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Writing Genohistory

Early Federal Census Drama: A Tool for Your Sanity

2 Comments / Censuses, Genohistory on Purpose, Writing Genohistory / By / 12 minutes of reading

Update Jan. 20, 2023: A new generation of this tool is now also available, using a Google Sheets foundation. See the 90-60 Census Workbook.

We love the U.S. federal censuses, don’t we?  We need them. Right back to 1850, they’re our bedrock — or 1870, if you descend from enslaved persons. Earlier than that, however, we dread them. Fear them, maybe. Avoid them, to our peril. While limited in value individually, however, the early federal censuses become gold when compared to each other. Comparing them is a hassle, though, right? Not any more. I have designed an Excel-compatible spreadsheet tool that makes early federal census tally-matching a game you actually want to play. Let the Early Federal Census Worksheet restore your sanity.

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Born Here, Died There: The Life between Bookends

10 Comments / Genohistory on Purpose, Writing Genohistory / By / 5 minutes of reading

My 2nd-great-grandfather Jacob Dennis Mayberry, widowed in 1917, desired a fresh start. In 1919, he purchased a 440-acre farm in Chilton County, Alabama, 24 miles northeast of his former residence in Bibb County. He built a large and rambling house around the old cabin that stood there. His daughter, Clara, her husband, Otha Payne, and their baby, Clara Thomas Payne (my grandmother), and his unmarried daughter Mary Thomas Mayberry moved with him to the new place. And on this property, they all lived out the rest of their lives, though you would not know that by a basic family tree.

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Judging Ancestors: The Distortions of Hindsight (A Cannibal Story)

10 Comments / Controversy in History, Genohistory on Purpose, History, Writing Genohistory / By / 8 minutes of reading

An earlier edition of this post appeared in my blog, The Golden Egg Genealogist, in April 2019. Genohistorians are encouraged to see the link to our discussions of “the now of then” in recent posts. A “Call to Action” and “Zotero Notes” have been added to the original post.

Hindsight will never be 20/20. The further back we look, the fuzzier the view gets. In looking back past our own personal experience—that journey we call “studying history”—we become strangers in a foreign land. Observing what we see there can be immensely valuable. Evaluating the effectiveness of our ancestors’ choices can enhance wisdom. Morally judging ancestors through the eyes of the 21st century, however, is a destructive misuse of hindsight.

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Writing Genohistory: Waldo and the Now of Then

13 Comments / Genohistory on Purpose, History, Writing Genohistory / By / 12 minutes of reading

Some say it is not history until you write it. I have a bit more expanded view of history. Inevitably, though, we who are starting to call ourselves genohistorians will start to think of writing genohistory projects. I have tiptoed in with my blogging. As we expand in this field, what will writing genohistory look and feel like?

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I stand with the innocents of all nations and pray peace to all.

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