Genealogy, Family History & Temple Work

Yes, there are definite things you should avoid doing or assuming when you begin researching your Family History. Here are just four of them.

1. Just because it's been published, doesn't mean it's true.

Even professional genealogists can make mistakes, and most of those who publish family genealogies are not professionals. Transcriptions may have been misread or assumptions about certain family relationships may have been made. Take everything you read with a grain of salt.

2. Just because it's on the internet, doesn't mean it's true.

These days, anyone can put up information on the internet. Not all of the genealogical information on the internet is incorrect, but a lot of it is. This is largely because people accept what they see as fact and perpetuate information which may be false, which is in turn perpetuated by others who never seek to verify the truth. Again, take everything you see on the internet with a grain of salt.

3. It's Family Lore, but is it true?

Every family seems to have one or two stories of grandeur. A family story passed down to me declares we are descendants of Pocahontas and distantly related to Edith Bolling Wilson (second wife of President Woodrow Wilson) who wrote one of my ancestors a letter asking about a certain table. The underside of this table has the name Edward Bolling and the date 1714 inscribed into it. It is said the table was given to Edith Wilson by one of my ancestors. As for now I have not been able to prove any of that story true.

Certainly I think it would be neat if I descended from Pocahontas, but I'm not going to assume it's true and spread any falsity in that arena. Nor would I attempt to trace Pocahontas' line of descendancy in hope of finding a connection. It's much better to work backward than forward. My great great grandmother was Minnie Bowling, so it is possible that I may trace her line back to the "red" Bollings, but for now, when and if I tell that story, I will be very careful to make clear the proven and unproven aspects of it.

4. Smith is spelled S-M-I-T-H and that's that!

That a surname should be and was only ever spelled one way would be a very unfortunate assumption to make when doing genealogy research. The lack of education that was so widespread even until the early 20th century made for some very interesting spelling on the part of census takers, probate document recorders and others. Most of the time, your ancestors may not have even known how to spell their own name. In some cases an individual may have changed the spelling of his name on purpose. Perhaps upon arriving in America he found his surname of Ljungren too difficult for Americans to spell correctly and was content to spell it Youngren so he wouldn't need to correct people all the time. Other names may have been translated into English. The German surname Schwarz translated to Black and thus some changed their surname after arriving in America. Always try alternate name variations when searching for your ancestors. This includes First and middle names as well.

"On my Swedish line, my grandfather’s name was Nels Monson; his father’s name was not Monson at all but Mons Okeson; and his father’s name was Oke Pederson, and his father’s name was Peter Monson—right back to Monson again; and his father’s name was Mons Lustig, which was a Swedish army name to differentiate the Petersons, the Johnsons, and the Monsons from one another as they entered military service." - Thomas S. Monson, The Key of Faith, Ensign, Feb 1994, 2

The word Genealogy is derived from the Greek word Genea meaning race, family.

Specifically it refers to the study of Family History and line of descent. Genealogies, recorded accounts of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor, are also referred to as family trees or pedigrees.

The basic intent of genealogical research is to identify your ancestors and establish where they belong in your family tree. Genealogy becomes Family History research as you begin to learn about and record the lives and doings of these ancestors.

An ancestor is a person from whom you are directly descended such as your grandmother, great grandmother and so on.

A collateral ancestor refers to an ancestor from whom you don't directly descend, but that are still in your ancestral family such as a great aunt.

Now you know exactly what genealogy is, but are you still wondering why you should get started on it?

Mormons have a clear motivation for doing Genealogy based on their belief of the eternal nature of families.

Other motivations for doing genealogy might include:

• To preserve family, cultural or ethnic traditions
• To learn about your family medical history and what to possibly expect in the way of inherited disease.
• To satisfy basic curiosity about where your family came from
• To qualify for a lineage society
• To publish a family history book either for your family, for profit or both.

Once you begin, it's near impossible to stop it's so exciting and addicting. The promise of Elijah truly is coming to pass:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. - Malachi 4:5&6

Genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the world today and it's enjoyable for young and old alike. It is part of human nature to wonder about our roots. In what parts of the world did my ancestors live? What did they look like? Where did I get my red hair? Who are those people in the family album?

How long will we let these questions go unanswered? The more generations that grow and live and die without answering them, the harder the answers will be to find when someone comes along and decides the answers are important enough to go searching for. Perhaps we can make it a little easier for our children and grand children and great grand children to someday know who we were, how we lived and who we loved.

A census is a periodic count of a population. Whether it be human, plant, animal or other. In the genealogical context of course we are referring to a count or enumeration of the human population.

