Genealogy 101 Trivia Quiz

Answer: All of these

All of these define genealogy. Genealogy is the study or investigation of ancestry and family histories. Genealogy also means a family tree; a record or table of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors. A person's genealogy is the tracing of their direct descent from an ancestor; lineage or pedigree.

These definitions are from "The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language", Fourth Edition. Copyright ® 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Answer: A pedigree chart

This chart is called a pedigree chart. A pedigree chart typically shows five generations of a person's family tree. An individual, his/her parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and great-great grandparents are all named in the chart with spaces for the birth, marriage and death dates of each individual.

Answer: The Mormon Church

The Mormon Church (also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) maintains the "world's largest collection of genealogical records, including the names of more than 2 billion deceased people." (thingstodo.com)

The U.S. National Archives does not hold family trees or documents of lineage, though they do have a variety of records that genealogists can use in their research.

The non-profit National Genealogical Society is a membership of individuals and other groups from around the world that share an interest in the field of genealogy. The Society maintains a circulating collection of 20,000+ books in the St. Louis County Library (SLCL) in Missouri.

While individual Catholic churches may maintain some local records, the Catholic Church does not maintain a comprehensive genealogical library.

There are now online sites with even more records available to the public, but they are not considered libraries of written records.

Answer: Daughters of the American Revolution

A woman aspiring to join the Daughters of the American Revolution has to provide a documented genealogy proving that she is directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolution.

The other organizations have no requirements related to genealogy.

Answer: Grammar school report cards

Family Bibles frequently contain hand-written notes about births, deaths, etc. of family members. (Of course, these need further verification, but can help you find a starting point for your research.) Copies of U.S. Social Security records of deceased individuals can be obtained from the Social Security Administration for a small fee; these records contain the birth date, birthplace and parent names of the individual.

The detail available from U.S. Census records varies depending on the year taken, but they can provide valuable information about members of a household at that particular point in time. Grammar school report cards, while they might be interesting in illuminating the history of an individual, do not generally provide much useful information pertaining to one's lineage.

Answer: Relying solely on your family's oral history

Your family's oral history can provide clues that will assist in your research, but never rely on them as fact. Just because Granddaddy says you're descended from King Alfred the Great, doesn't mean it's true. Always make notes about the sources of your information and be skeptical about that information. Mistakes can happen. Look for more than one (preferably multiple) source to confirm any particular "fact."

Answer: 5 August 2003

Using the full four-digit year is crucial, as the world realized towards the end of the 20th century. Using a numeral to indicate the month is problematic because many countries write the day first then the month, but others write the month first and then the day. If you then had 08/05/2003, some people may interpret that as August 5th, 2003 and some people may interpret it as May 8th, 2003.

Answer: Second cousin, once removed

It's important to know the proper ways of describing relationships within families when getting involved with genealogy. Using a relationship chart like the one available at http://www.islandregister.com/cousin.html can help. You identify the common ancestor of the two people you are connecting.

Then for the first person, count the number of generations between them and that common ancestor down the left side of the chart and do the same for the second person across the top of the chart. Follow the chart to the right and down to find the relationship between the two people.

In this case, you are the great-great grandchild of the common ancestor and your grandmother's cousin's son is the great grandchild. Thus you are second cousins once removed.

Answer: Yourself

Let's begin at the beginning. If you're making *your* family tree, you start with *you*!

Answer: Every 10 years

Since 1790, Federal Censuses in the U.S. have been taken every 10 years. U.S. Census data remains confidential for 72 years after it is gathered. The 1890 U.S. Census was largely destroyed by a fire in the basement of the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. where it was stored.