How to Document your Family History

 Sources of Documentation

After we gather basic information about our immediate family and ancestors, how and where do we find "proof" to document our findings? 

For about 100 years, most states and counties have required that certain Life events be recorded or registered, such as births, marriages, divorces and deaths.  Official records may not exist before there were laws requiring registration.

Birth

Once birth registrations were required by states, birth certificates became excellent sources.  Records can provide more than just a name, date and place of birth.  Other information may include the father's name, mother's maiden name, birth order (how many prior children), birth locations of parents, occupation of parents, who reported the birth, who attended the birth (doctor or midwife) and other information. Sometimes people have filed "delayed" birth certificates.  These give basic information and also show the documentation used to verify the birth, such as people with relationships or official documents.  Family Bibles can be a source of birth records, and if recorded by a parent, are likely to be accurate.  A birth announcement or a newspaper record of a birth is likely to be accurate .  Draft registrations and marriage records often show the date of birth, but these may be off for a year or so if the person wanted to be older or younger to marry or join the military.  Court documents often record the age, but not the date of birth.  Tombstones are often inaccurate or show only a year of birth. Census reports show a person was alive or died during a census year, but often only an approximate age.  Ages are often estimated by those giving the information to the census taker. Other documents may list age or even birth dates. Again, the best sources are those that were prepared when the living person was giving information.  

Marriage

Even in colonial times, marriage licenses or bonds were required and certain licensed persons, primarily ministers, could perform legal marriages.  Some early court, church and ministerial records still exist, but many have been lost or destroyed.  In early days, ministers were required to report the marriages to the county clerks, but often they simply provided a list of the marriages performed and only showing the names of the parties and the date of the marriage.  Bonds were required for licenses, and if one of the parties was under age, then permission had to be granted by a parent or guardian.  Often it is the bonds that provide the most information about the bride and groom. The bondsmen were usually the groom and a relative of the bride. Family Bibles, obituaries and newspaper reports can be other sources for marriages.  Common law marriages have been treated differently in different states over the years. A misconception is that if people live together for a certain length of time that alone constitutes a legal common-law marriage. This is not true anywhere in the United States. Some states will still legalize common law marriages, but each state has specific requirements.  Some states, such as West Virginia, have never recognized "common law" marriages as legal while other states, recognize a common law marriage if it was registered before a certain date, and met certain requirements, but no longer honor them as legal if they were not registered by that date. 

Death

Most death certificates in the past 100 years or so are very complete, including information such as the exact date and time of death; the location of the death; where the person was residing just before death; parents' names and their places of birth; marital status and name of spouse; cause or causes of death; name of undertaker and location of burial.  Military records, particularly if a person was receiving a pension, usually contain at least the date of death and often names of dependents if they became eligible as beneficiaries.  Family Bibles can be a source.  Tombstones may be helpful.  Since many stones were prepared long after death, they may not be as reliable. Clues as to where to look might be found in recent records just before the person died.  For example if a person was living in Pittsburgh, PA in the 1920 census and died in 1921, that area would be a starting place to search.   

Family Stories and Biographies

These stories rarely have documentation, but there are often clues suggesting names and locations and where to look further.  Also, quite often in telling the story of a person's life, the names of spouses, parents, children and siblings are reported, as well as different locations where the families lived. 

Land and Tax Records

Although these records will not give vital statistics, they may establish relationships as well as locations where your ancestor might have lived. Some older deeds may be more complete since deeds were not always immediately recorded, and the "trail" of ownership may be outlined in the deed itself.  I was able to find proof of relationships when a deed indicated that the son received land which his father had inherited from his father, and they were named. If an ancestor appears in tax records for several years in a particular county, that suggests settlement, although not always since he might be an absentee owner.  Sometimes that information is indicated.  Tax collectors sometimes recorded the day and month that taxes were collected.  The assumption is that those taxes collected on a given day were people who lived in the same area, so the near neighbors might offer clues.  

History and Maps

Familiarity with locations and history of an area can give you confidence that the information you gathered is valid.  In the early days of the country, settlement was first along the Atlantic coastal areas in the 13 original colonies.  Eastern Pennsylvania and eastern Virginia counties were organized in the 1600's while western counties were organized in the early to mid 1700's.  As settlement grew, counties continued to split into newer counties.  Post Revolutionary War, western settlement in those states and border states increased rapidly.  Dates and maps can help you understand that ancestors may have lived in 2 or 3 counties or states while not relocating.  Records were supposed to follow the county and state changes, but that did not always happen. There were also "border wars".  An example is the southwestern Pennsylvania - Virginia land claims.  Virginia claimed the same land in their West Augusta county that was being claimed by Pennsylvania in their Westmoreland county.  This controversy was finally settled when the Mason-Dixon survey was completed.  West Virginia is unique in that it was part of Virginia until mid Civil War (1863) when a convention was formed to create the new state. Normally this can only be done by the United States Congress.  So the same counties that show Virginia before 1863 are showing West Virginia post 1863.  Records of marriage, for example, can be showing in both states.  Eastern Tennessee was part of North Carolina until the state was formed; Kentucky was part of Virginia.  In fact, Virginia Revolutionary War soldiers were granted parts of Kentucky as payment for their service.  Ohio and other states were part of the Northwest Territory and only became states after 1800.   So, if your ancestor was born in "Kentucky" in 1780, he was actually born in Virginia.  So, be aware of those dates and where records might be located. 