The first known census was taken by the Babylonians in 3800 BC and thereafter are a relatively small number of other known census takings until the practice became more common in more areas in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. One old but widely known reference to a census taking is found in Luke, Chapter 2, Verse 1"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed."

Taxed, meaning to be enrolled or registered. Though many early censuses were implemented largely for the purpose of collecting taxes, they could also be used to identify men of an eligible age for service in the military or work for the government. Though because of the desire to shirk these responsibilities, many censuses, even those considered more modern may often contain incorrect information.

Today census data is useful for general population statistics, economic statistics which may influence economic policy, and social and housing information which is useful to the government at all levels.

To ensure adequate privacy, census information is not released to the public for a number of years. Though this may not be the case in all countries. The United States of America has enacted a 72 year privacy law, meaning that census information will only be released to the general public 72 years after it was first taken. Censuses released in the U.S. span 1790-1930. The 1940 census will be released in 2012 and many genealogist's anxiously await it's arrival as they did the 1930 census which was released in 2002.

The census is one of the most widely used sources for genealogical information. And it can give you a variety of information on your ancestors that may vary from year to year. Some census information includes years of birth and death, how many years they've been married, how many children have been born, where each person was born, what occupation a person followed, the birth place of a persons father and mother, native language and more. In upcoming posts we will be talking about the censuses available from different countries and the valuable information they can give you in your search to know more about your family roots.

The Social Security Death Index(SSDI) is a database of death records, created by the Social Security Administration(SSA) for persons who had a Social Security Number(SSN) and whose deaths were reported to the SSA. Though nearly all deaths listed therein occurred after 1962, there are over 80 million on file. This is a prime resource to turn to for those who are starting at the very beginning on their family history, perhaps looking for information about Grandparents or Great-Grandparents.

Why should I obtain an ancestors Social Security Number(SSN)?

* While a SSN is often unnecessary to obtaining a death certificate for your ancestor of interest, the fee for that death certificate will be less expensive and the search quicker if you can provide a SSN.

* To obtain a SSN your ancestor had to fill out an SS-5 form. The SS-5 form is a valuable primary source in your research. It will contain your ancestors full name, residence, age, date of birth, place of birth, sex, race, place of employ, father's full name, mother's full name, date signed and the signature of your ancestor. So while it contains similar information to that on a death certificate, it may provide more correct or possibly different information, as your ancestor filled out the SS-5 form their self. While a SSN is not necessary to obtaining a SS-5 form the price will be less expensive and the search quicker if you can provide the SSN.

My Great-Grandfather's SS-5 Form

Where can I find the Social Security Death Index(SSDI)?

* Happily, the SSDI is available for search through many internet websites and most of them offer it free. My preferred SSDI search of choice is on Rootsweb. On the Rootsweb home page listed under, Search Engines and Databases you will see, third link down Social Security Death Index (Deaths). Clicking on this link will take you to the search options page. You can search with the options first provided or click on, Advanced Search for more options. Once finished filling out whichever options you have chosen, click on Submit to look through possible matches.

How do I get a copy of my ancestors SS-5 form?

* When you have clicked the submit button as mentioned above, you will be able to view possible matches, and you will see them in table format. Once you have found your ancestor, you can click on SS-5 Letter located in the second to last column on the table. This will take you to a letter that you simply print, fill out, sign and mail with a check or money order to the SSA.

I would definitely recommend getting an SS-5 form for any ancestor that had a Social Security Number. You never know what you will find. I taught an internet genealogy course a couple of years ago at a yearly workshop, and after class an acquaintance of mine told me she was looking for information on her grandmother, and was happy to have learned about the SS-5 form. Some time later we ran into each other and she told me how thrilled she was about the information that had been on her Grandmother's form. Her Grandmother had immigrated to the U.S. as a young girl and had dropped her given name, which was difficult for Americans to pronounce, in favor of Mary. That is all her descendants had ever known her by, but since it was not her actual name, they could find no records of her in her birth country. But on her SS-5 form she included her real name in parenthesis, finally making it possible for this friend to begin research in her Grandmother's home country, in hopes of discovering more ancestors on that line.

In Part I of this series I discussed how to start your genealogy from the very beginning.

In Part II of this series I discussed treasure hunting and obtaining a GEDCOM if your genealogy has already been started by a relative.

So far we have discussed gathering as much information as possible through relatives you know. Now, it is time to begin gathering information from relatives you may not know you even have. This can be done online, through the use of Message Boards and Family Trees.

