Names — What’s in a Name?

Names — what’s in a name?  Well, sometimes... a lot. 

For instance, a name, whether it is a person or place, can crack the door wide open to some long-standing questions, or it can create even more twists and turns. And if you love mysteries, it may definitely not disappoint. In fact, I would venture to say you will have more than a few yarns to untangle throughout your research while searching for names.  

Of course, the caveat is to focus on the goal leading to new possibilities and discoveries, and not simply become name collectors, in the process.  

Why is it so hard to find the names to our ancestors. I’m sure you’ve discovered that some people are easier to find than others. Some pop up without hesitation while others are more elusive, and then there are those that you fear will never be revealed. However, even in the  most difficult circumstances, one discovers that it can often be a very simple deviance to your method or a random trial and error that works.  So, does the outcome justify the means?  Maybe, maybe not.. you will have to decide. 

And so, in our name quest, we cannot talk about names, or the difficulty of uncovering them, without bringing up the subject of our hidden female ancestors. Yes, you know, the ones that don’t seem to exist... anywhere.  

Well, I wish I had the keys to give you, with all the answers, but unfortunately, that doesn’t exist.  

Although, I can provide a suggestion here and there. Not what you want to hear, yet small, simple nuggets can help in surprising ways. 

A few tips... 

I cannot count the ways I have seen names entered into family trees, throughout all the well-known databases that we enjoy using. Many of these sites have world-wide platforms, and subscribers with varying levels of experience.  It’s all good, after all it is fun, and not everyone has hours to spend on research, nor are they studying to become a genealogist. Shocking, I know... but it’s true.

In fact, in my family I’m probably the only one that has an intense interest in genealogy and family history, where I could talk genealogy, hands down nonstop, all day. I know... can you relate??

And.. that’s ok too.  As I say, whatever floats your boat.  

With that said, it takes dedication and commitment to stay the course of the research.  And.. from a genealogical standpoint, it is important to use a genealogical standard. There are several resources on the subject. 

When adding women to your family tree always use their maiden name. 

One of the reasons women are hard to track in genealogy research, is that more often than not, we see the woman listed in a family tree with her married name despite the fact that the birth name is known and not used. Needless, to say, this makes it more difficult to find her birth parents, family and other pertinent information. In addition it is often, not always clear as to which name that appears in the tree is the birth or married surname, particularly in situations where the parents and, or the spouse is unknown.   

Of course, it is often the case, that only a married name is known. I would suggest to leave her surname blank until it is discovered in further research. 

Of course, it just requires a bit more legwork to pinpoint whether the name used is either a birth or married surname.  It is easier in our current time-frame to distinguish, thanks to the SSDI, than say, 100 years ago, when records were being introduced and established, depending on the state. 

It is only a tradition that women change their last name to their husband’s surname.  

Let’s explore a few things..  

In general, we know throughout history, that women were recognized legally, either through their husband, if married, or her father or older brother, if unmarried.  Historically, this trend originated from the transfer of property that took place when a woman married. Basically, a woman went from being part of her birth family to becoming her husbands’ property.  Sounds a bit archaic in our present day world, but nonetheless, that is historical fact. Yet, as I always say, there is always the possibility of an exception to the rule, however, for the most part, it was pretty much the rule.   It is an interesting subject that can be researched further, as this piece is not an in-depth study on the subject. 

Globally, it is more often the case, that women maintain their identity by keeping their birth surname regardless of marital status.  Obviously, as for research purposes, this allows for a much easier experience. 

In addition, when a woman has children, the children are also known by both surnames. They carry the father’s surname which is their primary, legal name and then the Mother’s surname comes second. You will find this practice in Spanish-speaking countries, primarily. 

Another caveat... Be certain you know which is the paternal and maternal surname. 

It is important to study the history and know the time-frame you are researching, as that practice was reversed at times, making it even more confusing. For example, the mother’s name was used first and then the father’s surname. Perhaps I will do a piece on the history of that practice in a future post. 

