Don't Know Much about Philosophy

Don't know much about philosophy. Wow... now, I have the tune from Sam Cooke's 1960 "Wonderful World" song (You can look it up) stuck in my head.

But, today I am risking thinking about philosophy because, on my flight home from SCGS Jamboree, I read Stephen Hatton's article about philosophy and genealogy in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly ("Thinking Philosophically About Genealogy," NGSQ, March 2016, 5-18).

Hatton argues that philosophy can do five things for genealogy:

• Deepen understanding of genealogy and its key concepts and presuppositions,
• Support genealogy's theoretical grounding,
• Produce a more firm foundation for the Genealogical Proof Standard GPS),
• Increase appreciation of research challenges and common errors, and
• Improve relations with other disciplines, which might improve genealogy's standing in academia.

 Like I said, I don't know much about philosophy, but it does seems pretty important to me. Wikipedia tells me that classic philosophical questions include those of whether it is possible to know anything, or to prove its existence. As a genealogist, that sounds like a pretty core question to me. In fact, I often open genealogy lectures with a slide simply asking HDYKWYTYK? -- How do you know what you think you know?

Hatton's article explores the ontology of genealogy. "Ontology" is not I word I feel very comfortable with, but I understand it to mean something about the study of the nature of things that exist -- and therefore can be talked about and studied. Hatton suggests three ontological views of the human subjects (mostly dead) that genealogists study. They can be a "substance" with properties, a "lived being" with passions, or an entity (person) shaped by events. What I get out of the ensuing discussion is that people can be thought of as objects that have qualities, stand in relationship to each other, and both affect and are affected by events. This is a very generalized summary that very possibly does not do justice to Hatton's discussion. You need to read the article for yourself.

Hatton states that practitioners of genealogy and philosophy have yet to interact. That is probably mostly true, especially in the higher altitudes of academe. Yet, I would argue that genealogists who have contributed to the GPS and accompanying standards have done a good deal of philosophical thinking. In fact, I have known many genealogists who seem capable of thinking philosophically about genealogy without being in the same room with a philosopher. Hatton also contends that genealogy "has not sufficiently provided its own theoretical grounding," adding that "Ground refers to what is fundamental, from which other things derive and are understood, explained, and built" (p. 8). Again, I am certain genealogy can do better, but I do think we have made significant progress.

When Craig Scott and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy issued a call for colloquium papers that would "advance the theory of genealogy," I stuck my neck and and submitted a paper that discussed genealogical education, evidence-based genealogy, and genealogy's place in the "knowledge world." I suggested that an important step toward making genealogy a credible discipline was to define core concepts. I suggested six: maternity and paternity, lineage, ancestry, kinship, heritage, and biography.
I don't think I said much that others hadn't already thought, but if you are interested in these kinds of ideas and the kinds of question that Hatton raises, you might want to check out my article ---"The GPS and Beyond: Challenges for a Genealogy Profession," Crossroads, Spring 2015, 18-25).

I am certain that other genealogists around the world are having lively discussions about the philosophy of genealogy, but I don't hear a lot about those discussions from where I sit. I hope those discussions continue and grow.

I don't think I have a lot more to say about this topic, so I might not return to it in this blog any time soon. Rather, I am thinking I will start in on the Tidball family saga -- which puts me in mind of Tim Conway's Mr. Tudball character on the Carol Burnett show! O.K., that should get "Wonderful World" out of my head.

What Next? SCGS Jamboree!

Several recent posts have featured the family of George S. Fawkner, who was born in Indiana, fought in the Civil War, married and took his family to Illinois and Minnesota, traveled the West as a government land inspector, and died alone in San Francisco in 1897.

George had three daughters.

• Jennie escaped possible murder as a teenager (May 19 post), married Thomas Parker Pease in 1887, and died from childbirth complications in 1888. The baby also died.
• Fariebelle married Herbert Braden in 1892 in St. Paul. He died in California in 1903, leaving Farie with a young child -- who, in turn, died unmarried at age 19 in Chicago.
• Katharyn never married and, to the best of anyone's knowledge, had no children. She died in Los Angeles in 1954 at age 76 -- even though her death certificate said she was only 70.

That's right, George S. Fawkner has no descendants. But, he had nephews and nieces and cousins, which makes him a part of many people's family history.

This week's post, scheduled for June 2, will tell more of the story of Jennie, Fariebelle, and Katharyn. This weekend, one of my presentations at the Southern California Genealogical Societies Jamboree 2016 (http://genealogyjamboree.com/) will feature the story of how Katharyn, who had never lived east  of Indianapolis, came to be buried in New York City after her death in California.

See you in Burbank!

"A Pernicious Habit"

St. Paul Globe, 14 May 1882, p. 10; Chronicling America image

If you read last week's post, you know the tragic ending of the teenage romance of Jennie Fawkner and Albert Drake. More than 130 years later, a reader of the article in the St. Paul Daily Globe can not know how faithfully the facts were reported, but the essential fact is clear -- a 16 year-old boy died on the streets of St. Paul as result of a romance gone sour.

The boy was far too young to die. Both families must have been devastated. This is real family history that can never be totally swept under the carpet.

The incident occurred on a downtown street, in broad public view. The front page coverage surely made the incident the talk of the town. A gun was involved. This was not the wild west; this was St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, nearly 25 years after statehood. In the next issue of the Globe (14 May 1882, p. 10), a stirring letter to the editor spoke to an issue that is with us yet today.

 Apropos to the untimely end of young Drake by suicide... is it not about time for the proper authorities to initiate more stringent measures to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapon[?] It is true that the law forbidding it exists, but it is equally true that it is, with rare exception, a dead letter upon our statutes... or city laws.

The anonymous letter writer asserted that as many as two-thirds of all boys 14 and older carried weapons, and urged the police to make "sudden and unannounced" searches for the weapons.

