Family Tree Research - Finding Naming Patterns

Naming traditions and patterns play an important role in society and history. They're especially important to certain cultures and can be helpful for research. For example, though I didn't know where a branch of my family tree came from regionally, I found a clue by our naming pattern.

My grandfather's name was Daniel.
     My father's name was Daniel.
          My brother's name is Daniel.
               My cousin's name is Daniel.

I remember my father saying, "Whatever you do, don't name your son Daniel; there are too many of us already."

So I didn't, I named my first daughter Dania, which is a female nickname of Daniela. I didn't intentionally follow a naming pattern, but I wanted to honor my father and the fathers in our family.

Now I've learned about the significance of them in other cultures. I could see that as far as the males are concerned, in several branches we tend to follow a system called "patronymics." According to W. Daniel Quillen's great book, Tracing Your Irish & British Roots, the naming pattern of these cultures is as follows:

                                       The first son was named after the father's father.

                                       The second son was named after the mother's father.

                                       The third son was named after the father.

                                       The fourth son was named after the father's eldest brother.

                                       The fifth son was named after the mother's eldest brother.

                                       The first daughter was named after the mother's mother.

                                       The second daughter was named after the father's mother.

                                       The third daughter was named after the mother.

                                       The fourth daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister.

                                       The fifth daughter was named after the father's eldest sister.

Obviously I broke tradition in every way, but my daughters would thank me if I ever told them what names they "should" have had. My son, followed the tradition of my husband's culture which just happens to match my own.
               
What about you? Does your culture have a naming pattern or tradition?

Family History Tip: Names are almost always significant the farther you search in your tree. Keeping worksheets is of utmost importance because you may come across several people with the same first  and last name hundreds of years apart. Worksheets help contain the confusion.

Was your ancestor on an orphan train?

In my last Sunday Psalms post, I wrote about my Great Grandmother. I'm afraid I may have rushed to judgement about the behavior of Minerva, the woman who adopted her. You see, I only had a piece of the story, but then something amazing happened. The day after writing about her, I was at the library to get some American History movies and one title caught my eye: The Orphan Trains.
                                                          The what?                                        

All I knew is that after Grandma was sent to the orphanage, a man put her on a train with other children. I watched the movie over the weekend and was inspired and heartbroken all at once - mostly heartbroken. I had no idea that between 1853 and 1929, over 120,000 neglected and abandoned children, mainly from New York City, were resettled on farms across the Midwest.

The effort was started by a young minister named Charles Loring Brace. Charles couldn't stand seeing the suffering and often abused children called "Street Arabs." He wanted to give them a fresh start far away from life on the street. He founded a charity called the Children's Aid Society and worked to find new homes for them. It's now considered to be the start of the modern foster care system.

My great-grandmother got swept up into the Orphan Train movement and was resettled in Michigan. According to FamilySearch.org, one in twenty-five Americans is the descendant of an orphan train rider. If you've discovered an orphan train rider in your family and want to get more information, here are some sites to help you start your research:

http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/about/history/orphan-trains

http://orphantraindepot.org/

https://familysearch.org/blog/en/orphan-train-riders/

                                                                                          Happy Hunting!

Family History Tip: Even small words and details written in family accounts can yield big search results. Spend time digging into and around them and you may be rewarded with a treasure trove of family gems!

Sharing: Resources for researching your family history

As soon as I officially began researching my family's history, I realized I was undertaking an enormous task. It was so overwhelming I had to stop for a time so I could gather some more facts and energy.

I tend to jump into a task without first counting the cost or effort it's going to take on my behalf. That sort of mindlessness stops when you suffer chronic pain, by the way. Researching takes long hours of sitting, hunching and concentration.  It's more difficult than we anticipate, but I believe God fulfills the desires of our heart and I've always wanted to understand my place in His story.

               Our story begins with our families.

That being said, one of the best overall resources I've found is family tree magazine. It's filled with oodles of articles, tips, charts and websites to help guide us on this journey. For instance, one recent article explained the story behind certain surnames from different areas of the world. From this, I was prompted to research my maiden name and discovered it was used to describe a "round bald man."

              That's so awesome!

Even if you have a secretive family like mine, we can circumnavigate some of the mysteries of our heritage and have a great time doing it.
                                                                                        Happy Hunting!

Family History Tip: Have at least 10 copies of worksheets for each branch of your family. Keeping track of every person on each side is easier if you put their names and information on worksheets as you find them.

Writing Down Family Stories

My kids and I got a unique opportunity with our homeschool group last week. Three hundred parents and children (mostly children) listened as a Holocaust survivor told his story of escaping Germany when he was a child. It was gripping and enlightening and when it came time for questions, someone said, "Have you written a book we could buy?"

He said, "No. No, I haven't written a book and it's probably nothing I'll get around to doing at this point. But I'd welcome someone else to write it if that's what they wanted to do."

I happened to be sitting next to my writer friend, Andy, and we both just looked at each other. This man had a compelling first hand account that's going to be lost one day. It makes me wonder how many millions of stories are lost because they've not been written down.

There are several captivating stories in my own family history. One of my ancestors got shot in the head with a musket ball during the Civil War and survived. Another soldier wrote love letters to his wife for four years while he fought during the war and died just four days after coming home. Another of my ancestors, who came over on the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth, MA and apparently became smitten with a "savage woman." He ran away with her and was later seen in the area dressed "half nekked." I guessed he was really undressed. At any rate, he was kicked out of the colony.

                                                My girls at Plimouth Plantation in Plymouth, MA

                                                            The Mayflower reproduction ship

What about you? Do you have any unique family stories? 

