Is a Computer for Genealogy Really Necessary?

The question in the title to this post was a serious question when Joanna D. Posey wrote an article for the American Ancestors, New England Historic Genealogical Society newsletter back in 1987 with that same title. Quoting from the first paragraph of the article:

Is a computer for genealogy really necessary? This question is often asked at genealogical conferences and at genealogical computer seminars. The answer is not as cut and dried as one may wish. 

Certainly, we have seen quite a change in modern technology including the development of the personal computer system. Even with this in mind, genealogists have spent a tremendous amount of time in recording family data through traditional manual record keeping methods. To each of us there comes a moment of decision as to whether or not a computer would be more advantageous than traditional recording methods.

Back in 1987 Personal Ancestral File was only in version 2.1 for DOS, Apple PRO-DOS and Macintosh. In the Microsoft world OS/2 was released in 1987 and during the same year, Microsoft shipped Windows 1.01. The World Wide Web was not invented until 1991.

Ironically, many genealogists are still asking the same question 26 years later. That the question is still a serious issue is interesting in light of the fact that we now have people who were raised with computers in their home who are turning 40 years old and older. Apparently there is some considerable doubt as to whether or not a computer is more advantageous than traditional (i.e. paper and pencil) recording methods and as I deal with researchers day after day, I find that this question is far from settled. There are still those who resent, oppose and actively denigrate computers.

Frequently, I am faced with people who proudly claim that they have no computer skills and do not intend to acquire any in the near or distant future. If you haven't run into these folks, you need to seriously consider expanding your circle of acquaintances. In the past, I have labeled them luddites, but I think that the issues are much more serious that an economic opposition to mechanization. Even in light of the expansion of online databases, is there some real advantage to computerization? Depending on the number of individuals and families, it is conceivable that a paper system would be at least as efficient as recording the same number of individuals and families on a genealogical computer database program.

Judging from the amount of paper hauled around by researchers who are also carrying laptop computers, I suggest that many of us are still in the transitionary stage. We like computers and use them a lot but can't quite free ourselves from the vassalage of paper. I think some of us who use computers to an excess cannot imagine survival without one. But those not wedded to the computer are still in the exploratory stage of their relationship.

If you are still using a paper based genealogy system, it is unlikely that you have a lot of similarly situated people reading this blog. Considering the fact that when I teach classes on blogs, I nearly always find that a majority of the class is entirely unaware of the online genealogical blogging community. Even sophisticated computer users who are genealogists are unaware of genealogy blogging. I have a good friend who is very adept with computers and has a significant involvement in genealogy who commented after seeing my recent Webinar on blogging, that he had no idea of the amount of involvement, which translated out to mean he had never read any blogs.

Is there a solution to the problem of resistance to computers in genealogical circles? Is there even a problem to be solved. Won't the problem just go away when the number of computer devices exceeds the number of people in the world? Which will likely shortly happen. With the an attitude towards learning and innovation, such a person can be taught to use a computer. But it takes more than a few classes and some rudimentary motivation. It takes a lot of hard work on a computer, day and night, for months to gain proficiency. This may be and likely is, an investment that some people will never make.

Travels on the Web -- Resources for Genealogists - Destination South Kingston, Rhode Island

Scott, Joseph. The United States Gazetteer Containing an Authentic Description of the Several States ; Their Situation, Extent, Boundaries, Soil, Produce, Climate, Population, Trade and Manufactures, Together with the Extent, Boundaries and Population of Their Respective Counties ... Illustrated with Nineteen Maps. Philadelphia: F. and R. Bailey, 1795. David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

Well we are off to the East Coast of the United States to visit one of the early American settlements, South Kingston, Rhode Island. Here is a map of South Kingston:

Geological Survey (U.S.), David W. Hoyt, John W. Ellis, and Winslow Upton.Topographical Atlas of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Providence, R.I.: J.C. Thompson [distributor], 1891. David Rumsey Historical Map Collection

South Kingston, Rhode Island is where my Tanner family ancestors originally settled in America. South Kingston is located in Washington County and is the largest, by land area, of all the towns in Rhode Island. It was formed in 1722 when the former Kings Town was separated into two parts; North Kingston and South Kingston. In 1888 a narrow strip of land along the eastern bank of the Pettaquamscutt River to the shore of Narragansett Bay was separated from South Kingstown to form the town of Narragansett. See Wikipedia: South Kingston, Rhode Island. 

