Genealogy has many practical uses and genealogical records preparation must be approached with due regard for the important facts which are to be recorded. There may be speculation as to what the future holds in store as its contribution to the character of the individual and of the nation, but there is definite knowledge of what the past has contributed to both family and country.

A good genealogy is a treasure, and a poor one is often an abomination.

In entering upon so important an undertaking there are several points definitely to be determined at the very outset. The genealogist is going to delve into matters private and public; valuable and inconsequential. He is going to become a collector and an editor. He is to deal with human events in their most intimate character—the family life—and reveal them to the eyes of the world. These events will be intensely interesting to him, and the success of his work will depend upon his ability to portray faithfully these events, coupled with family vital genealogical records, in such a manner as to make them reliable sources of information, and interesting and profitable both to members of the family and others who have occasion to consult his work.

First, last and all the time he must strive to make his genealogical records accurate. Its usefulness depends almost entirely on this element. Genealogy is a statistical record, and as such should always be borne in mind by the writer. No one ex­pects to read such a record as literature, but he does expect to consult it for facts, and that expectation must be met and satisfied by the faithful genealogist. This point cannot be too strongly emphasized. All statements must be true in a genealogy, or the reason given for the belief that they are true. A book of statistics of a family is no place to record guesses and suppositions, nor is it a place to evade indis­putable facts. The utmost caution should be exercised to get and give correct dates and spellings. Though they may be pronounced alike, Smythe is never Smith or Smyth in the written record and the genealogist must enter exactly what he finds, with no variations. If he gets variations either in dates or spellings, he must enter his authority for each and put them all in the record that he is writing. Varying dates of a birth, marriage or death may be furnished by different members of the family, in which event every means should be exhausted to ascertain the correct date, but if this cannot be determined, all should be inserted and a reference entered against each, plainly showing the authority for inserting it. Care must be exercised not to fix arbitrarily dates that are in question. It is a great temptation when an 8 which was obviously intended to be a 3 is found, to put it down as 3 and let it go at that, trusting that it is correct. This should never be done. If the error cannot be proved, it should be copied as it is found and a note put in for explanation. A marriage may sometimes be found recorded as 1848, while the death of one of the contracting parties is recorded as having occurred in 1846. The marriage was probably in 1843 or 1845, the figures 3, 5 and 8 being easily confused in writing. It is never safe to assume in such cases. Let the reader do the assuming. In a recent examination it was found that of a wife whose age, arrived at by subtracting the dates of birth and death, was only twenty-three years, had left nine children. Though these statments are obviously incorrect as to one or both dates, no attempt should be made to fix the date of either birth or death in the absence of good evidence.

References may be keyed and inserted at the bottom of the page or they may be inserted in the genealogical records text, thus: (Scituate, Mass. VR) or (Jennie F. Smith, Daughter). Either method is correct and whichever is selected is only a matter of choice.

Whatever else is done, no pains should be spared to be exact, and the responsibility for variations placed on who­ever furnished the information, for on this point will hinge the value of the genealogy.

Lucidity

The genealogist should write exactly what he means in the genealogical records and write it in such phraseology that there may be no question of meaning. Ambiguity is a common fault of genealogists. This is often occasioned by the desire to shorten the record to save publication costs. In a splendidly written genealogy recently prepared by one of the best genealogists in the coun­try, is to be found:

"Mrs. Mary Porter Proctor, daughter of Charles and Rebecca Lincoln, widow of Samuel."

Who was she, and who were her parents? She may have been Mary Porter Lincoln, the daughter of Charles and Rebecca () Lincoln, or she may have been Mary Porter, the daughter of Charles and Rebecca (Lincoln) Porter. "Sam­uel" was evidently Samuel Proctor, who was her husband. This could be straightened out by referring to her anteceding generations, but the reader should not be required to run hither and yon from cover to cover to get straight what the writer could have stated in unmistakable language in the first place. This is discouraging to the reader and a genealogy is too complex reading to warrant adding unnecessarily to its complexity.

Readability

Genealogical records are not prepared for general reading, but for reference. Therefore their object, rather than to create any literary style, is to bring out in orderly fashion the family data in such a manner that they may be readily found and definitely understood. But in the presentation of names and dates there may be a choice of style that makes one form more readable than another. An attempt should be made to phrase the record in as pleasing a style as possible, and hav­ing chosen a manner of phraseology, it should be adhered to throughout the entire work. It should not be written:

Thomas Southworth, born in Boston May 1, 1866

in one place, and

Thomas Southworth, born May 1, 1866 in Boston

in another place. The information imparted should be ar­ranged so that the eye of the reader may not be unduly taxed finding what he seeks.

