. 

Again, from my perspective, much of the world was forced by the pandemic to upgrade online activity. The news is full of analysis and speculation about a major increase of at-home work environments and changes to almost every type of business. This movement sparked by a pandemic towards globalization of communications is only the beginning. One small example, I have spent every week since RootsTech Connect 2021 online helping people around the world, mainly in South America, with their genealogical questions. At the time of this writing I have had over 100 such support sessions scheduled and I know other volunteers in this virtual, online support effort have scheduled many times that amount of support. 

The support comes from the missionaries and volunteers at both the Salt Lake City, Utah Family History Library and the Brigham Young University Family History Library in Provo, Utah. There may be other volunteers in other parts of the world also. The Salt Lake City Family History Library has a web page explaining how the service works. See this page:

https://www.familysearch.org/family-history-library/family-history-library-research-consultations

The Brigham Young Family History Library provides direct, virtual, online support during the hours the library is open. You can connect directly to library, currently, between the hours of 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time. Hours and times will change as more missionaries are added and also as the time changes due to Daylight Savings Time. Here is where the link to the Virtual Desk is located. 

https://fh.lib.byu.edu/

Although the staff, in-person, is limited, there are other missionaries who are able to get online and help during the times indicated. 

All of this expanded, online, support became a reality only as the technology developed but it got a huge push from the online reaction to the pandemic. 

We have already been online through the BYU Family History Library Virtual Desk with people from around the world. 

By the way, the presentations from RootsTech Connect 2021 are still online. See https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/

Salt Lake City, Utah Family History Library Reopens

 By Beneathtimp - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89749588

On July 6, 2021, the Salt Lake City, Utah Family History Library after being closed for almost a year and half because of the pandemic. My wife and I visited the library on the day it opened. The event garnered some media coverage. FamilySearch and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took the hiatus from operation to remodel the interior and install some of the latest technology. The changes included new floor arrangements, the return of thousands of books on new shelves, new workstations with adjustable desks, upgrading the computers with two or three monitors, and adding other new resources. 

Visually, there is quite a change on every floor. All of the computer workspaces are numbered and if a patron needs assistance, an expert can be summoned to come to the numbered space. I am sure that there are many additional innovations that are not physically visable.

I was told that all of the microfilm will soon be digitized although the availability of some records will still be a challenge. 

We were glad to visit with a few of our friends and acquaintances and my wife, Ann, also took an opportunity to help one of the patrons. 

Analyzing a Complex Challenge on the FamilySearch Family Tree: Part One

This screenshot shows just the tip of the iceberg that is waiting for anyone who started to really dig into research for this Boorman family. I thought it might be helpful to some researchers, especially those who work with extensive families on the FamilySearch Family Tree to see some of the methodology when we are faced with difficult and tangled family entries. Here is another screenshot showing one of the first levels of difficulty. 

Before I make any further comments, I need to admit that there seems to be no way of reconciling the records that have been lumped together for this particular family. By the way, most of these entries have a substantial list of sources and you would expect that the records would be easily untangled. That would not be a valid expectation. 

The very first steps to beginning to unravel the mess are to ascertain where the events in these ancestors' lives occurred and also, to resolved any duplicate or inappropriate entries. Although it might be tempting to jump right in and start making changes, I need to determine if I am even related to these people at all. 

Fortunately, the Family Tree can show me how I might be related. Here is a screenshot of part of my relationship to Richard Boorman, (b. 1668, d. 1743). 

This abbreviated pedigree indicates that Richard Boorman, b. 1668, d. 1743 is a direct line ancestor. My research and the sources I have found give me confidence that I am related to Elizabeth Tarbutt (b. 1766, d. 1828) but I need to closely examine the source linking her to Mary Boorman. I find a christening record showing that Elizabeth Tarbutt is the daughter of William Tarbutt and Mary Tarbutt. 

