Genealogical
research reveals generational and cultural influences that impact an individual
in unexpected ways, and can yield greater insight into one’s personal identity
and into God’s purposes in arranging the pathways of earthly life. My
decades-long research into my own family has uncovered much more than I ever
expected: immigrants, soldiers, farmers; Jews, Protestants, Catholics; wealthy
gentry, working-class poor, and a somewhat infamous bookmaker. This is a legacy
of many disparate influences through generation after generation.
A brief how-to of family
history research.
Historical
records tell stories. Birth, marriage and death records yield the following hard
data: the legal name of the subject, parents’ names, residence, occupation,
event dates and locations. Census records indicate the age of the subject
during the year of census, names of other family members in the household,
occupations, street addresses, and whether the house is owned or rented. Ships’
passenger lists often state the occupations and intended destinations of the
immigrants. Other data that tell the story of a person’s life are found in
naturalization records, draft cards, city directories, and tax records. This
list is by no means exhaustive, and most of the records can be found online.
The introduction
of online sources several years ago opened up a new era of accessibility in
family history research. Websites such as www.ancestry.com, www.archives.com,
and www.findmypast.com are powerful databases containing records collected from
repositories all over the world. Basic data (a name and a date) entered into a
search form on one of these websites results in a list of possible records that
pertain to the subject. The researcher reviews the records and looks for clues,
and the software builds the family tree with the appropriate connections
between people. An added benefit of Ancestry.com is that it offers a networking
aspect, allowing researchers to connect with each other and to share
information and photographs of the same family.
In addition to
online sources, there are many repositories offering a variety of historical
records to the public. The National Archives (in Washington, DC, and in
regional centers around the country), state and county archives, and historical
associations and libraries all have extensive collections of records for the
genealogical researcher.
The initial
process of research is easy and straightforward, however the more deeply one
researches, the more puzzle pieces are unearthed, the more interesting the
family tree becomes. The unique factors that influence a person’s life are
found beyond simple names and dates.
Connections and conclusions
In order to fully
understand a person’s history, it is imperative to synthesize the data with the
context of the time period and with other circumstances of the individual or
family members. For example, in Europe and America, the more respected a
parent, the more likely they would have grandchildren named for them. My
great-great-grandmother, Anna J. Trotter, fled the Irish Potato Famine of 1851
with her husband and toddler daughter. She was nearly eight months pregnant at
the time of sailing, enduring several weeks of arduous conditions in steerage
class in order to make a new life in the New World. She gave birth within a
month after making landfall in New York. By the end of her long life, Anna had
no fewer than five granddaughters named for her. Those facts were culled from
the following records: the ship’s passenger list, the date of her third child’s
birth, and the later census records of her grown children’s households. What is
not contained in the hard data, but is very clear on reflection, is that my
great-great grandmother was a woman of character and faith who was esteemed by
her children. That is a legacy a family can treasure and emulate.
A very different
example is found in the case of my great-great grandfather, William Gordon
Schanck. William sustained multiple wounds from combat in the Civil War, and he
was captured and held in a Confederate prison camp for three weeks before
escaping. He served his full three year enlistment despite the wounds, the
capture, and persistent dysentery. Upon arriving home, he found that his wife
had died and he had become a single father of a young son whom he barely knew.
He ended his days some fifty years later in a charitable home for the poor. The
bald facts are gleaned from military pension records, census records, a 1942 newspaper
account of his eldest son’s eightieth birthday celebration, and a death
certificate.
The sad saga
shown in the data led me to research the context of William’s war experience in
order to find the rest of the story. A Google search turned up a narrative
history of the regiment in which William served, which illuminated what was
already known about William himself: after barely one month of training, the
regiment was shipped out and thereafter constantly in combat, participating in
some of the most brutal fighting of the Civil War, including the infamous
Battle of Shiloh and Sherman’s March to the Sea. Today William’s condition
would probably be diagnosed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and he would be
treated and understood. Instead his life deteriorated into behaviors of failure
and damage: he contracted a second marriage and fathered two more children, was
divorced in short order by his second wife and permanently estranged from all
three of his offspring; he died alone and destitute not forty miles from his
eldest son. This is a legacy of utter brokenness.
The challenges
and the failures of previous generations provide understanding and a deeper
capacity to forgive in the present day. Empathizing with an ancestor’s
circumstances instills a sense of place in a family continuum and provides
valuable perspective on the life God gives each individual. I am proud to be
Annie Trotter’s great-great granddaughter, with her legacy of faith and
backbone in the face of adversity. I’m also proud to be the descendant of Civil
War veteran William Schanck, for from his sad life came valuable lessons about
pain and loss.
Bibliography
Ancestry.com.
Provo, Utah; c. 2007-2013; http://corporate.ancestry.com/about-ancestry/
Findmypast.com.
Venice, California; c. 2013; brightsolid publishing online;
http://www.findmypast.com/content/company-information
Findmypast.co.uk. London, United Kingdom; c. 2013; brightsolid
online publishing limited.
http://www.findmypast.co.uk/content/about-findmypast/company-info
Archives.com.
c. 2013. http://www.archives.com (No company location available.)
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