Advocating Genealogy and Growing the Market:
Issues of the New Genealogist
Janet Hovorka
janet@familychartmasters.com www.thechartchick.com
Different levels of genealogists are interacting with each other now more than ever through social
networking and large collaborative databases. Sometimes the collision of new, seasoned, and
professional genealogists can make each of the parties uncomfortable. New genealogists aren’t ever
going away. They will always be with us—hopefully. What are the barriers in the genealogy
community for the new user and how can the community embrace the differences between different
levels of genealogists? How can we work in harmony to nurture new genealogists and collaborate in the
endeavor to find our common roots?
Definitions
Let’s start with some definitions. The best definition for leveling genealogists is the Genealogical
Maturity Model by the Ancestry Insider. (ancestryinsider.blogspot.com) Two sections of the model are
included here. I highly recommend studying this model in its entirety. It can change the way you think
about this community and your own research.
Sources
Entry
Typically
relies on
compiled
genealogies.
Conclusion Often
incorrectly
Trees
merges or
combines
individuals in
trees.
Emerging
Mostly relies
on compiled
genealogies
and online
sources.
Practicing
Uses a limited
number of
record types
and
repositories.
Mostly relies
on online and
microfilmed
sources.
Proficient
Uses a wide
variety of
record types.
Often contacts
record
custodians to
obtain copies of
high-quality
sources.
Growing
hesitancy to
merge or
combine
individuals
without
evidence.
Never merges
Manages
compiled
evidence
genealogies
separately from
into own tree.
conclusion tree.
Contributes or Not interested
changes
in trusting high
community
quality
trees only with conclusions to a
evidence.
community tree.
http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com/2010/10/genealogical-maturity-model.html
While not in the Ancestry Insiders’ model, I would propose to add the following :
Janet Hovorka
janet@familychartmasters.com
Stellar
Insightfully
pursues
research at
multiple,
targeted
repositories,
making use
of a plethora
of records
and record
types.
Has put so
much work
into their
conclusion
tree, they are
highly likely
to publish it.
Scope
Entry
Interested in
a particular
story (insert
family
legend here.)
Emerging
Interested in
collecting
everything
“name
collector”
20,000 people
in file
Practicing
Interested in
collecting
quality—still
interested in
scope
Proficient
Becomes more
focused on
proving and
sourcing a
smaller part of
their “tree”
Stellar
Works
mainly on
one person/
one family at
a time. Can
spend years
on cluster
research to
break
through a
brick wall.
What are the differences that you see in the genealogy community?
Seasoned genealogists need new genealogists.



More information is more information—you never know who could have that family document
or trunk full of pictures.
Grow the marketplace—A stronger market creates the demand for better genealogy tools that
will eventually make research and compilation easier. The more demand the better the tools.
Someone to carry on your work—especially in your own family it is good to have someone who
will value and proceed forward with your work. Most genealogists want their children to be
engaged with their work.
New genealogists need seasoned genealogists.


Accuracy , methodology, citation--In new genealogists there is usually a general lack of
evaluation of all sources of information. New genealogists are typically unaware of the need to
cite sources. Copyright issues are a revelation—“it's my family, it's a government document, it's
mine.” All seasoned genealogists began at this point. How many advanced genealogists still
have early research that needs to be cleaned up? Many seasoned genealogists are on a quest to
make sure that new genealogists start out right so that they won’t have as much cleaning up to go
back to on their early work.
Where do you find that bit of information?--What might seem like a brick wall to a new
genealogist could just be research skills that they don’t have yet. Typically they are looking for a
“hidden source” though rather than better skills.
Experienced genealogists think newbies need them because of accuracy. Newbies think they need
more experienced genealogists only to help with the particular “brick wall” issue they are having
right now.
What other reasons are there that the different levels of genealogists need each other?
Collision in the collaboration age

Collision between different levels of genealogists has come to a head in this decade because the
tools to collaborate on the internet have changed.
Janet Hovorka
janet@familychartmasters.com