My wife and I once spent an interesting afternoon in the blackberry brambles trying to find the grave marker for William Tanner (b. abt. 1660, d. aft. 1735). Here is a photo of his gravesite which is located off of the third tee of the Laurel Lane Country Club and is registered as #17 as a Rhode Island Historical Cemetery in the Town of South Kingston. 

Most of the markings on the grave markers have been eroded off because of the long time period involved. Since I have been doing research in this area for years, I thought I would share some of the places I have looked. This is a list of the books specifically used for William Tanner. If you want to see any of these, you can do a Google search on the name of the book or source or find it in WorldCat.org.

1790 US Census; Image Source: Year: 1790; Census Place: Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island; Roll: M637_10; Page: 44; Image: 0076. Joshua Tanner

Alden G., Washington County, Rhode Island, births 1770 to 1850 : comprising the towns of North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Exeter, Westerly, Charlestown, Richmond, Hopkinton  vol. 5, Washington County,  East Princeton, Mass. : A.G. Beaman, 1976, c1976,  974.5 V2b v. 02, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Arnold, James N., Editor of the Narrangansett Historical Register, Compiler, The Records of the Proprietors of Narrangansett. Otherwise Called the Fones Record, Rhode Island Colonial Gleanings, n.d. 974.5 R2 Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Arnold, James N., Index to civil and military list Providence?, R.I. : Narragansett Historical Publishing? 191-?, 974.5 M22, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Arnold, James N., Vital record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850, first series, births, marriages and deaths : a family register for the people, (6 vols.), "Published under the auspices of the General Assembly." Providence, Rhode Island, Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1894, 974.5 V2a Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Austin, John Osborne , 1849-1918. (Main Author) Moriarty, G. Andrews (George Andrews), 1883-1968. (Added Author), The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island : comprising three generations of settlers who came before 1690 (with many families carried to the fourth generation (Albany, N.Y. : Joel Munsell's Sons, 1887. viii, 440 p. [With a new foreword by Albert T. Klyberg, librarian, The Rhode Island Historical Society, and the additions and corrections, Baltimore, Maryland Genealogical Publishing Inc., 1969]  974.5 D26a 1969 Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Austin, John Osborne, Ancestry of Thirty-Three Rhode Islanders (Born in the Eighteenth Century) also Twenty-Seven Charts of Roger Williams’ Descendants to the Fifth Generation, and an Account of Lewis Latham, Falconer to King Charles I, with a Chart of His American Descendants to the Fourth Generation and a List of 180 Existing Portraits of Rhode Island Governors, Chief Justices, Senators etc. and of Certain Military Officers, Divines, Physicians, Authors, Lawyers, Merchants, etc. (Albany, New York, Joel Munsell’s Sons, 1889) 974.5 D2ajo Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Barnes, Robert and Catherine, Genealogies of Rhode Island Families from Rhode Island Periodicals with the Gore Roll of Arms and Other Records, 2 Vols., (Baltimore, Maryland, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983) LC #82-84324, Set #0-8063-1016-2, 974.5 D2g Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Beaman, Alden G., North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Exeter and Richmond, Rhode Island marriages from the probate records, 1692-1850, Princeton, Mass. : [s.n.], c1975, 974.59 V2ba, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Beaman, Alden G., Ph.D., Editor, Rhode Island Genealogical Register, 20 Vols. 2^nd Ed. Revised and Enlarged, (East Princeton, Massachusetts 01517Alden G. Beaman, P.O. Box 585, 1986). 974.5 D2ri Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Chapin, Howard Millar and Rhode Island Historical Society (Providence, Rhode Island) (Added Author) Rhode Island in the colonial wars; a list of Rhode Island soldiers & sailors in the old French & Indian war, 1755-1762, Providence, Rhode Island, Printed for the Rhode Island Historical Society, 1918, 974.5 M2c Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Coldham, Peter Wilson, Bonded Passengers to America. 9 vols. in 3. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983. Vol. 6. Oxford Circuit, 1663-1775: Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire. 95p. Page: 54, Ancestry.com.