St. Paul Globe, 14 May 1882, p. 10; Chronicling America image

He (or she) added:

There seems to be a morbid desire in our youth to be the owner of such an implement of death; he seems to attach a certain greatness to it; it makes him feel like a man! Ah, there's the rub! Men set the example and youth is bound to imitate. The question naturally arises, "Why do so many men carry concealed weapons?"

 The writer acknowledged that "the law-abiding and orderly class of citizens" feel the need to carry guns for self-defense, but went on to lambast lawyers for using the law to protect criminals.

The story and the letter are eerily similar to stories and commentaries we read today -- although today drugs or gang grievances might be involved. This is a nonpolitical blog -- or nearly so. Opinions varied then and opinions vary now. I draw two lessons from the newspaper story and the letter to the editor. First, newspapers are a wonderful source for getting a feel for the places and times our ancestors lived. Second, today is not as different from the past as we like to think.

A Singular Suicide: Tragedy finds the Fawkners

Unexpected family history stories are buried in historical newspapers, and the explosion of searchable digitized images of them makes it easier than ever to find news about your family.

While searching for news about the George Fawkner family of St. Paul, Minnesota, I stumbled upon a story printed in the 11 May edition of The Albert Lea Standard, published in Albert Lea, Minnesota, about 100 miles south of St. Paul. This story popped up because the optical character recognition had caught the name "Fawkner" in a story titled, "A Shooting Sensation in St. Paul." I at first thought the search engine had given me a false positive hit -- that is, I though the OCR had mistaken another name for Fawkner. Then, four lines into the story, my eyes caught "the daughter of Mr. George Fawkner."

The opening passage of the article read: "A singular suicide occurred in St. Paul recently. A school boy affection on the part of Albert Drake, a sixteen year old, for Miss Jennie, the fifteen year old daughter of Mr. George Fawkner, developed into a wild and frantic passion." When Jennie's mother "delicately broke the news" of her objections due the the youth of the parties, Drake "was inspired by jealousy to take her life." After Jennie "by presence of mind" frustrated his efforts, he turned the pistol on himself. That's it -- just the facts.

I have used the article in lectures about historical newspapers to make a rather pedestrian point. Notable stories were often picked up by distant newspapers. The search engine I was using did not pick up this story in the St. Paul newspaper, but found it in the Albert Lea paper. Had I limited my search to St. Paul, I would not have found it. I thought it odd that the story had not appeared in St. Paul.

St. Paul Daily Globe, 2 May 1882

Well, it had. A week earlier. The newspaper search engine I was using just didn't find it because the St. Paul paper spelled the name "Fawker." The morning after the tragedy, the St. Paul Daily Globe (4 May 1882) carried the news in column 1 of page 1. And, the St. Paul paper went into much greater detail, albeit somewhat vaguely.

From the parties interested and those who saw the shooting the following particulars have been obtained. Some months ago Albert Drake, the boy shot shot himself, and who, had he lived, would not have been 16 years old till August next, commenced going with a little girl named Jennie Fawkner. The little Fawkner girl is about the age of the boy, probably not quite as old -- a little over 15 years.

The Daily Globe related that the Fawkners lived in "the brick dwelling on the southeast corner of Eighth and Minnesota Streets" (pull out the city directories and Sanborn fire insurance maps!). Jennie was of "slight build, dark hair and eyes, and interesting and bright in conversation." Albert, the son of William A. Drake, had been attending Curtiss' Business college. Albert had never formally called at the Fawkner home; he and Jennie had met as schoolmates.

Several days before the tragedy, Jennie had told Albert about her mother's concerns, but he did not seem overly agitated. They had conversed normally at church, but on Wednesday morning he was "pale, nervous, and ugly." When Jennie and her sister encountered Albert on the way home from school, he pulled a pistol from his pocket and "placed the muzzle of it close to her face." She ran. He fired and missed. As the two raced up Eighth Street, a young man took note of the situation and rescued Jennie by pulling her into a store. Witnesses thought Albert believed he had killed Jennie. Near the corner of Eighth and Pine, he shot himself (witnesses heard two shots in rapid succession).

The newspaper story gives more details that neither Fawkner nor Drake descendants would enjoy (George Fawkner has no living descendants). The young man who rescued Jennie was identified as Edward Erickson.  One wonders if his descendants have heard the story.

Finally, the newspaper noted that the revolver used was known as the "Bull Dog" pattern, with a barrel about three inches long. Today, gun rights are a hot political issue. What did St. Paul denizens think in 1882? Next week's blog tell what one reader of the Daily Globe thought.

Gravestones in Grandpa Steve's Briar Tract

The blogger is in Mason, Ohio, awaiting Thursday morning's kick-off to the 2016 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference. This is my fourth appearance at the conference in five years.  My first visit in 2012 was a memorable one -- not just because of the great conference in Cincinnati.

Some 15 years ago, Grandpa Steve posted a story -- part creative writing and part non-fiction -- on an internet website for writers (https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/927940-Another-Bird-Sighting). He described a walk on a frosty morning from his home on Greens Bottom Road, just north of English, Kentucky, passing under Interstate Highway 71, to the Briar Tract to visit the old Demint Cemetery where his ancestors were buried.  Grandpa Steve's story captured my interest because of the following passage:

The trees may be 100 or 150 years old or even back to 1796 when Jarret Demint cleared this land and built a group of cabins, aided by his brothers-in-law Jacob Lamb, John Faulkner, and Dan Rollins who later had his garden by the pear trees.

It's a long story that needs to be told elsewhere, but John Faulkner was my wife's 3rd-great-grandfather. He is not buried in the Demint Cemetery -- he died in 1839 in Hendricks County, Indiana. But, his first wife (of four) was Elizabeth Nuttal, the daughter of Elijah Nuttal, might have been buried there. Elijah Nuttle owned several hundred acres of land along Mill Creek, where it empties into the Kentucky River. Jacob Lamb, Jarret Demint, and Dan Rollins (Rawlings) were other sons-in-law of Elijah Nuttal. They all received land from Elijah's estate in the late 1790s.

