Part VII: Profiling Your Ancestors

[FYI: You may notice there are links for two identical words. The words are the same, but the links are different.]

As someone who holds a degree in criminal justice, it will come as no surprise that I am inextricably drawn to crime dramas like "CSI", "NCIS" & "Criminal Minds".  I also happen to know that genealogists work in much the same ways as those in the criminal justice field & even some of the characters in TV crime dramas.  I've written about several of these similarities in an earlier post, "Pt. IV: Get to Know Another Occupation".

Knowing what your ancestors were like can not only help with your genealogical research, it can also enhance your written family history.  Analyzing what the data you've collected on your ancestor means in respect to dates, ages and parentage is good, but what kind of person were they, what talents did they have, what events affected them and how?

"Profiling" is a method used by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (aka. BAU) on "Criminal Minds" to help find their "unsub" (aka. "unknown subject"): the person or persons who committed the crime(s) they're investigating.  They use profiling to learn more about the criminal.  As you well know, there are plenty of "unsubs" in genealogical research.  Finding out who they were is just part of the puzzle.  As family history detectives, we want to find out as much as we can about them, so why not use the same method we see on "Criminal Minds" and profile our ancestors?  You don't need a psychology degree in order to do this, just common sense and the willingness to learn about that which affected your ancestor's life.

The BAU is able to create profiles from their analysis of what is known about the circumstances surrounding the crime(s), the crime scene(s), the unsub(s) and the victim(s) (aka. victimology).  At the start of the show, the team learns what they can at headquarters from the case file, which often contains very little information on which to create a profile. Through the course of the show they eventually have enough information to form a more complete profile which they can then present to the local authorities in order to apprehend the unsub.  The profile includes not just information and analysis about the unsub(s), but also their analysis of the crime(s), the victim(s), the timeline and the circumstances.  Professional genealogists often begin with very little information in their "case file" (information provided by the client) and on their "unsub" (the ancestor they're requested to research) as well.  However, unlike the BAU, genealogists generally focus only on those records or documents that mention the ancestor or his family by name.  If genealogists were to broaden the range and scope of their research and analysis beyond the ancestors themselves to include the events, time period, social norms, daily life and other circumstances affecting their ancestors, they could use the product of that additional research and analysis to create profiles of their ancestors.  Broadening the range & scope of the research in this manner provides the genealogist with the necessary context to create a profile. 

The Search:
So, how does the BAU find their unsub?  The same way we find our ancestors: by looking at the records available to them.  The BAU doesn't just examine the records, they analyze them so they can figure out the significance of each, how each recorded event (e.g. divorce, conviction, debt, etc) impacted the unsub's life and how the events as a whole shaped that unsub's world view.  They analyze these documents to learn more about their unsub so they can put themselves in the unsub's shoes.  By doing this, the BAU is more able to predict his behavior and find a way to secure an arrest. If genealogists were to do the same, they'd also be able to gain enough insight into their ancestor to put themselves in their shoes.

So, how does the BAU find these records?  Well, luckily, the BAU has the wise and wonderful Penelope Garcia (played by Kirsten Vangsness) as their technical analyst.  If a record exists out there, Penelope can find it.  If you're a fan of the show, you may notice how many of the records she searches through are the same types of records genealogists research, such as deeds, marriage records, divorce records, court records, military records and newspapers.  As she obtains more and more search criteria (e.g. where they live, likely employment, marital status, aliases, etc), she eventually narrows down the suspect pool to just one.  Sound familiar?

With every tidbit of information genealogists find, we obtain new search criterea as well.  With each new criteria, we set the parameters for our search and eliminate all other possibilities (aka. "the process of elimination").  Whether you work in the field of criminal justice or genealogy, the process of elimination is an effective tool that you will use time and time again.  Penelope's talent, to not only know just what she's searching for and where to find it, but how to most efficiently and effectlively search for it, is one that is a highly prized and sought-after talent of genealogists as well.

