One-Name studies includes seeking, locating, aquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing and maintaining records pertinent to the individual study.

  • Collecting records only - akin to a train spotter
  • Collecting, creating family lines, putting people in the context of a period in history - may be preferable

Pre internet large studies were hard to progress so earlier studies are much smaller. Nowadays easy to collect vast volumes of data in hours.

Sources for Data Collection

Where to collect data

  • Ancestry; FindMyPast; FamilySearch; My Heritage; Regional Archives; State and National Archives; International Datasets; Misc organisations
  • Some sites enable exporting of data in CSV format

What are the aims

  • All studies are individual
  • Important to find your aims for data gathering and what you are hoping to achieve
  • Collect data? Reconstruct families? Both? Neither right or wrong, just different

Methods of Data Gathering

Popular to save data in a database which can be manipulated to show timeline of events for a person from birth to death and relationships to other people who are part of his life

  • Big Three: Legacy, Family Historian, RootsMagic
  • Also: FTM, Master Genealogist, Heredis, Reunion etc
  • Other options: Excel, Evernote, Access, Custodian

Approach to data collection

Start with a set of core records, build using other records they find. e.g. start in England and Wales and find all BMD for that surname.

Transfer to database

  • Type or transcribe, cut and paste, clip web page
  • Outwit Hub
  • Always keep a backup e.g. dropbox, carbonite

Software

Master Genealogies

  • Person and Events in their lives
  • Type, Date, Name/Place
  • Can highlight any event in a different colour
  • Allocate roles to events
  • Chapman codes for counties e.g. DEV

Source citations for Censuses

  • Source is e.g. 1871 Census England & Wales - numbers sources logically e.g. 1 is Births, 2 Marriages, 3 Deaths, 1871 Census in 1871
  • Citation gives
    • RG number: RG10 piece 2194, folio 55, page 15
    • Registration district: Torrington
    • Sub district: High Bickington
    • Enumeration district: 5B Civil Parish: Roborough
    • Address xxx
    • Transcript of people on census

Source citations for Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths

  • Source for each Baptism register, Marriage register and Death and Burial register e.g. Baptism Register Parish of Toynton All Saints, LIN
  • Citation records the deatils
  • Treat sources with images and those with transcriptions differently

Paul Howe

  • Can spend too much time on gathering data and not enough on family reconstruction
  • Deal with small datasets NOW e.g. Victoria Cross dataaset
  • Grab FREE stuff

Sources

  • Gale - download 2000 obituatries - try to identify these in own time
  • FindAGrave
  • National Archives - download for free 1500 service records and wills
  • British County Record Offices
  • Newspaper archives - e.g. Times - 200 years of fully searchable archives, Brooklyn Eagle - fantastic source from all round the world

Methods

  • Outwit Hub
  • Family Historian - used to use FTM, but too restrictive - try to reconstruct families
  • Spreadsheets - checklists only

Main Goal

  • Gather lists of data
  • Reconstruct families from each piece of data and mark when done (how do you know when you’ve finished?)
  • Work directly from commercial data e.g. census, bmd
  • Enter every detail - 4 lines per person - name, date and place of birth, occupation, date and place of residence
  • Sometimes can already enter straight into database e.g. have full marriage details including full names of parents of both parties