Although, this is not practiced in the United States, there are still ways to maintain your surname by becoming proactive to use it. I have reminded my daughters numerous times, of the importance of keeping their birth surnames after marriage, wherever possible.  You can take your husband’s surname.. just don’t lose your own in the process.  Keep your identity.. that is who you are.  A few obvious options that generally use your maiden name are driver’s licenses, legal papers, etc.  

Entering females on a Family tree. 

1. Use the birth surname for the female.  Use the birth surname if it is known. Remember, that there is also a marriage entry, if it applies to her, that will obviously display her married name. 

2. Leave it blank — If the birth surname and birth parents are unknown, my suggestion is to leave it blank. You can always fill it in later.  By leaving the surname blank, there is no confusion or guesswork as to who she is. Remember, in most cases, her married name will always be known through the husband. It is the birth name that is key and easier to lose.. as that is her identity. 

3. Be consistent — When entering data on family trees, be consistent!  

And so it goes.. the search goes on.. and on.  Always looking for that one name that could turn the tide in our research. Remember, it will take time.. a long time.  It can be a lifetime commitment, illuminating the road to the past. The goal is to move forward, and not worry whether we are making giant steps or baby steps.

One more thing.. If you are interested in learning more about genealogical standards in your research, I will provide a few links at the end of this post.  I would highly suggest that you take advantage of the excellent learning resources Online that are available. They offer an invaluable education, not only to those of us working to become certified as a professional, but simply to further your own education as a more proficient researcher, to achieve better results in your own genealogical endeavors. 

There is so much to learn in life and so much to accomplish, and I have found, that it is when you learn proper methodologies, that it can help circumvent the trials and errors in achieving your goals. 

The point is that we be consistent in our work and press forward to make progress — as that is our end result.  🌳

Additional Resources: 

BCG:  https://bcgcertification.org/learning/        

NGS: https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/learning-center/  

NIGS: https://www.genealogicalstudies.com 

Boston University: https://genealogyonline.bu.edu/? 

Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills:  evidenceexplained.com 

Collaterals are Just as Important

Here we are another month and more research twists and turns. 

I actually started writing this several weeks ago and so.. here I am. I’m not behind... I’m right on time. Don’t sweat the small stuff and quit worrying about every little thing. 

Finally, I have all the Petition letters to the churches in the Canary Islands ready to go except for the signatures from the local Catholic Church. Apparently this is required by the Diocesis of Gran Canaria, for those requesting information about their family at the local Parroquias. Apparently, there are two main Diocesis in the Canary Islands. The Diocesis of Gran Canaria and the Diocesis of Tenerife, and they both have their own protocol on how you proceed to request records. 

I found the greatest difficulty to be in having to acquire signatures by my local Catholic Church in the area. That seems to be a simple task, but has turned out to be a most daunting situation. I do have a contact that may turn out to be the key that unlocks this door, so that I can complete this portion. 

Meanwhile, I continue with my DNA matches through the several companies that I have tested with.  To better, keep up with matches and the match analysis that I am doing I decided to personalize my own spreadsheets to work with my research genetic analysis. Once I have completed and tested these worksheets, I may include them on a future post. 

Last month turned into a pretty active DNA month. I made contact with a rather ‘close’ cousin, at least closer in Centimorgans than I am ever used to finding on my match results. Most are very low in number and have surnames I have never heard of in my family. I guess, that just signifies women marrying and taking on their Husband’s surnames, but whatever the case, it really complicates the research. 

Turns out my contact had 3 kits he is managing through MyHeritage and I matched all three. One was a pretty high CentiMorgan range — almost a first cousin range. I thought that’s way too close for me to not know who it is.  And of course, the surname was unfamiliar. 

It would be so nice if women held on to their own family surnames, as they do in other countries, particularly European countries. It would be so much easier to find them.  

So, I made contact and he graciously responded.  And drum roll..... lo and behold, it turns out our common ancestor is my maternal great-grandparents and his maternal 2 Great-grandparents!!!  Touchdown!!!! Awesome 🎉🎉🎉  I love when this happens. 

