How to Expand Your Family Tree Through Descendancy Research
By Debra Woods of FamilySearch
Your GPS helps you find where you are and navigate to where you are going.
Similarly, the Genealogical Proof
Standard helps you navigate with confidence through your family tree by making sure your information is accurate.
Lisa McBride shared the standards that must be met to qualify the people on your tree with these five elements:
Your GPS helps you find where you are and navigate to where you are going.
Similarly, the Genealogical Proof
Standard helps you navigate with confidence through your family tree by making sure your information is accurate.
Lisa McBride shared the standards that must be met to qualify the people on your tree with these five elements:
A reasonably exhaustive search – to ensure each person is unique.
DESCENDANCY
Lisa talked about the perspective you look from when trying to find new cousins to add to your tree. You can look from your own perspective backward as far as you can go and only find well researched names, OR you can select an ancestor already on your tree who was born well over 110 years ago but after 1830 when civil records began to be kept more consistently, turn around and look forward from their perspective.
From that angle, you will see their expanding tree that will include many more people than your ascendancy view would hold.
WHO TO RESEARCH
TOOLS
Once you’ve chosen an ancestor to start a descendancy search, some helpful tools Lisa mentioned include:
We teach Descendancy Classes. See the Classes listed by Category above.
The Descendancy classes are listed under "FamilySearch."
- Complete and accurate source citations – you look for, find and post sources.
- Analysis and correlation of the collected information – you slow down and accurately interpret what the record is telling you.
- Resolution of any conflicting evidence – you seek and resolve conflicts.
- A soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion – you write complete and clear conclusions for why you are attaching a source to this person on your tree.
DESCENDANCY
Lisa talked about the perspective you look from when trying to find new cousins to add to your tree. You can look from your own perspective backward as far as you can go and only find well researched names, OR you can select an ancestor already on your tree who was born well over 110 years ago but after 1830 when civil records began to be kept more consistently, turn around and look forward from their perspective.
From that angle, you will see their expanding tree that will include many more people than your ascendancy view would hold.
WHO TO RESEARCH
- Anyone who lived beyond 20 years may have been married – if you see no spouse – go hunt for one.
- Approximate birth dates and no death dates are an indication that more research needs to be done
- Gaps of 4 or more years between children’s birthdays may indicate a missing child
- Parents of in-laws
- Cemeteries and Obituaries
- Use GPS to verify records are for YOUR cousin!
TOOLS
Once you’ve chosen an ancestor to start a descendancy search, some helpful tools Lisa mentioned include:
- the FamilySearch Wiki
- Webinar by Beth Taylor – New Tools for Finding Your Missing Cousins – found on the FamilySearch Webinar series
- Descendancy Research: Finding the Past in the Present – found on the FamilySearch Webinar series
- Family Tree Descendancy View on an ancestors tree
- Puzilla
- Kinpoint
- Ancestry.com – check other member trees to see if a cousin has more information than you do.
We teach Descendancy Classes. See the Classes listed by Category above.
The Descendancy classes are listed under "FamilySearch."