We've talked a lot about how you can do your own genealogy research on this Blog. But what if you don't have the time or your health prevents you from conducting a thorough search? The good news is that there are plenty of folks who would be happy to take over the search - for a fee, of course. In an earlier post, I discussed the perils and rewards of pay-for-database-access. This post relates to hiring a researcher.
Perhaps the greatest warning I can give you before you pay someone else to research your family tree is that it can take an enjoyable hobby and turn it into a money pit. If you know exactly what you want to spend and what you want to discover, you can probably rest assured that it will be worthwhile contracting someone to help. But, if you are just beginning and don't have any background information at all, I would strongly recommend against hiring someone. You need to review some of the tips I've presented and complete those tasks before you ever contact a professional researcher - for example:
Conducting an Interview
Internet Privacy
DNA Testing
Publishing a Family Tree Online
Taking a Genealogy Vacation
Connecting the Dots...
If you can most research on your own, you can sub-contract out the "hard stuff" to someone else. Often, this will jump-start your research again and then you can continue without additional help. If you ask someone to do too much, though, you may eventually discover that you paid a lot of money for something you could have found yourself, using free resources - especially ones online (that is painful!). But, if you absolutely feel that you have hit an unbreakable wall, you might want to find a person who can get you to the other side. Here are some examples of professional genealogy services available on the Internet (this is NOT and endorsement of any product):
GenealogyPro
Heirlines
Heritage Consulting
Lineages
TreeMaker.com
I hope you are able to use these tips and resources to discover the pesky roots in your family tree. Use the Comments section to add additional links. Happy hunting!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Lies My Ancestors Told Me
As genealogists, we are often confronted by inconsistencies in the stories that our family passed down through the ages. More often than not, the details of family lore have been changed with each generation (much like a centuries-long game of "Telephone"), making for an entertaining tale but providing only a little bit of the truth. If you are lucky, you will be able to find deeper meaning from the stories - and maybe fill in blanks that folks weren't willing to divulge in the past.
Sometimes, though, the information passed down will be wrong - and not just wrong, completely wrong. One interesting example of this situation is the elaborate history of a minority group that has lived in the Appalachian Mountains of the US for many years. The Melungeons claimed that their ancestors were Portuguese or a special race of Native Americans. A DNA Project (2005) recently provided results that indicated that it is more likely that the Melungeons are descendants of African males and European females. It is also probable that the group created a mythology of its roots to overcome prejudices against them. And, to a certain degree, they appear to have been successful.
On the other hand, there are the equally intriguing stories of the possiblity that President Thomas Jefferson had black descendants. The Hemings family always maintained a connection to the author of the Declaration of Independence but it wasn't clear whether they were correct. Finally, in 1998, a Y-DNA Test showed that it is very likely they connect to the Jefferson line - if not to the former president himself.
Never forget that our ancestors had their reasons to keep secrets or create backstories. We may not always understand or sympathize, but their actions probably make sense if you consider the social mores of the world in which they lived (remember the adage "All first-borns came early and the rest came in nine months"?). One of the best things about genealogy research is that you can often share stories about how your family lived - including the trials and tribulations, along with the joys and successes. Often, you can even identify the "story tellers" who skewed the truth or carefully detailed the record of the family story.
If you haven't considered how folk lore and mythology can propogate across a few generations (and how you can capture it in an interview), you should read this great Genealogy Forum article. You might also want to check out the Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story. The lesson from his many anecdotes about people (you only thought you knew them!) is that every person who has ever lived is much more than a birth, death or marriage date...
Sometimes you will get lucky and there won't be a lot of lies in your family history... The older members of my family were actually relatively honest about the family scandals - it has helped me to explain why some branches separated from the rest of us over the years. Their honesty also provided me with a explanation for when I finally reconnected with long lost cousins. I hope you are equally fortunate. Happy hunting!
Sometimes, though, the information passed down will be wrong - and not just wrong, completely wrong. One interesting example of this situation is the elaborate history of a minority group that has lived in the Appalachian Mountains of the US for many years. The Melungeons claimed that their ancestors were Portuguese or a special race of Native Americans. A DNA Project (2005) recently provided results that indicated that it is more likely that the Melungeons are descendants of African males and European females. It is also probable that the group created a mythology of its roots to overcome prejudices against them. And, to a certain degree, they appear to have been successful.
On the other hand, there are the equally intriguing stories of the possiblity that President Thomas Jefferson had black descendants. The Hemings family always maintained a connection to the author of the Declaration of Independence but it wasn't clear whether they were correct. Finally, in 1998, a Y-DNA Test showed that it is very likely they connect to the Jefferson line - if not to the former president himself.
Never forget that our ancestors had their reasons to keep secrets or create backstories. We may not always understand or sympathize, but their actions probably make sense if you consider the social mores of the world in which they lived (remember the adage "All first-borns came early and the rest came in nine months"?). One of the best things about genealogy research is that you can often share stories about how your family lived - including the trials and tribulations, along with the joys and successes. Often, you can even identify the "story tellers" who skewed the truth or carefully detailed the record of the family story.