How Do I Create a Family Tree?

 Questions to Ask and Answer Before you Begin your Family Tree 

How much time will it take?

That's an easy question because as with any hobby, you can spend as much or as little time as you want.  You can spend a lifetime and still find new information, or you can make it a hobby that you "dabble' in on occasion.  

There will always be new information to add to your tree when people are born, marry or die.  If you just want a record of names, birth dates, marriages and deaths, your job will be easy and probably boring.  Those deceased ancestors will wait for you to discover their stories.  As someone once said to me, "Those dead folks aren't going anywhere."  

Exploring their stories will keep you interested and excited to look for more.  At a minimum and a starting point, gather as much of the "boring" vital statistics for your direct ancestors and record that information.  This should include full name, any nicknames, date and location of birth, date and location of marriages, any divorces, date and location of death and burial.  To extend this base, you might add siblings and children or not. I thought it was silly for Mom to record siblings until I later realized that their information often provided new information for my direct ancestors.

What should I do with the information after I gather it?  

Before the advent of the computer, people had various ways to record and file their information, but it always involved paper.  Handwritten notes, notebooks full of information or charts of family lineages.  

My mother began the hunt for ancestors many years ago and kept it all in spiral notebooks.  There are now many offline computer software programs where you can manually record your data.  Many years later, I am still reviewing and recording my mother's information into my computer program.  

What Computer program is best

Computer programs can be purchased, but there are several free ones available also. Some programs will interface with online sites and some will not.  Most programs allow you to create GEDcoms. This is a way to share your data online or via Email with others. 

I would recommend looking at several programs to see what you think will work best for you. Many online sites allow you to enter information online and then download a GEDcom to open in your offline program.  However, if you only store your data online, that company can increase their cost to be a member or close down entirely.  That has happened to me.  So don't neglect storing your records offline - a reminder to myself. 

Can I share my information easily and should I?

Once personal computers and the digital world became available, we experienced whole new options of saving, storing or sharing family trees.  But people are still trying to answer the question of how and where to store their information to make it usable and/or availabe to others.  Ancestry, Family Search, WeRelate, WikiTree, MyHeritage and many other online sites are available to share your data with others.  Paid sites (such as Ancestry and MyHeritage) allow you to better control your information than sites that allow others to work on your tree such as Family Search, WeRelate and WikiTree.  Be very cautious what you share online because once you add your information to a site owned by someone else, that site "owns" your information.  

What about Privacy Issues?

Think about what is in your offline tree before you share with others privately or online.  Who are the people who will be using it, and is there private information that should not be shared? 

My desire is to share my information freely to help others who share my ancestors. There is always the hope that by sharing I will find another descendant who can also help complete my puzzles.

There is always the concern about how people will use or transmit your information.  For example, I often add dates, explanations and identification when I post a photo. Ancestry, for example, has a way for another user to simply click save and the photo along with any notes are saved to that user's tree.  Yet countless times people have downloaded my photos to their computers without the identification information, and then reloaded only the photo to their trees.  I'm not sure why they do this?  I posted one photo with an explanation of why I was uncertain that it was the correct person.  Then I saw it on another person's tree without the explanation.  I asked him about the photo. He said it was on his computer; his computer crashed so that was why.  I wasn't sure if that explanation made sense?  Also, because the person manually posted the photo, it showed up in my "hints" as if it were a new photo.

One more issue.  A GEDcom may include your notes or other information that you might not put on a public family tree.  I shared a GEDcom with a cousin years ago.  He opted to upload it to his online public family tree, notes and all. He died suddenly.  As the owner of that tree, he was the only one who could make changes or delete the tree.  This was over 20 years ago, but I think that tree is still floating around the Internet.  I'm glad he took the credit and not me.

Should I write a book?  

Some decide to publish their family history. But when and how?  

The when is difficult if you are not sure you have all the information correct and also if you feel you need to gather more information to complete your family history.    

The how is another issue. Do you pay to print a hard copy, or do you create in digital format?  Do you make it public online for others to view and copy, or share privately?  

