Test Your Genealogy IQ - Skill Building Questions
and Answers for Beginners by Lee Rickerson

Before you read these answers, make sure that you've read over the Test Your Genealogy IQ questions and made your choices of what YOU think the right answer is.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 1

The time-honored format for writing dates in genealogical research includes using numbers to denote the date, then the first three letters of the month, followed by the complete year. Answer "E" is correct: 12 Dec 1999.

The example of 12-12-99 can not be mistaken for anything other than December 12th. Unfortunately, combinations of numbers between one and twelve can be misleading. How can you be sure that someone a century ago followed the same format that is popular today? Does 6-8 mean June 8th or August 6th? It is also necessary to use all four digits for the year.

How valuable would it be to receive information about a fifth generation grandfather who was born on 5 Jan 05? The first question would be: WHICH CENTURY? As far as order is concerned, placing the year last in the sequence may be more custom than anything else.

However, most forms and computer programs follow this style and it creates potential transcription errors if you write the year first in handwritten notes which will ultimately be typed into a genealogy program that follows the standard format. In this case, go with the flow. Also, putting the 3-letter month in the middle helps separate the numbers-also helping to reduce transcribing errors. The use of commas, periods, and superscripts (4th, 2nd, 1st, etc.) is simply a waste of time.

On must be cautious about the use of clarifying terms added to dates. It seems to be a growing (and alarming) trend for computer programs and researchers to estimate the date of some pertinent event. Ballpark figures are dangerous and might be nice footnotes to be recorded exclusively in the "Notes" section of the research.

Avoid using estimated dates. Estimated dates might be tagged with the abbreviations "Abt," "circa," or "est." It is much more precise to make a note of the last known action of an ancestor or to note the first occurrence of his/her absence. For example: "Last mentioned in 1920 Wisconsin census" or "First noted in father's will dated 7 Sep 1834. Not mentioned in father's will of 1 Jan 1865."

Another situation that occurs frequently is the existence of multiple dates for one event. What do you do if you have three different birth dates for an ancestor? Many genealogy programs and paper forms do not have enough room to include more than one date.

Of course, the answer is to make note of all the dates (and write down where you got the information for the date!). This is the reason forms and computer programs have "note" areas. At the onset, there might not be any way to determine which date is accurate. You incur no penalty by keeping all of the different dates until further research can substantiate the correct piece of data.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 2

To write down a geographic location, the researcher should begin with the most specific area or geographic point. In regards to Chicago, it would be: Chicago, Cook, IL. Each item should be separated by a comma.

One does not need to spell out the name of the state or province if standard 2-letter abbreviations are used. If your research extends to a foreign country, it is appropriate to add the country. Unfortunately, there is not a "standard" list of country abbreviations thus their use should be avoided to prevent confusion.

Other points to consider involve the exclusion of superfluous items in the data. Do not add "city of" or "town of" to the name. Do not add "county," "borough," or "state of" to the names. Most family historians, however, place a comma before the county if the city or town is unknown.

For example: ,Montgomery, AL would indicate that no information is known beyond the name of the county. If a person lived/married/died near a town (but not in it), using "of" is appropriate. For example, Of Atlanta, Fulton, GA. (Some people use "near" rather than "of.") Either of these terms will suffice and convey the same meaning.

One of the most puzzling situations to occur in documenting geographic locations is determining the corresponding county of a particular town or city. Fortunately, there are many excellent references available to ensure that this type of data is complete.

A good geographical dictionary can become very handy in these situations. Some of the larger desk or student dictionaries have place name directories as an appendix. Most public libraries, university research libraries, and family history centers have geographical dictionaries. Your first choice, however, may be an Internet resource called FamilySearch.

Go to familysearch.org and click the custom search tab. Select the Family History Library Catalog and select place search. Type in the name of the town and see if there is a listing.

It is the Geographic Names Information System sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey. Just type in the city or town name in the "feature name" box and click "send query." You will get a list that will include the name of the particular county sought.

If these electronic searches do not pan out, there are still some tried and true methods that can be used to find county names. In a pinch, you might want to examine a map that has an index. (Non-indexed maps will place you in the position of looking for a needle in a haystack.)

