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. • • 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. 1,500 words