Several years ago, I decided to create and publish a hard copy for my parents, siblings, children and grandchildren.  Determining how to present the information was the biggest challenge.  I wanted to offer the family stories but also show how and where descendants fit into the family story.  I finally opted to put the lineage trees in as an appendix and use the main chapters to tell stories I had discovered about our ancestors.  I started with a chapter on "Faith of our Fathers" since we had a long history of ancestors who were ministers.  Then I used a timeline, starting with our first ancestors coming to America and continuing through history.  

As you get to "know" your ancestors, you are bound to find interesting events in their lives that you will want to share - with whom and how will be your choice.

What to Believe or Disbelieve?

 Who and What should I Believe?

Mark Twain popularized the saying "There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies, and statistics."  

That phrase can describe the journey of a family researcher.  At first we think that everything we find is of equal value - family stories, public records, tombstones, census reports, vital statistics, family Bibles, documents, books, and military records.  

When we compare our findings, we wonder how could someone have been born in different years in different places and died in different years in different places? Why does the mother's name on a death record not match the name on the birth record?  Why is the death in one state and the burial in another?  How much confidence can we place in information we find?  How do we draw conclusions when details don't match? Do we give up or dig deeper?

I was part of a group of researchers who discussed what was the most reliable source of information.  The conclusion was that information is most reliable when recorded while the person was living, and more specifically, when the person himself gave the information.  Two examples are applications for pensions for military service and draft registrations.  Pension applications were taken in court, and the applicant swore to the information.  Draft registrations were recorded by others, but in World War I and II registrations, the person had to sign.  Those are only two examples.  Others could be a marriage or divorce records - any document where the person was present and signing to the veracity of the information in the document.

We concluded that the least reliable information is information recorded many years after the death of the person - the more time that has passed, the less reliable the information.  This would include family books and stories written or told years after the events. Other documents produced others while a person was alive can be helpful, but who was interviewed and how likely they would have correct information should be considered?  For example a parent should know the correct birth date for their child, even years later.  

Census Reports

Federal census records are completed every 10 years and report who was living in a household on April 1st. The documents show the name of the census taker and a date, but not who was interviewed to gather the family information.  Was it the second wife who was estimating her husband's date of birth and guessing at where he was born?   Until 1850, census reports only showed the names of the head of the household with the only sex and age ranges of others in the home.  Each census report from 1790 to 1940 gathered different kinds of information.  Reports are not released to the general public until 72 years after the year taken. The 1940 census report is available, but the 1950 census will not be released until April 2022.  Although the first federal census was reported in 1790, the Virginia list was destroyed, and most of the 1800 list is missing. If you see a 1790 census for Virginia, remember that it was reconstructed from tax lists of the mid 1780's.  By 1790, your Virginia ancestors may have moved on to another location.   

Tax Lists

Old tax lists can be helpful to establish locations and dates. With changing county and even state lines and people with similar names, one must be careful in drawing conclusions. The old tax lists show only the head of the household and males who are over age 16.  In colonial days these lists were also used to show who were old enough to be in the militia. 

Colonial Records

Even before the United States of America became a country, the 13 colonies had established governments.  Counties were created, officials were elected or appointed, militias were formed and taxes were collected.  Some of these old records still exist and can contain a picture of our ancestors' lives, if we can establish the time and location they lived. Some churches, especially the Quakers, kept detailed records of births, marriages and deaths. Quakers used a different calendar, starting their year in March.  So if you see a record showing the 8th month, it would be our October, not August.  Also, in the early 1700's the type of calendar was changed, so you may see a date recorded as 1745/46 referring to the year under the old and new calendars.

Public Records and Official Documents

Some documents have been digitized and are published on-line, but many are retained in court houses or state archives or national archives.  When we visited the state library in Virginia, the librarian said only about 10 per cent of their records had been digitized.  When we visited a remote court house in West Virginia, we found the only known record of my ancestor's marriage in a file.  We were fortunate to be able to take a digital photo which I've been able to share with others.  Depending on how much information you want to obtain, you may have to request and pay for copies of official records that do not appear online.  Also until the 1900's most states did not require counties to report vital statistics to the state, so you may only find an old record in county court house records.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, but I have found many mistakes on "official" records.  My great grandfather's death certificate is an example. When his father died, my grandfather provided information for his death certificate.  He gave the correct name for his father's father (his grandfather), but he reported his father's mother (his grandmother) with the name of his great grandmother, rather than his grandmother.  This puzzled me for years until I finally figured it out.  But it will always be in the "official" records. The second case was when my grandfather married his second wife.  He gave the information to the clerk to issue the marriage license.  The first question was apparently who were his parents, which he reported accurately.  Then the clerk must have asked who were "her" parents.  Misunderstanding, he reported the names of his own mother's parents, rather than the bride's parents.  And that too is now the "official" record.  