In the Work Sheet of genealogical records it is preferable that the name of the place precede the date, thus bringing the date at the margin of the page where it can be easily caught for such mental calculation as is necessary to detect errors or improbabilities. In the printed book it is advisable to reverse the order be­cause by doing so a more solid perpendicular line is pro­duced, one place of birth often sufficing for an entire family of differing dates of birth. Thus the date can be placed nearer the name than could be done if unused space were left for place of birth. This is, however, a minor matter, the main point being to stick to whichever method is selected. The same is true in the insertion of biography. If the vital record of the individual family is prefaced by any biography in one instance, it should always be done that way. It should not be placed so that it precedes the family data in one in­stance and succeeds it in another. In this also it does not matter so much which method is used, as that it remain un­changed throughout the book.

Biography

A good genealogical records will present some biography. It would be a waste of good opportunity and unfair to the real char­acter of the family not to record deeds worthy of preserv­ing which have been accomplished by various members of the family; successes which have arisen from business acu­men; honors that have been bestowed because of mental achievements or otherwise. Often these bits of biography are well worth remembering and passing along to future generations, although not of sufficient worth to be placed in an independent biography or brochure.

Care should be exercised, however, in the insertion of biography that it is true biography and worth recording. Where the sentence:

We are favored with no information as to the pursuits or char­acter of these parents, but infer that they are commendable and that both are on the stage of active life in their native city

occurs with very little variation many times in a family his­tory, and

"Believed to be worthy and reputable people"

is repeated on page after page, or

“We always understood him and his family to be of good repute"

is recorded literally hundreds of times in a volume of twelve hundred pages of genealogical records, it is not biography, and good paper and printers' ink are wasted. That is merely hearsay evidence of family history, and following court practice it should be debarred. No one is at all interested in inferences and sup­positions in a book purported to contain only facts, and the reader can guess as well as the writer.

On the other hand, biography that is so important that it has been published under its own caption should not be much indulged in by the genealogist. A brief paragraph summing up the important items of the subject is sufficient. If the reader wishes more detailed information he should secure and read the published biography.

Military records, however, should be inserted in the family history, especially those pertaining to early military activi­ties of the country. Records of our late wars can be easily consulted and only the briefest record need be used in the genealogy, but early genealogical records are fragmentary and anything found should be included and the reference given for the record. It should be especially noted whether early military information is taken from some public record or from family papers and private records.

Public Documents

The insertion of such early public documents as copies of deeds and wills is often valuable and always interesting. Many times family history can be read in them which is more apparent than the mere wording would indicate. When we read in a will:

I give and bequeath to my son Robert my Wearing Cloaths which with what I have formerly given him I judge convenient for him

it might be taken to indicate that the father had been to some considerable expense on account of this son, and in a way disinherited him in the will; that the son was destitute and found his father's old clothes "convenient." But when it is found in the land records that this same father, when in his eighty-eighth year, before making his will, and only a short time before his death, gave this same son a valuable "river farm," using the words in the deed:

In consideration of the fondest love and fatherly affection that I bear to my well beloved son Robert, have given, granted etc.

Again, when a will bequeaths five pounds to a sister-in-law if she shall purchase a black dress for mourning wear after the death of the testator, there is revealed a trait of character that is most interesting. Certainly in the mind of the testator he was worth the public mourning of the in-laws, and fearing that they might not coincide with that opinion he made sure of the matter by placing the bequest in his will.

Thus many times there can be read between the lines of these old wills and deeds the real character of the ancestors which display family history in more intimate phases than could be elsewhere found.

The insertion of copies of old documents merely because they are old is worthless in family history and should never be indulged in, but if they can reflect the mind and character of an ancestor, they are well worth using.

It is always well to give the place of residence of the par­ticular branch of the family under consideration, and es­pecially the last known address, and the addresses of any of the branch who are still living.

An examiner recently had need to get in touch with a list of heirs and, finding a new genealogy of the family, he thought himself fortunate and his problem solved until he discovered that in over a thousand pages of record brought down to within two years of date, there were scarcely any addresses of the thousands of living members of the family. This goes to prove that the point in the mind of the writer is not al­ways the point sought by the reader.

It is well also to insert the business or profession of the subject. This is useful to those who may wish to compile an occupational index of the family, such as early ship builders, etc.

Domestic Irregularities

Probably in no family in America numbering from ten thousand to two hundred thousand members, which is fairly inclusive, can there be found entire regularity of family life. The question of these irregularities is one of the most delicate with which the genealogist has to deal. In a recently pre­pared family history it was discovered that five generations back, a boy was born into the family without any apparent father, the mother having neglected the formality of getting married. From this irregularity in five generations had sprung numerous progeny bearing the family surname of the mother which, with many marriages out of the name, were clearly the offspring of the common ancestor, the genealogy of whose family was being written. It was discovered that from this irregular birth had come many of the members most prominent in the family bearing its surname; that there were in the fruit of this irregularity a larger percentage of college graduates and of people who had accomplished worth­while things in the world, than from any other line found in the entire family.

