Always Start With What You *Know*

  

The Anchor Island Methodology: Cultivating Precision in Genealogical Research

I always commence my genealogical inquiries anchored to absolute certainty. This foundational tier consists exclusively of individuals I have personally encountered, alongside locales, dates, and chronologies authenticated through tangible ephemera and concrete memories housed within family collections. These verifiable relationships and activities constitute my "anchor island".

For example: I do not initiate research by blindly searching for an elusive eighteenth-century patriarch. Instead, I start with a grandparent whose existence, residence, and familial ties are corroborated by a physical wedding photograph in my possession or a vividly recounted childhood memory.

Operating from this base of certainty, I meticulously architect bridges connecting to subsequent ancestral tiers. One cannot traverse the generational expanse using flimsy, speculative structures; such compromised foundations inevitably collapse. Consequently, I dedicate intensive effort to fortifying the structural integrity of a single connection, building relentlessly until the pathway to the subsequent generation becomes incontrovertibly solid.

Clients frequently exhibit a palpable urgency to bypass immediate predecessors, expressing frustration when I persist in an exhaustive analysis of the grandparents before venturing further into antiquity. While I strive to accommodate their enthusiasm, elucidating the necessity of this methodical pacing proves challenging within brief consultations, necessitating a comprehensive explanation of my methodology.

The Perils of Proliferation

The rationale driving this stringency stems primarily from the pervasive compilation negligence plaguing modern genealogy. The proliferation of digital repositories facilitates the effortless publication of unsubstantiated family lineages, engendering a catastrophic iteration of the telephone game where initial data suffers complete distortion.

For example: An individual could whimsically publish fabricated relationships—such as claiming a fictional character like Mickey Mouse as a patriarch. Subsequent users, lacking critical discretion, might blindly integrate this hallucination as factual evidence. As more individuals merge these unsourced trees, you eventually confront a convoluted, erroneous profile of a man boasting fifty wives and a hundred and fifty children entirely devoid of legitimate sourcing.

I maintain little patience for sifting through these convoluted, speculative quagmires. My preference is to originate from a blank slate, dissecting individual pieces of evidence with deliberate scrutiny, regardless of how tedious others may perceive this process.

The Primacy of Provenance

A widespread deficiency within amateur research remains the fundamental inability to distinguish primary from secondary sources, coupled with a failure to recognize the paramount importance of accurately reproducing original documents.

For example: An original, handwritten post-it note—when verified against known penmanship samples—possesses exponentially greater evidentiary value than transcribed text upon a digital webpage. If you attempt to verify a mother's maiden name, holding a scan of an original ledger entry is a foundational primary source. Conversely, relying on an Ancestry.com hint that merely points to another user's unverified tree is a perilous exercise in hearsay.

Frequently, the "evidence" touted by researchers to validate significant lineages is merely a regurgitation of secondary assertions, leading down a veritable rabbit hole that culminates in no original statement whatsoever. When evaluating a piece of evidence, I subject it to rigorous interrogation: identifying the informant, establishing the collection date, and calculating the temporal distance from the documented event. Secondary sources recorded concurrently with an event wield substantially more authority than those authored a century later, a distinction that becomes crucial prior to the nineteenth century when primary documentation grows increasingly scarce. Because secondary documentation exhibits varying degrees of reliability, meticulously establishing a source's credibility is absolutely vital before permitting it to arbitrate subsequent historical contradictions.

Cultivating Utter Uniqueness

My ultimate objective is the comprehensive development of an individual, their spouse, and their minor dependents, rendering the familial unit utterly idiosyncratic. To achieve this, I parse out infinitesimal details from every source, acknowledging that no granularity—whether a specific thoroughfare, proximity to a landmark, or a distinct municipal quadrant—is too trivial to document.

For example: Novices erroneously assume that a cluster of familiar surnames within a specific township automatically denotes their target lineage. However, if you extract every granular detail from a city directory, you might discover that your "John Smith" resided at 104 Elm Street and worked as a blacksmith, while a contemporaneous "John Smith" lived at 902 Oak Avenue and was a practicing attorney. This microscopic detailing serves as an indispensable safeguard against the repetitive nature of ancestral nomenclature.

Dedicating hours to extracting minute inferences from a single paragraph illuminates glaring chronological or geographical impossibilities that would otherwise remain undetected. Maintaining a hyper-detailed profile exposes absurdities such as instantaneous cross-county relocations, illogical occupational pivots, or the spontaneous reconfiguration of sequential birth orders. Achieving this requisite granularity demands bypassing the superficial transcriptions offered by genealogy databases, which routinely omit critical identifiers like house numbers or specific municipal sectors. One must actively seek the original visual scan or a physical library directory to extract these granular nuances, linking every occupation and spousal detail directly to the originating document.

Bridging the Generational Chasm

The necessity of constructing a uniquely detailed family profile becomes acutely apparent when confronting the challenges of generational transition. This hurdle is exacerbated by marital surname alterations, the utilization of honorifics superseding given names, and rigid, repetitive naming traditions that continually recycle a limited lexicon of monikers within isolated communities.