You might also try contacting the reference librarian of your public library. As a last resort, you might try calling a telephone operator or directory assistance in the area or state where the city is located.

Many researchers have used the double comma between the town and the state to indicate they did not know the county. For example, Albany,,New York. The use of the double comma should only be used when you have exhausted all avenues to discover its origin. This situation is most likely to occur when you find towns, villages, or burgs that no longer exist.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 3

Wills are very valuable commodities to the family researcher. Notwithstanding the bare minimum will that is sometimes left by a decedent (dead person), wills can be rich in genealogical data. Children, spouses, grandchildren, siblings, parents, cousins, and numerous other family members are often mentioned in a person's will.

In looking for information about wills, most often researchers will come across books in libraries called "will abstracts." These abstracts are typically volumes written by other researchers and commercially printed. The abstracts give a synopsis of a will along with the necessary information should the researcher want to obtain a copy of the actual will from a probate court. The absence of an ancestor's name in such a book by no means indicates that a will was not written.

Where are wills kept? Some are kept by the attorney of the testator or testatrix (maker of a will). Some wills are maintained in safety deposit boxes. The executor or executrix (the person appointed in the will to handle the affairs mentioned in the will) are often given copies. In some states, the will can be archived in a municipal or county court.

To probate a will is the process by which a will is declared valid by a court. If a will does not mention an executor or executrix, or if that person is unable to carry out the duties of the appointment, then the court must appoint an administrator or administratrix to handle the affairs of the will. People who die without a will are said to have died intestate.

In the realm of genealogy, the researcher should not be concerned if an ancestor's will is probated. More often than not, the researcher will find further documents from the court or documents addressed to the court to account for how the will was administered.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 4

Soldier, republican, deacon, graduate-all would generate some form of document that might be useful to the genealogist. Grades, social activities, various accomplishments, and photos might be collected from college. Most churches kept some form of historical log that could shed light on the person's religious and community involvement.

Voter registration information, polling data, and local political party histories might provide information on one's former residence, political activity, and community involvement. However, the fact that the relative was in the military (since a pension was provided) might offer the best source of genealogical data.

Military records come in various forms and from various sources. For example, the largest collection of pre-20th century military records is found at the National Archives yet the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is the depository for this century's military records.

Special pension applications are found at the Library of Congress. Merchant Marine records since 1937 are housed at the Office of the Commandant of the Coast Guard-the rest are at the National Archives. Civil War personnel records of the Confederacy, on the other hand, may be found either with the National Archives or in the archives of the various southern states.

Not only are the records wildly distributed, there seems to be some sort of "bad karma" on our ability to keep some of these records. (This concept, of course, is no surprise to anyone who has ever had to deal with medical records from the military. The maxim for medical records is: who needs records?) Two significant problems have occurred over the past 200 years to reduce the power of this resource.

The first problem was a fire at the War Department in 1800 that destroyed all of the Revolutionary War pension records. The second problem was a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973 that destroyed a significant portion of the service records of military staff of this century. It must be noted, however, that Herculean efforts have been made to reconstruct records that have been misplaced, burned, or otherwise lost. An exploration of state archives and county courthouses should be consulted if the researcher is not able to access these federal sources (the National Archives, Library of Congress, NPRC, etc.)

A researcher must understand that there is not just one type of military record to explore. Service records, usually in an abstracted or abbreviated format, are probably the most common records that come to mind. These records may have only the basic level of information like the person's name, rank, unit name, and entry date (muster date). My experience with service records has been positive because I also received information regarding the person's birth date, place, and the place of residence at the time of enlistment. Some individuals have received files containing service history, unit history, dates when the person was a prisoner of war, and summaries of citations and decorations received.

Direct ancestors of deceased military personnel of this century should also attempt to locate the actual service record (the complete file) from the National Personnel Records Center. Yes, they had a fire but there is still the possibility that YOUR record was saved. You can consider yourself much more blessed if your ancestor was in the Navy since a substantially larger portion of naval files survived the 1973 fire.

If a file exists, it may be a bonanza of data-including photographs of the relative!

The first military pensions were based on need and the existence of a disability. In 1818, the disability requirement was removed from the application process. By 1832, pensions were authorized solely on the basis of service to the country. Widows and dependent children were also eligible for pension benefits. The application for these pensions is usually sought by the family researcher as it provides a wealth of background information about the veteran or his family.

Veterans who needed special consideration or exception to established rules for gaining a pension had to get approval from the U.S. Congress. These special dispensations were called Private Relief Acts. Such occurrences are documented in the Congressional Record that is housed at the Library of Congress. Private Relief Acts from 1789-1969 are also indexed in the U.S. Serial Set Indexes.

Many early military personnel qualified for bounty land warrants. These warrants gave public land to those who served in the military. The warrants were also used as incentives in joining the military. (Perhaps the slogan at the beginning of the 19th century was: Uncle Sam wants you...to have free land!)

Applications for bounty lands often provide information about the person's residence and military connection. The warrant may help solve the mystery of why someone living in one part of the nation wound up living a thousand miles away. Bounty lands were usually on the ever-receding western frontier.

Many specific "sub-collections" of military information are kept by the National Archives (with copies available from the Family History Library). A survey of a few of these mini-collections includes:

• Military academy cadet applications (1805-1866).
• Confederate prisoners of war who subsequently enlisted in the Union Army (1861-1865).
• Volunteer soldiers serving during the war with Spain (1898).
• Applications of former Confederate officers seeking presidential pardons (after 1865).
• Muster rolls for the U.S. Marine Corps (1789-1893).
• Black soldiers awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (1861-1898).
• Volunteers serving in the various Indian Wars.
• Naval courts martials (1799-1867).

Military records are a valuable source of information for the researcher but it takes persistence and patience to glean this data source.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 5

Taboo items abound in the field of genealogy. Interestingly, all four choices have to do with the concept of preservation. Most family historians deem the information and artifacts uncovered in their searching to be invaluable. Once they obtain the ancestor's handmade quilt, sword, will, or rare daguerreotype (a type of photograph popular in the mid-19th century), the main concern becomes how to keep the item or document safe.

Felt-tip pens lead the list of office products that are not considered "archival quality." By this it is meant that the product does not hold up well through time. The ink in felt-tip pens has the unfortunate characteristic of bleeding into the fiber of the paper so that eventually it looks like the words were written with a small paintbrush. Other items on the office product list include cellophane tape, mucilage, staples, metal paper clips, and rubber bands. These items eventually disintegrate, rust, or melt and can possibly damage the document or article.

In the same category of damaging "accessories" is the magical magnetic photo album. Invariably, the handy instruction/index page stuck in the metal spiral binding alluded to how easy it was to just arrange one's pictures on the page and then cover them with the clear acetate page protector.

It never warned that the "magnetic" was cheap glue that would ultimately absorb into the photographic paper and begin destroying the pictures. Additionally, the page protector has a chemical nature that aids in the decomposition of the photographic material.

Invariably, after a couple of years, each of us has our day of truth when we notice the pictures looking poorly and we try to pry those precious snap-shots out of the album. It is then that we realize the power of the magnetic photo album-the photos are stuck on the page-and it is an eternal arrangement.

Sunlight is also a destructive element to genealogical materials. Sunlight has the ability to bleach paper, inks, and photographs. The words on a newspaper clipping preserved in a book for one hundred years can fade beyond recognition in just a few days if left in the sun. Don't leave important documents or photographs on your sunny desktop or worktable. Be careful to keep valuable portraits away from walls where exposure to sunlight is possible.

The fourth taboo item is the ubiquitous mental note-the most damaging of all. Years ago a man was enclosing a new tub in his bathroom when the telephone rang. He took the call then went back to his task. After some eight days of the strangest noises and clinking sounds ever heard, he remembered his mental note made when the phone rang: don't forget to get the cat from behind the tub before you wall it in!

In a nutshell, so it won't be forgotten: write it down, write it down, write it down.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 6

All data sources are not created equal. Some reference material has more value than others do. This does not mean that value equals a greater quantity of information. The actual value involves the quality of the information provided. Sources of data can be put into the two general categories of being either primary or secondary.

A primary data source is something that originates from first-hand knowledge of the person referenced in the data or from a first-hand witness.

