15 Reasons That Genealogy is Like Gardening

I am what I call a “potter” gardener. I don’t mind getting out there on a nice day, and just pottering around, doing a big of weeding, pruning, planting new plants, finding others that I don’t remember planting and so on.

And it was while I spent some time outside doing some gardening recently and getting some important vitamin D in as well … it occurred to me that gardening is rather like genealogy,  and not just because they both involve trees.

So here’s what I came up with …

  1. Like gardening, your tree is NEVER finished
  2. Both involve LOTS of digging
  3. Like gardening, from time to time you do have to prune branches off your tree
  4. There’s no doubt about it … both gardening ad family tree-ing take time
  5. Like weeding, every little you can do helps you see results
  6. Like gardening, it’s super exciting when you discover something new – something you didn’t know existed
  7. Not sure about you, but I love colour, both in my garden, and in my family history. And as researchers we love those colourful characters don’t we!
  8. Like gardening, from little things big things grow (well that’s the theory, and it sometimes works)! Start with a name or two … and in time you’ll have a family tree
  9. Like actual trees, some family trees are spread wide, while others are narrow but tall (more direct line type trees)
  10. When gardening you’ll come across different soil types. Some nice and soft, others like clay hard or with lots of rocks. Obviously when planting there, they take more effort and more time to nurture what grows there. This reminds me of brickwall. it’s do-able, but they take a lot more time and effort.
  11. There will ALWAYS be weeds in your garden, and in your family tree as well. They are those you need to verify if they are actually part of your tree or not (eg. which of the 5 William Slater’s born in a particular village within a 5 year period is yours?)
  12. Just like gardening, you’ll need different tools for the job when doing your family history (a family tree program, websites, charts to fill in, guide books, original records and so on)
  13. If you’re like me you probably work on different sections of the garden, depending on what catches your eye at the time … the same goes with genealogy. Multiple different trees, or branches, not to mention the BSO (Bright Shiny Objects) we get sidetracked by
  14. Like gardening, if you don’t ‘tend’ to your family tree (aka keep working on it) it can get out of control
  15. Enjoy the fruits of your labour. Sit back every now and then and take in all the hard work that you’ve done with researching, and think of the amazing legacy you’ve created for the next generation.

So there you go. Gardening is not unlike genealogy at all. So next time you’re out in the garden (which could be a while for me, as winter is starting to set in) … just think of how similar it is to you doing family history.

Happy gardening!

The Ultimate Checklist: 79 Places to Look for Family History Information

So you’ve embarked on the super-exciting journey of family history … the journey where you discover not only who your family is and was, but in many instances yourself as well.

You’ve started off by writing down all the information that you currently know about yourself, your spouse, your children, your siblings and your parents (names, dates, places etc).

The next step is to look for items that are likely to help you with more information.

Everyone knows about the birth, death and marriage certificates as a source of information. But had you thought of looking in your baby book, on x-rays, or your drivers licence … all of these have valuable information about the person they relate to, and therefore all are sources.

So if you thought you had looked EVERYWHERE … think again. I guarantee that this checklist has at lease a few possibilities you hadn’t considered before.

Birth
___ Adoption Record
___ Baby Book
___ Birth Certificate

Marriage
___ Anniversary Announcement
___ Marriage Certificate
___ Wedding Announcement
___ Wedding Book

Divorce
___ Papers

Death
___ Death Certificate
___ Funeral Book
___ Memorial Cards
___ Obituary
___ Will

Education
___ Awards
___ Graduation
___ Honour Roll
___ Report Cards
___ Year Books

Employment
___ Achievement Awards
___ Apprenticeship Records
___ Business Cards
___ Income Tax Records
___ Membership Records
___ Resume
___ Severance Records
___ Retirement Records

Everyday Life
___ Address Books
___ Autograph Album
___ Bills
___ Birthday Book
___ Biography
___ Diary
___ Letters
___ Newspaper Clippings
___ Passport
___ Photographs
___ Scrapbooks
___ Telephone Books