For example: In many rural nineteenth-century communities, strong naming traditions dictated that the firstborn son be named after the paternal grandfather. Consequently, you may encounter four distinct men named "Jacob Smith," all of whom have sons named "John," residing in the exact same county during the exact same decade.

Formulating an utterly unique familial identity is a laborious endeavor. However, without an incontrovertible comprehension of the current generation, asserting the legitimacy of the preceding generation remains an impossibility. I refuse to squander monumental effort researching prospective ancestors without firmly cementing the generational linkage through robust corroboration.

To definitively bridge the gap between a son and a father, I require a confluence of evidence: probates delineating progeny, obituaries enumerating siblings, localized land transactions illustrating geographical proximity, and newspaper chronicles of matrimonial events occurring on ancestral properties. Such exhaustive cross-referencing is essential to distinguish ancestors from contemporary cousins bearing identical names and inhabiting the precise same county. Consequently, I diligently chronicle all affiliations, religious observances, occupations, and even unsavory legal entanglements. Documenting these unpleasant realities is never a pursuit of sensationalism, but a vital tactic required to forge a distinctly unique, unassailable ancestral profile

In Summary: Keep the faith!

I completely understand that agonizing over a single obituary for an hour feels incredibly frustrating when you are genuinely eager to chase the glamorous details of a long-lost earl. I truly get it. Although my methodical pacing might occasionally feel at odds with your excitement, please know that I am your steadfast ally in this journey. My ultimate goal is to construct an unbreakable pathway to your genuine ancestors—individuals who, while perhaps absent from sensational society headlines, are profoundly vital to the fabric of who you are today. Without fail, this rigorous process always unearths a previously untold story that is infinitely more deserving of a bold headline. We simply need to discover that beautiful narrative and champion it ourselves. By adhering to these foundational steps together, we ensure that when we finally write their story, we do so with the absolute confidence that this remarkable individual is authentically and irrefutably connected to you.

Descendants of David and Emma Urschel

Please check out the interactive tree I just published for the Descendants of David and Emma Urschel.

Family Tree Posters

I'm in the process of creating Family Tree Posters for this family.  They are available from the Photo Albums menu on the right.

Here also is a link.  It will give you a message about the redirect, just accept the redirect warning.


There are mistakes I'm sure in these Trees.  If you would like to see a change made, most in this family know how to reach me over facebook, email, etc.  I will admit to mistakes easily; you don't need to send me anything more than a politely worded request, and I will make the changes you've asked for.  I do appreciate the corrections, as I have limited access to some portions of the family for details.  So I am not certain on a lot of things.  Thank you.

My Cup Runneth Over

I attended the memorial service today of my Dad's cousin Randy.  During the service, I listened to all the wonderful stories of how this humble man affected them in a moment of crisis in their own lives.  I, too, had a few of my own stories of how Randy was there for me and my family during moments of dire need.  I had time only to share one during the moment of open mic.  When my Dad and Randy were kids, they were much more like brothers than cousins.  I remember Randy staying with me through many a melodrama storm of my family - he was always such a calming presence for me.

When Randy learned that my Dad was seriously ill with cancer, he simply asked for where we were, and he hopped in the car and drove the six hours to sit with Dad.  Randy then hopped back in the car and drove six hours home.  During that time with Randy, I saw my Dad relax for a bit, and Dad came back to us for a little while.  Those were a few hours which I'll never forget.  Randy gave us a gift so precious.  The gift of time and love.  That seemed to be the theme through out all the stories I heard today.

I am struck by how blessed I am to have so many Godly men who've absolutely poured out their lives for their loved ones. My Dad had his faults, I am not saying he was a saint or trying to put him on a pedestal.  He made many hurtful choices, especially when he was younger and before he had accepted Jesus into his heart.  But this I know. My Dad Loved Me.  When he didn't have to.   I wasn't blood.  He poured out his life for me and my siblings. Randy did the same for his family, especially after Randy was changed by his acceptance of Jesus as his lord and savior. I listened to Randy's daughters speak of how he cared for their needs, spiritual and physical, and I'm struck by the many parallels.  These men were too young to go, but they left an impression on those left behind.  I have difficulty thinking of Randy singularly without also recollecting my Dad.  For me, they were so close as brothers, that in my mind they had a a strong bond. Perhaps this was a divinely inspired bond due to the burdens they would bear.  Only God can answer these and many other questions I have.

I choose to trust that God has a purpose in taking them when He did. I know this is what Randy would've wanted.  We will continue to mourn, as he touched so many on so deep a level.  But we must remember, he is with his Lord.  And we will see him again.  I know many miss him in the waiting.  My Cup Runneth Over to have had these men in my life at all.

Time

Time is such an intangible thing.  I hate and love time.  Time is both a gift from God, and a disciplinarian.  What I wouldn't give to hug these two people again.  Just once.

We lost Randall Ward late last night.  Too young.  I believe that it's not a coincidence that those my Dad had strong bonds with have died relatively young.  Natural causes, yes.  But, something in these men who were so unlike each other bonded them together.  Perhaps it was Jesus, who knew these men would need to help each other when their turn came.

I'm so grateful too, of the time spent.  Of the time God granted us.  God still grants us time.  Open your eyes to the people around you.