As if that wasn’t awesome enough, I had another breakthrough with another contact in another country. I sent an invitation to access my tree and I was able to access theirs. We found a few similar surnames from the town that my ancestors were from, but based on experience that is not always as clear cut as it looks. 

So we both kept digging deeper to see where the connection could be. I am so appreciative to come across others with similar passions or interests in their family history. So refreshing and encouraging. 

I sent my information for the surnames we were showing in common, including collateral lines. 

And to stress that very point, sometimes we focus only on direct lines, but that limits your research and can make the difference in whether or not you get your breakthrough and find your ancestors. 

Fortunately, they had access to the local archives and was able to search in the record books for the approximate years we were targeting. As it turned out, her direct female ancestor was a sibling of my male direct ancestor, and their parents were our most recent common ancestor. If I had not given Information on the brother of my great-grandfather, we would not have seen the connection 2 generations back. 

So a word of advice— don’t dismiss those collaterals. They are every bit as important as your direct line.  

Keep digging deeper and look around at all those collaterals. 

A Glimpse or Perception — Now and Then

As good as someone else’s life may look you never really know the full story. 

We see countless posts on social media such as Facebook and others, in fact many that we create ourselves. Words, photos displaying our world — thoughts and feelings whether happy, sad or indifferent. 

Our ancestors certainly didn’t have social media. Newspapers didn’t start to appear in England until the 1600’s.(1) 
The first printed newspaper is presumed to have been printed in Germany in the late 1400’s.(2)

The closest we get to social media in the past was the society page that began around the 1830’s in the United States.  That pretty much included prominent citizens or something newsworthy about a local resident, such as engagements, marriages or births, or maybe someone’s name made the paper if they committed a crime. 

Yes, presently, social media is a small glimpse, or a perception of our life.  

No longer is this exclusive to high society and the elite, but it is available virtually to anyone with access to the internet, via computer or mobile devices.  Yes, a snippet of a moment captured, yet perceived a certain way by the observer or viewer’s perception. 

Things perceived are not always as they appear.  

I was watching a popular, morning news show, recently and was touched by a segment about one of the co-hosts. She shared about her struggle with infertility after she and her husband decided to increase their family after the birth of their first child. With her beautiful smile and a persona of sunshine each day on the show one would never know the painful challenges she faced.

Although, our perception may have been not a care in the world , it could not have been further from the reality of the challenge being faced. Not hopeless, but emotionally taxing. 

I was moved by her honesty and appreciated her willingness to be transparent about her personal challenging experience— a situation that does affect many women.  Despite the evidence that this was not easy, I knew her story would touch many, and that despite the hardship, it would bring encouragement on some level to those struggling in general. 

 I realized, that although I may not have had that particular challenge in my life, I certainly have had my own unique, painful challenges that brought on a feeling of despair at times with a sense of isolation. 

One thing is certain.. we all face challenges in life. Some minor and some very painful at times. 

Pain and hardship is universal and we all understand what that feels like at one point or another. 

It is all relative, but I think it may be safe to say that most of our ancestors throughout history faced much more challenging situations and difficulties than we do in present day.  However, I say that loosely, as I realize there can be exceptions of anyone who has experienced a horrific scenario.  

I began to think, if this is true, then, why is it that we don’t share difficulties with others.  

I know that, sharing our struggles isn’t always easy, particularly, if there have been painful relationships or betrayal involved. I am sure there are infinite reasons why. 

Often we stay silent lest we think we will be perceived as complaining or negative. Yet, even in those times, it is important to find a safe place to share our struggles.

And what about our ancestors, who were much less inclined to speak about their own feelings and painful experiences. Who did they confide in?  

How did they handle their circumstances and emotional disappointments. 

Obviously, they did not have a lot of idle time on their hands. 

And as the saying, which is the origin from an old rhymed couplet(3):

“Man may work from sun to sun,

But woman's work is never done.”

