Genealogical Assumptions

Blogger tells me this is a draft so I'm hitting the Publish button again.  Scroll down for NEWS.

I research ALL my family lines: matrilineal and patrilineal.  I also, out of necessity, sometimes have to research collateral families (mostly related by marriage).

I've been doing a lot more research lately.  No, not because of the pandemic but because I rejoined WikiTree and it's opened up a lot of new paths for research and it's also taught me a lot.  I highly recommend WikiTree.  It's completely free.

In addition, all the well-known family history web sites, as well as many lesser known sites, add new data constantly.  My Links page has links to most of them.  It's a good idea to check all of them fairly regularly.

As I've been so frantically busy with all this new family history activity, I've noticed a lot of assumptions that I make in searching for ancestors.  I've also noticed assumptions that most of these web sites also make.  I've also noticed assumptions that family members make about our families.

Here are some:

1.  The family name we now have was always the same.  

First, if you could see the list of variant spellings I have for some of my families' surnames, you'd understand that this is a ridiculous assumption.  My maternal grandfather's surname; spelled, in our family, BEISMER, has between 42 and 52 variant spellings; and I still don't have their origin.  The Beismer spelling appears to have appeared in my family with my great grandfather, although I have no signature of his so I have no idea how he spelled his name.  Before him, though, the name was spelled differently.

Second, spelling, in general, was not so well defined in the not so distant past.

Next, many of of ancestors, probably most, came from European countries where English was not the primary language and many who arrived did not read, speak or write English.  Some changed their surnames to look and sound more English and to be understood, quite soon after arrival.  

In addition, where you see documents for and about your ancestors, most were written by someone other than your actual ancestor.  They wrote what they heard, in many cases; this resulted in errors; as well as the fact that some of those same "officials" who completed documents about your ancestors had terrible handwriting and later transcriptions exacerbated the situation.

NOTE: I have begun to collect signatures of my ancestors, when I can find them, in digital form for just this reason.

I am, shortly, going to begin two different one-name studies for surnames in my family where I'm at brick walls and can't find the next generation back.  This appears, in some cases, to be caused by surname variants.  If I have 20 variant spellings to check every time I need to find out something about an individual or his parents, it's very likely that I'll miss something in the process. News of those studies, which will be done though WikiTree and the Guild of One-Name Studies, will be posted here from time to time.

2.  Our ancestors were married, formally, officially, in a church or by clergy.

My assumption, in contrast, is that, if I don't find an "official" marriage document (a legal document) or a church record, they were common law.  

Most of my ancestors were in New York State at some point.  Vital records for New York began to be officially required and kept in about 1880.  Early compliance was not strictly adhered to and the maintenance of early records was, by experience, not the best.

Many of my ancestors lived in very rural areas.  Some were quite poor.  Getting somewhere to "be married" might have been difficult for some people.

3.  In connection with the previous assumption, our ancestors were members of a church.

In most cases, yes, but we can be quite sure that not all our ancestors were religions or attended church.  And, churches, as they do, are very determined to get everyone under their roofs somehow.  Churches were and are very important historically as a central institution for the communities where they were located.  But, like people today, everyone was not interested in religion and church.

NEWS

I have joined The Guild of One-Name Studies as part of the suggestions at WikiTree for conducting a one-name study.  I'm conducting 2 one-name studies: The Beismer Name Study (with variants) and The Wormuth Name Study (with variants).  There will shortly be web pages for each study at The Guild so you can see what's being done.  You can also check on the studies at WikiTree by using the study links above.  Remember, WikiTree is always free.

I will include news from WikiTree and The Guild from time.

Accuracy is most important

 Having been a member of WikiTree now for several months, I am appreciating more how important accuracy is.

Just because you find a relative's name in some document doesn't mean it's them.  In most cases, there are many people with the same name.  I've actually checked on several social media sites for people with my name; there are quite a few.

As you may know, there's more often than not one child in the family who's named for the father.  A junior has the identical name as his father, not just his first name.  And, a II, 2nd, doesn't have to be the very next generation, it can be a grandson, even a great grandson..  Jr., II, III are accurate ONLY if the names are identical: first, middle and surnames.

