I’m a fan of using networks to break through genealogical brick walls. My shorthand for this is “People tend to marry someone they know.” When you’re studying a community it helps to start mapping everyone. Look at their relatives, look at their neighbors, look at the other people who sign the same documents. It’s time…
Category: Genealogy
Online Learning
Shut in because of the COVID-19 virus for a couple of weeks now. I’m catching up on some old genealogy chores, but I’m ready for some variety. Maybe this is the time to work through some of the online learning courses I’ve bookmarked. I’ve spent I don’t know how many hours with YouTube videos. Mostly…
Other Possibilities
So often someone sends me a solution to a genealogical knot, along with the expectation I will see it as the final answer. That’s surprisingly common with reconstructions of early medieval dynasties but it also happens with routine research into ordinary people. My expectation is quite different. A good test of the evidence is whether,…
Cultural Genealogy
I’m in love with Raphael Falco’s Cultural Genealogy. It’s the book I wanted to write but never did. Genealogists who work on ancient and early medieval genealogy often think it’s all pretty simple. There are chronicles that show the generations. Enter those in your software and you’re done. You have descents from Adam, King David,…
Boonesborough
I’m using my COVID lockdown time to organize some of the genealogical projects I’ve had on the back burner. One of those is joining the Society of Boonesborough, a lineage society for descendants of early settlers at Daniel Boone’s Fort Boonesborough. My ancestor James Kenney was an early settler at Boonesborough. As James Kenny he…