Using Timelines:
The team often uses timelines to help them find, comprehend, profile and predict the actions and behaviors of their unsub.  Timelines are also an effective tool used by real law enforcement officers, detectives, CSIs and attornies in the courtroom.  They are a terrific tool for genealogists as well.  Why use a timeline?  Because until you put all the records & events in chronological order you may not realize exactly what your ancestors experienced and how those events may have affected them.  You may not realize how some events overlapped with others or happened at the same time, compounding the effects on your ancestor.  This timeline can not only include your ancestor's personal & familial events, but also global, national and local events that likely had an impact on them as well.  For example, you may know your ancestor lost four of her five children, but you may not have realized that they all died within five years, three of which was while her husband was off fighting a war and all of this happened during a localized yellow fever epidemic.  Put all these events together and you have an incredibly tragic convergence of events.  Had each happened years apart from one another, your ancestor would likely have experienced them quite differently.  Since our goal is to put ourselves in our ancestor's shoes, knowing not only what events affected their lives, but how thechronology of those events affected them is important as well.  Knowing the details of the timeline can help you form more accurate hypotheses concerning the recorded actions of your ancestors (e.g. moved out of the area struck by the epidemic, apprenticed their surviving child due to inability to care for them from the overwhelming grief).

What to Research: 
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to include the "whys" and not just the "whats" when writing your family history?  On "Criminal Minds", the BAU tries to find answers to a myriad of questions so they can form their profile.  They use that profile to figure out who their unsub is, what his motivation was and his modus operandi (aka. "M.O." or the unsub's "signature").  So, what kinds of questions do they want answers to for the profile?  Many questions will concern the unsub(s), the crime(s), the victim(s), the timeline & the circumstances.  Why do they research all these aspects?  Because if they focused only on the unsub, they wouldn't get very far.  Knowing what kind of crime they comitted or victims they chose can shed light on the unsub's motives, behaviors and actions.  Did the unsub use a knife in an up close and personal murder or did he use a gun, distancing himself from the victim?  Is the unsub targeting women in their 30s who look eerily similar to his ex-wife or does he target only those who are of a particular race in a crime of hatred?  Are all his bludgening victims currently abusing their children and look like the unsub's deceased father?  Does the unsub take wedding rings from all his victims as a sort of trophy?  What do these questions reveal about the unsub?  Many of these questions bring up even more questions, but at the same time, they also give you clues as to where to look for certain types of records.  Why go over so many questions about the unsub, their M.O., the crime & victim?  Can you imaging trying to solve a murder if you didn't consider all of these things?

In genealogy, we want to find out all we can about our ancestor, but just like the BAU, we can find out more about that ancestor if we look not only at the ancestor himself, but at the events he lived through, what impact they may have had on his life, his occupation, daily life and the social norms of the time period?  When you broaden your search to include various circumstances & events, your analysis will be all the more accurate and those shoes of his will fit better.  We've all heard the saying, "the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts".  This rings true not only in the field of criminal justice, but in genealogy as well.  We can analyze each bit of information individually, but also analyze what information and analyses we've collected as a whole to unearth even more information about our ancestors. 

Circumstances:
In order to better understand your ancestor, it would be good to learn about the circumstances surrounding his life (I discussed some examples of these in my first blog, "Pt. I: Historical Events"; I also discussed the behavioral aspects in "Pt. III: Sociology & Behavioralism").  You may know what events your ancestor lived through, but did you put them into context with the social norms of the time period?  You may know what it takes to be a doctor in today's society, but how would that occupation differ if your ancestor was a doctor in 1823?  Each thing, person and event described in the records are best understood when we know the circumstances, and thus their context.

We all know what the "social norms" of today are, which is why the BAU team doesn't need to do any research in this area, but what were the social norms during your ancestor's lifetime?  If you know the social norms, you'll be able to put your ancestor's behavior and actions (gleaned from the analysis of the records) into context.  I have learned more about the social norms of the time by reading about them (see my "Recommended Reading List").  There's also a great deal of information on the internet.  At the end of this blog is a list of links and books I have found while preparing this blog that may be of help to you.

Events:
Both the BAU and genealogists benefit from looking into events that had an impact the unsub's/ancestor's life.  These events likely had a role in shaping their personality and world view and may help explain why they behaved or acted as they did.  As I stated earlier, the BAU doesn't need to take into account the social norms of yesteryear, so when the team uncovers an event that affected their unsub, they are already viewing that event in context with the time period. When a genealogist researches events that affected their ancestor, they have the added step of needing to put those events into their proper context by researching the circumstances and social norms of the time.

Just as the BAU would handicap their profile by analyzing only the unsub and not the crime, a genealogist would also be handicapped if their focus was only on the ancestor and not the historical global, national or local events.  Consider a biography written about someone who lived in New Orleans for the past 62 years.  The biographer would be remiss not to mention Hurricane Katrina. 

If we learn about what happened in and around an event, we can better be able to figure out its effect on the people who lived through it.  Many events affect more than just the local area.  Was there a presidential election?  How did your ancestor's state vote?  What were the issues of the campaign?  The issues of a campaign tell you what the current concerns of the day are, such as in the most recent election.  So, knowing the campaign issues (especially those issues the winner ran on) will help you understand what the majority of Americans (or at least the majority of the Electoral College) believed was important at the time your ancestor lived.

Another thing to consider is your ancestor's age and gender during the event.  Events affect children quite differently than they would a fully grown adult and males differently than females.  Imagine witnessing the horror on 9/11 as a young and impressionable 12 year old versus a retired 75 year old.  Let's say your ancestor witnessed a war braking out in his country.  The 12 year old might go through his adolescence without a father figure while the 72 year old might deal with outliving his son who died in battle.  A male might join the cause and choose to fight for his country while a female might have to deal with twice the amount of work and responsibilities at home while her husband was away.  Not sure how events could've effected people?  Try looking for someone who experienced the same event (or one similar to it) and has a biography, autobiography or surviving letters & journals that gave accounts of that event.  Just as in the field of criminal justice, first-hand accounts, written at the time of the event, are far better evidence than 2nd hand accounts written later by people who were not witnesses (aka. "hearsay"). 
                                

Occupations, Roles, Talents & Traits:
Unless you have your ancestor's journal, personal letters, or other papers that directly state his personality or talents, it's unlikely you'll know what they were without a profile.  Even obituaries aren't really reliable evidence as to what a person was like as many people tend to inflate certain positive traits out of courtesy for the deceased's friends and family.  Afterall, it's really bad form to bash someone right after they've died...even if they were a jerk.

Because there is a lack of data on a person's personality in the existing records, genealogists must figure these things out for themselves.  Was your ancestor a doctor in 1740 in Philadelphia?  Check out the local historical society to learn about what that city was like and what events took place when your ancestor lived there.  What were the educational requirements for becoming a doctor?  You can imagine what talents a doctor would need based on what we know of doctors today?  Here's where that extra research comes in.  If you look into 1740, you'll find that when your ancestor was a doctor, no one had any idea what "germs" were and most believed illness came from "bad air" or an imbalance in the humors of the body.  You'll also notice that the first hospital in America didn't show up until 1751.  Knowing the profession is one thing, putting it into context with the time period is another. 

The more information you are able to put in context, the better you'll be able to fully comprehend what you have and the better you will be able to judge what their personality was like and why they did what they did.  What kind of personality traits or talents would your ancestor have needed for that particular occupation?  Would it have required someone who was able to pay attention to detail, was unafraid of public speaking, had good hand-eye coordination, was able to read and write, etc?  How would his occupation have affected his life, his health and his family?  Was he a farmer who had to do back-breaking work every day?  Would this man be likely to develop arthritis at an early age?  Was your ancestor a slave?  How would the uncertainty and anxiety over never knowing when that day would come when he would be sold and separated from his wife and children affect his mental health...his heart?  How might the parents in a family of slaves deal with the ever-constantly looming event when their child reaches that age where he is told he is a slave?

What if your ancestor didn't have an "occupation" per se?  You can still form ideas as to what they were like by looking at some of the same things I've already mentioned: events, daily life, social norms and customs.  Consider a woman in the early 1800s.  What would have been expected of her as a wife and mother?  What sort of things would she have needed to do every day to keep the house and care for her children?  Perhaps she would've had to spin and weave just to get the thread and fabric to sew so she could clothe her family.  She may have had to milk the cows every morning, make cheese & churn butter.  Do you know what kind of time and effort goes into churning butter?  I don't, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that hard to find out.  Just preparing dinner for her family would've been a huge task as pretty much everything was made from scratch and any meat was probably from whatever animal she decided to slaughter in the yard or what remained of the heavily salted meat that was preserved.  If we want chicken for dinner, we go to the fridge.  If your ancestor wanted chicken for dinner, they'd reach for the axe.

When it comes to your ancestor's childhood (or lack thereof), there are several questions you could research. Did your ancestor go to school?  What level of education might he have attained?  Did he ever learn to read or write?  Did his parents apperntice him to learn a trade?  How young was he when he was apprenticed?  Was he the only child in the family to be apprenticed?  Did he choose the same occupation in adulthood that he learned in his apprenticeshp? Does this trade run in his family?  

Some children actually did have jobs.  A large number of children were employed for low wages. This helped their family economically, but at the same time, the types of jobs children had put their lives, bodies and health in danger.  They might work at a textile factory, threading machines or crawling under large mechanical equipment to clean remnants left over from production off the floor.  Children's were well suited for these jobs because they 
had small hands, small fingers and their bodies could fit into tight spaces.  Children as young as 4 or 5 years of age had jobs in various industries.  How might the long hours, hazardous working conditions and repetitive motions affect a child of 5 years old?  What would their view of the world be when they never had the opportunity to experience childhood?

Ready to start profiling?
Good Luck!

Equations to Remember:
Things, People & Events + Circumstances = Context
Context of Things, People & Events + Analysis = Profile

Useful Books & Links:
Historyorb.com - Historical Events by Year
History for Genealogists: Using Chronological Time Lines to Find and Understand Your Ancestors by Judy Jacobson
OurTimeLines.com - creates personalized timelines for your genealogical research

Medicine, Disease & Health Care
National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems - History of Public Hospitals in the United States
Beginnings of Hospitals in the United States - Pt. I &  Pt. II by John E. Ransom [pdfs]
The Story of the Creation of the Nation's First Hospital
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
Harvard University Library Open Collections Program - Contagion : Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics

Elizabeth A. Fenn (Author)

› Visit Amazon's Elizabeth A. Fenn Page

Find all the books, read about the author, and more.

See search results for this author

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Timeline of Epidemics
Death Investigation in America: Coroners, Medical Examiners, and the Pursuit of Medical Certainty by Jeffrey M. Jentzen

Occupations
Colonial Occupations
Colonial Craftsmen: And the Beginnings of American Industry by Edwin Tunis 

Edwin Tunis (Author)

› Visit Amazon's Edwin Tunis Page

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Female Occupations: Women's Employment from 1840-1950 by Margaret Ward (specifically aimed at the family historian)
Children Bound to Labor: The Pauper Apprentice System in Early America by Ruth Wallis Herndon & John E. Murray (Editors)

John E. Murray (Editor)

› Visit Amazon's John E. Murray Page

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Disasters
GenDisasters - Events that Touched our Ancestor's Lives

Presidential Elections
History of Presidential Elections including popular and electoral votes in each election, states won, issues in the election and voter turnout

Sociology, Anthropology & Archaeology
Domestic Manners of the Americans Vol. I & Vol. II by Fanny Trollope
Pilgrim Hall - America's Museum of Pilgrim Posessions
Uncommon Ground: Archaeology & Early African America 1650-1800 by Leland Ferguson
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle … by Carol Berkin

First Generations: Women in Colonial America by Carol Berkin

The Face of Our Past: Images of Black Women from Colonial America to the Present by Kathleen Thompson, Hilary MacAustin & Darlene Clark Hine

Women & the Law of Property in Early America (Studies in Legal History) by Marylynn Salmon

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925 by Herbert G. Gutman
Voices From Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives by Norman R. Yetman
Good To Know blog post - "Recommended Reading List"

Ancestor Approved Award

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Irene Winterburn who writes the blogs: Jirene's Genealogy Tips & Jirene's Genealogy Treasures.  I was thrilled to find she had nominated me for the "Ancestor Approved Award": an award created in March 2010 by Leslie Ann Ballou, author of Ancestors Live Here, as a way to show how much she appreciates and enjoys "blogs full of tips and tricks as well as funny and heartwarming stories...".  Thank you Irene Winterburn! 

As a recipient of the "Ancestor Approved Award" I'm supposed to list ten things which surprised, humbled or enlightened me about my ancestors.  It took me a while, but I finally came up with those 10 things.  I was also asked to pass on the award to 10 other genealogy bloggers.  I haven't yet figured out who they're going to be yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do.

So, what are the 10 things that surprised, humbled or enlightened me about my ancestors?  Many of them involve one of my Civil War ancestors, probably because I know so much more about him than most of my other ancestors.

1)  I am humbled by the courage & strength of my several greats aunt, Sarah Towne Cloyce, who stood up for her sisters' wrongful deaths when they were hung for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusettes.  It's not just that she stood up to the court that murdered her sisters, it's the fact that she was a woman who was standing up to the all-male court in the early 1700s.  Seems fitting to honor her during this Women's History Month.

2)  I am humbled at how my ancestor, Samuel H. Melcher, was able to treat his patients in a time when so little was known about the human body, diseases & treatments.  I've been reading up about doctors, medicine, and treatments in colonial and later times, and the more I learn about what little knowledge they had, the more surprised I am that they were able to do so much with so little...not to mention the lack of technology.  In those times, treatments were often one of the following: mercury, bleeding, blistering & purging.  They also didn't really know what "germs" were and many thought pretty much all diseases were derived from "bad air".  Possibly due to this reasoning of bad air being the cause of disease and illness, many doctors and surgeons didn't wash their hands before, after or between patients. Yuk.

3) I was surprised to learn that my Civil War Surgeon (from above) ancestor went through his entire life without ever having to perform an amputation.

4) I was surprised to learn that the Civil War Surgeon (from above) was able to successfully divorce his wife on the grounds of "desertion" when he was the one who moved away and did the "deserting".  Why did he move away?  He was caught with a prostitute when he was the head of a hospital and was dismissed.  When he told his wife they were moving, she told him she wasn't coming with him.  According to the courts, the fact that she didn't go with her husband amounted to her desserting him.  Weird, huh?

5)  I was surprised to learn that two of my ancestors, Thomas Goodfellow & Charles Woodbury Melcher (son of Civil War Surgeon mentioned above) were inventors and actually had patents.  I was also surprised to find that Google has a way to view those patents.

6)  As a "trekkie", I was surprised to find I had a connection to Star Trek with a distant cousin, the granddaughter of Bing Crosby: Denise Crosby.  She played Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation for the first two seasons before she was killed off by a tar-like creature on an away mission. Still, woo-hoo!  

7)  I'm humbled by the fact that had those individuals on the Mayflower not rescued John Howland after he went overboard, I wouldn't be here today.

8)  I'm surprised at how addictive genealogy is.  Whether it's the name printed on the back of a football jersey or watching the credits roll by on a tv show or movie, I think about genealogy.  I've had trouble getting to sleep sometimes when faced with a particularly difficult genealogical challenge.  I often find myself analyzing the data I have in my head trying to think of places I can search, what I might have missed or where I haven't looked instead of just letting myself relax and drift off to sleep.  I've even had genealogy-themed dreams.
 
9)  I know I'm supposed to say how I was enlightened by my ancestors, but it's important that I include here how I was enlightened by my genealogist father as well.  I worked with him, learning the techniques of genealogy research as I was doing my criminal justice internship. Prior to this, I was unaware of all that genealogy entailed.  It wasn't just knowing what records were out there, but which ones to search at what times, how every case was completely different and it required your brain to adjust to totally different circumstances and then reach a conclusion as to when to look where and how to analyze the massive amounts of data.  There's so much about genealogy that involves you, the genealogist, to know what bits of information are important and should be taken note of, and which things aren't.  Every step of the research involves you making decisions, and every decision is entirely different as we have totally different information and a totally different goal for every search.  We have to take into account what we have, what we don't have, and what we are searching for and where to look for it.  The complexity of it all & the ability to organize and multi-task is paramount in how successful one will likely be in achieving their goals in the rhelm of genealogical research.  Not all of this is easily taught, even by a genealogist who has been doing research since before I was born.  Somehow, though, I learned these things.  Thanks Dad!

10)  Finally, although this isn't about my ancestors per se, I'm pleasantly surprised at the generousity of genealogists I have come into contact with.  Even though, it may have taken hours upon hours to create a tree that goes back hundreds of years, they are gladly willing to share the information with those who request it without expecting anything in return.

Part V: Archaeology - A Supplement to Genealogy

Most kids want to grow up to be a firefighter, ballerina, veterinarian, actor, pro football player or a pop star.  Me?  I wanted to be an archaeologist.  Well, either that or a historian.  I'm sure Indiana Jones was partially responsible, but my father having been a genealogist likely had something to do with it as well. 

So, what is archaeology?
 
Archaeology is the scientific & systematic study of historic or prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis of their artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, and other such remains.

If you're a professional genealogist or are researching your own family tree, you can learn a lot from the field of archaeology.  In my last blog post, I compared genealogy to the field of criminal justice.  Archaeology can also be compared to criminal justice in much the same ways by simply substituting the written records found in genealogy to the artifacts uncovered in archaeology.  In fact, crime scenes are handled in a similar way to how archaeologists handle their dig sites.  At crime scenes, evidence is carefully handled, photographed, bagged and tagged.  That evidence is then analyzed & compared to other evidence on and off the scene in order to discern who handled it, why they handled it, what they used it for & what possible motive existed for the crime.  Artifacts are handled in much the same way with the addition of analyzing that artifact to ascertain how the existence of that artifact contributes to the knowledge of the people and culture of that period and, generally, the exclusion of trying to figure out a possible motive of a criminal.  I say "generally" because there are times when an archaeologist is looking at a possible crime scene or the remains of someone who was a murder victim (or a human sacrifice), even if it happened thousands of years ago.   
There is much to can learn from the field of archaeology in general, but if you are interested in learning more about the time period in which your known ancestors lived, you'll most likely be looking at the subcategory of archaeology called "historical archaeology".

Historical Archaeology is the scientific & systematic study of peoples and their culture from a time in which there was a written record.  The knowledge gained from the study of artifacts from this time is meant to be a supplement to what we have learned from the written record.  Genealogists study of a specific portion of the written record (that which helps us to identify our ancestors), thus historical archaeology is a supplement to genealogy.

In the field of genealogy, anything that can supplement the written record is extremely beneficial.  An example of how archaeologists use the written record that we genealogists know so well is when they excavate a site of a home.  They will look for deeds, probate records, court records & even newspaper articles that may give a description of that home and/or it's contents and help determine when people resided there. 

The written records can help a genealogist locate the site of the home their ancestor occupied, but they can also help to visualize the home and it's contents, even if there is no archaeological evidence available to the genealogist.  For instance, you may come across an "Inventory of Goods & Chattels" in a probate record.  This is a written record of the belongings of the deceased, completed by appraisers (usually 2 men) who probably knew the deceased and lived nearby.  If you were to make an inventory of goods and chattels for an estate, how might you go about doing it?  You'd probably walk from room to room writing down the contents: as you complete the list for one room, you'd go to the next, and so on.  Your ancestors' appraisers probably did it the same way.  If this was the case, the order those items were listed can help establish a layout of the home and which objects were likely associated with which rooms.  Knowing which objects were where can help you determine how they were used and which activities were likely to occur in which rooms.  So, even without the actual artifacts, such as the home or your ancestor's belongings, written records can be of great help to aide you in visualizing the home of your ancestor and what their day to day life might have been like.

Of course, there is something to be said about actually seeing artifacts people made and handled 100 or 200 years ago.  Simple day to day items from another time can give you a better understanding about how a family lived and can help you to put yourself in the shoes of your ancestors.  Artifacts can tell you a lot about how someone lived because every artifact had a purpose.  Look around your home for a moment.  Do you see anything that doesn't have a purpose?  Even if that purpose is simply decoration, there's a purpose for each item you have. 