Just because your mother, father or grandparents told you something, doesn't make it true.  I can't tell you how many "family stories" or family legends have fallen by the wayside since I began researching my families because records just tell a different story - and not just one record.

If your grandmother said Uncle Whatever was born on October 12th, but his birth certificate says the 9th and a baptismal record says the 9th, and his enlistment record says the 9th, then he was born on the 9th and Grandma was wrong.  Grandparents can be WRONG.  So can parents.

MOST OF THE FAMILY TREES ONLINE ARE INACCURATE.  Most have NO SOURCES.  If they have no sources of where the information came from, the only use they have is a hint to a possibility that requires more research to determine of the posted information is real.

I will NOT believe anything you tell me about our joint family history unless you have documents to back up what you think you know.  In most cases, I HAVE.

I will admit that there are terrible errors on "official" documents, but no documents means NO ACCURACY, NO PROOF.  I try to find a birth, marriage and death record for everyone in my database.  And, if I can find more than one of each; and, if I can find other documents backing up those facts, all the better.

You may think I'm being picky but I was born on a specific date, in a specific place, to specific parents and I have a document to prove it.  Same with my son.  If anyone says differently, I have grounds for a suit of some kind.

If you don't think it matters, then it won't matter to you if I start spreading a rumor that your parents weren't your parents and you were born in another country and you're 5 years younger than you say you are.  DO YOU GET THE PICTURE?!

PLEASE STOP POSTING INACCURATE FAMILY TREES ONLINE.  If you don't have documents to substantiate your posts, you're just writing fiction and creating a lot of chaos and confusion.  If you've already posted a family tree somewhere, please, remove it.

If you think I'm making this too big a deal. Tell me this:  Does it matter to you that your car mechanic knows what she's doing while working on your car and is accurate in diagnosing and repairing things?  Does it matter to you that your dentist fills the correct tooth?  Does it matter to you that your doctor correctly diagnoses what's wrong with you and the treatment is dispensed accurately?  You'll know right away if your optician doesn't give your the correct lens prescription, won't you?  Does it matter to you that the cashier gives you the correct change?  How many more ways can I say it:

ACCURACY MATTERS

New 4th Cousin

NEWS

I just "met" another 4th cousin a couple of days ago through WikiTree.  It's always fun.

New About page.  See the tab at the top.

The Beismer Name Study has begun.  

What, exactly, is a One-Name Study.  Here's the definition from WikiTree"

"A One Name Study (ONS) is a project that focuses on researching all occurrences of an individual surname. The objective of a one-name study is not just the collection of data and names; The ultimate aim of an ONS is to research the genealogy and family history of all persons with a given surname. As a part of an ONS, researchers attempt to identify and understand items including, but not limited to:

• Name origins (or earliest references);
• Name meanings (are they matronymic, occupational, patronymic, topynomic, etc.);
• The relative frequency or occurence of the name;
• Patterns in migration; and
• Name variations and specific name branches."

In this study, we (mostly me right now), will be studying the Beismer surname as well as all the variant spellings I can find.  I will not be researching the Bessemer (steel)  surname or surnames that look similar but are pronounced Bays-mer.

I can use help.  There's a lot of work to do.  Any little bit of help would be appreciated.  In order to help, you have to join WikiTree.  IT'S FREE.  And, you have to read and be willing to follow the Honor Code that you will find there.  It's also a good idea to read most of what's in the One-Name Study Project pages and watch some of their videos.  It's fun.  Really!!  News from the study will be posted on the Surname page in this blog (see the tabs at the top).

While you're at WikiTree to consider helping with the study, you can look up relatives to see if they're there.

And

The Wormuth Name Study has begun.  

Read what's written about the above study; the same for the Wormuth Name Study.  News from the study will be posted on the Surname page in this blog (see the tabs at the top).

Please come and help.  While you're at WikiTree to consider helping with the study, you can look up relatives to see if they're there.  

Thank you.

I looked for a photo that could be related to the News. I know the man on our right is Silas Beismer, my great grandfather.  The man on our left is either a Beismer, a Wormuth, or a Swartwout.  If you know who he is, let me know.  Thank you.