Part II
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Most people are interested in their ancestry - who they are, where they came from, what they did, and many other questions. That is where genealogy enters in, says Bob Chenard of Waterville, who specializes in Franco-American genealogy. Many Franco-Americans in this area have personally researched their ancestry or had assistance from professionals and had great success in that they identified up to 4,000 distinct and direct ancestors into their 13th generation and beyond - some roots as early as the mid 1300's. It takes a lot of time, work and a bit of expertise with French and French names. The problem with many people is that they simply don't know where to begin.
The most obvious way to begin is to start with what you know - write it down - start with the names of your parents, when and where they were married, then the names of your grandparents with the dates and places of marriage, then your great-grandparents with the same information. If you don't know that far back, then it is time to do some research. It may be worthwhile to check with some of your older relatives to see what they know - pick their brains - they may have helpful clues such as where the ancestors originated from, when and where they died, names of great aunts and uncles, etc. Write it all down.
There are basically three types of genealogies - an ascending genealogy, a descending genealogy, and a direct lineage. The direct lineage is the simplest and that is what you want to do first, says Chenard. It begins with you, then your parents, followed by your paternal grandparents, your paternal great-grandparents, etc. In other words, if your surname is Rioux, every generation back is a Rioux to the point where you can find no more information in that line. You number them 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. back. This is basically all that Alex Haley, author of "Roots" did in tracing his ancestors to Africa.
If you hire the professional genealogists, such as at the Mormon's archives in Salt Lake City, Utah, it may cost you up to $900 just to identify your direct lineage back to the earliest records available. Problem is, they may not be that helpful or successful. Any Franco-American genealogist, such as Bob Chenard, can do this for less than $50 as a rule. If the information you need requires no additional research, the cost is much less.
A descending genealogy is one that begins with a set of parents and lists all of their descendants down. It lists all the children, dates and places of birth, death, marriage, etc. In other words, if you fit in there, you'll have all your aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.
An ascending genealogy is what most people desire. This is generally refered to as a "pedigree." It lists all of your direct ancestors in every branch. There are no aunts, uncles, or cousins in this one - only your full-blood ancestors. An ascending genealogy is unique in that only your own brothers and sisters share the same pedigree. In this type, you only list the names of the parents, grandparents, etc. with the dates and places of marriage. You can include other information such as their dates and places of birth and death, but it is not relevant except that it can be useful in tracing their parents.
Now, if you don't do this systematically, says Chenard, it won't take long before you will run into problems called "confusion," because you'll have so many names you won't know at what point you are or what to look for next. There are two ways - first, you purchase a multiple generation chart or make one yourself. A multiple generation chart is pictured in this article. The second way is to assign a number to each individual. Number 1 is you. number 2 is your father, 3 is your mother, 4 is your paternal grandfather, 5 is your paternal grandmother, 6 is your maternal grandfather, 7 is your maternal grandmother, 8 is your paternal great-grandfather, etc. Note that every "even" number is a male and the odd numbers are always female (unless you, number 1, are a male). Note also that your father is number 2, his father is number 4, his father, in turn, is number 8, and his father would be number 16 (your paternal great-great grandfather), and this one's father would be number 32, etc. Since your mother is 3, her father is double that, or 6, and her father would be 12, etc. By the time you get to your 13th generation, your surname ancestor will be number 4,096.
Many people fail to stop to realize that the number (quantity) of your direct ancestors doubles each generation - 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, and by the 13th generation you'll have 4,096 direct ancestors for a total of 8,190 direct ancestors if you found every one. Chenard claims that he has identified a 15th century ancestor in his 18th generation with the assigned number of 136,192. Hence the confusion if you don't have a good system.
Part II of this article will deal with the records -i.e., the sources of information - where to find them and some tips on how to do it. Don't get discouraged, says Chenard. One acquaintance of his almost was when she asked a local "Yankee" genealogist for help in her search of ancestors and was told she wouldn't find much on her ancestors after she told the genealogist that her ancestors were French-Canadians. About a year later, after doing some personal research , this Franco-American lady had identified several thousand ancestors.
Part II
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