Chapter 8: Family Facts
Placing your ancestors into geographical and historical context is one of the thrills
of genealogical research. These people were not isolated, and they should be more to you
than just names and dates on a computer screen or a printed page. Some of the best clues
to help you in your quest are the statistical and contextual leads found in a wide variety of
places.
Ancestry.com has compiled a fascinating, searchable Family Facts archive. You
can learn about the meaning of your surname, the distribution of people by surname, life
expectancy, and much more.
You can access the Family Facts archive from the Learning Center screen. You
will see the category labeled ‘Family Facts’ just under the Search the Library template
and, when you click there, the screen shown in Figure 8-1 is displayed.
Figure 8- 1: The Main Family Facts Screen
You can select any of the Facts to search by either clicking on the fact type on the list on
the left hand side of the screen, in which case a new screen is displayed, or by entering a
last name in the field shown, selecting a fact type from the drop-down list, and pressing
the Go button. We’re going to explore each of the individual screens, just to show you
what they look like when we use the surname of Adams.
The Civil War Service screen, once the name “adams” is entered and the Update
button is pressed, looks like the screen in Figure 8-2.
Figure 8- 2: Civil War Service Screen
You will note the numbers of Adams veterans by allegiance – Confederate, Union, and
Combined. Each of the numbers is a link on which you can click and display a search
results list for all persons whose surname is Adams from the Civil War Service database.
Each result has a ‘View Record’ link. Also on this screen are suggestions as to why the
data on this screen might be helpful to your research.
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You can decide if you want to search military records for more information.
You can find out if your ancestors came primarily from the North or the South.
You may then want to search the Military Records databases for additional records.
Military records can tell you an ancestor’s birthplace, occupation and even physical
description. A link there will take you to the Search Military Records screen.
Click on the Immigration Year fact and the screen shown in Figure 8-3 is
displayed.
Figure 8- 3: Immigration Year Screen
Ancestry.com has statistically analyzed the persons whose surname is Adams in their
New York Passenger Lists database and a line graph is displayed to indicate their
findings. You can tell, year by year, how many Adamses immigrated to the United States.
This graph can help you to perhaps focus your efforts on searching immigration records
for a particular period. You can click on one of the year circles on the graph to display a
search results list of all the persons named Adam or Adams, in alphabetical sequence
within first name and then in chronological sequence of arrival. Another link in the lower
right of the screen will take you to the Search Immigration Records screen.
The Life Expectancy screen shown in Figure 8-4 consists of a chart compiled by
Ancestry.com from the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) of the age at death of persons
listed in that database. You may click on one of the year circles to see specifics search
results about persons named Adams, in alphabetical sequence by year of death. This may
be a helpful way to view the SSDI data, but you also may click on the link in the lower
right of the screen will take you to the Search the Social Security Death Index screen.
Figure 8- 4: Average Life Expectancy Screen
It is always interesting to discover the geographical origins of a particular
surname and the density of the name in those areas. Ancestry.com has used both the 1891
England and Wales Census Collection, and the 1840, 1880, and 1920 United States
Federal Census records to perform analyses of both the United Kingdom and the United
States in those respective years. (You can select 1840, 1880, or 1920 from the drop-down
list on the U.S. screen to see the respective maps and surname distributions.)
This may well help you begin to focus your search for ancestors and relatives in
particular U.K. counties or U.S. states. The two screens for the respective name
distribution screens are shown in Figures 8-5 and 8-6 respectively.
Figure 8- 5: Name Distribution (UK) Screen
Figure 8- 6: Name Distribution (US) Screen
The origins and meanings of names can be especially interesting. Many of our
ancestors used repetitive naming patterns that were traditional in their national or ethnic
background. Others used names that had special meanings to them.
Ancestry.com has produced a Family Facts screen for Name Meanings. You may
enter a first and/or last name to obtain definitions. The sources of the information are A
Dictionary of First Names and the Dictionary of American Family Names, both published
by the Oxford University Press. Figure 8-7 shows an example in which the name Jean
Adams was entered.
Figure 8- 7: Name Meanings Screen
Not only are the origins of the names provided, but possible alternate names and/or
spellings may be included. You can click on the links to other names to learn more about
them as well.
Placing your ancestors into historical context can be exciting. You probably want
to know what was happening on a certain date in your ancestor’s lifetime, or about a
particularly noteworthy historical event and its potential influence on your ancestor.
Ancestry.com’s Newspaper Headlines Family Fact screen, shown in Figure 8-8, is a
resource for this type of research.
Figure 8- 8: Newspaper Headline Screen
The drop-down list allows you to select a decade and then you click on the Update
button. All of the newspapers are from Ancestry.com’s Historic Newspaper Collection,
which we will examine in detail in Chapter 11. You can click on a link by the sample
newspaper headline displayed for the decade, or you may click on the link in the lower
right of the screen will take you to the Search Newspapers and Periodicals Records
screen. The Historical newspapers are searchable by name, date, location, and keyword,
and we will discuss that in Chapter 11.
What was the #1 occupation of heads of households as indicated in the 1880
United States Federal Census population schedules? The answer is not too surprising:
farmer. However, Ancestry.com’s analysis of the 1880 census for the general public and
for the surname Adams shows, in Figure 8-9, that 35% of the heads of household were
farmers, while 38% of those head named Adams were farmers. Knowing something
about the occupations of persons with a specific surname in the 1880 census may give
you a clue of other places to look for records, such as land and property records, tax
records, and other evidence.
Figure 8- 9: Occupations Screen
You will want to trace your ancestors across the ocean to their place of nativity at
some point, no doubt. Ancestry.com’s Place of Origin screen is another great place to
start your search. If you don’t know where your Adams ancestor came from,
Ancestry.com’s analysis of their New York Passenger Lists database would indicate that
the large majority came from England. (Note: The list shows origins of England, Ireland,
Scotland, and Great Britain, but the information used for this analysis was based upon
what was on the actual immigration lists.)
Figure 8- 10: Place of Origin Screen
You can click on any of the locations to view the New York Passenger List search results
organized for surname Adams by place of origin specified on the manifest.
In addition to the Place of Origin, you will certainly be interested in determining
the port from which your ancestor left his or her homeland to immigrate to America. The
Ports of Departure screen, shown in Figure 8-11, shows a pie chart representing the
primary European ports shown in the New York Passenger Lists database from which
immigrants had departed. Be aware that different groups emigrated from different
countries in different concentrations at different times, and that the information in this
graph may be skewed by the use of the records of only one port of arrival. However, the
data provides an interesting set of places to start your research. Remember, too, that some
continental Europeans first went to England or Ireland where they changed ship to
continue their immigration to the United States.
Figure 8- 11: Ports of Departure Screen
You can click on the pie chart to view immigration records for the surname Adams.
Summary
The Family Facts collection provides sets of interesting statistics for consideration
as you perform your research. You will want to check back here periodically as you
perform different types of research. Ancestry.com continues to update and expand this
area for your reference.
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