Family
___ Bible
___ Bulletins/Newsletters
___ Coat of Arms
___ Genealogies
___ Histories

Health
___ Hospital Records
___ Immunisation Records
___ Insurance Papers
___ Medical Records
___ X-rays

Household Items
___ Dishes
___ Engraved Items
___ Needlework
___ Quilts
___ Silverware
___ Stitched Sampler
___ Tapestries
___ Other Heirlooms

Land and Property
___ Estate Records
___ Financial Records
___ Land Grants
___ Mortgages
___ Tax Notices
___ Title Deeds

Licences
___ Business
___ Drivers
___ Firearms
___ Occupation
___ Professional

Military Service
___ Discharge Notices
___ Medals and Awards
___ Nominal Rolls
___ Personal Service Record
___ Roll of Honour
___ Unit Histories

Religion
___ Blessing
___ Baptism Record
___ Christening Record
___ Confirmation Record
___ Ministerial Record
___ Ordination Record

So there’s 79 different types of records that can be useful for your genealogy. But note, the above doesn’t even include records for those on the wrong side of the law. When you have those in the family, there’s usually oodles of records available (depending on period, of course, and if they are not within the restricted timeframe for privacy).

A to Z – A Few Words from the Past

Ever come across a word in an old document or article you didn’t know what it meant? I’m sure you have.

Language changes. Words change. They go in and out of fashion. So I thought it would be interesting to have a look at few a few old school (aka “archiac”) words and their original meanings.

There are oodles of “old word” lists online which you’ll find helpful, but for my list I decided to head to Google Books and look through “A Dictionary of the English Language” which was compiled in 1828 by Samuel Johnson, John Walker and Robert S. Jameson.

You may be familiar with some of the words below, afterall some appear in the current Oxford Dictionary. But I believe that many will be as foreign to you as they were to me.

A
Abactor – One who drives away or steals cattle in herds
Adulatress – She that flattereth
Animaclue – A minute animal
Antipestilential – Efficacious against the plague
Arcanum – A secret
Arcubalist – A crossbow

B
Base-Born – Born out of wedlock; of low parentage; vile
Basenet – An helmet or headpiece
Becloud – To dim; to obscure
Belmetal – The metal of which bells are made; being a mixture of three parts copper and one of tin
Black-Jack – The leathern cup of elder times

C
Carle – A mean, rude, rough, brutal man
Carouseer – A drinker
Cataphract – A horseman in complete armour

D
Deep-Read – Profoundly versed
Demy – A term relating to the size of paper; as demy, royal or large; of which demy is the smallest
Dentifrice – A powder made to scour the teeth
Deuterogamist – He who enters into a second marriage
Domesman – An umpire; a judge
Dun – A colour partaking of brown and black

E
Edentated – Deprived of teeth
Enditer – A composer; a writer
Enjoyer – One that has fruition or possession
Enneagon – A figure of nine angles
Eyetooth – The tooth on the upper jaw next to each side to the grinders; the fang

F
Faulchion – A crooked sword
Fay – A fairy; an elf
Felo-de-se – He that committeth felony by murdering himself
Footpace – A pace no faster than a slow walk
Fop – A simpleton; a coxcomb; a man of small understanding and much ostentation; a pretender; a man fond of show, dress and flutter

G
Gasconade – to boast; to brag; to bluster
Gavelkind – A custom whereby the lands of the father are equally divided at his death amongst all his sons
Gazingstock – A person gazed at with scorn or abhorrence
Gelid – Extremely cold
Giddypaced – Moving without regularity

H
Hemiplegy – A palsy, or any nervous affection that seizes one side at a time
Hewer – One whose employment is to cut wood or stone
Hiccough – A convulsion of the stomach producing sobs
Hoariness – The state of being whitish; the colour of old men’s hair; mouldiness
Hobble-de-Hoy – A stripling; a young lad between fourteen and twenty-one; neither man nor boy
Horseway – A broad way by which horses may travel
Hostler – One who has the care of horses as an inn
Hummums – Sweating places or baths

