The Genealogist

Another Week Flies By!

I wonder if you are like me and get to the end of the week and wonder where all the time went? I certainly did this week no sooner was I involved in the launch of a major new helpline for the Charitable Organisation that I head up Learning and Development for than I was at the next meeting or interview! It was just one of those weeks and time just seemed to disappear.

I had intended doing some of my own Genealogy research this week as we are on the trail of an ancestor who has suddenly emerged from some black hole! Isn’t it one of the amazing things about Genealogy that you will suddenly come across some information that opens up new avenues for you to pursue! I think the “Amateur Detective” aspects of Genealogy is one of the things that draws a lot of people into this fascinating hobby.

Although Internet Marketing is one of my main occupations outside of my offline work it is the Genealogy that set me onto that line of work and to which I keep returning.

GenMates, which was a site we developed to meet the needs of Family Historians to interact with one another, has received some major publicity this week with the publication of a half page article in the leading UK Genealogy Magazine - Family History Monthly - and we are now heading towards that 1,000th member at some speed! Not a bad achievement, even if I do say so myself, given that the sit has been live just about 2 months. If you haven’t taken a look at GenMates yet then do pop along and let me know what you think. If you are already a member then I look forward to seeing you on the site!

As you will know I have been developing a number of Lenses over at Squidoo which I am sure you will find of interest:

Genealogy and Family History
Hobbies For You
Scrapbooking Ideas
Planning for Christmas - yes not long to go!
Identity Theft - an increasing problem these days.
The Classic Movies - take a look and relive some memories!

We have a range of new sites that will be coming online in the next few weeks covering everything from Scrapbooking to Building Your Own Family Tree Website, Baby Boomers and of course How to Build Your Own Internet Business! Then of course we have our new Audio Article Site planned and we have commisioned audio articles around a whole range of areas - the first ones being Genealogy, Scrapbooking and Cholesterol! Don’t ask! I am not sure what the link is between Genealogy and Cholesterol either! or there again perhaps we research our ancestry to find out if high cholesterol was in the family!

Anyway I will finish for now as I know you are busy and hope that you have a great week!

Weekly Ponderings

Hope that your week has been good and that you are enjoying the weekend?

It’s been another busy week for us and several of our sites have been featured in National Magazines in the UK!

Our Get The 1911 Census Online Petition has been fetaured in Your Family Tree and we have seen lots more signatures added, if you haven’t signed it already then do op along and join our Campaign!

In addition GenMates - The Genealogy MySpace has been featured in a half page spread in Family History Monthly and we have already seen a flood of new members. GenMates is absolutely our members site and unlike other Genealogy Sites our members create the content!

We are also looking to develop our resources for Genealogists and others with a new site which will have Audio Articles on it! So in addition to reading the articles you will also be able to listen to the articles at your leisure. Initial feedback from those we have asked to try the concept has been very positive and we may well look at offering the audio articles for sale at a reasonable price so that people can listen to them on the move! So get your iPods ready! The first articles will cover Genealogy and Scrapbooking. In the meantime you can also check out our existing Genealogy Articles site.

Squidoo

You may have read my comments elsewhere about Squidoo which I think is a fascinating site. It fits in so neatly with my passion for providing information to people which empowers them to make real changes in their lives. If you haven’t already taken a look at my Squidoo Lenses here are a few:

Genealogy and Family History
Hobbies For You
The Blogging Guide
Make Money From Blogging
Family, Home and Garden
How to be a Success in Niche Marketing

I also have a collaborative project going on at the moment with a number of experts in their fields which I will be talking about shortly! If you haven’t started your own lens yet then you can do so here: Squidoo and have the potential to earn an extra $5!

Finally for today! I don’t know about you but I like to be able to read reviews of things that I am considering buying and that’s one of the reasons I have gotten involved with Clickbank Reviews - you can tak a look and let me know what you think!

Have a great week!

Separating Fact from Fiction in Historical Family Stories

As you sit down to do a genealogy interview with your grandfather, he leans over and whispers to you, “You know, your great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee Indian Princess, don’t you?” You will probably encounter this at some point in your family history research. Most people do. It can be extremely difficult to decipher fact from fiction as you are working through your research. While most of the stories you hear will have bits of truth embedded in them, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.

One of the first ways to decide what is and is not true is to familiarize your self with the common family history myths most genealogy researchers encounter. The first one is the story about some member of your family being an Indian princess. This myth almost always takes place in the Cherokee tribe, though you might occasionally hear of a Navajo or Apache princess. There are many reasons this myth might have evolved, but the primary one was prejudice against Native Americans. In past years, it was very difficult for most parts of American society to accept any white males marrying Native American women. Giving her the status of princess, while usually completely false, made it a bit easier to deal with. It is important to remember, though, that simply having Native American ancestry may also be a complete myth. It has become a rather popular ancestry to acknowledge in the past few years, so it is important to find some solid evidence before you jump into the belief.

Another popular myth is that three brothers immigrated to America. You rarely hear about seven brothers or two brothers and one sister. As a result, it can make tracking passenger manifests and other documentation difficult if the numbers and the genders of the immigrants are skewed. You will want to try to confirm that there were actually three brothers instead of one brother and two uncles or whatever other numbers, genders, and relationships your family immigrants may have had. The myth of having a stowaway immigrant history is also a popular one. Everyone seems to have had a great grandfather who was a stowaway on a ship. It seems to be more interesting. The truth is, though, that this was not a common practice. Even if you truly did have a stowaway in your family, they will be listed on the passenger arrival list of the ship, typically in the index or on the last page, as they were usually discovered before the ship managed to dock.

Another interesting genealogy myth is the one about having someone famous in your background. It’s hard to have the name Smith without considering the possibility that you were once related to John Smith, the explorer. That, however, doesn’t make it so. You will have to do some serious research, here, because it is possible that you were actually related to someone famous, but it is not likely. It is just a story people tell to make them feel as if they are legitimizing the family line. One final popular myth is that the family surname was switched at Ellis Island. No such practice ever existed. The most Ellis Island officials ever did was comparing the passenger names to the list created at the departure of the ship. In all likelihood, any names that were switched occurred because the immigrants themselves wanted the names changed to better fit with current American society at the time.

Once you’ve figured out the popular myths, it’s time to start working the truth out of your own family stories. It is best to rely on actual documentation, or primary sources, for your major finds. However, that is not always possible. As a result, if you must rely on oral history interviews, one of the best tips is to be sure to verify the information you have gotten through two or three other people. Relatives are notorious for trying the make the family sound a bit different than it actually is, and talking to several family members can usually help you find the level of truth that you need in your research.

Sorting out fact from fiction in family myths can be very difficult sometimes, but doing it well the first time will help you get an accurate family history that will help generations to come will appreciate.