Coldham, Peter Wilson, The Complete Book of Emigrants: A Comprehensive Listing Compiled from English Public Records of Those Who Took Ship to the Americas for Political, Religious, and Economic Reasons; of Those Who Were Deported for Vagrancy, Roguery, or Non-Conformity; and of Those Who Were Sold to Labour in the New Colonies. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. 1661-1699. 1990. 894p, Ancestry.com.

Cole, J. R., History of Washington and Kent Counties, Rhode Island including Their Early Settlement and Progress to the Present time; A Description of Their Historic and Interesting Localities; Sketches of Their Towns and Villages; Portraits of Some of Their Prominent Men, and Biographies of Many of Their Representative Citizens, New York, W.W. Preston Co., 1889 [Facsimile Reprint: Higginson Book Company, 148 Washington Street, P.O. Box 778, Salem, Massachusetts 01970, 508-745-7170] Call No. 974.5 H2c Mesa Regional Family History Center. Call No. 974.5 H2c Mesa Regional Family History Center

Cowell, Benjamin, Spirit of ’76 in Rhode Island, with Cowell’s “Spirit of ‘76” An Analytical and Explanatory Index, by James N. Arnold, Baltimore, Maryland, Genealogical Publishing Inc., 1973 [Originally published as “Spirit of ’76 in Rhode Island, or, Sketches of the Efforts of the Government and the People, in the War of the Revolution, Together with the Names of Those who belonged to Rhode Island Regiments in the Army, with Biographical Notices, Reminiscences Etc. Etc. by Benjamin Cowell, Boston, Massachusetts, A. J. Wright, Printer, No. 3 Water Street, 1850] 974.5 M2cbe Mesa Regional Family History Center.

De Brouwer, Elizabeth, Compiler, Under the Direction of George Shepherd Tanner, Sidney Tanner, His Ancestors and Descendants, Pioneer Freighter of the West, 1809 – 1895, Sidney Tanner Family Organization, 4545 South 2760 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84117, 1982.

Dougine, Genevieve N., Detailed Index to Rhode Island Land Evidences, Vol. 1 (1648 – 1696), Microfilm #22254 R Is G 6, (handwritten).

Farnham, Charles W. F.A.S.G., Rhode Island Genealogy, typed manuscript, n.d. 15 pages: Call No. 974.5 D2 Mesa Regional Family History Center

Gale Research. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed.. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2005.

Hazard, Caroline , 1856-1945. The Narragansett Friends' Meeting in the XVIII century, with a chapter on Quaker beginnings in Rhode Island  Boston : Houghton, Mifflin, 1899, c1899 (Cambridge, Mass. : Riverside) 974.5 K2hc, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

McAleer, Althea H., Beatrix Hoffius, and Deby Jecoy Nunes, Graveyards of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, North Kingstown, R.I. : A.H. McAleer, 1992, c1992, 974.59/N2 V3m, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society, Map, Close-up U.S.A., New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., National Geographic Society, 1975.

Parker, J. Carlyle, Rhode Island biographical and genealogical sketch index 1991 compiled by J. Carlyle Parker, California, Marietta Publishing Co., 1991, 974.5 D32p Mesa Regional Family History Center

Pioneer Immigrants to Utah Territory, Electronic Database, Ancestry.com, Downloaded information for John Tanner, John Joshua Tanner, Julia Ann Shepherd Tanner, Martin Henry Tanner, Nancy Agnes Keys Tanner, Nathan Tanner, Rachel Neyman Fulmer Tanner, Sidney Tanner, Sidney C. Tanner, Thomas Tanner, William Stuart Tanner, 10 May 2006.

Representative men & old families of Rhode Island, genealogical records and historical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the old families  Chicago, Illinois, J.H. Beers & Co., 1908, 974.5 D3r Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Rhode Island Census, 1740-1890, Record; Name: Joshua Tanner; State: RI; County: Washington County; Township: Hopkinton; Year: 1777; Page: 004; Database: RI 1777 Military Census Index; Ancestry.com

Rhode Island Genealogical Society, Rhode Island Roots, Vol. 13, No. 4, December, 1987 (Warwick, Rhode Island, Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 1987) [P.O. Box 7618, Warwick, Rhode Island 02887-7618].

