Author Archives: Site Admin

Are Your References Clear?

When you read through your research notes, summaries, commentaries, etc. is it always clear to whom you are referring when you use the word “she,” “he,” “they,” etc.? Pronouns are great, but if you are writing about several people and then starting using “she” or “he” are the references clear from the context? If not, consider re-writing or re-phrasing.

Thomas Smith and Henry Johnson arrived in Colusa County, California, in 1856. Then he married one of the daughters of Jackson Brown and they moved to Oregon.

Who got married to the daughter of Jackson Brown?

It’s not clear, is it?

How To: Use Names, Not Just Relationships

When identifying people on pictures, writing about them in your research notes, or asking someone about them, try and avoid only using a relationship to describe the person.

Writing “John’s Grandma” on the back of a picture is helpful, but still pretty vague. Who was John and which Grandma is it?

When asking your own Grandma questions, asking her to tell you something about “Grandma” may result in her not talking about who you think she is talking about. Ask her about a specific person–referring to them by name.

When I asked my Grandma questions, I was less confused if I said something like “tell me about your Grandpa–John Trautvetter” instead of asking about “Grandpa Trautvetter.” When I asked about “Grandpa Trautvetter” it took me awhile to realize she was talking about her dad who was my dad’s Grandpa Trautvetter.

Try and avoid creating more confusing and don’t refer to people only by their relationship.

Grave dowsing: Sept. Topic at Boaz Chapter

“A group of people stood among the gravestones in Red Apple Cemetery on Tuesday watching a man hold two L-shaped metal wire rods over the sites of buried bodies.

A mixture of the curious and the interested, the people were attending a meeting of the Boaz Chapter of the NorthEast Alabama Genealogical Society (NEAGS).

The man holding the slender rods was Rodentown resident Wayne Gregg in the midst of a demonstration on the art of grave dowsing.

Genealogy & Cleaning a Frig (Update)

What on Earth Do These Have to do with Each Other?

Ever had a chore that you just kept putting off. It isn’t that arduous of a job. You just always seem to be able to procrastinate it until later.

That’s me & cleaning out a frig. And that’s me and doing certain things with my genealogy research.

Genealogy Relationship Chart

Genealogy Relationship Chart — Shows how two people are related to each other.

How To Use:

Select which ancestor the two people have in common.
Look at the top row & find the relationship of the first person to the common ancestor.
Next look at the left hand column & find the second person’s relationship to the common ancestor.
The cell where the row and column cross contains the genealoical relationship between the two people.

Common Ancestor	Son or Daughter	Grandson or Daughter	Great Grandson or Daughter	2nd Great Grandson or Daughter	3rd Great Grandson or Daughter
Son or Daughter	Brother or Sister	Nephew or Niece	Grand Nephew or Niece	Great Grand Nephew or Niece	2nd Great Grand Nephew or Niece
Grandson or Daughter	Nephew or Niece	First Cousin	First Cousin Once Removed	First Cousin Twice Removed	First Cousin Three Times Removed
Great Grandson or Daughter	Grand Nephew or Niece	First Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin	Second Cousin Once Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed
2nd Great Grandson or Daughter	Great Grand Nephew or Niece	First Cousin Twice Removed	Second Cousin Once Removed	Third Cousin	Third Cousin Once Removed
3rd Great Grandson or Daughter	2nd Great Grand Nephew or Niece	First Cousin Three Times Removed	Second Cousin Twice Removed	Third Cousin Once Removed	Fourth Cousin