More recently when my father died, we were anxious to get the death certificate to settle his affairs.  When received, we noticed two mistakes, so we asked that they both be corrected and the certificate reissued.  We finally received a copy, but with only one correction - with the mistake of the wrong cemetery still on the "official" record.  We knew the information was wrong but went ahead and used the certificate to take care of business.  We have a photo on Find-A-Grave of his tombstone in the correct cemetery, but the "official" record is still wrong.  

Tombstones

Tombstone information can be helpful, but again, since they were placed after death, they may contain errors.  There was an error on the stone for my grandfather, showing the wrong year of his birth.  The stone was beginning to show wear and tear. In a gesture of goodwill and as a surprise, one of his descendants ordered and placed a new stone, sending photos to the family.  You guessed it, the new stone also has the wrong year of birth.  Find-A-Grave is a great site for finding photos of stones, but people have also added "best guesses" as to parents and dates for stones that cannot be found. If there is no photo or the information makes no sense, use with caution.  

Military Records

These are usually accurate, but there were always people who shared the same name, even unusual names.  Unless you have more information than a name, you may find your ancestor belongs to someone else.  I have seen many cases of people wanting to claim a Revolutionary War ancestor but who have claimed the wrong person.  Yes, the person was in the Revolutionary War, but he was not their ancestor. I have spent a lot of time exploring the Dotson and Dodson lines in America.  To date, I have only located one Thomas Dodson who was a documented Revolutionary War soldier. However, I have found the same man claimed as an ancestor for at least 3 different Dodson or Dotson lines.  There are military record sites, such as Fold 3, which charge to view copies of some muster rolls and payrolls for soldiers.  These records may help track where your ancestor served during the war. The site also has copies of Revolutionary War pension applications.  For southern Revolutionary War soldiers, there is an excellent free site where many pension applications have been transcribed.  

Family Bibles

The key to accuracy may be when the information was recorded. Ideally, you will have a copy of the title page showing when and where the Bible was printed and hopefully predating the information recorded in the Bible. I have a copy of one Bible where the father recorded all the birth information for his children born in the late 1700's and the deaths for any who died while he was living.  I feel that this information is more accurate than any of the other information I have found about his children.  However, if someone creates the data much later, it may or may not be correct.  Also, beware of digital copies that people say are from "the original".  I know of one case where a person wanted to "prove" her ancestor, so she copied names and information into a Bible with dates in the 1700's and 1800's.  Her mistake was that the names were printed.  I have never seen any type of handwriting other than cursive in those early years.  Even if her Bible is valid, I would still have doubts without other documentation.

Family Stories and Books

When were the stories told or the books written?  The problem with a book is that people want to believe it is accurate.  Even if the information is later disproved, the misinformation stays in print.  A book on the Dodson line was published in 1908 by a minister.  He did not document his sources, but he outlined English ancestors for the American line in the beginning of his book.  It was not until 100 years later that researchers went to England and discovered that his information was incorrect.  The people he said came to America instead lived, married and died in England.  However, people still quote that book as a source and probably always will.

Lies

Most of us know of a "family lie" such as a grandmother being passed off as a mother to cover up an illegitimate birth by her daughter.  Often the grandparents raised a child, and sometimes the child knew or did not know the truth.  I have seen one case where the obituary continued the myth by reporting the real mother as a sister and the grandparents as the parents.  Sometimes people lied about their ages to join the military or to pretend to be of legal age to marry. Divorces carried a social stigma, required legal charges and could be expensive. I have seen many census reports where people are listed as widows while their spouse is still living. They may or may not have ever divorced but they weren't widowed.Sometimes both parties remarry but continue to report they were widowed on the "official records". Sometimes people changed their names to hide their pasts or because they were "running from the law". 

DNA testing is now revealing some of those lies and cover ups. Researchers are now facing how, when, where and if they should report the truth. 

Your DNA Results

Those DNA "Cousin" Matches - What to Do with Them?

Autosomal DNA tests are referred to as cousin tests and are the most common DNA tests offered by companies such as MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA and Ancestry.  It's important to remember that the results represent your relationships to people on both your maternal and paternal lines.  The results will not show you from which side you received your DNA or where you share a relationship, only that you share some type of biological relationship at some point in time.

When you receive your results you will see a list of people with whom you share some amount of DNA. Remember that after 4 to 5 generations, expected relatives may not show up in your matches because we get differing amounts of DNA from each of our parents, and they from their parents and so on.  You may be surprised to find that you match with some cousins and not with others who are the same degree of biological relationship.  