Rhode Island Historical Cemeteries Descriptions, http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/cemetery/

Rhode Island State Library On-Line Catalog, http://www.library.state.ri.us

Rhode Island. Secretary of State, Bartlett, John Russell , (Added Author)  Census of the inhabitants of the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 1774,  (Reprint of 1858 edition, arranged by John R. Bartlett) Lambertville, N.J. : Hunterdon House, c1984, 974.5 X2pb 1774, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Sons of the American Revolution, Manual of the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1900 – 1910 Inclusive, Providence, Rhode Island, Published by The Sons of the American Revolution, E.A. Johnson & Company, 1911: Call No. 974.5 C4sm Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Sons of Utah Pioneers Memorial Gallery Index Cards, Electronic Database, Ancestry.com, Downloaded John Tanner, Elizabeth Beswick, Nathan Tanner Sr., Nathan Tanner, Jr., Rachel Neyman Tanner, William Smith Tanner, 10 May 2006.

Sperry, Kip, Rhode Island Sources for Family Historians and Genealogists, (Logan, Utah, Everton Publishers, Inc. 1986). 974.5 D23s Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Tanner, Elias, Reverend, The Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Tanner, Sr. of Cornwall, Connecticut, with Brief Notes of Several Allied Families, also Short Sketches of Several Towns of their Early Residence. Lansing, Michigan, Darius D. Thorp, Printer and Binder, 1893.

Tanner, George C., Reverend, William Tanner of South Kingston and his Descendants, Faribault, Minnesota (Self Published, 1910).

Tanner, George C., Reverend, William Tanner of South Kingston and his Descendants, Faribault, Minnesota (Self Published, 1905).

Tanner, George Shepherd, John Tanner and his Family, Salt Lake City, Utah; The John Tanner Family Association; 1974.

Tanner, Maurice, Descendants of John Tanner, Born August 15, 1778, at Hopkintown, R. I. Died April 15, 1850 at South Cottonwood, Salt Lake County, Utah, The Tanner Family Association, 1942.

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900, Electronic Database, Ancestry.com, Record; Name: Joshua Tanner; Gender: male; Birth Year: 1757; Spouse Name: Thankful Tefft; Spouse Birth Year: 1757; Marriage Year: 1775; Number Pages: 1, 10 May 2006.

United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the time of the ratification of the Constitution from 1777 and 1795 Originals in the Library of Congress at Washington, [reprinted, 1936 by U.S. Geological Survey, Original Engraved and Printed for Wm Feden, Charing Cross, July 22, 1777], 974.5 E7r, Mesa Regional Family History Center.

Here are some other useful bibliographic references and suggested websites for South Kingston:

FamilySearch.org FamilySearch Catalog for South Kingston, Washington, Rhode Island

FamilySearch.org Research Wiki for Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County, Rhode Island USGenWeb Project

Rhode Island USGenWeb Project Archives, Washington County

The number of sources for information about New England states and counties can be overwhelming. There is really no end to the records.

Can Genealogy be Collaborative?

Many years ago, pre-computers, my wife's family started a project to verify and source an entire line of the Glade and Green families of Salt Lake City, Utah. The research was divided up between family members who all went to then Family History Library to review the microfilm records. I have seen the family group records produced and the source citations for each person are recorded on the bottom of the pages and continued onto the back of each page. In some cased the source notes for one family group record go on for 3 or 4 11x17 typed pages. The sources are specific for each event down to the microfilm number. After the initial research was done, every single date and film number was verified. They also gathered the original records. When records weren't available, they jointly hired professional researchers in England to search the records that weren't microfilmed.

Today, that would be called crowd sourcing, back then, it was collaboration. Copies of this original research is sitting in a binder I am looking at right now. The family researched back into the early 1600s and in some cases into the 1500s when the records ended.

But here is the problem. All of this original research is locked up in typed, paper family group records. It was never published in a book and so only the family members who originally participated retained copies. There is no denying that collaboration on that scale produced tremendous results. But what happened to the results. How many of the current family members are even aware that all that research work was done?