We are aware of prominent people throughout history in the Arts and well-known literary classics, which when looked at more closely we see how they were often inspired by their deepest thoughts, feelings or painful experiences.  

On a side note...   We can go through emotionally, taxing situations that overwhelm us to a state of despair and feel as we don’t have a choice but to hold steady for a time until we can walk again. Sometimes, we choose to isolate ourselves 
away for a time of reflection to regroup. 

Everyone has a different threshold and tolerance, and since we cannot see the whole picture, we will never fully comprehend fully the struggle, how the situation is processed and in time the result. 

None of us have all the answers, but I have come to realize the importance of close friends. 

I challenge myself and others to live more in the present, stay in a state of thankfulness and appreciation for whatever comes. 

My motto for years is... “As bad as it may seem, things can always be worse.”

Hopefully, we learn to not dwell so much on the problems, but walk in spiritual faith to find a deeper meaning within the experience and solutions with encouragement from those in similar situations along the way. 

So what does all of this have to do with our genealogy?? 

As stated earlier... Does what we read, truly represent the whole picture?  Or is it possibly the persona of an image we perceive. 

We see a window of time but not the entire picture when we research our ancestors. 

Making it difficult to assess what we see, read, or hear without deeper research. 

Often we read incorrectly into someone’s words or our perception of their life, because we don’t walk in their shoes or see from their viewpoint of life.  

There are many circumstances, family situations and ethnicities. This is what makes us all so unique and interesting.  

Our geographical locations or regions, also help form our ideas and perceptions. 

Working with genealogical research, we must certainly hold that before us as we try to interpret information we come across and try to make sense of something we are learning about at every step and turn we take. 

 As genealogists we learn that we must not jump to conclusions based on perception. 

We must create a habit of processing our thoughts through the lens of careful analysis attained through reliable Information that we can use to form a reasonable hypothesis that we can prove or disprove.  

Obviously this may not always be possible, as difficulties arise when we uncover areas we know little about, such as an ancestors origination from a foreign country, different religion, culture, etc 

We never lived in a time period in the past or experienced those cultures, so how can we presume to understand an individual’s mindset in a specific time period. All we can do is research as best we can and attempt to place ourselves in our ancestors shoes and try to not interject our modern day thinking.  

Often, we complicate this process with our own interpretation based on our own perspective, bias or simply wishful thinking, when it may have actually been much simpler reason.  

As researchers, our work begins as we go about learning as much as possible about the history of the locations and time-frame you are researching to better understand it all in our current modern-day perspective.  

Sometimes it means to be as understanding as possible of possibilities that may have been catalysts for our ancestors towards the array of decisions they had to make. 

These variables will help develop a particular hypothesis which sets the parameters for proving or disproving, the said hypothesis, as the case may be. 

Whatever the case, we we must reach that conclusion after exhausting all possible avenues. 

This is where the quality of the work done will come to light. The difference between a good researcher and an excellent research. Not perfect. We will never reach perfection, but excellent research is a worthy goal to aspire. 

Footnotes: 
1. https://www.historicpages.com/nprhist.htm

2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_reporting

3. https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/random-idiom.php?c=766 

Trying Out New Ancestry Features

During the most recent RootsTech this past February-March 2019, Ancestry introduced several new features to use with our family trees and DNA matches. I for one am very glad to see these new additions that help organize what we do on their site.  I am all for finding ways to make things easier to work with and track while we research and collect information. 

To access these new Tools you must first turn on Beta. Go to the AncestryDNA pull down menu and click on ‘ExtrasTab’ then  —> AncestryLabs   —> Beta.

MyTreeTags: 

This allows you to tag information that you have in your tree, to find things easier and asses any patterns.  

To add a tag to a person, go to a their Profile page, then below their name click on the small blue tag.  A Workspace pop up opens on a Side Panel to the right. 

Here is where you can make notes about this person or the research. This part has not changed. 

•The Notes are still Private On all trees regardless as to whether your tree is public or private. 

•The Comments: are still Public. 

