Tapping Your Roots

These days, when Ryan Woods is asked about his family, there’s ashort answer and a long one. Earlier this year, Woods (SED’01,’05)became the director of education for the Boston-based New England Historic Genealogical Societyand started tracking down his own ancestors. So far, he’s found familymembers dating back to the early days of the Massachusetts colony, aCivil War soldier, and the cousin of a president.

“Since I beganresearching I have added approximately 400 ancestors to my familytree,” says Woods, “although I have documented only about 80 of them.”

Thisevening, he and other representatives of NEHGS will teach others how totake a similar journey into their family history during a free workshopon the basics of genealogical research, called Tracing Your Roots, atthe Howard Thurman Center.

Woodsand his colleagues will introduce attendees to the vital record andhistorical data sets held by the NEHGS, including more than 12 millionbooks, manuscripts, records, and other artifacts.

“While thestrength of our collection is in American, English, Irish, Scottish,and Canadian records,” says Woods, “we have more than a dozenprofessional genealogists who have significant experience and knowledgeof German, Italian, French, African-American, Caribbean, NativeAmerican, Jewish, and Latin-American records.”

Tonight’sworkshop at the Howard Thurman Center, 775 Commonwealth Ave., runs from6 to 8 p.m. and is open to the general public. Woods spoke to BU Today about the basics of genealogy research and the surprising discoveries it can yield.

BU Today: What drives people to do genealogy research?
Woods:People are attracted to genealogy for a variety of reasons. Generallyspeaking, however, I think you would find the people with whom NEHGSworks have one of two motivations for their research: personal familyhistory and academic study.

At its core, genealogical researchis about grasping for understanding of the complexities of kinship. Formost, genealogy helps to develop an appreciation for how we, and ourfamilies, fit into the social context of human history. It can begin toanswer questions about where our names come from and why our familieslive in certain places or even provide clues as to why we haveparticular inclinations. That is not to say that our ancestry defineswho we are, but genealogy can certainly be an exercise inself-exploration.

For academics, genealogy has importantapplications in the examination of social history. By studyingfamilies, one begins to gain insights into larger trends such asmigrations, wealth distribution, political power-sharing, occupationaldevelopments, religious movements, and civic expansion. Attitudes aboutmarriage, child-rearing, schooling, and race relations can all begleaned from family histories as well.

What are some of the basic techniques you’ll teach at the workshop?
We’lloffer a presentation that we have developed called Getting Started inGenealogy. We’ll provide tips about which repositories or Web sites tobegin looking at for vital record information, demonstrate how toorganize a pedigree chart, teach commonly found abbreviations andterminology, and show the methodology for documenting discoveries.

Have you researched your own genealogy?
Sincejoining the NEHGS staff earlier this year, I have started researchingmy own genealogy, and it has been a fascinating journey. At this point,I have documented my direct Woods ancestors back 12 generations to aSamuel Woods, born in 1636 in what is now upper Middlesex County, Mass.Being that Samuel was born only seven years after the establishment ofthe Massachusetts Bay Colony, his parents were obviously very earlysettlers. As there were only a few established settlements at the time,finding records from their generation is a bit trickier, but my nextgoal is to find out more about Samuel’s forebears.

The recordsthat I have been able to find have been truly remarkable. For example,I have seen an agreement signed by my direct ancestor to recharter thetown of Groton, Mass., after it was burned to the ground in 1676 duringKing Philip’s War, as well as read journal accounts of fleeing toConcord, Mass., after the town had been attacked. I have copied birth,death, and marriage records for 12 generations of ancestors, includinga treasure trove of other documents that include myfour-time-great-grandfather’s enlistment papers from joining the 8thInfantry Regiment of Vermont during the Civil War. I have studied anaccount book and ticket register of another four-time-great-grandfatherwho was a station agent at a Vermont railroad stop on a set of tracksrunning from Boston to Montreal in the 1880s. I have even discovered agreat-great-grandmother who was a cousin of President Grover Cleveland.

What’s the first thing you tell people when they express interest in finding out more about their ancestors?
Welcometo a lifelong endeavor! One of the first things to understand aboutgenealogy is that it is an ongoing pursuit to which there is nodefinitive end, but it is great fun and among the most educationalactivities one can engage in.

How is the bulk of genealogy research conducted?
Typically,researchers use libraries, Internet databases, repositories, DNAtesting, and manuscript collections. Using combinations of these recordsources is the best way to document and verify family histories. Manybeginning genealogists start with the Internet, where there are anumber of free and subscription-based Web sites, offering access tomillions of records. But once someone has moved beyond his or hergrandparents, the bulk of work really leads to brick-and-mortarlibraries like NEHGS.

One of the basic tenets of genealogy isto work from the known to the unknown. It is part of a genealogist’screed to verify information through multiple document sources. Onlywhen there is an overwhelming preponderance of supporting evidence toshow a kin relation will a genealogist connect an ancestral dot thatcannot be verified directly. The farther back in time one works, thereis a decreasing abundance of vital records, so supporting evidence,such as wills and land records, becomes increasingly important.

Do you offer advice for people who may find things in their family’s past that they didn’t want to know?
Everyoneis bound to find information in their ancestral past that may beunpleasant, from forebears with nefarious histories to illegitimatebirths. It is important to remember that our ancestors do not definewho we are, nor should our discovery of unpleasant information aboutthem. The acts of individual ancestors are merely single lines in asaga that, for most us, extends over many continents and centuries,encompassing thousands and thousands of people.

What do you hope this workshop will accomplish?
First,we want to demonstrate through tips and techniques that regardless ofone’s background or heritage, genealogy can be tremendously excitingand rewarding work. Second, we hope to engage a new, younger audiencein an activity that is fun and an extremely powerful exercise in theexploration of people, history, and culture.

Chris Berdik can be reached at cberdik@bu.edu.