What was the genealogist's duty in this instance? Faith­fulness to his work would not admit of dropping the family out as they were clearly a part of the history. Neither could a husband and father be manufactured for the occasion, and if the proper father were found, the surname of five genera­tions could not be changed at this late date. There is in such instances but one thing to do, and that is to record the facts as found. The genealogist is not a dispenser of morals but of facts. It is not his province either to accuse or excuse but to stick to fact and record it when it is beyond question. But in all irregularities of family life he must be exceedingly care­ful to prove the facts before recording them, and then he should fortify himself by giving his authority, otherwise he may face the unpleasant duty of either recalling and re­printing his book or paying some one for wounded family pride.

Abbreviations

The subject of abbreviations in genealogical records is one which should receive careful consideration by the genealogist regarding both his reading and writing. In old records care must be exercised that b. is not used for baptism rather than for birth. Usually baptism is abbreviated bp., but not always, and while bap­tism usually followed soon after birth in the early times, it sometimes did not take place until mature life. Care must be used in reading modern genealogical works as publication costs have sometimes entered to such a degree that unusual abbreviations have been employed. Proper names are some­times abbreviated to the extent of hopeless confusion. In a recent genealogy, where the writer is dead and the sources of his information destroyed, there appears Eliz. for both Eliza and Elizabeth; Jno. for both John and Jonathan, and Edw. for both Edward and Edwin, all of which are different names and not different form of the same name, and some for which the abbreviation is not correct. Such cutting corners may save a fraction of cost, but the loss of accuracy very much overbalances any saving that may be effected.

On the whole, it is better to write out in full, both in work­ing papers and the finished copy for the printer, all proper names. It will save more than it will waste.

There are certain abbreviations that are safe to use and if used consistently cannot lead to confusion. In referring to published records the names of Town Histories need not be written in full. Instead of writing Weymouth, Mass. History Volume j, page 365, it is sufficient to write Weymouth III 365. If, however, it is Weymouth vital records to which reference is being made, the abbreviation should be, Wey­mouth VR.

Following is a list of abbreviations which may safely be employed:

Vol.	volume
p. or pp.	page or pages
b.	born
m.	married
d.	died
bp.	baptized
VR. or vr.	vital records
Ch. R.	church records
G.S. or g.s.	gravestone records
FB	family Bible records
s.	son
dau.	daughter
w.	wife
wid.	widow
ae	age or aged
unm.	unmarried
sp.	sine prole (Latin) without issue
res.	resided or residence
RS	Revolutionary Soldier
CWV	Civil War Veteran
WWV	World War Veteran

Writing Dates

There are two methods of writing dates, both of which are in common practice among genealogists. The New England Historic Genealogical Society uses, and prefers that its con­tributors use, the form of writing the day before the month, thus: 30 May 1764. Equally common is the practice of writ­ing the month before the day, thus: May 30, 1764. The latter arrangement seems more easily read as it is the form found in every day business and the ordinary reader is more ac­customed to seeing it in that manner.

It is safer on working papers to use figures in writing dates than to abbreviate the names of the months. Thus, 3/23/-1028 rather than Mar. 23,1928. In writing by hand it is easy to mistake Jun. for Jan. and vice versa. And not infre­quently Mar. and May are confounded. If, however, months are figured instead of written, care. should be taken to determine at the beginning of the work the method of placing the month and day, otherwise 3/2/1860 may be read Mar. 2, 1860 or Feb.3, 186o, in which event the use of figures would lead to serious error.

In the compiler's own notes and work sheets he will be obliged to do much writing where conditions are very poor, as in cemeteries and while conversing with people where no writing table is at hand, in which instances the best handwriting is put to a severe test. The record thus taken may next be consulted many miles from where it was secured and it is important that it be so carefully written that its meaning is unmistakably clear. The figured date also occupies less room on the work sheet than the written date. The complete year should be written in the record, thus: 3/26/1840 rather than 3/26/40, as the record is covering different centuries. While the general time may be determined as to century in most cases, there are times when it is necessary to have the full year written, and unless the habit of doing it is formed, there is danger of omitting it on needful occasions.

When the copy of the genealogical records is prepared for the printer, however, it will be necessary to have it typewritten and dates should be written either in full or by proper abbrevia­tion of the months. The comfort of the reader must be con­sidered and it is surprising how many people are bothered if months are figured rather than written.

Dates should be arranged on working papers and in the finished copy with a view for ease of comparison. All dates should be placed in the same vertical position on the page. This rule should apply both to the working sheet and to the finished copy, and the compositor may be instructed to follow the same rule in setting the type for the book.

