Member Login | My Account | Guest Registry

Getting Started | Learning Center | Reference | Publications | Articles & Columns

Shaking Your Family Tree

September 3, 1998
	BACK-TO-SCHOOL QUIZ FOR GENEALOGISTS by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, C.G.
Sharpen those brand-new, back-to-school pencils and try this genealogy quiz to see how much you've learned this summer. 1. A coded surname index based on the way a surname sounds rather than how it is spelled is called what? a. Gendex b. Namedex c. Soundex 2. A unit of land equal to 1 pole or perch is a: a. byte b. rod c. plot 3. A recorded ancestry or line of descent shown on a chart is called: a. pedigree b. peerage c. Ahnentafel 4. What does the abbreviation "bo'' stand for in the relationship column on a census record? a. brother b. boarder c. bound boy 5. What did your great-granny use a lardering stick for? a. whip the kids b. find water with c. pierce holes in poultry while it cooked 6. An immigrant had to file for U.S. citizenship within how many years after arrival? a. two b. not required c. five 7. When was Lady Day in Colonial America? a. January 1 b. August 15 c. March 25 8. What was the name of the Confederates' prison in Richmond, Va.? a. Libby b. Andersonville c. Old Capitol 9. When calculating ages of ancestors from a census record, should you go by the date of enumeration or the official census day? a. date of enumeration b. official census day c. neither 10. Where were many U.S. military discharge papers filed? a. National Archives in Washington, DC b. Military Archives in St. Louis, MO c. county courthouses 11. Ellis Island -- the famous New York City immigration station -- opened January 1 in: a. 1847 b. 1892 c. 1903 12. If your New England ancestor took the freeman's oath in 1635, does that indicate he previously was a slave or indentured servant? 13. If you find your Pennsylvania Dutch ancestor mentioned in a Taufscheine fraktur, should you be delighted or shocked? 14. If your ancestor sold his land in Missouri and went west on the Oregon Trail in 1852, should you look for his Missouri exit deed in the grantees' or grantors' index of deeds? 15. The term Scotch-Irish was first used in this country in 1695 and the Latin version -- Scoto-Hibernicus -- was used in Scottish universities in the 17th and 18th centuries. Who were these people and what was their religion? ANSWERS TO QUIZ: 1. c. Soundex 2. b. rod 3. a. pedigree 4. b. boarder 5. c. pierce holes in poultry while it cooked 6. b. not required 7. c. March 25. Until 1752 and the change to the Gregorian (New Style) calendar in England and its colonies, March 25 was the first day of the year. Traditionally, Lady Day was the day on which hiring fairs for servants, etc. took place in England. 8. a. Libby 9. b. official census day 10. c. county courthouses 11. b. 1892 12. No. In Colonial days the term referred to any male over 21 who owned personal property or real estate valuable at a prescribed amount, was a peaceful man and endorsed by a majority of the town's freemen. 13. Delighted. A Taufscheine fraktur is a birth or baptism certificate (decorated manuscript), and an important primary source for German-American families. 14. Grantors (sellers). 15. Scotch-Irish were people of northern Ireland, particularly from the area of Ulster, who descended from Scottish settlers. The majority of these immigrants arrived in America between 1715 and 1775 and most of them were Presbyterians. (c) 1998, Los Angeles Times Syndicate Myra Vanderpool Gormley and Julie Case are co-editors of Missing Links, a free weekly genealogy e-zine. To subscribe, send your request to: Missing Links Newsletter Return to Myra Vanderpool Gormley Main Page Return to Columns Main Page
Copyright 1998, 1999, Ancestry.com Inc. and its subsidiaries. Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement