With the summer travel season getting into full swing, a lot of us
may be looking forward to visiting family on vacation, and possibly a family
reunion. Family historians everywhere are working feverishly getting their family
history finds together to show off to relatives. We probably have some ulterior
motives too—if we get them interested, we can get them talking and maybe even
pry some new information out of them. But how do we spark their interest? If
we pull out a pile of charts and start rattling off names and dates until their
eyes glaze over, we may have them running for the doors (they just don't understand).
A few weeks ago, we talked about "Genealogy-In-A-Minute"
and compared a family history based solely on names and dates, to one that put
a little meat on the bones of the ancestors we are searching. I heard from a
lot of you after that article, and it was brought to my attention that "some
folks may not have a minute's worth of information on their ancestors." While
that may be true of some parts of our family tree, I am betting that we may
have a little more than we realize on a lot of our ancestors.
Some of you out there are probably shaking your head "no." You're thinking,
"Nope, all I got here are a few census records, and some scattered vitals. Just
a bunch of names, dates, and places." Well, let's take a look at some ways we
can use those plain old names, dates, and places to put some interest in our
family history.
Putting Dates Into Perspective
In the previous article, I mentioned that the Dooner family came to this country
from Ireland in 1847. The date of immigration may not seem to be of importance
until you put it into the context of what was going on in Ireland at that time—the
Irish Potato Famine. Ding. Now there's something that's going to ring a bell
and maybe generate some interest. Likewise the dates of other life events can
be turned into interesting notes when put into the historical context. A family
moving on to greener pastures after drought hits their farm; a child dying in
the midst of an epidemic; the ages of the males in a household when a war breaks
out; a baby born just after the father went off to fight in a war; or the marriage
of a soldier to his sweetheart upon his return from the war—all add a whole
new element to a simple date.
Historical elements can be easily found in a variety of sources. I have a copy
of The Almanac of American History, edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger,
Jr. that is full of interesting events and facts listed in chronological order,
and your local library probably has a ton of similar publications. Many resources
can also be found online in places like the Library
of Congress' American Memory Project. Others can be dug up using your favorite
search engine.
Likewise, the dates we see for certain events can also be compared within the
family. How old was a child when a parent passed away? How old was a woman when
she married? Had her first child? Her last child? How many children in the family
died at an early age? Think about the impact of any event on the family as a
whole. Not only will the answers help build a compelling family history, they
may provide clues as to other resources that can be checked for more information.
The sources of these dates will also give us other tidbits that can help.
Besides the vital dates, age, and location of the decedent, a death record may
tell us the cause of death, duration of illness, occupational information, residence
at the time of death, and more. Each record should be analyzed and picked apart.
Even information that is not consequential to further research can provide clues.
Location, Location, Location
Another valuable piece of information that we can pull more background from
is the location of our ancestors. What kind of neighborhood did they live in?
City, rural, or in between? Was it occupied predominantly by one ethnic group,
or was it diverse? Working class or high society? Some answers to these questions
can be found just by looking through the census entries around those of your
ancestor, and local histories can provide even more detail.
The Census: Those "Other Columns"
Most U.S. Federal Censuses (particularly those from 1850 on) offer a lot more
than the facts that we tend to zero in on like names, ages, relationships, and
places of birth. Unfortunately these "other columns" are frequently overlooked
when the information is extracted. By not studying this additional information,
we may be missing a large part of the picture.
Financial information can give us insight into the lifestyles of our ancestors.
Beginning in 1790, the number of slaves owned is included. Between 1850-70,
U.S. Federal Censuses asked for the value of real estate. 1860 and 1870 also
had a field for the value of personal estate. This information can give us an
insight into their lifestyle. (For a comparison of the purchasing power of a
dollar, check out Economic History Services' site, "How
much is that worth today?" There is also one available for Great Britain
from 1600 forward.
In addition, censuses from 1900 on all include information on whether residents
owned or rented and whether property was owned free or mortgaged.
Interesting information found in "other" columns also includes educational and
occupational background, whether they could read, write, and speak English,
disabilities, military service, immigration and citizenship info, how many months
unemployed, number of children born to a mother, and how many of them are still
living. There is a lot of data here if we just take the time to look at it.
More information on the questions asked in various census years is available
here,
and downloadable forms that contain all the fields for each census year are
available at: www.ancestry.com/save/charts/census.htm
While information found in censuses is wonderful, it shouldn't be taken as gospel.
However, when blended with other known facts that are consistent with the answers
given, we learn much more about the names that fill our charts. As we organize
and add the details we have found, we may find a fairly interesting and compelling
story to share with our family this summer. Who knows, we may even be able to
get those family members to take an active interest in our pursuits.
Further Reading:
Turning
Paper into People Series
(Based on the chapter of the same name from, Producing
a Quality Family History, by Patricia Law Hatcher, CG, FASG )
Family History:
More Than Genealogy, by Lawrence W. Naukum 'Rochester History,' Vol.
LII, No. 2, Spring 1990 (Thanks to Larry for sharing this article. Note: Requires
Adobe Reader)
Timelines
Major Settlements,
Immigration, and Naturalization: A Chronology
(Excerpted from The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, edited
by Loretto D. Szucs and Sandra H. Luebking, Chapter 13, 'Immigration: Finding
Immigrant Origins' by Kory L. Meyerink and Loretto Dennis Szucs)
1562-1697
1707-1798
1802-1848
1855-1890
1891-1900
1903-1950
1952-1990
The History Nut
Bibliography
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. ed. The Almanac of American History. New
York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1993. ISBN 1-56619-069-X
Juliana Smith is the editor of the Ancestry Daily News and author of
The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book. She has written for Ancestry
Magazine and Genealogical Computing. Juliana can be reached by e-mail
at: editor@ancestry-inc.com, but
regrets that she is unable to assist with personal research. An archive of her
Monday columns, "The Family History Compass," are available on the Ancestry.com
site at: http://www.ancestry.com/library/view/columns/compass/d_p_1_archive.asp
The Family History Compass
