Yesterday's Lineage

As most of my readers have asked, "how do I begin"? As Julie Andrews has sung in The Sound of Music: 

"Let's start at the very beginning, a perfect place to start...." You start with what you know, YOU!

So, do I go out and buy all those funny looking charts and print up a ton? NO, for goodness sake, NO! You have charts at your fingertips, just find one you prefer and print, voila! So, for ease of reference, here is a simple, easy, easy chart that you can go with, for now.

Now you can do like me, for when I first started over twenty years ago, I started on paper. Starting with me, myself, and I.

My name, my birth date, and where I was born. Wow, simple! Now, this is where things get difficult, parents. Some may not know, we may not have a Dad or a Mom that we can call on a daily or a monthly or bi-6month or a lifetime. You go with what you know, AND if you are adopted, GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW. This isn't meant to be painful or dredge up bad memories or anything of the like. This is all about YOU and finding out where you come from. Easy and painless.

Choose either Maternal (Mother), the Websters #3 definition: derived from a mother [1]: or Paternal (Father) and again the Websters #3 definition: related to the father's side.[2] Since I personally knew my Mother's name and my biological father's name, I was able to do that, now, birth-dates of both were easy, but the year, not so much. So, I made a phone call to my Mother, and with a lot of why's and wherefore's she told me both her and my biological father's birth-date, and of course, while I had her on the phone, I asked about my maternal grandmother and her husband, my grandfather (my Mother's parents). Confused yet? Trust me, keep it simple. Sometimes on notebook paper, it'll come together, and don't forget about your Mother being long-winded and telling you stories of your great-grandparents because they will; keep writing everything down. Just let her talk and talk and talk. You'll have later  to verify these "sources." Hopefully, while on the phone with your Mother, she's told you where she was born, and maybe where your grandmother was born. Remember, you will be able to verify these "sources."

So, let's start with my personal pedigree chart above. The first person is me never mind the spouses, that'll come later in my next blog post. I have listed my maiden name, not my married name, Why?

When recording your genealogical data on charts, some important conventions should be followed concerning names, dates, and places. By following these standard rules, you can help ensure that your genealogy data is as complete as possible and not be misinterpreted by others.

1. Record names in their natural order - first, middle, last (surname: A Family name, surname, or last name, is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family they belong. ). Use full names if known. If the middle name is not known, you may use an initial.

2. Print SURNAMES in upper case letters. This provides easy scanning on pedigree charts and family group sheets and distinguishes the surname from first and middle names. This convention is widely used but is not necessary. Example: Wendy Lee ROSE (please take note, I did not use this form, its all a matter of personal preference)

3. Enter women with their maiden name their surname at birth, rather than their husband's surname. When you do not know a female's maiden name, insert only her first given name on the chart followed by empty parentheses (). Some genealogists also record the husband's surname. Both ways are correct as long as you are consistent and follow all naming rules.

4. If a woman has had more than one husband, then you would enter her given name, followed by her maiden name in parentheses, followed by the names of any previous husbands (in order of marriage). If the middle name is known, then you may enter that as well. 

5. If there is a commonly used nickname for an ancestor, include it in quotes after the given name. Do not use it in place of a given name and do not enclose it in parentheses (parentheses between a given name and surname is used to enclose maiden names and will cause confusion if it is also used for nicknames). If the nickname is a common one (i.e., Kim for Kimberly), it is not necessary to record it. Example: Rachel "Shelley" Lynn BROWN

6. If a person is known by more than one name (i.e., due to adoption, name change, etc.), then include the alternate name or names in parentheses after the surname, preceded by a.k.a. Example: William Tom LAKE (a.k.a. William Tom FRENCH) As listed above in my tree, it shows my daughter listed as M May (Hewitt) because she was adopted by my second husband.

* YOU CAN NOT DISCOUNT A MARRIAGE EVEN IF IT ENDED BADLY, OR A DEATH*

Simply just fill the information in, even though you don't "count it" it still happened. Signing a court document negates personal preference and a whole lot of confusion twenty to thirty years later. Then your family members down the line while doing their genealogy will find out about it, and not know what to do with all this other information.

7. Be sure to include alternate spellings when your ancestor's surname has changed over time. This possibly is due to the name being spelled phonetically or due to the surname being changed upon immigration into a new country. Record the earlier usage of the surname first, followed by later usages. Example: Michael HAIR/HIERS

*note* My Grandfather Jacob Stephen Reuter is a perfect example of this. On the ship's manifest "The Berlin," his name was "Stefan Jakob Reuter" when he arrived in the States, and upon filling out his declaration, he "changed" his name to be more American. He switched his given name and the middle name, and it is known on his military DD-214 records, as Jacob Stephen Reuter.

8. Don't be afraid to use the notes field. For example, if you have a female ancestor whose birth name was the same as her husband's surname, then you will want to make a note of that so that it is not assumed in the future that you had just entered it incorrectly.

Whew! That is a whole lot of information, isn't it? Yes, will you use it? Yes.

[1] "Definition of Maternal." n.d., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maternal. Accessed 19 October 2020.

[2] "Definition of PATERNAL." n.d., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paterna l. Accessed 19 October 2020