Joint conclusion trees can be a good idea for instant collaboration (remember—you never know
what source someone might have), but they can be a bad idea when higher level genealogists get
frustrated with the way lower level genealogists treat sources (or don’t bother to treat sources).
Tools to collaborate must have the ability to foster mentoring in order to quell frustrations of
higher level genealogists. Otherwise, frustrations can boil over and browbeating can ruin the
new genealogists’ experience.
Genealogy community brick walls
Scholarizing—Genealogy is a unique academic discipline because always has new, curious people who
only want a hobby. But genealogy is really just micro-historical research. American genealogy is
usually harder for the new genealogist because family history research is harder to get started on within
a nation of immigrants. Conversely, England holds a lot of hobbyist historians because research is
easier to get started on if your ancestry has stayed in England.
As genealogists become more seasoned they become more aware of methodology, citing sources and
evaluating the quality of a source. New genealogists aren't usually ready for the academic approach.
Is there such a thing as a good Hobbyist Historian?
Subset of Scholarizing:

Libraryizing—“Not all sources are online, not all sources are online.” To the beginner, the
internet is all there is. But to exhaust the sources, you will need to go to the repository.
Comprehensive/right and convenient/easy don’t usually mix well in family history research.
Avalanching--Sometimes genealogists can sound like addicts. Many people in this day and age don’t
need a new hobby. Many are too busy and are afraid of something that sounds like it will take over their
lives. There may be eyerolling and snoozing in your family, but everyone wants to see a picture of their
great-grandfather, their Dad’s grades, or hear stories about all the trouble their grandmother got in as a
kid if they aren’t afraid of being avalanched.
Subsets of Avalanching:

Resource Drowning--Sometimes when asked for one record, advanced genealogists can launch
into a discussion of how all the records in the area work rather than answer the new genealogists’
question.
Some have recently expressed the belief that there is only one person per generation pre-destined to be
the family history Zealot. True?
Gatekeeping--This is sometimes seen where genealogists gather, societies, fhcs, etc. Some people don’t
actually want to have newcomers. But even when someone doesn’t want new comers who will “mess
up the data,” most people want their family members to be interested (“as long as they won’t mess up
my data”)
Subsets of Gatekeeping:
1. Vocabularizing --PAF, RM, AQ, FTM, TMG, GEDCOM, NGS, FGS, UGA, SLIG, ICAPGEN,
BCG, AG, CG, CGL, FS, API, Need I say more?
Janet Hovorka
janet@familychartmasters.com
2. Inside the community there is also Catagorizing. Are you a blogger, vendor, professional,
transitional, lecturer, writer, society member, 21ster?
Over teaching--Citing Sources, Using Technology, etc, etc, etc. Most advancing genealogists still have
piles of research we didn’t do right in the beginning. I think when we try to teach, we are trying to help
new genealogists avoid those early mistakes. But, no one thinks they are a beginner. Even if they’ve
only spent one hour on Ancestry they want to tell you how they found something. Let them enjoy the
thrill of the hunt.
Don’t touch mine-- I’ll help you with yours, but don’t touch mine. One of my beginning genealogist
SLCC students wrote, “I can't tell you how frustrating it is that I have redone part of my family and then
found out someone had already been there, done that and hadn't shared.” Genealogists who have issues
with other people “messing up” their research, need to keep their data separate from conclusion trees but
can still interact with those trees through their software.
My vision for a healthy community.
Mentoring--Elder Henry B. Eyring at the “Celebration of Family History” for RootsTech 2011 said that
David McCullough, though an expert, would give you the “feeling that he thinks you might be able to do
it yourself.” That is what it means to be a mentor. Mentors will help genealogists find that particular
answer to their “brick wall” and also in the process teach them good genealogy skills. Elder Eyring
added, “You have built and preserved a community in which an expert who continues to be a mentor for
those less skilled is revered.” We have the ethic, but mentoring needs to be built into our systems and
our processes.
How can we build mentoring into our systems and processes? How do you build mentoring into a
collaborative database?
Welcoming—Right now we are doing this well in the social networking community. Facebook,
Geneabloggers, Google + and Twitter. These people will get excited about your new find. The will also
often look something up for you or tell you about something they found that might help you.
Generosity.--Have seasoned genealogists *always* interpreted each source perfectly? Allow others the
same mistakes that you have made. We all need to remember that we all started as new genealogists.
Embracing diversity--Dispel the notion that there is only one way to do genealogy. Different
genealogists have different goals. Some want to accomplish more, some want to get every part perfect.
Allow other genealogists to research differently than you do.
What are you going to do in the future to embrace different levels of genealogists and make the
genealogy community a more friendly place?
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Janet Hovorka
janet@familychartmasters.com