The length of a piece of DNA is measured in centimorgans (cM). The total length of all your chromosomes combined is around 7400 cM. Since a person inherits about half of their DNA from each parent, you share about 3700 cM with each parent. The exact number for each parent/child relationship can vary slightly, but not by a lot.The more centimorgans (cM) you share with another person suggests the more recently you shared a common ancestor.  If the common ancestor is a great grandparent, (we had 8 of those), you could have received a varying amount of chromosomes from any one of those persons.  If the common ancestor we share is a great great grandparent, (we have 16 of those), the chromosomes could be from any of those people and in varying amounts.

Examples of Approximate Shared Centimorgans (cM) and recent relationships

1st cousins:  500 to 1000 cM received from at least one of 4 grandparents you share.

2nd cousins:  200 to  500 cM received from at least one of 8 great grandparents you share.  

3rd cousins:   85 to  200 cM received from at least one of 16 great great grandparents you share.

At the end of August 2020, Ancestry is curbing the number of matching results you will see.  If you share less than 8 cM with a person, you will not see those matches.  As you might guess, if you share less than 8 cM, your relationship was in the very distant past.

Unless a person has an extensive tree or you already know how you are related, there is little value in knowing that you have a small match (cM) with a person.  Families in remote locations tended to intermarry other families in the same area, so it's often difficult to even guess where the match occurred. Once in a while a small match has led me to a person's tree that might have clues to explore further, but I have enough to keep me busy for a lifetime with my other matches. 

When you get your results, you may be shocked to learn how many "cousins" you have.  For example, in Ancestry DNA, I have over 1000 matches who are 4th cousins or closer.  Depending on the number of generations between us and our common ancestor, a 4th cousin may share a great or great great grandparent with me. Because I am "older" and many tested are younger, there might be even more generations.

This is why family trees are so important to help sort the results.  If a person has not posted a tree with more than 2 or 3 generations, and your match is more distant, the results will be of no help in determining how you are related.  If there is no tree at all, the results are basically useless.  If you want to use your results to connect with others and to help complete your tree, add a tree and don't make it private. 

Screening your matches has been made easier by the added filters in Ancestry. The options are Unviewed - so as not to keep looking at the same matches; common ancestors-  which helps you see how Ancestry believes you are related; Messaged - identifies those you have contacted or contacted you; Notes-  are added by you; Trees-  indicate if there are trees and if they are public or private; Shared DNA allows you to enter the degree of relationship or the cM range to filter; and Groups - are color coded manual sorts that you have entered.  The option to select several filters is very helpful.  When I open my matches, I use  Unviewed and Common Ancestors i-for a quick helpful search of my matches.

There are 2 more options of Search and Sort.  If you select Search, for example, you can put in a surname and also a location of birth to search trees of people with whom you match.  I find this very helpful to narrow down people when there are many with the same surname.

Finally, in Ancestry you also have the option of managing the results of someone else who has been tested.  They retain their results, but they can also give you permission to view their results.  I have that option with some folks who share my birth name. 

DNA matches are a way to feel that you are on the right track for your ancestral line.  But remember, although you may match with another person  who has your ancestor in their tree, that might not be how you are related.  

DNA matches do not replace documentation.

GEDCOMS and How to Use

 What is a GEDCOM and How is it Used?

GEDCOM is an acronym for Genealogical Data Communication and is a means to exchange genealogical data between different types of genealogy software programs. On-line genealogical sites and off-line genealogy programs allow for uploading or downloading files in a GEDCOM format.

If you download a GEDCOM file from the Internet or receive one from another researcher, you  must have a software program installed on your computer in order to open the file.  

There are free genealogy programs offered by Legacy, My Heritage and others, as well as programs that can be purchased.  Simply type "download free genealogy programs" and several will come up.

Here is a screenshot of free ones from Legacy and  from My Heritage, for example.

Once you have a program installed, opening a GEDCOM file is simple. If you have a program, just double-click on the GEDCOM file, and it should open with your genealogy software. Or go to your program and click on import, search for the file which should have an extension of .ged

Recently someone said she was thinking of giving up her Ancestry account.   At almost $200 per year, Ancestry is an expensive place to store one's tree, if you are not actively searching for data and documents for your ancestors.  

You can, at any time, download a GEDCOM file from Ancestry of your family tree.  Unfortunately, it will not include photos and documents, and all sources you got from Ancestry will show Ancestry as the source.  But it is far better than allowing your information to be lost.  

I made a simple diagram, below, to illustrate the steps to access the screen to download the GEDCOM.

Using DNA Your Results

Does DNA Testing Really Help in Genealogical Research? 

People use DNA tests to find their ethnicity, learn their roots or locate relatives. Results are private, so you only receive the amount of information your matches wish to share. Shared results may help correct mistakes in your family tree or find long lost cousins, but results may also destroy family stories or create unanswered questions.  Results will only show probable ancestors and cannot replace careful research to prove your line.

