Week 3 - Intro to family history

Week three begins the course 'proper' I think, with the 7 golden rules of genealogy, with expanded explanations:

• Don't make assumptions
• Talk with your family, start with yourself and work backwards.
• Check spellings
• Recorded age can vary
• Find evidence
• Keep a careful record of your research
• Document and organise what you find

 I found the standards for genealogy charts very interesting, 

• Capitalise surnames
• Use a wonan's maiden name
• Write dates in full
• Use Chapman Codes
• Use the numbering system with men on top, women on bottom  (see wikipedia)  [the most popular numbering system called Ahnentafel]

This is a copy of the first Ahnentafel, published by Michaël Eytzinger in Thesaurus principum hac aetate in Europa viventium Cologne: 1590, pp. 146-147, in which Eytzinger first illustrates his new functional theory of numeration of ancestors; this schema showing Henry III of France as No 1, de cujus, with his ancestors in five generations.

Chapman codes are abbreviations for countries, states, counties etc and are used on charts.  Some are quite obvious (AUS for Australia) and others, not so much (CHE for Switzerland).  If want to check the Chapman code, use Google and type in Chapman Code for XXX, it will usually come up.

For a useful list of codes, try The Australian Institute of Genealogy Studies  
or Genealogical Society of Queensland Inc.

or New Zealand Society of Genealogists

The course this week ends with a group assignment, via internet discussion of course, of putting up your research topic and some information and getting and giving feedback.  Some of the feedback is terrific, and very lateral thinking.  I think I am in a great group of people.

I do think I was lucky to begin my genealogy in earnest with Legacy Family Tree, it automatically puts in Chapman Codes, and standardises sources.  It has meant most of my research was organised from the beginning.  

ONE MISTAKE I MADE however, was not recording the source against every piece of information it gave me.  Thee are several parent names that I am working sources out for.  That was because I did not know how to copy and paste source information.  And it is sooooo simple!  Here is how.

Don't make the mistake I did.