You will notice a new section called Tags. 

These are the Tag categories you can use for labeling. 

•DNA: matches, connections, common ancestor. 

•Reference Tags: Immigrants, Military Service, Royalty—Nobility. 

•Research: Hypothesis, Actively researching, brick wall, verified, unverified, complete. 

•Relationships: Direct Ancestor, Died Young, Never married, Had no kids, orphan. 

The other new feature they have provided is the ability to Create Groups out of your DNA Matches. And you can now Label & Color Code these DNA Groups any way you like.

As a visual person, I am excited about these new additions, not only will it help to better identify at a glance what is going on with an entry but it will also help organize the matches where you can understand how they fit into our family trees. 

ThruLines

Ancestry also introduced, ThruLines™, which I am still learning how to use. As far as I can see, the more people you have in your family trees and others make their family trees available for viewing, the better the results. From what I understand, it does search out private and public trees alike,  however, the private trees are not visible and you must message the person who owns the tree to compare with their tree. 

I think that for AncestryDNA users with a Member Tree this may help determine how their DNA Matches relate to them and hopefully pinpoint their Common Ancestor.  

I think all of these new additions at Ancestry will prove to be valuable tools. I know one thing for sure.. it will be fun testing them out... now all we need is a little extra time. 

Project Photos - You Have to Start Somewhere

The start of the year — an end to all the holidays and activities and a great time to work on existing projects, or resurrect one that has waited in the wings for years.

Photos — the dreaded organizing and digitizing project that forever gets put off.  Okay, maybe not the most dreaded, but from my perspective, at least... overwhelming.

The thought of tackling this project opens up an array of issues.
What scanner do I get?  And then, how do we go about organizing photos on the computer with an appropriate file-name? One with some semblance of reasonable order, that once a photo is digitized, it can be located when needed.  How do we decide on the best file-name that accurately identifies the photo. And on and on it goes.


So January, I spent researching my options. And, that my friends, is my topic for this month.

Most of us have photos in boxes, stored all over the house, or loose in various drawers.  After all, we have been collecting these mementos for a long time, in essence documenting our entire life along the way.


How often has someone asked us about a specific photo.
Or maybe, your grandchild asked what Great-grandma looked like.
Your know that you  have a photo to show her, somewhere.. but you can’t get your hands on it at the moment. 



Or, worse, yet… you are not even sure where to begin to  look.


Maybe, it’s safe to say, that we’ve all been there. Unless, you are the type of person who has everything in their home and life in perfect order.
I don’t doubt, that there may be a few who could actually fall into that category.  But, honestly, I have lived long enough to safely say that most of us probably do not.

We all know the importance on prioritizing the preservation of our precious memories.
    •In the event of a devastating disaster, as we have seen on the news.
    •To simply enjoy those treasured photos of the past with our family and friends in the present.
    •Sharing those memories with our children and grandchildren.
    •Identifying relatives who are no longer with us and relaying their stories.

We all know the importance of locating a photo when needed. And to  accomplish these goals, it must become an imminent priority to set aside time to digitize all the photos we hope to preserve for future generations.

So, with these thoughts and goals in mind, I put together a few steps.


Just Get Started   —
Sounds easy.. doesn't it?   It is.
One thing that I must continuously remind myself, is that there is not just one way, or one perfect method on how to do this... no perfect plan.

At this point, just thinking about trying to find the best way to accomplish the job, can cause
procrastination to set in -- The easy default.  And with our busy lives we could stay stuck for years or decades.  Amazing how fast 30 years goes by...

By nature, I am a methodical person who tends to research every point and process before tackling a project.... Researching and planning is great, provided we don’t get stuck in that phase indefinitely and fail to launch the actual project.
I literally could stay at any one of the phases in the project – photo sorting, organizing, scanning, choosing the right scanner, file-naming the photo, how to create digital file folders to organize the digital photos on the computer, etc...