I
Ignify – To form into fire
Imbosk – To be concealed
Immartial – Not warlike
Inamorato – One in love
Indagator – A searcher; an enquirer; an examiner

J
Jactancy – Boasting
Jakes – A privvy
Janitor – A door-keeper; a porter
Jet – A sort of bitumen, of a fine deep black colour, susceptible of a beautiful polish

K
Kennel – To lie, to dwell
Kern – Irish foot soldier; and Irish boor
Kidder – An engrosser of corn to enhance its price
Kirtle – A gown; a jacket; a petticoat; a mantle; a cloak
Knavish – Dishonest; wicked, fraudulent; waggish; mischievous

L
Lac– A concrete brittle substance of a dark red colour bought from the East Indies, and taken from the tree called Croton lacciferum. This substance is principally used in making sealing-wax
Lady-Day – The twenty-fifth of March; the day on which the annunciation of the blessed virgin is celebrated
Landjobber – One who buys and sells lands for other men
Leechcraft – The art of healing
Ledgerdemain – Sleight of hand; juggle; power of deceiving the eye by nimble motion; trick
Leman – A sweetheart; a gallant; a mistress

M
Minute-Glass – Glass of which the sand measures a minute
Mohock – The name of a cruel nation of America, given to ruffians who infested the streets of London
Moiety – Half; one of two equal parts
Mope-Eyed – Short-sighted; purblind
Mumper – A beggar
Mustermaster – One who superintends the muster to prevent frauds
Muting – The dung of birds

N
Nacker – A collar-maker; a harness-maker
Nappy – An old epithet applied to ale; hairy; full of down
Neatherd – A cowkeeper; one who has the care of black cattle
Nenia – A funeral song; an elegy
Nobless – Nobility; dignity; greatness; noblemen collectively
Nuthook – A stick with a hook at the end to pull down boughs that the nuts may be gathered
Nyctalops – One who sees best in the night

O
Obnubliation -The act od making obscure
Octateuch – A name for the eight first books of the Old Testament
Oglio – A dish made by mingling different kinds o meat; a medley; a hotchpotch
Oleous – Oily
Oppugn – To oppose; to attack; to resist
Ostler – The man who takes care of horses at the inn
Overween – To think too highly; to think with arrogance

P
Palfrey – A small horse fit for ladies
Panoply – Complete armour
Peeper – One that peeps; a young chicken just breaking the shell
Priestcraft – Religious frauds; management of wicked priests to gain power
Prig – A thief; a pert, conceited, saucy, pragmatical, little fellow
Primero – A game of cards
Prog – To go a begging; to wander about like a beggar; to procure a by a beggarly trick; to rob; to steal; to shift meanly for provisions
Propinquity – Nearness; proximity; neighbourhood; nearness of time; kindred; nearness of blood
Pulsifick – Moving or exciting the pulse

Q
Quadrireme – A galley with four banks or oars
Quarterday – One of the four days in the year on which rent or interest is paid
Quassia – A medicinal bitter
Quid – Something chewed; a, in vulgar language, a quid of tobacco

R
Rack-Renter – One who pays the uttermost rest
Racker – One who torments; a wrester, as a racker of laws
Rakehell -A wild, worthless, dissolute, debauched, sorry fellow
Rainbeat – Injured by the rain
Rapper – One who strikes; the knocker of a door; an oath or a lie

S
Schimachy – Battle with a shadow
Scrag – Anything thin or lean, as a scrag of mutton (i.e.) the small end of the neck); the man is a scrag (i.e. he is rawboned)
Searoom – Open sea; spacious main
Seatost – Tossed by the sea
Sedan – A kind of portable coach; a chair, first made in Sedan
Setting-Dog – A dog taughter to find game, and point it our to the sportsman
Sevennight – A week; the time from one day of the week to the next day of the same denomination predecing or following
Siccity – Dryness; aridity; want of moisture
Sigil – Seal; signature
Stomachick – A medicine for the stomach
Strappado – A kind of military torture, formerly practiced by drawing up an offender to the top of a beam, and letting him fall; in consequence of which, dislocation of a limb usually happened