A Message Board, also known as an internet forum or discussion group is a place for holding discussions, asking questions and posting answers. You can find message boards on nearly every genealogy database on the web. This includes the Ancestry.com Message Boards, Rootsweb.com Message Boards and Genealogy.com Message Boards among others. Most message boards are indexed by surname and locality in addition to offering a search bar. Most message boards also require registration to use, but this is normally free. After registering you will be given a User name and password that can be used to Log In to post or answer a question. Once you have found your desired surname message board you may then post a question about your ancestor of that same surname, in the hope that someone who reads it can and will answer your question.

A Family Tree is a genealogical diagram of one's ancestors, usually represented in form similar to a pedigree chart. The same genealogy databases listed above also have a place for Family Trees. The family trees on these sites are usually GEDCOM's that users have uploaded. Many different search options are provided. You can search for ancestors by name, place, dates of birth or death and more. Any similar entry you find will often be accompanied by the submitter's email address so that you can contact them if necessary.

There are many questions that arise after searching through online Family Trees, and here is an example of one that I am asked the most:

"I searched for my ancestor on Rootsweb.com and found over 40 different Family Trees for her. Most of them included the same family names but many of the dates of birth and death conflict with one another. Who is right? What should I do?"

It is an unfortunate fact that a lot of incorrect and conflicting information is in circulation in the world of Family Trees and genealogy in general. It may begin with the misreading of or assuming or guessing about certain information, and is compounded by those who simply copy and paste said incorrect information into their own family tree without ever verifying it is indeed true. It is further compounded when someone takes the most complete looking information from multiple family trees and adds those to their own family tree without ever verifying any of it either. Now, it is certainly not criminal to put incomplete or as yet unverified information into your family tree, but it does make it difficult for those of us wanting to know which of the 8 different death dates listed for Aunt Molly is the correct one. This is where you hope that the creators of the family tree's in question have included a primary source for their information. Most of the time they have not, and you are left to send them an email telling them of your dilemma and asking them if they have proof that the death date they have listed for Aunt Molly is the correct one. And if you find no one can remember where they got that date of death from or if they don't respond to you at all, then you write each date down with a note reminding you that you'll have to find out which date is correct yourself.

Message Boards are much the same. Someone may give you the information you've asked for, but when you ask them for source material they can't help you. So you take what they've told you with a grain of salt and set about proving it yourself. This is when things begin to get very interesting. This is when your days as a beginning genealogist end, and entrance into a new realm begins.

A collateral line refers to ancestors from whom you don't directly descend, but that are still in your ancestral family. Such as aunts, cousins or your 5th Great Grandmother's siblings.

All too often in Family History research, these collateral ancestors are set aside with little thought. Perhaps their names and vital information are recorded, but some may think it futile to research their lives any further. I have often run into beginning genealogists who have confessed their determination to trace their direct line back as far as possible but have already come to a dead end fairly early in their research.

I ask each of them the same questions, "Who is the ancestor you're stuck on?", "Exactly what information do you have on this person?" "What information are you looking to find for this person?" and "What have you already done to try to find this information?"

I am usually given a variety of answers, but they almost always fall within the same range. That of searching for information only through the direct son or daughter of this direct ancestor on whom they are trying to find more information. Let me give you a hypothetical:

Sandy was searching for information on her 4th Great Grandfather. She knew his name was Bernard Wilkins and that was all. She had no dates of birth, marriage or death for him. She knew that he had lived in Knox County Tennessee, as four of his children including her 3rd Great Grandfather James Wilkins, were born there. She thought first of searching the County Death records, not entirely sure whether he had actually died there or not. She found nothing. She had searched the church cemetery where James had died, hoping his father might be buried there too. But he was not. So then she had searched for the obituary of James Wilkins. But upon finding it, she was disappointed to find no mention of James' parents in there.

"I'm at a dead end, I've looked everywhere!" she says, exasperated.

But she hasn't looked everywhere. There are 4 other children whose obituaries she hasn't thought to search for, simply because they're not direct ancestors. After being told this and tracking down all of them, she finds one that briefly mentions when Bernard Wilkins came to Knox County and from where, giving her another place to start looking. If that hadn't yielded any results there were a number of others ways in which to try to find information, all pertaining to her collateral ancestors.