A secondary data source means that the information is simply second-hand. If you write your own life history, the data you include would be considered primary. If you write about incidents in the lives of extended family (which you did not witness) the data is secondary. The information in a will is primary. The information in a will abstract book is secondary. Data on a ship's passenger manifest (a list of people who boarded the ship before it sailed) is primary but an index (created by someone compiling the original list) is secondary.

It is a rare experience, however, to find absolutely pure primary data sources. Death certificates are good examples of this concept. The death date has a good chance of being primary. Other information like the person's place of birth or birth date might be provided by someone who has no direct knowledge of these facts making these data secondary.

Information from the federal census also falls into this category of mixed types of data. For example, the census taker (enumerator) interviews the wife/mother in a family of five. Most of the information written by the enumerator is primary since the wife has first hand knowledge of her life and that of her children. The information she gives about the birthplace of her husband or the couple's parents is likely to be secondary.

Of course, all of the information from a census is secondary unless you are looking at copies of the original returns. Beginning with the 1880 census, an index called the Soundex coding system was used to organize some of information. A Soundex version of the 1880 census was used just with families who had children under eleven years old in the home.

The existing 1890, 1900 and 1920 census returns are fully indexed through this system. Only select states of the 1910 census are in the Soundex system. There will be a Soundex version of the 1930 census.

The list of purely secondary source material includes (but is not limited to): newspaper articles like obituaries, wedding announcements, and summaries of real estate transactions; the index to births, marriages, and deaths kept by clerks of county courts and at state archives; tombstone information (unless it explains who provided the data); or anything abstracted or compiled.

Despite these grand divisions, let it not be misunderstood that secondary data sources are worthless. Likewise, never be led to believe that primary data is always accurate. The art and science of good genealogy operates on the basis of (1) preponderance and (2) the more preponderance, better the reliability and validity. It is simply prudent for the researcher to be acutely aware that everything contained in a data source should not be treated equally.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 7

The only completely true statement about cemeteries is that people are sometimes buried outside the cemetery proper deliberately. It is rarely because of over-crowding. In most areas, people who were buried outside the cemetery had either committed suicide, were murderers, or otherwise committed some heinous crime. (Yes, there are exceptions to this notion.)

The timing of funeral in the 19th century depended on whether it occurred before or after the onset of the Civil War. It was during this war that mortuary science made great strides in how to preserve human remains. The morality of the day dictated the idea that the casualties of this war should be returned to their families for proper burial. This would not have been possible without improved preservation methods and restorative cosmetic services. With these advances, funerals could be postponed to allow for the body to be transported to the homestead. The advent of the telegraph also helped families make preparations for these ordeals.

Before these technological improvements, it was customary to bury the body very quickly. A death on Saturday usually meant a same-day funeral to avoid breaking the Sabbath- a concept originating in the Old Testament. For those who need a diversion from the stress of genealogical research, read William Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying--an interesting treaty on the concept of quick funerals.

Unfortunately, tombstone rubbing does not help preserve the actual stone (in my opinion). Every particle that is accidentally knocked off from the stone brings it one step closer to being eroded to the point of being illegible. While this has been a wildly popular activity for genealogists in the field, wouldn't photographs be less destructive?v

It is also a false notion that new tombstones indicate recent burials. There are numerous instances where families order original markers, slabs, or monuments many years after the ancestor's death. Also, many times new tombstones are purchased to replace items that were either of inferior material or damaged.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 8

Question #8 relates to evaluating sources of information used in gathering one's family history. It is in the same question category as when one of your children asks, "which of us do you really love the most?"

First of all, there is no pat answer that categorically proclaims books are more reliable than Internet sources. There are a few pros and cons regarding both of these sources. The Internet is the new kid on the block and cyber-genealogy is in its infancy.

Unfortunately, Internet resources are extremely under-documented or referenced. It has become trendy to set up Web sites with databases having thousands upon thousands of names. The owners of these sites cordially invite others to heap and retrieve information at their leisure. Sadly, all this data is undocumented and in many cases does not even include the name of the contributor.

On the other hand, I have come across some unforgiving errors in published family histories-missing information that was ostensibly common knowledge to most others. I have also read claims that had no basis in fact. Yet, there is a much greater chance of viewing the references used by a book author than seeing the same on a web site.

These caveats over Internet information lead to the concept of validity. Finding many independent web sites sporting the same data for an individual does not make the information correct. Without some source of documentation to accompany the data, information that is wrong can simply be perpetuated to infinity...and beyond (sorry Buzz Lightyear).

In the same vein as books vs. Internet, there is no rule that says government records take precedence over church records. In fact, if it were not for church records, English-based genealogy would be in a black hole. Carefully documented and preserved parish records leading back to medieval times has been the mainstay of English research.

Likewise, colonial records kept by the various religious sects are the principal resources for many genealogists interested in early American families. Moreover, in our time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only organization equipped, funded, and staffed to collect the world's family records!

The statement with the most truth involves the backing up of data to avoid a loss of information. There is one additional point, however, that is essential in saving your research. It is crucial to also have a back up of the actual software to read the data you are saving. This not only involves genealogy software but any other program you use to read data, including word processor, graphics, photo imaging, and database software.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 9

The correct answer to this question is based on casual observations and not formal survey methods. As such, bad wood is invariably found in every tree. In most cases, however, there are enough beautiful blooms to cover up these blemishes. Likewise, there seems to be few ancestors (and hopefully these are living ancestors) who ask you to change hobbies. It would be proper etiquette to honor a relative's request to exclude him or her from your research if so asked. And there are probably legal ramifications should you distribute information that is protected by law.

Many people might believe cost is a big factor. Fortunately, genealogy can be one of the least expensive hobbies currently popular....unless you upgrade your vehicle to a big custom off-road sports utility vehicle so you can hunt for tombstones "curbside" and then send the data to your home computer with your on-board wireless keyboard ....or purchase a 5000 gigabyte hard drive for an anticipated swell of family names....or finally get that Corinthian leather appointed recliner/microfilm reader-printer that comes with the magic fingers back massage and mini-refrigerator!

Another minor reason people cease researching would be attributed to the demands of a significant other. While genealogy can be an obsession, it is rarely the basis for a separation in one's relationship or a divorce. You just don't hear people saying, "I can't compete with a library" or "You never pay attention to my ancestors."

Genealogy, like any hobby, can occasionally (ha) be time consuming. One may become especially preoccupied when the search for ancestors is productive. Let's face it, genealogy is not just fun, it is fascinating and captivating. Some people would say it is addictive. Others have said that they are somehow driven to seek out their people. Whatever the case, it is definitely in the same category as drinking RC cola with your moon pie! Fortunately, most people who set aside this hobby because of time constraints return to the pursuit sooner or later.

More than any other reason, people seem to set aside the family research when frustration runs high because of information overkill. A person once told me, "I tried doing my genealogy but I got all this stuff and I didn't know what to do with it. I got so fed up I just quit."

The keys to managing a genealogy hobby include planning and organization. Be prepared for lots of data. It is just like a trip to Disney World. If you get in the theme park when the gates first open, there are no lines and no waiting. You have immediate access to all of the shows and rides.

But, Disney World has been designed and organized to handle the other tens of thousands of folks who will trickle in during the remainder of the day. All of the turnstiles, escalators, and miles of chain than make up those wonderful mazes are all in place (or in the ready) to handle the multitudes. Disney exhibits masterful planning and management of high volume traffic.

Likewise, the researcher, who might have only ten or so names to begin with, should anticipate and have ready the system of management to deal with high volumes of data. Here is an additional question to help shed light on how quickly a family history can get "thick."

If a husband and wife had four children and each of these children had four children who each had four children who each had four children (five generations in all), how many spots in the pedigree charts would be filled?

• A. 256
• B. 342
• C. 682
• D. 943

The parents equal 2 people. Their children equal 4. The children's children equal 16. The next generation totals 64. The last generation swells to 256. That equals 342 people. If you include the spouse of each person listed (except the original couple which has already been factored in), the number expands to 682. Obviously, if you suddenly find yourself having this number of people to manage in a database, the file folder and scrap paper you were using becomes quickly obsolete.

Because of limited space, I have included four down-home principles to guide you in the creation of a workable, organized system to handle high volume data.

1. It should be low budget-forcing you to come up with another excuse to use your car against a freestanding ATM machine.
2. It should be explainable. If (or when) you pass the torch, will the next person with your records know how to keep it going (or will they just use the flame to end the confusion)?
3. It should be easy to maintain-like a no-wax floor or a concrete front yard.
4. It should be versatile-like a nasally challenged anteater at a termite ranch-able to quickly follow any direction taken by the subject matter.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 10

This is not a trick question-some people really do work in Washington, D.C. It IS a tricky question if you know anything about the 1890 Federal census.

The 1890 census data included occupations for each person. Unfortunately, for all intents and purposes, this census was destroyed because of fire, ensuing water damage, and then disregard. Unlike all the previous census returns, where copies were left with each county clerk's office, only the original was made and returned to Washington.

In 1896, a fire destroyed the 1890 special schedules for mortality, crime, pauperism, and benevolence, special classes (e.g., deaf, dumb, blind, insane), and portions of the transportation and insurance schedules. This should have triggered the appropriation of money to house the rest of the original documents in a safe area or at least make copies. (The National Archive system had not been created yet.)

The rest of the original 1890 census returns were neatly stored on pine shelves in an unsecured file room in the basement of the Commerce Building. This was the case until January 10, 1921, when security staff noticed smoke coming from the basement of the building. It took almost five hours for firefighters to put out the three-alarm blaze that never left the basement level of the structure. Had this census been placed in the vault where all the other census returns were kept (also located in the basement), we might still have it.

The fire destroyed approximately 25 per cent of the returns. Another 50 percent of the remaining returns were destroyed because of water damage. The charred and water-damaged 1890 census was jockeyed between various storage facilities until 1933 when, without fanfare (and many believe under a scandal), the returns were surreptitiously destroyed. Ironically, one day before the order was issued for the destruction of this census; President Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone for the National Archives Building.

There were some exceptions in this tragedy. We have the census returns for one family each in Minnesota and South Dakota, two families in New York, three families in New Jersey, about 100 Texan families, 102 families from North Carolina and 240 households in Illinois. Fortuitously, the clerk of Washington County, Georgia ordered a copy of their census returns before the fire. Additionally, all the returns from Perry County, Alabama were unharmed. A total of 6,160 names out of 62,979,766 (the population counted in the 1890 census) have been preserved.

This amountsto three rolls of microfilm. Also included in the microfilm is about one-half roll of returns from 1890 Washington, D.C. Thus, the 1890 census is a resource for occupation in the DC area, but it is not the best resource.

Do not waste time looking for the social security application for an 1890 worker-you will not find it. The Social Security program did not begin until 1935. Likewise, if someone has an 1812 draft record, they were probably pushing up daisies in 1890. And (obviously) an 1812 military draft card is a bit too old to be of any help.

City directories are the precursor of our telephone books. They have been around since the close of the Revolutionary War. Initially, these volumes were used to list and advertise businesses. Over the years, however, these directories also added residential listings. Depending on the directory, you might be able to find out information about a person's occupation, their instant address (the one at the time of the publication), former address, and the number of people residing at the same address.

Many city directories were published annually or biannually. This gives the researcher a better method of tracking a person rather than having to rely on the "ten year method" of the federal census. (The federal census has been taken every ten years since 1790. Because of federal privacy laws, the census is not made public until 72 years after it is taken. Thus, searching by the ten-year method is prohibitive after the 1920 census. We will be able to crack open the 1930 census in 2002!)

Using a collection of city directories can give us possible clues as to when people relocated or passed away. It is a matter of noting what year a name stops appearing in the directory. This technique simply suggests that a change could have occurred. Other records must be obtained to verify what actually happened (if any thing) to the person.

When using city directories for this purpose, you must take into account that the name might have been accidentally omitted or a fee was not paid (as required in some areas). One helpful tip is to keep searching through a few more directories of the town to see if the name reappears.

Given the available options, it would be prudent to check the 1890 census but a city directory might be the easiest method of determining one's occupation.

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 11

What can be presumed about a 68-year old person who died in Wichita on 2 Feb 1748? The answer is "D." Why?

There are several problems with the given data. Geographically, Wichita was not in Kansas in 1748 because neither Wichita nor Kansas existed that early in time. Nevertheless, that's not the only problem with this little situation.