If you haven't considered how folk lore and mythology can propogate across a few generations (and how you can capture it in an interview), you should read this great Genealogy Forum article. You might also want to check out the Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story. The lesson from his many anecdotes about people (you only thought you knew them!) is that every person who has ever lived is much more than a birth, death or marriage date...
Sometimes you will get lucky and there won't be a lot of lies in your family history... The older members of my family were actually relatively honest about the family scandals - it has helped me to explain why some branches separated from the rest of us over the years. Their honesty also provided me with a explanation for when I finally reconnected with long lost cousins. I hope you are equally fortunate. Happy hunting!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Lookup Links
Have you ever wished you had access to books and newspapers that are unavailable at your local library? Have you been stymied in your efforts to access a digital resource because it is no longer produced? You probably wish someone nice would be able to find your family in one of those resources. Do such people exist?
Fortunately, they do. As early as 1999, sites started up on the Web that allowed people to identify information they could access and searchers could contact them for help. Usually, all that was then required was for the searcher to pay the finder a minimal fee (for postage, mileage and copy costs). These types of sites are sometimes classified as "Genealogy Co-Ops." Some examples include:
CyndisList.com
GenealogyWise.com
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (went offline in 2011)
Twitter
Use these sites to work together to find information that otherwise might be unreachable for you or others. Happy hunting!
Fortunately, they do. As early as 1999, sites started up on the Web that allowed people to identify information they could access and searchers could contact them for help. Usually, all that was then required was for the searcher to pay the finder a minimal fee (for postage, mileage and copy costs). These types of sites are sometimes classified as "Genealogy Co-Ops." Some examples include:
CyndisList.com
GenealogyWise.com
Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (went offline in 2011)
Use these sites to work together to find information that otherwise might be unreachable for you or others. Happy hunting!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Is 1/32nd Enough?
This week, many of us became aware that a U.S. Senate Candidate (Elizabeth Warren) in Massachusetts had long claimed minority status because of her connection to one of the Five Civilized Tribes. Investigative reporters revealed that her tenuous relationship to Native American heritage could have provided her with hiring advantage and allowed her employers to tout their commitment to diversity. Now that the news is out, her candidacy could be negatively affected - all because she stated she had Cherokee roots.
A genealogist in Massachusetts conducted extensive research to determine the validity of Warren's claims. He found evidence that she was, indeed, descended from Cherokee ancestors - through a great-great-great-grandmother. While she might have found a silver bullet to save herself from future media probes, the connection to Native American ancestry is still a question of degree. Is 1/32nd enough?
As one opinion article in the New York Times pointed out, each tribe has different criteria to determine official membership. In years past, most people weren't clamoring to be identified as Native American - there was a stigma in many places - and assimilation was desired by many. However, the success of Indian Casinos and minority preference in hiring and education have led many people today to try to connect themselves to any branch of a tribal membership they can. As a result, tribal groups themselves have had to refine (or redefine) requirements - leading to even more controversial results. The Cherokee tribe itself recently expelled descendants of slaves the Native Americans took to Oklahoma in the 1830s while a cash-rich tribe in California recently "scrubbed" their membership rolls.
The U. S. government (Department of the Interior) points out that if you want to determine if you are eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe, you need to contact the tribe, or tribes, you claim ancestry from. It is the individual tribes who set tribal enrollment requirements. Be warned: I've found some humorous references to how you may be perceived by others as you attempt to connect to a tribe (Wantabes and Outalucks). I suppose it may be worth the effort if you are able to finally achieve official recognition - but I'm not convinced it would be very easy.
If you are actually trying to establish a link to Native American ancestors, I recommend you review this article at Archives.com. Happy hunting!
A genealogist in Massachusetts conducted extensive research to determine the validity of Warren's claims. He found evidence that she was, indeed, descended from Cherokee ancestors - through a great-great-great-grandmother. While she might have found a silver bullet to save herself from future media probes, the connection to Native American ancestry is still a question of degree. Is 1/32nd enough?
As one opinion article in the New York Times pointed out, each tribe has different criteria to determine official membership. In years past, most people weren't clamoring to be identified as Native American - there was a stigma in many places - and assimilation was desired by many. However, the success of Indian Casinos and minority preference in hiring and education have led many people today to try to connect themselves to any branch of a tribal membership they can. As a result, tribal groups themselves have had to refine (or redefine) requirements - leading to even more controversial results. The Cherokee tribe itself recently expelled descendants of slaves the Native Americans took to Oklahoma in the 1830s while a cash-rich tribe in California recently "scrubbed" their membership rolls.
The U. S. government (Department of the Interior) points out that if you want to determine if you are eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe, you need to contact the tribe, or tribes, you claim ancestry from. It is the individual tribes who set tribal enrollment requirements. Be warned: I've found some humorous references to how you may be perceived by others as you attempt to connect to a tribe (Wantabes and Outalucks). I suppose it may be worth the effort if you are able to finally achieve official recognition - but I'm not convinced it would be very easy.
If you are actually trying to establish a link to Native American ancestors, I recommend you review this article at Archives.com. Happy hunting!
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