T
Tarpawling – Hempen cloth smeared with tar
Taverning – Act of feasting at taverns
Testificator – One who witnesses
Tete – False hair; a wig worn by ladies
Tisick – Corrupted from phthisick; Consumption; morbid waste
Toothsome – Palatable; pleasing to the taste
Traducer – A false censurer; a calumniator
Trapanner – A deceiver
Tunicle – Natual cover; integument; formerly a kind of cape worn by the officiating clergy
Twinter – A beast of two winders old

U
Ultramontane – A foreigner
Ululate – To howl; to scream
Umbrageousness – Shadiness
Unmellowed – No fully ripened
Unquiet – Moved with perpetual agititation; not calm; not still
Unshod – Having no shoes
Ursuline – Denoting an order of nuns
Ustion – The act of burning; the state of being burned

V
Vamp
– The upper learer of a show; a sock
Van – The front of an army; the first line
Vaultage – Arched cellar
Viaticum – Provisions for a journey; the last rites used to prepare the passing soul for its departure
Viduity – Widowhood
Vominca – An encysted tumour in the lungs

W
Wainscot
– The inner wooden covering of a wall
Walleyed – Having white eyes
Wallop – To boil
Wesand – The windpipe; the larynx
Wheedle – To entice by soft words; to flatter
Wimple – A hood; a veil

X
Xebec
– A sea term, a small three-masted vessel, navigated in the Mediterranean
Xerophagy – Dry food; subsistence on dry victuals; the eating of dry meats
Xyster – A surgeon’s instrument to scrape and shave bones with

Y
Yardwand – A measure of a yard
Yare
– Ready; dextrous; nimble; eager
Yore
– Long since; of time; long ago
Yonker
– A young person in contempt
Yux
– the hiccough

Z
Zechin – A gold coin worth about nine shillings sterling
Zone – A girdle
Zoophorus – A part between the architraves and cornice, so called on account of the ornaments carved on it, among which were the figures of animals
Zootomist – A dissector of the bodies of brute beasts

So the above words are just a small fraction of what you’ll find in the 831 page book. So when you’re looking for the meanings of old words, remember to check out old dictionaries.

Lost in the Genealogy Wilderness

Ever have that feeling where you don’t know where you are, or which direction to turn? Or even what to do next? I’m sure some of you have, while others have never experienced that feeling.

Of course I’m talking about this in relation to your genealogy research. And that is where unfortunately, (and unexpectedly), I’ve found myself at.

I’m not a professional researcher, and I don’t claim to be, but I have been researching for a number of years. However my research these days tends to consist of me seeing new sets  records released, so I’ll go check for so-and-so … or hear a tidbit from another relative about this other person, or something they did, so I’ll go see what I can find.

In otherwords it’s very piecemeal. Very unfocussed, very unstructured, and without an exact goal in mind. More like dabbling if you like.

So now when I find that I have a free weekend (not that it happens often, but it’s nice when it does), and I want to settle in to doing some research – I am unable to just get into it, as I have no idea which line or person to get going on.

So I’m rather lost in the genealogy wilderness, and I really just need to set myself some research goals and FOLLOW them … Or even better, get entering the piles of stuff I have collected that I “STILL” haven’t entered.  (Is anyone else like that? You love finding stuff, but hate entering it, or is it just me?)

Actually I really, REALLY should do that entering stuff first. Sort out what I have, note it, file it … then get back the fun part of the searching!

So while I’m a little lost with my research at present, I have found some awesome stuff along the way, but I’ll find my way back.  I just might be buried under the paperwork pile for a while though.