You may also observe that the 10th day 2nd month 1748 is not necessarily 2 Feb 1748. The problem involves a changing calendar system. Throughout the Middle Ages, people in Europe relied on the old Julian calendar of 365 days, 12 months, and leap years every fourth year. Unfortunately, religious holidays were/are based on a solar year-particularly the spring equinox on March 21. By 1582, there was a ten-day difference between the solar and the Julian calendars so that the spring equinox of that year occurred on March 11. This would not do!

The Gregorian calendar, after Pope Gregory XIII, corrected this little problem in 1582 so that October 4 was followed by October 15. To avoid future problems, additional rules for leap years were enacted. (So far, everything is going as planned.)

Another difference between the Julian calendar and the Gregorian modification was New Year's day. The former calendar used March 25 as the beginning of a new year. Pope Gregory changed the new year to the first of January. That is why the former seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months of the year were called September, October, November, and December. The Latin origin is: Septem = 7, Octo = 8, Novem = 9, and Decem = 10. It would have made things easier to explain had Pope Gregory given new corresponding names to the old Latin months!

The switch to the current Gregorian calendar would not have been problematic had everyone in the world accepted this change. France, Portugal, Italy, and Spain converted to the new calendar that first year (1582). The rest of Europe (and the world) took several more centuries. In the British Empire, which included the American colonies, the "new" calendar was not adopted until 1752!

Therefore, going back to the question in the quiz, the 2nd month in 1748 would have been under the Julian (or Old Style) calendar. This would make it April instead of February.

Sometimes a researcher might see a date written in various formats because of these calendaring difficulties. The Julian or Old Style system is sometimes abbreviated OS; the Gregorian or New Style system is written NS. Double dates like 4/15 July 1744 reflect both the OS and NS date.

Of course, to further add to the complexity, one must remember that any date between January 1 and March 25 could technically be in two different years. This is why dates from this era are sometimes written with two years. For example: 4/15 January 1750/51. Suppose an Italian marble cutter in Rome sent a letter to a tea distributor in Manchester, England on this date. The Italian, already using the New Style calendar, would date his letter 1751. The tea distributor, in a country using the Old Style, would think his Italian friend a bit daft for using the wrong year.

I suppose that with all this date and calendar confusion, we can be thankful that there will be no discussion in this quiz on how lucky the person was to have a tombstone in Wichita!

Answer to Test Your Genealogy IQ - Question 12

The simple answer is "D." The cousin connection (and the nonsense about being "removed") begins with people having a common grandparent. Why grandparents? Because the next common person would be parents and obviously people with common parents are brother and sister! All the grandchildren of a common grandparent are first cousins. All the common great grandchildren are second cousins.

Cousins and being removed has to do with counting the number of generations between two people and the common grandparent. First, though, we must review our "G's."

The common grandparent = X
A grandchild = GC
A great grandchild = GGC
A great great grandchild = GGGC
A great great great grandchild = GGGGC

Now, visualize all of these abbreviations in a row:

X
GC
GGC
GGGC
GGGGC

How many "G's" does a GC and another GC have in common? The answer is 1. That makes them first (1) cousins.

How many "G's" does a GGGC and another GGGC have in common? The answer is 3. That makes them third (3) cousins.

How many "G's" does a GC and a GGC have in common? The answer is 1. So, that puts them in the first cousin category. But, just like in math where you cross out common numbers and still have a remainder, you must count the extra "G's." The number of extra "G's" indicates how many times the cousins are removed. In this case, there is a remainder of 1. So the relationship between a GC and GGC is: first cousin, once removed.

How about a GGGGC and a GGC? Remember that the number of common "G's" tells what kind of cousin it is and the remaining number of "G's" tell how far removed it is. In this case, there are 2 common "G's" which means the people are second cousins. With a remainder of 2 "G's" it means they are twice removed.

Let's try a GC and a GGGGGGC. These two people only have one common "G" between them so they are in the first cousin range. The remainder of 5 tells us that these first cousins are five times (5X) removed.

Well, that's really all there is to cousins and being removed. Now the mystery is gone and you didn't even have to try to figure out one of those hideous relationship charts.v

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