Step 1. Collect all photos    —
I actually started a year ago pulling photos from all areas in the house, for a memory book project for my son who was getting married.  Thankfully, I had most of the photos already separated in boxes inside larger containers. Bear in mind, that this is more of a general pre-sort. Not in depth like the actual sort stage where you place into categories.



Step 2. Set a Deadline   —
Set a practical time limit for each phase of this project. Schedule it into your calendar or Day-timer, etc.
Obviously, some phases will last a lot longer than others.



Step 3.  Sort & Categorize    —
The Sort stage may take a while. There are many ways to go about this part of the process.  I chose to sort by years, months or seasonal if a photo is not labeled and the date is unknown in a particular year. This becomes more obvious as you move further back in years.


Step 4.  Scan,  Label  —
This could take months and months depending in how many photos you have and your choice of a file-naming method. If you think through how you plan to identify each digital file you can also write the file name on the back of the photo to identify and establish a retrievable link between the digital file and the photo. This could also be done after the scanning and file-naming.

Either way, I always say - sure and steady gets you there. In this case, it’s not how fast you do the job, it’s how steadfast you remain on the job until completion.



Step 5. Storage  —
Then there is the storage aspect.  How are you going to preserve the photos after they have been scanned and labeled.

For all these steps, there is not just one solution.





You just need to pick one that you can work with and stay at it until completion.  One thing that I have learned in life — Do not try to reinvent the wheel -- no need to.
In other words, sometimes it’s best to turn to those who specialize in a specific area.

In this case, organize photos, scanning, and digital files.  You can always adapt any system to work for you.  And remember, there is no perfect way — only the way that works best for you and how you work.


Here are some suggestions that I have run across, by no means an exhaustive or exclusive list. I’m sure there are many other viable options that you may know about.

Again, the focus is not about seeking out every single method, but to find an option that will work for you in a timely manner so you can complete your project in a reasonable time-frame, and facilitate preservation and retrieval of your photos.


Websites :
•Scan Your Entire Life - by Curtis Bisel.
An exceptional resource that I found to be extremely helpful.
•Naming Photo Digital Files - by Denise Levenick: 
A Simple 4-Part System For Naming Digital Files.
•The Family Curator 


•Legacy FamilyTree Webinars:
If you have a Legacy FamilyTree Membership, there are several webinar recordings on organizing, scanning photos.  Here are a few excellent ones--  Geoff Rasmussen, on organizing photos, file- naming, and file structures; Eric Basir, on choosing the right scanner settings and how to better understand the importance of choosing the right format for certain images; and Denise Levenick, who also teaches on a practical level on all these topics, and preservation methods.

•Geoff Rasmussen:
Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: scanning, digitizing, editing, and preserving your photos.  
 Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: Scanning, Organizing, Editing, and Sharing Your Digital Images
•Eric C. M. Basir:  Scanning 101: The Epson Way
•Denise Levenick:
How to Scan an Elephant: Digitizing Awkward Artifacts from Artifact to Zombie   
Dirty Pictures - Save Your Family Photos from Ruin


Resource Suggestions:
(A short list of resources I used for my project)
•Scanner: Epson Perfection Scanner — V600,  (B&H Photo, Amazon, Best Buy)
•Photo Albums/Binders: Century  Pioneer Photo Albums:  (Amazon/
•Photo Pages: Pioneer Photo -Print File Preservers, (Amazon)  (Make sure they are Acid & PVC safe. Emission free) 
•Photo Pen: (Archival-Safe, Acid-free).
•ZIP Photo Pen  (Amazon)


How about you… have you completed your photo preservation project or are you mid-stream? Maybe you got started at one point and then got busy. Life has a way of just happening, doesn’t it?  I know all about that.  Or maybe you have just been thinking about it for quite a while not knowing where to begin or how to go about it.  I sure have been there, too.

Whatever, the situation is, I hope I have been able to encourage or inspire you to get the ball rolling on your project at whatever pace you are on. Remember time doesn’t stop… but you can stop… reassess..l and direct your time to the things that are important in your life.

Share your thoughts and your experiences along the way.