A small piece of the longer story is part of a lecture I am giving Saturday at OGS. For now, let me tell you that during the 2012 conference, I drove to English, Kentucky, in hopes of finding and visiting with Grandpa Steve. I had managed to identify him and locate him from clus in the story he posted on the internet. About half way to English, I tried  calling. I got a "this number has been disconnected" message. I wondered. When I got to Greens Bottom Road, I stopped to ask directions of a couple of older men sitting out front of their house. They told me that Grandpa Steve had died four months earlier. I never got to meet him (I had talked to him on the phone several times). I searched, but could not find the cemetery.

Fast forward to today, 27 April 2016.  We returned to English. Knocked on a few doors. Met Grandpa Steve's cousin, who told us where to look for the cemetery. We found it. Completely overgrown. Muddy and wet from an overnight rain. Fill of thorny brambles. But, I found three stones, including those of James and Elizabeth English -- namesakes of the town. There are supposed to be several more stones there, but I would have needed a machete to find them. Still, it was an amazing experience.

I must stop here. I have much to do before tomorrow's lecture, and the conference center internet is acting up, making it difficult to save this post on Blogspot. I have a great photo of the English stone, but the wireless refuses to upload the image to Blogspot.  I will add it later if I can. (I think I just  managed!) Meanwhile,  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it survives the wireless and publishes as scheduled tomorrow morning. 

Vernal Equinox Musings

The vernal equinox is upon us. The sun will sun due west -- if I'm not mistaken, everywhere on earth this evening (I guess somewhere far the the east it is already on its way down).  Every place will have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark -- possibly give or take a few minutes because of orbital anomalies I don't understand.

So, while I should probably be working on my regular Thursday blog, it seems a good morning to break away from the usual and share a few fun experiences of the past several days.

First, this past week I had the pleasure of speaking about writing in a webinar for the Writer's Special Interest Group of the Association of Professional Genealogists. We talked about how editors help broker the idea exchange between authors and readers.  What a nice group of writers and aspiring writers this is. I'm going to join the SIG. If you are an APG member and an aspiring writer, I recommend you do the same.

Second, this morning I found a very nice comment on my March 10 post ("My Favorite Question -- Why There?). The commenter shared that she also is intrigued with what I call geo-genealogy -- why ancestors did what they did where they did them. I enjoyed the story she related about her grandmother's body was transported from the Oregon Coast to Idaho for burial.

Finally, I received an interesting email that I nearly overlooked. The email was titled "Erik Andersson and More" -- which should have immediately grabbed my interest, but that I at first took as likely spam. The first sentence read "Today -19th March 2016 -- is the 130th anniversary of Erik Andersson's birth." Then it clicked: Erik Andersson was the Swedish-American farmer who applied for citizenship in Ringgold County, Iowa, the same day as my grandfather. The email writer is Erik's granddaughter. She had stumbled across my 19 November 2015 post. She said she learned from my blog things she had not known about her grandfather. In turn, she told me a few things I did not know. Most fun for me, she recalled memories of places in the small Iowa town where my grandfather lived -- the same places and people I remember from the 1950s.

Mornings like this make me glad that I am blogging regularly about family history. The clock is ticking, but I do hope to post my regular blog at its usual time later in the week. I will be picking up the story of George Fawkner after her came home from the Civil War.

What's in a Name?

What's in a name? Heck, what was the name?

This is the story of my Dutch grandmother's name. I really never knew her -- our lives overlapped by only about 18 months. I guess I must have heard my Dad and my uncles and aunts talk about her. I'm not certain, but I think they called her Kate --- when they didn't call her Ma.

She was known as Kate when shed died in 1951. Her obituary in the Sioux County Capital named her Kate. She is Kate on her gravestone. My Dad had entered her name as Kate Zorgdrager in some primitive home-made family group sheets he created on his pre-electric, heavy as an anvil, manual typewriter. In the early 1990s, when I started researching her ancestry, I did not have access to the 1930 or 1940 censuses, but both the 1910 and 1920 censuses recorded her as Kate. She was Kate in the registration of her 1903 marriage to Jan (aka John) Fonkert. She has eluded my searches in the 1900 census; she was not living with her parents in Holland Township.

Jan Fonkert and Kate Zorgdrager, 1903

From the marriage record, I knew that her parents were Sipke Zorgdrager and Trijntje de Vries. Censuses told me that Kate was born about 1883 or 1884 in Iowa.  I wish I could accurately remember the chain of events behind the story I am about to tell. Suffice it to say, it took me several years to fully understand why this beautiful Dutch girl was known as Kate.

At some point (back in the microfilm days, as I recall), I found the Zorgdrager family in the 1885 Iowa census of Sioux County. Sipke Zorgdrager had a 1-year old child named Tryntje. I had been expecting Kate. Sipke's wife was also named Trynte, I was  mostly convinced that Kate and  1-year old Trijntje were one and the same. However, I didn't see how Tryntje could have become Kate.

Even my Dad's birth certificate -- a "delayed" certificate issued in  1950 -- named his mother "Kate." Birth registrations for his sister, Nellie, and brother, Peter, also called their mother Kate.

Now comes the part I wish I could remember better. I had learned that that the Zorgdragers had come from Terschelling, a North Sea island just of the coast of Friesland, a northern province of The Netherlands. Using the WieWasWie index (http://www.wiewaswie.nl) of Dutch civil registration records, I can sort of reconstruct how I figured this all out.  First, I found several young girls on Terschelling named Catharina. Even more interesting, I found the K-version of the name fairly common on the mainland: Katharina, Katrijn, Katrijne. On Terschelling, I found many young girls named Trijntje.

If I had only had at hand a copy of Christine Rose's Nicknames Past and Present I could have just looked it up. In an appendix of Dutch and Frisian names, she states that Katrijn is the Dutch equivalent of Catherine and that the English names Kate or Kathleen derive from Katryntje.