What to know about DNA Tests and Results

Paternal and Maternal DNA Tests

There are 3 different kinds of DNA tests used to help with genealogy.  The most common testing is autosomal, but there are two other types of tests that are done only by the Family Tree DNA company.  Those tests are the direct Male (y-DNA) test and the direct Female (mtDNA) tests. Those test are relatively expensive and limited in the type of information returned. They are most reliable in learning the longest continuous and most distant relationships - but only for one line. For example, males who carry a continuous male line of a certain surname can determine with the y-DNA test if they match or do not other males tested from that same surname.  However, if you buy the 37 marker test and achieve a perfect match with another, you only have a guaranteed common ancestor within 480 to 720 years ago. If two persons are tested on more markers and match, the probability is that their common ancestor was more recent.  The test can establish that you do not belong in a certain line.  The mtDNA test is like the y-DNA test but traces the longest continuous female maternal line, but only one continuous female line. The male y-DNA test is used more often than the female. 

The Autosomal DNA Tests

The third type of test, and the most commonly used, is the Autosomal DNA test.  Several testing companies such as Ancestry, 23 and Me, My Heritage and Family Tree DNA offer the autosomal test and the results should be the same regardless of the testing company. The autosomal test will estimate the percent of your ethnicity that comes from different regions of the world. This test will also match you to others who have some degree of relationship on either your paternal or maternal side. In matching relationships to other people tested, the results are most reliable for about four generations.  Because autosomal DNA tests use DNA received from both our parents, with each generation the results become more and more diluted. When one gets back more than 4 to 5 generations, expected relatives often do not match since we get differing amounts of DNA from each parent.  You may or may not get the answers you expected.

Generational Sharing of Autosomal DNA

Although a child will always share roughly 50% of chromosomes from each parent, there are no guarantees beyond that. Although highly improbable, two full siblings might NOT share ANY matching DNA segments in their chromosomes. Chromosome strands in a grandchild, for example, can be a random mix of the strands from the four grandparents.  

 Meiosis is a term for the number of generations or "meiosis events" that occur from each side of ones parents back to a common ancestor. If you are 2nd cousins and closer, you can determine the degree of kinship with a fairly strong certainty. When below 40 cM match strength, you can only guess as to the degree of kinship unless you have documentation of the relationship. This is  why as matches share fewer chromosomes, a  range of possible relationships is reported by companies  (such as 5th to.8th cousin).

What to do with DNA Test Results

It's best to add your own family tree to the website of the company doing your testing, before the test, and also to make yourself the "home person".  That way, you will be able to see how you match others on their family tree when your results come in and also as new results are posted from new matches. The testing companies will have already calculated your estimated relationship to others tested who match you in some way and provide that information in your results.   

Ancestry has the largest database of tested people. Millions of people been tested through Ancestry, so there is an increased probability of finding a cousin match there. 

Once you are tested by any company and receive your "raw results" as well as your matches, you can upload your raw results to other sites to compare the results with people who used different testing companies. GEDmatch is one organization that allows people to upload their "raw results" for comparison to others. 

More Information about DNA Results

Remember DNA results are private.  You will have an ability to look at the trees of your matches, if they have added them to the site and made them public.  You will also get a means of contacting your matches via the site or Email.  They may or may not respond.  Some people are searching for biological parents or other ancestors, and wish to retain privacy. 

Unless you share a match, you cannot tell from a published tree if the owner has had a DNA test or not.  You will only get a list of those with whom you share some DNA (in that company's data base) and an estimated relationship such as 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousin, etc. -  but you will not learn which side of the family or how you are related.  That information has to come from their trees or if they are willing to share more information with you.  

You will get some other data that suggests how much DNA you share, increasing the likelihood of how recently you share a common ancestor. For example, Ancestry also reports how many centimorgans (cM) you should share with your matches. They estimate your relationship based on those results as well as reporting how many shared segments you have. For example, they show my first cousin as being my 1st–2nd Cousin; Shared DNA 975 cM across 35 segments. Our fathers were brothers, so we share grandparents as a common ancestor. Each generation away from a shared ancestors decreases the numbers reported. For example another cousin and I share a great great grandfather and our match shows 4th–6th Cousin; Shared DNA 48 cM across 4 segments. So we are now 4 generations back and the DNA results reflect that.

Conclusions

DNA matches may help you find trees with information that is helpful.  DNA matches may help you connect with others who can help complete your trees.  Do not expect everyone to reply to your requests.  Do not confuse the the three types of DNA testing.   Do not believe in DNA miracles.  

A Blog Site with Lots of Information about DNA

Should You Trust Information in Books or on Websites?

What to Believe?

Creating a family tree is an enjoyable hobby, but fun turns to frustration when the tree is missing ancestors or information. 

There's an old saying that if something is in print, it must be true.  But how does this work in creating our family's history?

Older books are often thought to be more accurate because they were written closer to when the  ancestors lived, but not all authors documented their work. Even books containing transcriptions of records, court actions, military muster rolls, census reports, tax records or church records can contain errors.  These can be "honest errors" due to misreading of the information from the original documents, poor handwriting, original transcription errors by a clerk, or deterioration of the original records, making them difficult to read.

Contacting family members might yield old photos, family records, or even family stories. Visits to court houses or cemeteries can provide additional information. Some might seek answers through DNA testing, while others try to complete their family tree through information shared by strangers on the internet or through publications. The challenge comes in determining the validity of the information gathered.

Most people would like their family history to include exciting events, historical figures or even royalty. Reporting that one's ancestor was born a certain place, married, had children, was a farmer, then died, does not make for an exciting story. Family histories may be embellished or simply repeat what a person has been told by relatives.But if books or websites contain only family history with no sources, then one must find facts to back up the stories-  or always be in doubt.

At times. companies have offered paid subscriptions to family history books, with the purchasers able to create their own family histories with no editing and with varying degrees of accuracy.  This is called "vanity publishing", and no one wants to write about the "black sheep" in the family, particularly if they are paying to publish the family history.

If you plan to pass on your family's history to future generations, find sources to backup and document what you have found online, in books, in records or from your family's storytellers.  Be the accurate keeper your family's story. 

Names and the Many Variations

Names are Special

From birth until death we are identified by names given to us by others. We may share the name of a relative, acquire a nickname, be called by our middle name or be known by our married names. But we continue to be identified throughout life with the surname given to us early in our lives.

Shakespeare wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". The phrase suggests that what we call a person is of little significance, and that a name doesn't change the character of a person. But to each of us, our surnames are special and speak to our own personal family lineage and history. Our surnames contain the seeds of our unique family trees and will be imparted to future generations.

However, surnames did not always exist. Because populations were small and people knew their neighbors, given names were sufficient. But as populations grew, people needed more specific identities such as Big James or Little James or John's son or Dod's son. Sons eventually would be called by a combination of their given name, coupled with their new surnames, such as James Johnson or Richard Dodson, and following generations would carry on that surname.

I am using my birth name of Dotson to illustrate the challenge.

Historically, Dodsons and Dotsons can be found in the British Isles, but in very early American records, we only find the surname Dodson. In later years we find the spelling of some of those Dodsons changed by accident or design to Dotson. It is not unusual to find both spellings recorded at different times referring to the same person, Whether the changes in spelling were intentional or transcription errors is unknown, and it would be a mistake to assume that the spelling of the name confirms a person was or wasn't your ancestor.

Were my ancestors Dodsons or Dotsons? Perhaps they were both.

In Pennsylvania, the Dodson spelling has prevailed into modern days with Dodsons in both eastern and western Pennsylvania. Occasionally Dotsons are found among families who migrated from Pennsylvania, but in general, the Dodson spelling remains in Pennsylvania.

The descendants of the Charles Dodson line of Farnham Parish in Richmond County, Virginia,were also likely to retain the Dodson spelling of the name for several generations, but not always.

The Dodsons from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia were more likely to become Dotsons as they migrated into other parts of the country. We find both Dodsons and Dotsons in early records in Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states.

In early Maryland records, there were Dodsons along the Chesapeake Bay counties of Charles, Calvert and Anne Arundel, but those who migrated later into northern Ohio were Dotsons.

In one Dotson family, the father, son and grandson in the late 1700s and early 1800s are recorded as Dotsons. However, by the time the grandson migrated to Missouri and then on to Oregon, he and all his future descendants used the spelling of Dodson. There are other examples of living people sharing the same distant ancestor, with one bearing the surname of Dodson while the other is a Dotson.

Male DNA testing accurately reflects direct lineage from son to father, grandfather, great grandfather and back through many male generations. The number of matches with other males can show the generational distance of a common ancestor and help sort family lines with common surnames. As the results match with other men tested, one may be able to trace to a shared or "most common recent ancestor".

DNA test results can also prove that common names and locations do not always mean relationships. For example, a Richard Dotson was born in 1752 in Frederick County, Virginia. At the time there was a John Dodson family living less than 50 miles away. With names and locations, it was thought there were probably family connections. DNA results showed there was no relationship between these families, with Richard connected to a Chester County,Pennsylvania Dodson line, and John Dodson to a Richmond County, Virginia line. Later, one more Dotson family showed up in the same area, but again DNA tests showed that the new family was neither related to the Richard Dotson line nor to the John Dodson family. Before DNA tests, the assumption was that families were most likely connected if they shared names and lived in the same locations.