What if we take another example of my Great-grandmother who spent the last 30 years or so of her life doing genealogical research. She amassed a huge number of records including a large number of letters to relatives around the U.S. and in England, Scotland and Ireland. She not only researched her own lines but those of her husband. Over a number of years, I entered all of the names in her files into a succession of computer programs and then digitized the records. A copy of the entire digitized file is in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. See Mary Ann Linton Morgan documents available on a CD at the Library.

In the first case, the family cooperatively produced a huge amount of highly detailed and completely sourced research. In the second case, an individual, working all alone, produced another huge collection of genealogically valuable information. In both cases, it is very unlikely that many of the current family members are aware of the extent of the research. So aren't we missing something when we have collaboration? Doesn't the end product of the collaboration end up essentially the same as all the work done by the single individual? Unavailable in some cases to successive generations?

In my Great-grandmother's case, the information is now readily available to any family member taking the time and effort to search in the Family History Library catalog. But in the case of the vast number of annotated family group records, that information is only available if you happen to stumble across a copy. But wait, there is a source for looking at the family group records. It is called the Family Group Records Collection, Archives Section, 1942-1969. Too bad. All of these family group records never made it into the submitted files.

What is the point? Collaboration can be used to find huge amounts of data, but lacking some standardized method of exchanging all this data, collaborative efforts end up just as if there had been no collaboration. So what is the solution? Well, sharing all this information online is one suggested solution? Using the FamilySearch.org Family Tree may be a solution if someone in the family takes the time to enter all of the sources into the program. A monumental task that is very unlikely to happen. Does this mean all that work will have to be done over again? Essentially yes, until there is an adequate way to transfer all of this prior research onto sharable and searchable resources.

So, can genealogy be collaborative? Yes and no. Collaboration is possible and can produce hugely successful results. But without an adequate method of entering the research into the existing available databases, the work will not be generally available and will likely be redone out of ignorance of the original research.

Time to Start Ramping Up for RootsTech

I got a notice from RootsTech that it was time to register for RootsTech 2014 and I thought Costco was early when they put out Christmas decorations in August. They have a reduced price on the Full Access Pass to all the classroom events for the three days for $159 and they note that this will be available only for a limited time.

The full list of classes is now posted online also and as I found out, there is a full Developer's Day schedule of events for Wednesday. I guess I will be getting there on Tuesday afternoon or evening this next year. I don't exactly know what to expect. I am teaching one class on blogging, but last year I also participated in a couple of other un-conferencing classes and of course, ended up helping with a keynote. I wonder if this year will be a little less hectic?

They have posted the Conference Hotels and it looks like they have added a couple of hotels. But if last year was any indication, it is a good idea to get a hotel early. One thing to keep in mind about Salt Lake City is that they have a downtown free light rail system. I you had a hotel on the light rail, getting to the Salt Palace would be free and easy with no parking problems.

February can be cold and snowy or bright and sunny all in the same day. Also remember, Salt Lake City is mostly above around 4500 feet above sea level, with parts of the City much higher. If you have trouble at altitude, you need to take that into consideration. I always keep a close watch on the weather while I am in Utah since it can change so suddenly. This past year I walked out of the hotel to go to the Family History Library and got a face full of wind blown snow. I had to call my wife down from the hotel to get a ride two blocks to the Library and that took us almost twenty minutes to go the two blocks.

The Conference is all indoors and they promise to have larger classrooms and a larger area for the Conference this year. In 2015 it looks like both FGS and RootsTech will both have their Conferences at the same time. That will be interesting. I haven't been to an FGS Conference for a while, I guess I will be attending in 2015.

Bits and Pieces from FamilySearch

For quite a while I could not get the RSS Feed from the FamilySearch blog to work for me. But then it was no trouble to keep up with the news from FamilySearch because it could be weeks without a blog post. Apparently, this has all changed. I am getting as many as two or three email notifications a day from FamilySearch. So, I thought it would be good idea to summarize a lot of the news rather than simply copy the announcements.

So, here it goes. This is a summary the past couple of weeks of email news releases from FamilySearch:

Nathan Murphy writes a post entitled "Judging FamilyTree Accuracy: French Canadian Immigrants." Nathan examines the number of duplications of his ancestors in FamilySearch.org's Family Tree program.

Diane C. Loosle Named Director of World Renowned Family History Library. Congratulations to Diane. She is certainly well qualified for the job.