It dawned on me that "Tryjn" was a shortened version of Kathrijn or Katharina. The, their was the matter of the "je" at the end of the name. At some point, I learned that the suffix "je" is a diminutive applied to female names, literally meaning small, but in the case of names indicating affection.

When I was struggling with these names 20 years ago, the Internet was in its infancy. Now, you can find numerous articles, and even a few videos about the "je" suffix. The first one I clicked on hit the spot. Try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTo31XqnhEk/.

So, was Tryntje a casual version of something like Trynt? Not quite. It turns out that Tryntje was a shortened version of  Kathryntje. Yep, Tryntje was derived from Katherina, and of course, in America Tryntje was anglicized to Kate.

 Only when I found my great-grandfather's will did I see an official record calling her Tryntje. Sipke Zorgdrager willed a portion of his estate to Tryntje Fonkert, and when she gave a receipt for $20 from the estate, she signed her name "Tryntje Fonkert." Kate's given name was Tryntje.

So, what's in a name? Would you care to guess about Zorgdrager? I will dig deeper into the Zorgdragers next week.

A final note on spelling -- The "y" in Tryntje is not really the letter "y." Instead, it is the Dutch letter ÿ, representing a "long i." Today, it is commonly typed as "ij." So, you might see either either Tryntje or Trijntje instead of Trÿntje. You can type "ÿ" by holding down the alt-key while typing 0255.

Eat Turkey, Give GenThanks

This blog usually comes on on Thursdays. Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday. What is a blogger to do?

Get the blog out early so that the Fonkert and Tidball families can read it before traveling over the river and through the woods to wherever they might be headed.

What is a genealogist to do on Thanksgiving? Eat turkey. Maybe watch some football (although the game that really matters is Friday). Give GenThanks.

Genealogists are thankful for all the usual things -- family and friends, good crops, plenty of food on the table, a roof overhead, beautiful land, and  the luxury of living in a civil society, to name a few. But, this is a genealogy blog, and genealogists give GenThanks for all the things ancestors have passed forward across time to us. Things like:

• Names -- what is your favorite ancestral name?
• Memories -- what story do you like most to re-tell?
• Traditions -- what is your favorite holiday meal?
• Recipes - Which side of the family does the scalloped corn recipe come from?

And, then there are genes -- those wonderful, hard-to-imagine sequences of nucleotides that chromosomes pass forward across generations. Genealogist give GenThanks for genes. I'm not going to wax eloquent, or wax at all, about DNA. But, on this Thanksgiving, I want to give brief mention to the four sets of great-grandparents that helped make our two daughters who they are. They are the eight individuals in places 8-15 on our daughters' ahnentafel charts.

Jan (John) Fonkert (8) and Trijntje (Kate) Zorgdrager (9). This set of great-grandparents make our daughters one-quarter Dutch, but Jan and Kate were American-born. Jan Fonkert's parents came from Zuid Holland -- his mother in 1848, his father in 1870. Kate's parents were born on Terschelling, a barrier island in the North Sea off the coast of Friesland.

Johan Emmanuel Månsson (Hanson in America) (10) and Edith Romkee (11). A 19-year-old who had lost an eye in a farm accident, came from Hyssna, Sweden, to Tingley, Iowa, in 1908. (Previous blogposts tell some of his story). Edith, or Eda, was born in Tingley to German parents -- Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Römbke and Cahta Gerloff. Yes, Römbke was Anglicized to Romkee or Romkey. The Römbkes came to southeast Iowa from Windheim on the Weser River. Cahta Gerloff, 17 and single, landed at New Orleans in 1846; her parents and birthplace are not known -- yet.

Aubrey Tidball (12) and Carrie Ehlenbach (13). Aubrey was born in Steele County, Minnesota, to John Tidball and Mary Ann Lee, who had emigrated from Bristol, England, just days after their marriage. Born at Arcola, Illinois, Carrie was a daughter of James Frank Ehlenbach and Elizabeth Ann Fawkner. Yes those Fawkners, the Fawkners I have spent much of the past six months blogging about. I'll be getting back to them soon.

 
Carl Ferdinand (Charles) Falk (14) and Barbra Kolberg (15). Swedish Charles Falk married Norwegian Barbra Kolberg in Two Harbors, Minnesota in 1919. Charles was one of 10 children born to a family that emigrated about 1890 from the parish of Drev in Småland. Barbra was born at Drøbak, south of Oslo. Barbra's mother, Anna Marie Morstad, brought five children to America in 1906 after her husband, Marthin Kolberg died. There are stories in the Morstad family to rival the Fawkners; perhaps I will eventually get around to telling some of them.

If my math is correct, this all adds up to my American daughters' heritage being one-fourth Dutch, one-fourth Swedish, one-fourth German (with a little Danish mixed in), one-eighth Norwegian, and one-eighth English (with some Irish and Welsh behind the scene). It's not the most exotic heritage, but it is what it is.

But, here's the thing with those genes: because father's and mother's DNA recombine every generation, not all ancestors' genes get passed down equally. Thus, these heritage fractions are not precise. The Swedish might have won out over the German. Let's just say this is a plain old Northern European heritage.

I leave you with one thought: Ancestors are not optional. We are here because they were. For better or worse.

Genealogy as a Conversation-starter

As we pulled away from Gate G15 at MSP, I pulled out my copy of Ancestors and Relatives: Genealogy, Identity and Community by Eviatar Zerubavel. Some of you might recall that it created a bit of a stir in the genealogy community when it was published earlier this year. The middle-aged businessman in seat 35A looked over and said, "That looks interesting." I said, "Yes," and explained that I was a genealogist. He actually knew what genealogy is. He proceeded to tell me that he had traced his Visser family back to the area of Sneek in Friesland. How interesting, I thought, and told him that I was flying to Yakima to give a couple of talks on Dutch and Fries genealogy. He thought that was pretty cool. He said he was flying home -- he had grown up in Whatcom County, Washington. "Oh," I said. "I know where that is. I've got some Dutch-Frisian relatives in Whatcom County. But, I couldn't remember the name. I started going through the alphabet, starting with "A," trying to think of familiar Dutch-Frisian surnames starting with each letter in hopes of recalling the forgotten name. When I got to "Z," it hit me: Zylstra. "Zylstra!" he said. "I went to school with some Zylstras." Well, that's cool, I thought. I started to remember more. "I think my Dad's cousin had twins," I said. The guy in 35C says, "I had a friend named Peter Zylstra. I think he had sisters who were twins." Yep, the guy in 35C was a schoolmate of my Dad's cousin's kids in Sumas, Washington. The Zylstras moved from Sioux County, Iowa, to Whatcom County, Washington, about 1920, as I recall. The guy in 35C says, "Oh, then they were the 'Old Dutch'." He explained that, in Whatcom County, the "Old Dutch" came before the Depression; the "New Dutch" came after. It turns out the nice guy in 35C lived for several years in Sioux County, Iowa, where my Fonkert relatives lived. Andy Visser still works for a company in Rock Valley, Iowa, but he commutes back and forth from his home on the Olympic Peninsula across Puget Sound from Seattle. Oh yes, about the book: the Zerubavel book is provocative. It's not really about genealogy as we know it, but more about how people identify in regards to race, ethnicity, and nationality. I'm going to blog about the book in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Genealogy and Science

From time to time, an interesting discussion erupts on genealogy mail lists about whether genealogy is a “science.” This is a tough question, and I think I am fully capable of oversimplifying it. It is also a good question, but, I think, the wrong question.

For starters, genealogy is indeed non-fiction. At least, its aims to be. Genealogists aim to ascertain chains of kinship, whether forward or backward in time. We do this by determining parent-child relationships. Hezekiah either was or wasn’t your ancestor.

That said, proof is often difficult. No matter how diligently we adhere to the Genealogical Proof Standard, we often can not state our conclusions with total certainty. DNA evidence can enhance our confidence, but we often must qualify our conclusions with words like “almost certainly,” “probably,” or “possibly.”

“Science” is commonly defined to involve observation, experimental investigation, testing of hypotheses and development of laws about the behavior of natural phenomena. When we think of science, we typically think of the physical sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology. But, broadly defined, the phrase “natural phenomena” can be extended to humans, and thus we sometimes talk of “social sciences” – sociology, psychology, political science, etc.

Most people don’t consider genealogy a science. Perhaps the most important reason is that genealogy is not experimental and is not concerned with establishing scientific laws – that is generalizations about relationships among phenomena that hold true under specified conditions (paraphrased from the American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition). History comes a bit closer to the extent that historians try to understand patterns in social, political or economic events, but the subject matter is so complex and the conditions so varied that historians find it hard to conclude that if A happens, B will follow.

So, genealogy is not a science. Who cares? For me, the more interesting question is: how do genealogical research methods compare to scientific method. Genealogists don’t run experiments in the same way scientists do, but they do observe data, develop hypotheses and draw conclusions. Many of the same rules of logic apply.

A famous philosopher of science (yes, there is such a thing), Karl Popper, said that a theory can not be scientific unless it is falsifiable. The basic idea is that, because it is so difficult to prove many things with certainty, we can approach truth by proving alternative theories false. Scientists posit a “null hypothesis,” and then set out to disprove it. If evidence suggests rejection of a null hypothesis, then the theory can be accepted with some confidence. For example, if a researcher hypothesized that all sheep are white, but null hypothesis would be that some sheep are not white. Because a researcher can never be certain that he has observed all sheep in the world, he can never prove that all sheep are white. That is, the all are white theory is not falsifiable. However, a null hypothesis that all sheep are not white can be proved with a single observation.

This principle applies to genealogy. Our research might lead us to hypothesize that the Hezekiah Hercules of was the father of Herky Hercules. We may never be able to prove the relationship, but we might be able to disprove it. If we can reject a series of hypothesized relationships, we may be left with only one plausible relationship standing.

Another principle of science is that of conceptual economy – that is, a preference for the simplest explanation among a set of competing theories with comparable explanatory power. Any particular theory may eventually be rejected, but this principle advises not making explanations more complicated than they need be. This problem arises often in genealogy. Many possible explanations, some of them Rube-Goldberg-complicated, may be available to explain why Great-Grandma Grace lived with her Aunt Alicia, but don’t dream up more complicated explanations than necessary. Unless you can disprove the simple explanation, it likely is true.

So, no, genealogy is not a science. But both scientists and genealogists make careful observations, develop theories about relationships, and draw defensible conclusions. This is what matters: skilled genealogists do their research with much the same care as scientists. I think we should worry less about whether we are a science, and more about how we do our research and write our proof arguments.

Learning from Peers

One of the best ways to sharpen your genealogical knowledge is to ask questions, and among the best places to ask questions are the public and member-only lists of the Association of Professional Genealogists. APG is a professional association of more than 2,000 practicing or aspiring professional genealogists. Imagine the combined experience and knowledge of such a group!

Experienced researchers know the importance of understanding the cultural and legal context in which records were created. One of the challenges of genealogical research is that our ancestors did not sit still in time or place. One family I am tracking leads me back through Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky to 18th-century Virginia. Other branches take me back to 18th-century England, Scandinavia and The Netherlands. I can't possibly be expert in the history and culture of all these areas, so I must learn from others who are more expert.

Earlier this month (March 2011), I needed to know more about two things I was encountering in Kentucky records from the late 1700s and early 1800s. The first question dealt with abbreviations of given names. I found a name abbreviated "Jo." in an estate record. I was hopeful that "Jo." stood for John, which is often abbreviated "Jno." But, I knew "Jo." might also represent Joseph, which is more commonly abbreviated "Jos." To make a long story shorter, colleagues on the APG lists weighed in, offering examples of cases were "Jo." did appear to stand for John in records from that time period and earlier. Alas, despite examples of "Jo." standing for John, I have determined that, in the record I was looking at, it stands for Joseph.

My second question had to do with Kentucky tax records. I have found numerous cases where tax records for a particular county listed property located several counties distant. One bit of advice from the APG list-readers was: read the law. I did, and learned that Kentucky statutes explicity permitted taxpayers to list their property from several counties with the authorities in the county where they lived.

Because of the help of more knowledgeable genealogists, I am now a little smarter about Kentucky research. My advice: join APG and follow the members-only list. If you're not ready to join APG, take advantage of the public list. You can find information and APG and the two lists at www.apgen.org. Two thousands heads are better than just one!

APG in London

I fell off the blogging train a while back, but just returned from London, I am enthused again about making regular posts about some of my favorite family history and genealogy topics. The excuse for a winter-time trip to cool and rainy London was the big "Who Do You Think You Are" family history expo in London. I spent one day helping out in the Association of Professional Genealogists "stand" ("booth" in American) and rooming through the crowded exhibit hall. I haven't heard any final estimates on the crowd, but organizers were expecting something in the range of 17,000 attendees, and from what I saw, that number is believable.

You can read more about WDYTYA in several issues of Dick Eastman's newsletter from the last week. I got to meet not only Dick, but also genealogists from Hungary, Germany and the UK. We had a nice contigent of U.S. APG people there, as well.

As exciting as WDYTYA was, highlights of the trip were visits to Kew and Devonshire. To a genealogist, "Kew" means The National Archives, located in the western London suburb of Kew, close by famous Kew Gardens. It is perhaps the most user-friendly archive I have ever worked in. It was amazing to hold in my hands documents from a 1690s law case involving suspected ancestors of my wife.

A 2-hour train ride took us to Tiverton in North Devon, where we visited Barb's third cousin, once removed. Ron and Margaret live in a 17th century house on the edge of Exmoor. After a bountiful English dinner, we talked deep into the night about 400 years of family history. Perhaps, you can now tell why I feel regenerated after a 9-hour plane ride back to snowy Minnesota!

Family History is Immigrant History

We are a country of immigrants. The only difference between “New Americans” and “Old Americans” is time. Even descendants of the indigenous native North American population would probably find their ancestors came from somewhere else, if only the records went back far enough. Putting aside for the moment the question of who is legally and not legally here, we are all Americans.

For this reason, I was disappointed with Sarah Jessica Parker’s reaction near the end of her “Who Do You Think You Are” episode on NBC-TV this spring. When the WDYTYA folks led her back to her early American ancestors, she said something to the effect of, “I so glad to find out I’m really American.” Well, of course, she’s American! And, so are millions of more recent immigrants.

I am interested in genealogy and family history in part because it helps me understand how I came to be part of the American fabric. My most recent immigrant ancestor came from Sweden more than 100 years ago. My earliest immigrant ancestor came in 1834. I can not claim ties to New England Yankees or colonial Virginia, but my people have been here long enough that I have no first-hand experience with what it meant to be an immigrant immersed in a foreign culture and language.

Because we are aware of our roots, I would expect that most genealogists are less xenophobic that the population at large. If you haven’t thought much about the immigrant experience recently, you might want to pick up one of three books that I have recently read.

In The Late Homecomer (Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 2008), Hmong immigrant Kao Kalia Yang shares the experiences and emotions of a Hmong family uprooted in the jungles of Laos, warehoused in a Thai refugee camp, and transplanted in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Hmong are among the newest Americans, and have faced adjustments almost beyond the comprehension of we “old Americans.”

Ayaan Hirsi Ali reminds us that Europe is also an immigrant community. Infidel (New York: Free Press, 2007) recounts her life amidst the antagonisms of Islam, Christianity and a secular West. From a childhood in Somalia, fate takes Ali to Saudi Arabia, Kenya and eventually to the Netherlands, where she was elected to Parliament.

M. G. Vasanji takes us even farther afield in The In-betweenWorld of Vikram Lall (New York: Vintage Books, 2004). This book is enjoyable fiction, but it opens a window on the immigrant experience of an Asian Hindu living in a African nation during and after the British colonial era. Immigration is a global phenomenon.

These books won’t help you do genealogy, but they will help you appreciate family history. Happy reading.

Nova, Smolenyak and WDYTYA

Nova Southeastern University, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and the Producers of the TV series "Who Do You Think You Are" have all gotten something right: they have welcomed beginners into the family history-genealogy world.



One of my favorite public radio features, Composers' Notebook, ends each show with the reminder that "all music was once new." And, I might add, the composers were all once beginners. Although beautiful music seemed to pour forth effortlessy from Mozartian prodigies, the vast majority of composers had to learn their craft, progressing from the basics to the sublime.



Some of us started at an early age and many of us started later in life, but we genealogists all also had to start as beginners, learn about out subject matter and develop our craft. This is why I am so excited about Nova Southeastern University's 3rd Annual Genealogy Fair, where I spoke this April. Nova is a non-traditional private university in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, just north of Miami. One thing makes its Genealogy Fair unusual: it is free. Nova's Alvin ShermanLibrary strives to be a resource to the broader Broward County community. The library has a fine genealogy collection and an energetic outreach librarian in Kim Garvey. The library and the university see their free Genealogy Fair as a natural vehicle for community outreach.



The Nova Genealogy Fair is more than an open house with exhibits and vendor tables. Nova brings in top-notch genealogy educators for the day. I shared the program this year with Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak. Most genealogy conferences and workshops are sponsored by local or state genealogical societies. They put on high quality programs, but most have to charge a significant registration fee to cover costs of putting on the program. The people most willing to pay $25 or $35 for a day of classes are commonly people who have been into family history for a while. These local and state society programs often have difficulty attracting beginners, who aren't quite sure they are ready to put money into this family history thing.



When I asked for a show of hands, something approaching half of the attendees at Nova's Genealogy Fair had been doing family history research less than two years. Many were recent beginners (I'd rather call them beginners, or perhaps learners, than "newbies").



The price (free) probably had something to do with bringing in the beginners. Good publicity, including co-sponsorship from the Miami Herald, also probably helped. But, many of the beginners said they had gotten interested because of the NBC show Who Do You Think You Are. Some genealogists have grumbled that WDYTYA puts entertainment ahead of education, making family history research look a little too easy. But, do we really want them to make it look so hard that people get discouraged?



Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, the Chief Genealogical Consultant for WDYTYA, has written a companion book: Who do You Think You Are: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History. In my mind, writing a book for beginners, or people who haven't even yet begun, is more difficult than writing for more experienced readers. Megan is a superb communicator, and her book communicates something very important for beginners: family history is possible. In an easy-going and welcoming style, she welcomes newcomers to family history and genealogy.



I applaud Nova Southeastern University and Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak for their approach. It is a good thing to encourage people to give genealogy a try. Their encouragement gives us (genealogical societies and professional genealogists) an opportunity to teach. Some of these newcomers will be tomorrow's experts, and then be poised to help a whole new crop of beginners get started. Pass it on.

The GEO in GenEalOgy

More than once, I have accidentally typed "geography" when I meant to type "genealogy." Perhaps, this happens because I once was a graduate student in geography. Or, perhaps it is because genealogy and geography are so inter-connected in my mind.

One of my favorite lectures is entitled "The GEO in GenEalOgy." In this talk, I try to get people excited about the geographical aspects of family history research.

Genealogists often have a fascination for history. Studying our family history brings "real history" to life. Historical events were the backdrop of our ancestors' lives. Geography gives similar context to our ancestors' lives. If historical events are the backdrop, the land is the stage on which our ancestors lived. Our ancestors lived in both time and space. And, our ancestors didn't stand still. They moved around from place to place, leaving tracks wherever they went.

Why did our ancestors live where they lived? How did they get there? Why did they stop where they did. How did the natural environment influence their lives? Mountains and waterways channeled migration. Soil made farmers rich or poor. Climate made life comfortable or near to impossible. By learning about these things, we begin to better understand our ancestors' lives. Without modern climate control, high-tech water supply and water control technologies, or high-speed transportation, their lives were more influenced by the natural world than are ours (or so we think).

So, take the time to study maps and get to know the geography of your ancestors' lives. It will add a whole new dimension to your genealogical research.

(c) J. H. Fonkert, 2010.

You don't have to be a Celebrity

PBS (Faces of America) and NBC (Who Do You Think You Are) have done their part to make celebrities like Yo-Yo Ma, Emmit Smith, Meryl Streep and Lisa Kudrow look like ordinary people, emotionally moved as they learn about their ancestors.

Most of us aren't famous, but we have something in common with those celebrities: we also have ancestors. It's how we got here.

If you're new to genealogy and have just stumbled onto this blog, you might say something like "genealogists, geologists... what's the difference? They've both got rocks in their heads." Fair enough, but I actually think both rocks and ancestors are pretty interesting. As we chisel away at our family history, we learn a lot about our cultural heritage, the places our ancestors lived, and the times in which they lived.

When the original Who Do You Think You Are? program ran on British TV, millions flocked to genealogy. Many of us are hoping the same thing happens here. But, we are wary. The TV shows can make genealogy look both glamorous and easy, but we need to keep in mind that the networks and their sponsors had deep pockets to hire professional researchers to dig in courthouses, libraries and archives.

Genealogy is not quite that easy, but beginners need not despair. Much help is close at-hand. A little searching will turn up books, websites, podcasts and various other sources of help. I can't begin to list them all, but for beginners, I especially recommend guides at the familysearch.org, as well as Christine Rose's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Genealogy. The Minnesota Genealogical Society uses Rose's book for its beginning genealogy course.

Above all, I want to pitch the benefits of joining a local or state genealogy organizaton such as MGS. Genealogical societies offer libraries, classes, newsletters and journals. But, the best reason to join a genealogy organization is the opportunity it affords for meeting other people who share your interest in genealogy and family history. They are the best teachers because they have passion. And, they are typically pretty interesting people, to boot.

So, when you're talking about Who Do You Think You Are? over the office water-cooler, suggest that your friends join a local or state genealogical society. They'll get good help, and you'll be helping support a network of people who make the genealogical world go round.

J. H. Fonkert Publications

Writing is essential in genealogy. At different times, it is a device for preserving memory, organizing our thoughts and sharing findings and insights. I provide writing and editing assistance for genealogists and family historians that want a little help creating their family history book or report. Here is a resume of my genealogy writing.

Journal Articles

"Clara V. Moore and Carrie Peterson: Proving a Double Enumeration in the 1910 Census,” National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 96 (March 2008), 5-12.
“The GEO in Genealogy: Using Geographic Information and Maps in Family History,” The Septs, 28:2 (July 2007).
“In Search of Early Dutch Settlers in Minnesota,” Minnesota Genealogist, 39:1 (Spring 2008), 16-21.
“John Welhaven: the Case of a Borrowed Name,” Minnesota Genealogist, 38:1 (Spring 2007), 22-28.
“The Search for George S. Fawkner,” Minnesota Genealogist, 40:2 (Summer 2009), 22-26.
“Two A. P. Overlands in Fergus Falls: Sorting Out Identities,” Minnesota Genealogist, 39:2 (Summer 2008), 15-20.

Genealogical Education Columns in The Septs (journal of the Irish Genealogical Society, International)

“The Genealogist’s Best Friend: the Census,” 29:1 (January 2008), 20-22.
“Filling the Gaps in Your Family History Timeline: State Censuses,” 29:2 (April 2008).
“Tracking Ancestors to America: Records Marking Five Stages of Migration,” 29:3 (July 2008), 146-149.
“All Genealogists were Once Beginners,” 29:4 (October 2008) 188-190.
“Set the Table for Success: A Simple Technique for Making Sense of Your Evidence,” 30:1 (January 2009), 26-30.
“Beginning Genealogy: What to do When all the Pieces Don’t Come in the Same Box,” forthcoming 30:2 (April 2009).
“Following Clues Across the Water: The John Lee Family of England and Ireland.” 30:4 (October 2009), 170-73.

Magazine articles

“The Three C’s of Genealogical Research,” Family Chronicle (February 2009), p. 54.
“Six Morstad Siblings from Gran, Hadeland, Norway: Immigration to Wisconsin and Minnesota,” The Brua, quarterly of the Hadeland Lag, May 2006.

Review articles

“Some Family: The Mormons and How Humanity Keeps Track of Itself: Review and Commentary,” The Septs, 29:2 (April 2008), 98-102.
“Book Review: Joseph A. Amato, Coal Cousins,” Minnesota Genealogist, 40:2), Summer 2009, p. 30.
“Review: Genline Family Finder,” Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, 24:3 (September 2009), 119-20.

Self-published research reports

Investigation into the Origins of James C. Fawkner, 22 pp., October 2004. Self-published; copy in collection of Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne (IN), and Danville (IN) Public Library.
Ancestors of Carrie Ehlenbach: a Three Generation Kinship Determination Project, 56 pp., January 2007. Self-published; copy in collection of Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Root-digging at a "Cluster Reunion"

If you want to break through a genealogical brick wall, follow the associates -- that is, the extended family, friends, neighbors or business associates of your ancestor. This "big picture" approach to family history research is sometimes called "cluster genealogy." In her book, The Sleuth Book for Genealogists, Emily Anne Croom devotes an entire chapter to cluster genealogy.

I just returned from what might be called a "cluster reunion." This is a family reunion on a grand scale. In this case, it was the Dutch Cousins Reunion bringing together a diverse group of families associated with the Low Dutch Colony of Kentucky in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Led by Carolyn Leonard of Oklahoma, the Low Dutch descendants converged on Harrodsburg, Kentucky the last weekend in September.

Mind you, although I'm Dutch, I'm completely unrelated to the Low Dutch. But I'm researching an intrepid Methodist minister -- my wife's third great-grandfather -- who married a Low Dutch meisje. The marriage did not go well, but the resulting divorce case has given me new leads for my research. But, it was the people I met at the reunion that led to two unexpected leads.

First, I encountered the hero of the restoration of the Low Dutch church built in 1800. I'm not sure how he is connected to the Low Dutch, but it looks like he is a distant cousin of my wife. He is willing to do a DNA test that might prove my theory about the origin of John Fawkner.

Second, quite by accident, I heard another reunion attendee mention that she was from Montrose, Iowa. Did my ears perk up! I knew that two of John Fawkner's sons had lived in Montrose in the 1850s. I had never realized that their next door neighbors were Low Dutch from Kentucky. This discovery helps solidfy my working theory about family relationships.

The key to this reunion for me was the cluster part of it. This was more than a family reunion, it was a gathering of a community. I highly recommend the experience.

Family History Month In the Upper Midwest

October is Family History Month -- a popular time of year for genealogy conferences and family history fairs. The Minnesota Genealogical Society jumped the gun a bit with its 2nd Annual North Star Genealogy Conference September 18-19. It was a great success, a reflection both on our outstanding featured speaker, Claire Bettag, but also on our terrific cadre of volunteers who ran a seamless conference operation. Other Minnesota-based speakers who volunteered they services were Linda Coffin, Pat Coleman, J. H. Fonkert, Dixie Hansen, Harold Hinds, Lois Mackin, Tom Rice, Hamp Smith and Sandy Thalmann.

Family history buffs in the Upper Midwest might want to check out upcoming events in Iowa and Minnesota.

September 26 -- "Taking Root: Family History Workshop," Moorhead, Minnesota (http://survey.mnstate.edu/heritageed/workshop34/w34index.php) -- featured speaker Alan Mann.

October 3 -- Waterloo Public Library, Waterloo, Iowa -- Dr. Tom Jones, 4-session workshop

October 9-10 -- Iowa Genealogical Society Annual Conference, West Des Moines, Iowa (http://www.iowagenealogy.org/) -- featured speaker: Timothy Pinnock

October 24 -- South Central Minnesota Genealogy Expo, Mankato, Minnesota(http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/genie/expo.html) -- featured speaker J. H. Fonkert.

These are small, friendly conferences where you get the chance to get to know the speakers and other conference attendees. Make one of these meetings part of your Family History Month.

The Low Dutch Colony of Kentucky

They say you're not much if you're not Dutch. Well, I think that's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but it is a good thing to be Dutch. My Dutch ancestors settled in the 19th-Century Iowa Dutch colonies at Pella and Orange City. Yours perhaps went to Michigan or Chicago, or maybe Wisconsin. I think of the Midwest Dutch as the "New Dutch." That would make the 17th-Century Dutch in New York the "Old Dutch."

I don't have any "Old Dutch" ancestry, but I've become particularly interested in a slice of the New York-Pennsylvania-New Jersey Dutch who struck out for Kentucky in the 1880s. They formed a tight-knit colony in Mercer County, Kentucky, not far from the better known Shaker community at Pleasant Hill (to which a few Dutch defected). A group of descendants from this so-called "Low Dutch" colony is holding its third Dutch Cousins Gathering September 23-27 in Harrodsburg.

I'm going to attend. Why? Because I have been researching an elusive Methodist minister who married a daughter of the Dutch Cozine family about 1817. I don't know where John Fawkner was born, but he was married at least once before he married Ida Cozine. The Fawkner-Cozine marriage apparently didn't end very happily. I suspect religion might have played a part. At any rate, on my way to the Dutch Cousins reunion, I'm going to spend some time in the Kentucky state archives researching Ida's divorce suit against John.