This record immediately suggests a question about the location of this event; Cranbrook, Kent, England. The mention in the record of the United Kingdom is inappropriate because the term "United Kingdom" only became official in 1801. See Wikipedia: United Kingdom. Now, where is Cranbrook, Kent, England? By referring to Google Maps, I can see that Cranbrook is in the southeast part of England. 

The dates for these first few events are in the mid-1700s so I need to be concerned when events start happening in places that were not readily available to someone on foot, on a horse, or riding in a wagon. Now I need to look at the sources showing the places where each of the children in the Elizabeth Tarbutt family was born. All four children were born in Rolvenden, Kent, England which turns out to be about 6 miles away from Cranbrook. You can use Google Maps to show the distance between these and other places. 

Next, I look at Elizabeth Tarbutt's parents and siblings. Here is a screenshot of that family. 

I checked the christening places for each child in the William Tarbut/Mary Boorman family and also look for a marriage record showing that these two people were married. All of the children were born in Cranbrook. It looks consistent to this point. 

I now move on to William Tarbutt and Mary Boorman. Because I am ultimately going to be working on the Boorman line, this is where I need to know if there are source-supported conclusions about the parent/child relationship in each succeeding generation. First, a quick check to see if there is support for the marriage of William Tarbutt and Mary Boorman. There are several marriage records showing a marriage in Goudhurst, Kent, England on 5 June 1763. I also check to see if the marriage dates and death dates that are recorded are consistent with the dates of birth for each child. I am also watching for duplicates.

The marriage is Goudhurst, Kent, England immediately raises some issues. Where is Goudhurst located from Cranbrook? The Family Tree 38 source listed have no place recorded for William Tarbutt's christening or the date enntered of 17 February 1739. There is also a second marriage on 11 May 1778 to Elizabeth Balcomb. All the children live and die in Cranbrook except one who dies in Rolvenden, a few miles away. There is a death record for William Tarbutt in 1825 in Cranbrook. 

What about the marriage in Goudhurst? There are records supporting this location and date and Goudhurst is only about 5 miles away from Cranbrook. 

In addition, I have new location. Mary Boorman is entered as being born in Headcorn, Kent, England. Where is Headcorn, Kent? It is located about seven miles away from Cranbrook. This is still within the limits of what can be expected but begins to raise some issues. 

Now it is time to move backward one more generation. Mary Boorman's parents are listed as Richard Boorman (b. 1707, d. 1771) and Mary Parks (b. 1717, d. 1777). Richard is listed as christened in Kent, England which is the same as saying that we don't know where he was born or christened. But now it gets interesting. Richard is entered as being buried in Headcorn, Kent, England in 1771 and all of the children in this family are christened in Headcorn. 

Up to this point, everything entered into the Family Tree seems to be supported by both sources and reason. The next generation is where the mess begins. Here is the next generation's Richard Boorman (1668, d.1743)  married to Amy Fontaine (b. 1684, d. 1750). This is where we start into the problems. Here is a screenshot of this family.

This immediately looks like a duplicate entry but the christening dates are not the same. Now we begin seeing more than one Richard Boorman in the same area at the same time. Here is where the challenge begins. This is a screenshot of a search on Findmypast.com for Richard Boorman (b. 1707, d. 1771).

There are different entries for men named Richard Boorman in different locations all in Kent County and different wives. If I search for the next generation Richard Boorman (1668, d.1743) Here is what I get. 

Once you start looking beyond what is recorded in the Family Tree. What seem to be supported entries become a puzzle. 

Strategies for searching church records

 

Church records are some of the most valuable genealogically significant records for tracing your ancestors in predominantly Christian-based countries. In order to understand and use these records, it is helpful to understand how and why these records were created. Parish registers are records created by small administrative geographic districts that typically have their own church building and an administrator who is sometimes designated a priest, pastor, or minister. A parish is usually part of a larger geographic area designated as a diocese. This organization is still strictly observed by the various Catholic churches around the world. Some Protestant churches have abandoned the traditional parish/diocese organization for a loose confederation of church congregations often referred to as a convention or other designation. 

In Europe, Catholic churches started keeping records of individuals as early as the 1300s. Many of these records still exist and millions of these records have been digitized and are online. Other Catholic records are also available from other parts of the world especially in Spanish-speaking countries. On July 16, 1054, the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated from the main body of the Catholic Church, starting what is called the “Great Schism” and thus creating the two largest denominations in Christianity—the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths.

Church records only occasionally record the date of a person's birth, where the churches baptize infants, the first and earliest record is usually that of baptism. Most churches record marriages, but some only record burials and not death dates or other information. The details included in entries in various church records often depended more on the official recording the information. However, the Catholic Church very early established specific wording for recording each type of record. Records are usually kept chronologically and in some instances, there may be an annual index or list of the records. 

Whether or not detailed records of the Catholic and Protestant churches exist depends heavily on local conditions and preservation efforts. As an example, the earliest parish records, usually called registers, in England were first created starting in 1538 when Henry VIII established the Church of England. In contrast, the earliest birth and christening records in Denmark begin in 1484. However, it is important to understand that the earliest records depend on the actions of the individual parishes and some parishes did not start keeping records until much later. 

One of the initial challenges in utilizing church records for genealogical research involves identifying the church affiliation of your ancestors and relatives. The next challenge is identifying the actual congregation where the records may have been created and maintained. In predominantly Catholic countries, this process involved identifying the specific location where the events in your ancestors' or relatives' occurred. This is one of the core activities of doing genealogical research. Without a firmly established location, it is unlikely that you will find any of the existing records and it is also very likely that you will end up investigating unrelated people. 

Some churches, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have centralized, regularly maintained records by wards and stakes based on geographic areas albeit with a geographic organization that only roughly correspond to parishes and diocese. The wards and stakes are organized on a strictly geographic bases but more than one ward or congregation may share the same church building. The Church has been keeping records since the mid-1800s however access to the records is usually restricted to church members. 

While other Protestant denominations, if they have maintained historical records often keep what is recorded on a very local basis, occasionally gathering records into larger repositories. For example, the FamilySearch.org Research Wiki has an article on the Baptist Church in the United States that outlines where and how these particular records can be found. Whether or not the records of an individual congregation have been preserved in a central location depends on the affiliation of the church with a larger association of congregations. Many Protestant church congregations are only loosely affiliated geographically and so identifying the actual church where your ancestors and relatives attended services may be difficult. 

In Europe and elsewhere, there are still some countries that have a specific "state church." In addition, some countries, including many in Central and South America, have a recognized church, usually the Catholic Church, but no official state church. Where there is a predominant religious affiliation, finding the records depends entirely on adequately identifying the location of events in your ancestors' or relatives' lives. 

Beginning in the early 1800s, many countries around the world began a system of civil registration to record births, marriages, deaths, and in some instances burials. These are valuable records that can be a supplement to church records from the same locations. 

One way of identifying your ancestors' or relatives' church affiliation is to locate events on Google maps and search for churches around the same location. If you know the denomination of their affiliation, you can often identify possible locations for records from the churches that are closest to the events. This is particularly helpful for identifying parishes and diocese. But it is also important to understand that people may have traveled some distance from their homes to attend their particular church. 

The large, online, genealogy-based websites have billions of church records. If you haven't explored these records, you a missing a major component of your genealogical heritage. 

Find a Woman's Maiden Name: An Example of the Way to do Genealogical Research Across the World

 

Who's the Wife by Vivian Brown

Sometimes a video comes along the summarizes the entire process of doing genealogical research. This is one of those videos. If you closely follow Vivian's explanation, you will learn some of the methodology for doing accurate and believable genealogical research. The questions asked and answered in this video show exactly how and why you need to follow this systematic example. Although the examples in this video are taken from research in England, the basic concepts apply to research in any country of the world. This is the way it is done by those who have finally figured out what needs to be done.