The CEO of FamilySearch, Dennis Brimhall, discusses "Finding Ancestor Records Directly from Family Tree." I wrote a blog post about these new features and also commented on the FamilyTree search engine so I won't go into detail here.

FamilySearch Adds Close to 1.5 Million Indexed Records and Images to Collections from Chile, Honduras, Jamaica, and the United States. The title to this post tells the story. There are always new records being added to the Historical Record Collections every week. This is getting to be difficult to comprehend, much less follow adequately. 

"What’s New: New Courses from Learning Services" is a post about new free video courses added to the Learning Center. Now, if we could just find the Learning Center, we would be in good shape (It is listed under the Get Help menu in the upper right-hand corner of the startup page). 

"Easy to Use Online Help for Beginners—Part 1" Steve Anderson gives us a preview of upcoming get help resources that will be appearing during the next few months. As he notes:

Over the course of the next few months, we are going to show you some great, easy-to-use places where you can get help with the adventure of discovering your own family history. With each of the websites we introduce you to, you will guided step-by-step by experts who will help make finding your ancestors exciting and fun. Each step will help you find new pieces of the puzzle that makes up your family’s story. With each session, you will likely learn something new about your family that you never knew before. So come along, and get started today. There is a great adventure just waiting for you.

Well, that sums up the last week of blog posts.  

Back to Basics: Thoughts on a methodology for resolving complex genealogical issues

I do not care for the term "brick wall" when used to refer to complex genealogical problems. I believe that use of the term implies the existence of an external force that is preventing the researcher from discovering information about a target ancestor. Usually, in those situations where an ancestor's identity eludes discovery, the solution lies in applying a consistent research methodology with more depth and covering much broader social, historical and geographic areas than usually anticipated.

The much-cited Genealogical Proof Standard requires a reasonably exhaustive search of a wide range of high quality sources. This level of research is required to minimize the probability that a conclusion will be overturned by undiscovered evidence. In the myriad of the online articles attempting to define a reasonable exhaustive search, the general consensus seems to involve looking at a variety of very commonly available sources. In the end, what does or does not constitute a reasonably exhaustive search is essentially left to the discretion of the researcher.

I do not take exception with the concept of a "reasonably exhaustive search" but I do take exception with the lack of a standard methodology that will produce such a result. The most commonly used method of beginning a research project today is to look at one or two of the large online database programs. Because of the huge number of sources now contained in Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org and their accessibility in FamilySearch Centers and public libraries, these are the most consulted sources of information. In my experience, most researchers obtain some success in this first effort due mainly to the availability, in the United States, of all of the years of the U.S. Census.

However, even if a search in either or both of these larger databases produces results, the researcher is left without a firm idea of what to do next. Many researchers stop with the Census and unfortunately, by starting with a search of the Census, they are distracted from gathering information about their family from what they already have in their homes and available from family members. I have many experiences where I have helped people begin their research and only after weeks or months of trying to understand their family have they looked at that old pile of papers given to them by their parents or other relatives, only to find out, everything they have spent time on to that point is already in those records and more.

When I suggest having a standard methodology, I am not trying to reinvent genealogical research. The way to do genealogical research dates back to lessons taught over 100 years ago. The very first step in this process involves carefully recording the personal recollections of the researcher and the members of the researcher's family. The Lessons in Genealogy book illustrated above, makes this point clear on page 18. The Lessons first suggest having an appropriate place to record the information to be gathered. In our day, this would mean becoming familiar with one of the many database programs easily and freely available. Next, gathering and recording what information is already obtainable from family documents.

If you have been instructed in basic genealogical research you probably recognize the Research Cycle. But it is important to keep the Cycle in mind and review it from time to time. The Cycle is simple:

• Identify what you want to know
• Decided what you want to learn
• Select records to search
• Obtain and search records
• Carefully record what you find and where you look
• Evaluate and use the information
• Start over with new objectives

Yesterday I taught a class and had a very interesting discussion about doing research in Oklahoma about the Seminole Indians and another group called the Black Seminoles. The researcher was kept commenting that she had found this record and that record, but it was obvious that she had no idea how to organize or evaluate the information she had found into a coherent, usable format that would allow her to make progress in finding her ancestors. Her search was random and not based on any method that would produce progress. 

