The Family Tree
By Terence L. Day
Terence L. Day, genealogist and journalist, is on the Washington State University faculty. He welcomes e-mail at genealogy@moscow.com, or regular mail in care of the Tri-City Herald City newsroom, P.O. Box 2608, Tri-Cities, WA 99302-2608.
Genealogists reap benefits from computers
This story was published July 19, 1998
A few weeks ago, Rayelle S. Williamson of Salem, Va., was among some 40 relatives who attended her grand aunt Evelyn Burdekin Scott's 90th birthday party in Kingsport, Tenn.
Rayelle took gifts for each family in attendance, 50-page booklets she printed on her computer using special software developed for genealogists.
"I gave a copy to every couple that had a child, with a four-generation chart and a fan chart unique to them," Rayelle recently enthused to an e-mail discussion group called Elijah-L.
Elijah-L is an Internet forum on which many Latter-day Saints discuss genealogy.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe the old testament prophet, Elijah, promotes genealogy and family history to fulfill scripture that in the last days the hearts of children will be turned to their parents.
Rayelle's heart certainly has been turned to her ancestors. She started researching her family lines 22 years ago, when she was 19 years old and a fresh convert to Mormonism and genealogy.
Now a wife and mother of three children, she continues her interest in genealogy.
When her father died in 1988, Rayelle received a small amount of money from his estate. She thought of paying bills or buying some new furniture, but realized neither would honor her dad.
Then, she realized that she could honor him through her genealogy.
She used her bequest to buy her first computer, a Tandy, and the LDS Church's Personal Ancestral File software to help her compile family records. Nine months ago, she graduated to a new Gateway computer with a modem.
Thus equipped, Rayelle went onto the Internet and subscribed to several genealogy discussion lists.
Like millions of other genealo gists, Rayelle discovered that computers and the Internet are great boons to genealogy.
Technology has speeded research, uniting cousins whose families have been separated for generations, and enabling genealogists to compile vastly larger genealogies and family histories, including publishing books, with relative ease.
The booklets Rayelle printed for her family consisted of a four- generation chart and a fan chart unique to each couple who have a child.
These were followed by a narrative genealogy in "Register" format, complete with an index. Register is one of several standard formats used to write genealogy narratives.
Finally, the booklet concluded with family group sheets, and copies of some vital records.
"It took me six weeks to pull the project off, faxing, telephoning and e-mailing new-found cousins across the U.S.," Rayelle reported to Elijah-L. Genealogists will recognize that producing even a small booklet in six weeks would be almost impossible without a computer.
Rayelle was pleased she encountered only one relative who was negative toward her project.
Oh, I nearly forgot. Rayelle also used her computer to print a 7- foot-tall descendency chart, which proved a major attraction at the family gathering.
Rayelle's efforts were rewarded with more genealogical treasures. She returned home with old pictures from England, including pictures of her grandmother and two of her siblings, as well as photos of her great grandparents and other ancestors.
When they saw what Rayelle had done, relatives let her take a packet of pictures home so she could get get copies made.
This has launched a whole new project for Rayelle. "I plan on making a four-generation photo genealogy display," she enthuses.
I predict it will be a long time before Rayelle runs out of computer-aided genealogy projects.