The holidays are perfect opportunities for writing these treasures down so they won't be forgotten. I'd love to hear who you'd most like to interview in your family. Kids are great at this, because no one can refuse their cute little faces. Here are some questions to spark conversations:
               
             In what year were you born?
             Where were you born?
             What did you like to do for fun?
             Did you have toys? What kind?
             What kind of work did your father do?
             What country did your family come from?
             How did they get to America?
           

Family History Tip:

Designate one binder or notebook for each branch of the family and always note the name of the person you're interviewing. Older family members often repeat stories and need help from others remembering names, dates and specific events. Having one notebook will help keep everything in one place for future interviews.
                                                                                         Happy Hunting and Happy Holidays!

The Good Father - Part 2: Secrets and Lies in family history

So I found him. I found the "bad man."

It's kind of simple to label someone "bad," and then erase him from memory and the family history. But then I guess they didn't count on a curious granddaughter.

               I have an unquenchable curiosity.

And I also believe that people are complex and there's probably more to the story. When someone's legacy leaves such a stain, such a smudge, such a secret, it's hard not to be curious.  And it's hard not to wonder ...
                   
                          Am I anything like him?

I know he left and eventually started a new family. Because one of my family members stumbled upon them and secretly made contact with his son, I have a picture. I have one little picture, and when I look at it, I see my brother's face. I can also see where I got my chin. That's my chin! It's eerie and awesome at the same time.

For most of my life I thought he was dead. Correction. They told me he was dead. Turns out he died the year after I was married.

                   I could have met him.

                          Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
                                                                                                           Proverbs 10:12

Family History Tip: Family conflict is inevitable, but it's important to remember there are two sides to every story. If you've heard negative things about a family member, do your best to talk to them personally or ask several people for validation. Everyone deserves a chance to defend themselves.

The Good Father - Part 1

One of the biggest mysteries of my life has just been solved.

                          And I'm positively giddy about it! 

For forty-five years, there's been a "hole" in my life; I've been missing a "father." Not my real father, my dad was awesome. But I always sensed a deep loss about his father - my biological grandfather.

I always felt sorry for my dad because he didn't have his dad around. His dad left the family in a terrible way. One day he just disappeared and left my grandmother alone with their four children. They were so destitute that she almost had to put them up for adoption. By the grace of God, she managed to keep the family afloat, and later, married another man - the man I would know and love as Grandpa.

But still, I knew Grandpa wasn't related to me by blood. The abandonment of his family by my bio grandfather left a stain...a black mark on my family and a mystery in my little heart. He was never spoken about in our family, it wasn't allowed. But we whispered. My cousins and I whispered and wondered about this "bad man."

                            I've always wanted to find him.

I wanted to know about him and why he'd do such a thing, but his name's always been shrouded in bitterness. Out of respect to my grandpa, I didn't start looking until he passed away. Years ago, I got on the Ancestry.com website and came up empty.

But a few weeks ago, while researching our family roots for a homeschool assignment, I got the bug again. So Thursday night, I began the search and...I found him.

What's amazing is that through other family ancestors - ones I don't even know - I found this picture of him with his mother and father in their new car. This led me to another picture...

These are his parents, my great grandparents!

So why would I search for this "bad man?" Why would I want to know? Because I know the good father, created him, and I want to understand his story and how his life affected my own. Also, it's obvious that for some reason, he has lots of people looking for him.

       What about you? Are you searching for a lost someone in your own family?

Family History Tip: Using technology sites like Ancestry.com can save you valuable time and jump start your research. They have a 14-day free trial offer and in just 3 days, I've found over 45 relatives I didn't know existed.

"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18

Saving The Past

Family ties can be tricky things to nourish and navigate!

Distance and discord can muck things up and widen the gap between generations. But family is important to God. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 68. It's a picture of God as father, defender and provider. Here's a fragment of verse:

                     

                    Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,

                       extol him who rides on the clouds

                       rejoice before him - his name is the Lord.

                     A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

                          is God in his holy dwelling.

                    God sets the lonely in families,

                          he leads out the prisoners with singing;

                          but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

                                                                                 Psalm 68:4-6

My family hasn't always been close, either geographically or emotionally. We didn't visit with each other very  often while I was growing up. But  one of the things my grandparents did right, was to stay in touch by way of cards and letters. 

One of the many things my mom did right, was to stash those letters and pictures away so that we'd have them later.
                      
                                          I so appreciate her for that!

Older people especially appreciate receiving things in the mail. Many don't use social networking and they can feel left out in our modern world. I just reminded myself...I need to send some photos and a note to my last surviving grandmother.

How about you? Do you have any special letters or notes floating around that you could share with your loved ones?

Family History Tip: Gather any letters, notes and cards and create a file for each of your children. It may not seem like much to them now, but they'll appreciate you for it later!

                                                                  Happy Hunting!

Faith Detective

One of the things I most love about digging through my family's history, is finding common characteristics and interests that link us together now. Just some of the many things I've found are writing, singing, art, archiving and historical preservation.

                                                                     
Growing up as a young child, I felt like there was something off about me. Like there was a piece of myself that was missing and it was my destiny to find whatever "it" was. Now I know, that what I was searching for was God, the knowledge of who I am, and a sense of authentic intimacy in my family relationships.
                     
                               Thankfully, God found me, but I never lost the love of the search.

There were several breaks in my family's faith over the generations, but through ancestral research, I've been able to pick up pieces of the chain that once held us together.

Family History Tip:

Before you hop online and waste money, gather as much information as you can.  Making a list of full names, dates of births and deaths, hometown information and country of origin are most helpful.

                                                                                           Happy Hunting!