For most of his life Howard Johnston
believed he was related to the famous 19th century American evangelist
Dwight L. Moody. That's what his mother, whose maiden name was Moody,
had always told him.
But when Johnston began studying his family history a few years ago he
found that his mother's Moodys and the evangelist's came from two
separate and unrelated lineages. "Beware of family traditions,"
Johnston says. "They're almost always untrue."
Through his genealogical research Johnston also learned that his
great-grandfather had served with General George A. Custer during the
Civil War and that he was wounded by a musketball to the elbow. Pension
records showed that he had lived for a time in the small Texas town of
Honey Grove, named by Davey Crockett. But that residence ended not long
after his wife woke up one morning to find a rattlesnake in her kitchen.
There is no predicting what you will find or where you will travel once
you start digging into your family history. Genealogy uncovers both
heroes and rogues, royalty and commoners. It is not an activity for the
timid, or anyone afraid of finding skeletons in the closet. Johnston
discovered that his surname was once "Johnson" and that his grandfather
changed the spelling to "Johnston" to avoid being associated with
Scandinavians in Montana.
As a hobby, genealogy ranks third in the U.S. behind coin and stamp
collecting, and is growing faster than either, according to the
National Genealogical Society. Most genealogists conduct family
research asÊpastime, searching for information on who their
ancestors were and what their lives were like. Others, like the Mormon
members of The Church of Latter Day Saints, have religious or
professional reasons for documenting their family trees.
Mormons believe that the spirits of their ancestors and the bonds of
family continue after death. Through genealogy they identify these
family members and perform "ordinances" like baptisms and marriages
sealings on their behalf. Records of family trees are then logged in
the church's vast computer archives.
Whatever the motivation, genealogy is a rapidly expanding concern and
it's getting more sophisticated every day. Research that once required
months of correspondence and many hours of library research can now be
accomplished in a few minutes on computer databases. Information that
once seemed impossible to find may now be just a couple computer
keystrokes away.
Johnston's maternal grandmother was raised in an orphanage in Council
Bluffs, Iowa, and despite his best efforts all he could learn about her
parents were their ages and some sketchy details on the father's
railroad job and the mother's hometown. They had left the baby in the
orphanage shortly after she was born and little information about them
survived.
Recently, Johnston obtained marriage records on-line by computer from
Council Bluffs and was able to cross-reference the information he had
with the couples that were married at the time. He found one pair whose
ages matched his grandmother's parents. The woman's name matched his
great-grandmother's and the man had indicated he was employed by the
railroad.
"If it hadn't been for computers, I doubt I ever would have found
them," Johnston said.
While Johnston thinks he may have discovered the identity of his
great-grandparents, his research will continue. He will try to confirm
their link to his grandmother and find out why they put her up for
adoption. Then he may look for their parents, and their parents'
parents. Some of this information he can find at home using computers
linked to international databases. But many details may have to be
gathered from courthouses and churches and cemeteries in towns he will
travel to in his motorhome.
Genealogy can easily become a life-long preoccupation. It begins
with the names, birthdates, birthplaces and significant dates in the
lives of your grandparents and can extend back many generations.
Michael Lott, the volunteer director of the Church of Latter Day
Saints' Family History Center in Hailey, Idaho, has traced portions of
his lineage back 25 generations. His forebears include King Henry III
of England, born in 1207.
The fundamental tools for this activity are documents -- old
newspapers, homestead records, birth and death registers, deeds books,
cemetery records, estate documents, declarations of intent by
immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens, Census records. Special
genealogy computer software is available to plot out family trees and
plan research strategies. Some genealogists write and publish family
histories based on their discoveries.
The Church of Latter Day Saints maintains the world's largest archive
of genealogical information at its headquarters in Salt Lake City,
Utah. The archive includes the International Genealogical Index, a
computerized record of over 187 million deceased persons who were born,
christened, and married between the 16th and 20th centuries. Grouped
into family trees, these records can be grafted onto other family trees
electronically whenever connections between one family and the next are
discovered.
Hundreds of smaller Mormon family history libraries, like the one Lott
manages, are located in communities around the world where Mormon
stakes have been established. They are linked to the main library in
Utah and to both government and private databases around the
world. All are open to Mormons and non-Mormons alike, offering
genealogy classes and advice on researching family histories.
Other major libraries with large genealogy collections include the
Library of Congress, Newberry Library in Chicago, the New York Public
Library and the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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by MichaelHofferber@outriderbooks.com
Copyright © 1994. All
rights reserved
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