Genealogy

[JimFoxvog]

How would you organize such a record, without loosing the reader, or, worse yet, getting lost yourself, as the compiler/organizer? Has anyone here tackled such a project for their own family?

There are a variety of computer programs available to greatly help in the organization. My brother has done this for my family. Once you go back a bit you can connect with the public work of others who have put geneologies together. My brother recently gave me a page showing how Donald Trump is my 21st cousin, thrice removed, going back to our common ancestor King Haakon V of Norway (1270-1319). I expect there are closer connections, but the royal ones are well-documented.

[temporal1]

The half wagon wheel works great for starting with yourself and working back. You are the hub. The next layer has your Mom and Dad. And so on.

Some great great great grandparents may very well show up more than once and in different generations. Important to have birth and death dates along as many names were used repeatedly.

The tree, the spider web, the half wagon wheel.
For paper, or hard copy, displays, they can become a handful.
That hand-done work is priceless.

Using FamilySearch.org and other internet searches, i often feel guilty, having known a few real life people who physically travelled from courthouse to church to library archives, across state lines, sometimes national borders, collecting copies of documents! That’s dedication. Not everyone could or would do it.

Now, not only do internet searches cite records, most are displayed (via microfilm?) from the original hand-written documents! it’s remarkable. Even an amateur hack like me can gather lots of info.

How would you organize such a record, without loosing the reader, or, worse yet, getting lost yourself, as the compiler/organizer? Has anyone here tackled such a project for their own family?

There are a variety of computer programs available to greatly help in the organization.
My brother has done this for my family. Once you go back a bit you can connect with the public work of others who have put geneologies together. My brother recently gave me a page showing how Donald Trump is my 21st cousin, thrice removed, going back to our common ancestor King Haakon V of Norway (1270-1319). I expect there are closer connections, but the royal ones are well-documented.

Much of this is available at no cost.
i have a plan to, someday, buy a 6 month subscription, just to see what more may be found.
when i can “foresee” i would have both time+temperament to pursue it. i tend to be “hit+miss” with it. i.e., i gather some info, then it takes time for me to digest it before i move onto the next foray.

From what i can tell, when your subscription expires, your findings do not disappear. you can continue to read, but not fully add to them (??) i’m not sure of all details. but! several years ago, i subscribed to Ancestry.com, i presumed my work would disappear when i withdrew, but, it remains! later, i opened a free account with them. they are always offering subscription deals. one day, i plan to do a temp subscription, to add to the former work.

i think i favor FamilySearch over Ancestry.

FindAGrave has grown a lot since it began. lots of people visiting cemeteries, taking pictures to share. there is at least one other similar site, some are saying it’s better, i’m not yet familiar with it.
not all information presented is complete, there are inaccuracies. however, with original documents, additions+corrections can be made.

microfilm of original documents is especially compelling.
some original records hold extra clues to the past, like, literacy, employment, spoken language; alterations in name spellings, intentional and not.

[Neto]

i’m not sure i’m accurately understanding all the “or”s in your first paragraph.

I'll try to explain the different approaches I mentioned:

list all (known) descendants of one person in the past

I can’t include a complete example of this, but for instance, I am a descendant of Johann Michael Plett, born before 1718, who married Anna Schroeder. They had 11 children, but only 3 are listed as having had children of their own. A complete list would follow each child, name their wives, and then follow each of the next generations, including all branches of the family. But the Plett Family reunions we went to when I was still at home started with his great grandson (shown below), including all of his descendents, from both marriages. (One family of my first cousins on my mom’s side are my Dad’s 4th half cousins. Their mother was a Plett descended from his first wife, while we are descended through the second family (a daughter), via the Sperling family descent. The Peter A. Buller listed below was my great grandfather.)

Michael J. PLETT, b. 07-23-1812; w. Katharina WIEBE b: 12-08-1822
Katharina PLETT, b. 24 Feb 1852; h. Abraham SPERLING b: 11 Jun 1855
Maria A. SPERLING, b. 14 Mar 1880; h. Peter A. BULLER b: 27 Jul 1879


a lineage up a certain family name,

As an example, here is my Buller line, back to our earliest known ancestor with the Buller surname.

My paternal grandfather, John P Buller, b. 08-14-1904
Son of Peter A. Buller, b. 07-27-1879
Son of Heinrich Buller, b. 12-09-1850
Son of Jakob Buller, b. 08-12-1796
Son of Jakob Buller, b. 11-25-1760
Son of Peter Jeorge Buller, b. 09-04-1731
Son of Jeorge Jeorgen Buller, b. abt. 1683
Son of Johann Jeorgen T. "Hans" Buller, b. bef 1662
Son of Jeorgen Heinrich Buller, b. 1617
Son of Heinrich Buller, b. abt 1580


tracing one person's lineage back to a certain ancestor; regardless of whether it is through male or female ancestors during the intermediate generations

[The Plett line as I showed it above is an example of this, if I would reverse the order of the names, and add myself, my dad, & my grandfather.]

an effort to show all ancestors of a given person, or, as it is used in anthropology, '/ego'.

This last option would start with my own name, and then list my parents, my 4 grandparents, my 8 great grand parents, etc., on as far back as I could go. I don’t know how it is, but I remember hearing that at my parents’ wedding, some of the older ladies figured out how they are related, so at some point at the 4th generation or so back, some of the same people would appear in two places.