While helping to answer some questions, male Dodson-Dotson DNA testing has produced a new mystery. While several men from a Dodson-Dotson line show matches with other Dodson-Dotson males from their common line, they also share matches with several men who descend from a North Carolina Denson line. The most distant ancestor of the Dodson-Dotson males has been documented back to a Dodson line in Pennsylvania, while the ancestor of the Denson males has not yet been documented to that same generation. 

So, the question remains, were the Densons. Dodsons - or were the Dodsons, Densons? Neither line has shown any interest in changing their surname.

When researching your lineage, be sure to check under all possible spellings. And if you come across a new name, do not be surprised.

Common Problems in Researching Early Ancestors

 Problems we all Face in Research

 1. In the past, ladies of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) and gentlemen of the SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) were diligent, often way too diligent, about trying to match themselves up with a Revolutionary War ancestor, a necessary requirement to become a member. In many cases, there are two or three different lineages all claiming the SAME Revolutionary War ancestor.

2. A Name and a Location do not establish a relationship. In the 1700's you can find very common English given names such as Thomas, John, William, Richard, Samuel, Michael, Charles etc. and those names were repeated into the following generations. So to assume one Thomas is the SAME Thomas found later, is a stretch, without documentation. Another common practice is to assume if a person is found in one generation with a name, such as Michael, that the next generation Michael belongs to the same line. Maybe yes and maybe no. There were certain patterns that SOME people followed such as naming children for the grandfather, uncle etc. but this wasn't always true. Sometimes the children of with a certain name died, and someone by that name might be a cousin born about the same time. There are cases of re-naming a later child for a prior deceased child. So names do not establish relationships, and since families traveled together - uncles, cousins, fathers, sons and in-laws, there's usually not enough information to make a compelling case with an isolated name and location. 

3. There was no federal census report until 1790. The Maryland and Pennsylvania lists exist for that year, but the Virginia ones do not. The 1790 census only names the head of the household, and for males, only shows those over and under age 16. Not much help in identifying people, although the location can help IF there is other information about that person in the same location, and hopefully there was only one person with that name. No names of other household members are listed until the 1850 census. So from 1790 until 1850 we only have the head of the household named, and the age range. In 1800 for example, the head of household is usually the person listed as age 26 to 45 or 'over 45', so the over 45 could be born 1755 or much earlier, and the 26 to 45 person could have been born from 1755 to 1774 - not an exact science, allowing for a lot of guessing.

4. Tax lists can be helpful, particularly if there are several years available. If a person appears in tax lists and the census, that's usually an indication of settlement in an area. Of course many tax lists are missing. The ideal list is one found in Pennsylvania in 1814 that shows name, age, occupation, but that is rare. Usually, the lists will show the county, township, whether the person owns horses, cattle and other livestock and sometimes if the person owns land. Again with duplication of names, it's hard to decide if there were two different Johns over time, such as a father and then a son, or the same John.

5. Fortunately, there were people who were dedicated to research from documents before the Internet. The Internet is a blessing and a curse. Footnote has original documents scanned, particularly the Revolutionary War pension applications, muster rolls, etc. Ancestry has the census reports and more and more books with listings. So, those 2 sources of copies of original documents are helpful in research, but both require paid membership to search.  Google Books has many old history books on line, but consider if there is documentation included or if they are just family histories.

6. LDS records, Ancestry family trees, and trees posted on the Internet have produced many half-truths and misconceptions. Some records are partly true, or true to a point, but then people have stretched a name or an event based on a theory or a guess. I have no problems with theories, just don't post them on the Internet - or- be sure to state that it's unproven or there is no documentation. We have a case of one of our long deceased cousins who posted some information on the internet a long time ago. Some of it is wrong, but he's gone, so no one can change his posting. That's the type of problem the Internet produces for us.

A convincing lineage cannot be built with 'research' that is undocumented.

Help for Amateur Genealogists

Digging for your Roots to Find your History

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Please contact me directly by Email if you have specific questions or challenges, and I will be happy to help if I can.  Links on right will take you to specific topics which I will be adding to and updating.  I have been researching for years and each day is a "new day" of discovery.

Our family history has been part of the nucleus of the larger world. Our families were where we found food, shelter, protection, provision and social interaction in our early years. Much later in life when we begin to yearn for the protection and comfort of family, many of the special people of our youth are gone. Those people were important since we share their biological genes and often their dreams. They are a part of who we are today, how we live and how we believe.  Information about the ancestors who have created our very beings will hopefully make us more secure in the understanding of their humanity, and that they were not just names in old Bibles or on tombstones. These people lived in a changing country and faced ordeals we can only read about. At the same time, they faced the age-old decisions about love, marriage, caring for a family, religion, education, sickness and death, the same as we face.  

Betty Dotson Renick