References

References and authority should be given for all data contained in the genealogical records. If some member of a particular branch of the family has been kind enough to furnish infor­mation of his line, credit should be given him for his labor. And if he has carelessly and inaccurately done his part of the work, the blame for the mistakes discovered should be placed on him rather than on the compiler. The genealogist must depend largely on information furnished him by others.

He cannot go all over the country looking in every family Bible; examining the original record of every town and city, or verifying data that have been furnished by some one who should know the truth of the subject matter that he has fur­nished. There will be instances of conflicting data and infor­mation, and where dates are in question, that the genealogist will be obliged to go out and check up by examination, but a large part of his material will suggest no irregularities or im­probabilities, and he will edit and arrange the furnished ma­terial without question. Where data are being gathered from all sorts of places and people, and furnished many times from the memory of some elderly person whose power of remem­bering has weakened with age, there are bound to be many mistakes. Tradition is bound to appear in place of fact. There was never a genealogy written that did not contain many errors. It does not matter how exacting the writer is, others are going to err in the material they give him, and if he inserts it in his work without reference he alone is the one who will be blamed for the mistake. It is surprising how roughshod people can be in riding over little insignificant errors in their family history.

If a line is furnished by some member of the family it is well to give the name and relationship of the informant to the head of the line, thus:

Data furnished by Susan Jones, Daughter. If the material is found in some town history the reference should be given as (Hanover, Mass. 246), and if there is variation all references should be given as

Gideon Studley, born 1/1/1855 (Abington, Mass. 443); 12/31/1854 (Hanover, Mass. 390).

If the record is from a probate the record should read

Thomas Robinson was the son of George and Sarah (Standish) Robinson (Plymouth Probates vol. 3, p. 78).

And if from a vital record the reference should be (Duxbury VR). Cost of printing should  never preclude references.

Forms

The use of a printed form is recommended for both work­ing papers and the printers copy. It is cheaper in time and effort and safer in use than to write everything out either by hand or with a typewriter. There are certain questions com­mon to every line and person that require definite answers, and if a form is used there is no danger of omitting to answer any of these necessary questions. The use of a form will present the answer to each question in a uniform position and much weariness will be avoided in working over the material.

Materials

Good paper should be used in all of the work with genealogical records. Paper is not a large item of cost and the ease of working on good material more than compensates for any difference in price. So called, pencil paper should never be used. It is spongy and soft in texture, will easily blot, ink will run if used on it, and pencil will cut into it so deeply that fine writing and figuring will be indistinct. A dignified and valuable work is being undertaken and tools should be chosen accordingly. The genealo­gist has entered the ranks of the professions, therefore he should avoid the tools of the tradesman.

Especially should great care be used in the selection of correspondence material. If letters and questionnaires are sent out on cheap, poorly printed and unattractively ar­ranged correspondence paper, the effect will be felt at once in the answers that come back or the lack of replies. Cheap ma­terials will at once suggest that a cheap book is in prepara­tion, and carelessness in first appearances will lead to the in­ference that carelessness will continue to appear throughout the entire enterprise. The genealogist must approach an in­numerable number of people seeking from them help in his undertaking. They will be asked to do real work for which their only compensation will be thanks, and the wish to join in a laudable cause. Therefore he should make his approach that of a gentleman in dignified attire, and his reception will tend to be couched in the same manner. If he approaches like a tramp, regardless of his actual respectability, he will probably receive a tramp's reception.

In avoiding cheap materials it is not necessary that ex­pensive material should be used. Good material may be in­expensive but not cheap.

For genealogical records it is recommended that pen and ink be used rather than pencil. The easy erasure of pencil is a distinct disadvantage with papers that must be carried about, shuffled together and continually worked over. If pencil is used it will be discovered some day that a hard won item is so smudged that it cannot safely be used and that the labor of securing it was labor in vain. On the whole a fountain pen will be found to be the best working tool unless a portable typewriter can be carried about, which surpasses every other means of making genealogical records.

Standardization

It is recommended that all materials for genealogical records be chosen with a view to standards already in general use. Paper should be cut to fit regular sizes of loose leaf binders and cards to fit card cabinets in regular use. It is as easy to do this as to create a lot of mongrel sizes that cannot be fitted to anything stand­ard. It will be found that paper stock can be cut to regular sizes without waste. The cost of material is not large and can be kept down to a minimum of expense if special sizes are avoided.

Reading Index

The genealogical worker should keep an index of his read­ing. He will have to consult hundreds and perhaps thousands of books in the course of his work. Unless he has a record of the books that he has examined and the subject about which he has consulted them, he will soon find himself bring­ing from the library books that he has had before and from which he has previously abstracted the necessary data.

If he will head an index card with the name of the book, the name of the author and the year of publication, and enter on the card the name of the person about which he has con­sulted the book and the Progressive Number of the genealogical records work sheet on which is recorded the result of his examination, he will save himself much unnecessary labor. These index cards should be filed alphabetically by the name of the book.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here