I have been using a website my brother told me about, called Bob Strong's Genealogical Database. There is also a Mennonite site, called 'Grandma', that is a paid site, so I haven't been on it. (I'm not sure, but it may be mainly a Plaut Dietch site, that is, Dutch Mennonite, as opposed to Swiss Brethren background people, like my wife & my son-in-law, and also most of the people on this site with Mennonite or Amish genetic ancestry.)

There was a (Mennonite) Buller girl in my Freshman college class at Grace Bible Institute (Omaha, Nebraska). We looked enough alike that everyone thought we were twins. I've always wondered how far back I'd have to go before I found the connection between us. But most websites do not give the names of any persons they think might still be living, so even if I traced all of the male lines from as far back as I can go, down to all of the people who were born into a Buller family, at some point I'd still have to have some help, because unless both she & her father are deceased, neither of them will be listed. (My own father is still living, so he is not listed, either.)

[temporal1]

Thank you! - lots of helpful info ^^.

.. There was a (Mennonite) Buller girl in my Freshman college class at Grace Bible Institute (Omaha, Nebraska). We looked enough alike that everyone thought we were twins.

I've always wondered how far back I'd have to go before I found the connection between us.

But most websites do not give the names of any persons they think might still be living,
so even if I traced all of the male lines from as far back as I can go, down to all of the people who were born into a Buller family, at some point I'd still have to have some help, because unless both she & her father are deceased, neither of them will be listed. (My own father is still living, so he is not listed, either.)

so interesting. it piques the imagination.
occasionally, i will see someone who looks crazily-familiar, but, “how can this be?” ..

you remind me, when i was very young, i was told, “there’s a girl working in a bank, that looks just like you!” - typically, this doesn’t seem to hold, but, in this case, i was at the bank, and, goodness, there was a striking resemblance. i probably i ran away. lol. not knowing what to say. but, i remember.

it’s true about “no public details” on living people, however, on the (commercial) sites i’ve visited, there are links to PM other contributors .. it’s possible to find a connection to more information.

i contacted a cousin, we had no contact since small children, we enjoyed catching up in email. also, i’ve submitted a couple of brief corrections that were reviewed and approved. there is some “real time” activity, i’m a beginner with it. i have not jumped into it.

it’s possible, you may solve this college mystery.

[Neto]

I've mentioned this "Mennonite Genealogy" FaceBook group before, but reading the questions about "Why did the Mennonites move to Prussia & then Russia in the first place, and why did they leave Russia for North America?" (the group is mostly for Dutch Mennonites) some are asking there recently, and the semi-informed responses, it makes me wonder, Can this be a vehicle for evangelism? Many of the people there didn't even know that they had any Mennonite family background until they started doing genealogy study. It is telling that in general, talk about "religion" is not allowed on the group site - and many are declared atheists, but still claim to be "Mennonite by blood". What have we created with our cultural in-group thinking?

[temporal1]

I've mentioned this "Mennonite Genealogy" FaceBook group before, but reading the questions about "Why did the Mennonites move to Prussia & then Russia in the first place, and why did they leave Russia for North America?" (the group is mostly for Dutch Mennonites) some are asking there recently, and the semi-informed responses,

.. it makes me wonder, Can this be a vehicle for evangelism?

Many of the people there didn't even know that they had any Mennonite family background until they started doing genealogy study.

It is telling that in general, talk about "religion" is not allowed on the group site -
and many are declared atheists,
but still claim to be "Mennonite by blood".

.. What have we created with our cultural in-group thinking?

What a mixed-up state the world is in.
i had to read several times, a Mennonite-labeled page, but talk about “religion” is not allowed.

The internet reveals confusion on a whole new level.
However painful in the moment, perhaps in the end, that may turn out to be a positive.
It’s tough to address hidden problems.

If+when+where+how God wills it, the internet will be used for evangelism.

[puttincomputers]

I am a descendant of the founder of the Ottoman Empire. His son tried to usurp the throne and was kicked into Europe as a result. He had a fling with French nobleman's daughter. He found out and had the rascal kicked back to Turkey. It was too late. His daughter was already pregnant. She gave the child the last name of DeTurk.

I am also a descendant of Charlamagne.

I also have an almost complete road block on my grandma's line, as do all the Amish and Mennonite Lees. There are several stories about what happened to our ancestor's parents, but things are beginning to be more clear. http://e-gen.info/?page_id=7181
One of the tales about his dad was that he had fled Kentucky after learning he was wanted for murder, started a new family in Deleware, and then ran back when he learned he wasn't wanted for murder after all. Given what has been found so far, the truth may be a little weirder.

[ohio jones]

I am also a descendant of Charlamagne.

Yep. Me too.

[Joy]

Yep, Charlemagne managed to weasel his way into my family tree, too. And also a queen, whose name escapes me.

My cousin spent forty years working on our ancestry, joining historical societies, etc. I find the subject interesting, but would never invest that kind of time and effort into it.

[puttincomputers]

Btw, a few of you know, but many do not, that I am working on an update of the John T. Yoder and Anna Bontrager book that was last updated in 1983. He was my 3x-great grandpa.