Collateral research is nearly always essential to furthering direct line research. Consider family heirlooms. Perhaps you prize that beautiful antique photo album with three generations of family pictures inside. You realize you share a striking resemblance to your 3rd Great Aunt Martha and your father looks just like your 2nd Great Uncle John. You wonder if their descendants love looking at their photos as much as you do. But wait, photo reproductions weren't wide spread in that day. Often all family photos were included in one photo album, and one photo album can only be passed on to one child. You may have distant relatives who have no idea pictures of family dating back that far exist! Likewise those same distant relatives may have copies of Uncle John's Muster Roll or a ships passenger list with not only Martha's name on it, but that of her parents whom you haven't discovered names for yet. And as the above example with Sandy illustrates, obituaries, along with other records may have widely varying information in them. While one may be only one sentence stating the name of the deceased and when they died, another may practically be a biographical sketch, talking about the immigration of the family into the county, where they came from, when the parents were married and so forth. Yes, collateral lines can be crucial to breaking through that brick wall. Don't discount them.

In Part I of this series I discussed how to start your genealogy from the very beginning.

Now, there are some of you who may not need to start from the very beginning because you may have relatives who have already begun to work on your Family History. Please don't let that stop you. There is still plenty for you to do. Collaborating on Family History can be fun. And it often takes different points of view to solve a genealogical dead end. So call that family member and ask them for a GEDCOM saved to Floppy disk or CD-ROM which you will then be able to upload into your Family History Program. Or you might request paper copies of all documents. This will ensure you do not waste time searching for that which has already been found. You can then begin gathering information on any family line within the GEDCOM on which you find work has halted.

Let's talk about the next step in gathering information from living family members, treasure hunting. I refer to it as such because the things you discover may often prove themselves the only record of information of that kind, making them truly priceless. If you can, plan a visit to the homes of any relations you think may harbor any of the following. Make sure you ask their permission first and if there are any places they do not want you rummaging through.

Items to look for:
* Journals/Diaries
* Old letters
* Photographs
* Autograph Albums
* Baby Books
* Wedding Books
* Other scrap books or photo albums
* Family Bibles
* Books of Remembrance
* Printed Histories, family or locality
* Certificates - Birth, Marriage, Death, Divorce, Blessing, Baptism, Award
* Report Cards
* Year Books
* Newspaper clippings
* Military Records
* Records of membership to Genealogical, Historical or other societies
* Drivers or other licenses
* Records of Employment
* Cards - birthday, wedding or other.

You may find things your relative didn't remember or even know they had. Such was the case when I searched my Grandmother's home. There were many names and dates she couldn't recollect, but when I searched her home I found scores of sheets with these names and dates on them. She didn't even remember that she had written them down.

The things you find may provide vital information for your ancestor as well as information about who they were, what mattered to them, who their friends were and so forth. As I said before, every little detail may prove significant to your search, if not immediately, then certainly down the road.

The best way to begin your genealogy is to start by writing down everything that you and your family members know about your family history.

Items you may find useful:

*A pencil
*A notebook
*A phone
*Envelopes
*Stamps

1) When possible, make personal visits to relatives to ask for information. Bring a notebook, a pencil and a list of questions. Write down all known vital information (births, deaths, marriages, place names, maiden names, surnames) as well as memories and family stories. Family memories may not seem relevant in the beginning but may be crucial to your search later on. Don't discount any detail.

2) Relatives you are not able to visit in person should be contacted by phone or letter. I've had many conversations with my grandmother over the phone, pencil in hand scribbling notes as we spoke. It was through one of our many phone conversations that she remembered a detail which allowed me to find a death certificate for her father. Don't assume you've received all you need to know in one call or visit. Especially when you are speaking to your older relatives, whom you should make your first priority to speak with, as when they die their memories go with them. My grandmother remembered new details and new memories every time we spoke.

3) Another idea you might consider is mailing a tape with a return envelope and a list of questions to various relatives, asking them to record their answers or relate any special memories onto the tape.

After you have begun to gather information, you will then want to begin recording it in a standard way. There are two forms you can use to do this:

A Pedigree Chart is a record of your Direct ancestral line (you, your parents, your grandparents, etc.)

A Family Group Record, unlike a Pedigree Chart will let you list all the members of one family and their information. So you, your spouse and children, your parents and siblings, your grandparents and all of their children, etc.

By visiting the links above you can download each type of form to your computer which will allow you to print it out and record the information by hand. Or you can record the information into a Family History Program such as Personal Ancestral File (PAF). PAF is a free program offered by the LDS Church. Version 5.2 is the most current version available.

No matter how you ultimately decide to record your Family History, the most important thing is to begin gathering information as soon as possible. Don't let precious, time saving information and memories die with those you love.