There are two major problems with the Research Cycle as it is usually presented. First, the person who undertakes research fails to do an adequate survey of what information may already be available and second, the researcher is entirely unaware of the huge number of sources that can be searched. 

Now, moving on the issues encountered by experienced researchers, if you think about it, they are in the exact same position as a beginning researcher only the objective of the research has moved a bit back in time. Unfortunately, research often creates tunnel vision: concentration on one particular research issue and failure to appreciate the wider scope of the research project. Most of the time, from my experience, the researcher has failed to adequately document preceding generations and has only a bare minimum of information to connect the remote ancestor to the family. 

If you viewed my recent Webinar presentation on Breaking Down Genealogical Brick Walls, you would recognize the relationship of my approach to the Research Cycle. We have a huge pool of genealogical research experience to draw from in addressing complex research issues but we fail to use the lessons from the past to address the present challenges of finding an elusive ancestor. 

Is a unified family tree even possible?

Commentator Tony Proctor suggests that collaboration on "a single, global family tree" is a myth and may not work at all. A single, global family tree is by its nature collaborative. However, such a structure presupposes a common cultural and social interpretation of kinship structures. Tony's comment raises some significant issues concerning the viability of collaborative genealogy absent a consistently defined metadata. Without a "Meta-genealogy" establishing a common terminology and accurate description of the data sets, discussion about genealogical collaboration are like trains passing in the night. There is no sure way to determine if the various participants in the genealogical community are even talking the same language. Simply because you label some online family tree program as universal or one world, does not mean that it is automatically adaptable for international purposes.

A useful definition of metadata is contained in the publication of the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), called Understanding Metadata:

Metadata is structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information resource. Metadata is often called data about data or information about information.

Metadata can be either structural or descriptive. I believe here, we are talking about structural metadata or the design and specifications of data structures, not the particular content of the individual instances of application data. In this sense the description of the Meta-genealogy becomes the basis for standardization, not the other way around. If we wait for some agreement on standardization, we will never obtain the objective of providing an accommodating structural metadata.

I think a simple example helps to start the concept of the difficulty of talking about standards without the underlying structural metadata. Nearly all of the currently available genealogical database programs use a naming structure that has spaces for a surname and a given or first name. Some of the programs resolve the issue of a middle name by labeling the first data entry blank as "First Names." In addition, many of the programs provide places for a prefix or title and a suffix or other name. So what do you do with a name such as

Raul Ortega Rodriguez

Do you have a separate version of the program with an accommodation for Spanish surnames or do you simply ignore the problem and provide a "one size fits all" solution based on English surname patterns? This example may be trivial, but the idea is to define a metaname field that will contain every instance of naming practices in every kinship structure. To see why this this is necessary, simply ask this question about the name above: What is the surname? Which of the two names is the one a genealogist would need to search on? Is the answer both names?

In this sense, a workable metadata approach to genealogy would be culturally neutral. Avery interesting attempt at creating such a system is that developed by the commentator, Tony Proctor, on his website http://www.familyhistorydata.parallaxview.co/home where he is developing the STEMMA data model.

However, I am not just talking about a system that allows developers to implement cross-cultural data transfers, I believe we need to develop a more fundamental way of looking at the larger world wide context of creating a universal family tree structure. Not in the sense that we create a centralized collection but allowing the relationships between the data components to be restructured through continuous adaptation to additional data. The closest structure that currently reflects this ability is wiki-based. But even wiki-based systems can bog down in cultural specific network connections.

The beginning of a discussion in this regard should consider some of what has already been accomplished with large online databases. For a review of the current status see the following:

Hillmann, Diane I., and Elaine L. Westbrooks. Metadata in Practice. Chicago: American Library Association, 2004.

You can see from the date of the book, that these ideas are not necessarily new or innovative. 

Another example of the need for metadata in the area of genealogy is the proliferation of online family trees allowing users to upload images. Unfortunately, other than linking the image to an individual or individuals in a family tree, there is no accompanying data about the provenance of the photo or image.

I suggest that this type of development needs to begin on the international level in the genealogical community and if is already in progress, I suggest it needs a higher profile.