So, what is an artifact?  An artifact is anything made, modified or used by a human culture.  While many think of archaeology as the study of stuff you find buried underground, there are a lot of artifacts above-ground, especially when you're studying more recent historical archaeology.  For instance, there are homes in America still standing (some even occupied presently) that were built and occupied in the 1700s.  It's not just homes, but other structures too.  When I went to high school, I would drive by the Brandywine Creek State Park where a stone wall bordered the road.  It was built by hand without anything but the expertise of how to choose certain shapes of stone for a perfect fit to hold the stones together.  I'd be hard pressed to find someone living today who could build a stone wall that would last for hundreds of years without some kind of mortar or other material to hold the stones together.  There are parts of that wall that have been destroyed in recent years due to cars crashing into it, but due to the expertise involved in building it, a repair job hasn't even been attempted.

What other artifacts are above ground?  Gravestones.  What archaeological information can you learn from a gravestone?  Well, there are a myriad of designs & symbols on the gravestones that have been used over the years that can help you to understand the culture and how people thought about death at the time the stone was carved and erected at the grave site.  There's also information on what tools were used to carve the stone, what kind of stone it was & where it came from, what shape it was carved into and even who the carver was.  This is all in addition to what you can learn from the actual written information on the gravestone (e.g. dates, names, epitaphs, etc).  Some consider a gravestone as a historical document and study it as they would any other written record.

Archaeologically speaking, gravestones are a particularly valuable artifact in that one aspect of them is controlled: the date.  Since most people were buried shortly after they died, the date of death on the stone was generally very close to when it was carved.  You may even find mention of the stone carver in probate records of the deceased.  When a certain aspect of an artifact is controlled, it makes for easier evaluation of the other aspects of that artifact.  For example, it helps archaeologists better determine the significance of the designs and symbols, the popularity of a particular design, how that design spread from one region to another and when it was no longer used or replaced with a different design.
Chronology is important in both genealogy and archaeology.  If you don't know when someone was born, it's hard to determine who might have been their son or daughter or which marriage record likely belongs to that person.  If archaeologists don't know when a building was built or occupied, it's virtually impossible to develop a meaningful analysis of what it means to find certain artifacts there.  Artifacts have a particular time period and cultural significance attached to them based on when and where they were invented and distributed, where they were unearthed, what people owned them & the waning and waxing popularity of the item over various regions.  Knowing what time period they were used and by which people within that society, has a profound effect on what it means to find it at a particular site.

Archaeologists use dating techniques to guide them in their analysis.  Genealogists need dates just as much as archaeologists do.  If a genealogist doesn't have a date of birth, he might say a person was "born by" or "born before", using the earliest date from the records as a guide.  Archaeologists use "terminus ante quem" (the date before which) and "terminus post quem" (the date after which) when analyzing the artifacts found on site.  If you have a knowledge of when certain types of artifacts were invented or used in any specific region, it helps determine how one might date a site.  For instance, you might find ceramics which had a specific technique used for glazing that wasn't invented until the 1770s on a site.  This would mean that site was likely occupied into the 1770s.  Archaeologists review all the artifacts found at a site to determine the latest a person likely inhabited that area. 

Knowing more about the culture or what person may have occupied that home, helps as well.  The wealthier families were more likely to have what was "in fashion" at the time because they could afford the higher cost, while, at the same time, the less economically fortunate could only afford what was in fashion years earlier.  Using the same example of ceramics from the 1770s, the wealthier family probably had them when they were brand new while the poorer families likely acquired them long after they first appeared on the market.  Knowing which family occupied that home can help an archaeologist date the site.

Both archaeologists & genealogists are concerned about the ability of later researchers being able to look at and review their research with ease. Archaeologists use what is called a "datum point" (a fixed location near the site that is unlikely to disappear over the years) so later researchers can locate the same area they excavated.  Genealogists are careful to use source citations, documenting what sources they used so each piece of data can be easily located by a later researcher.  In this way, we find that archaeologists and genealogists are not just focused on the past, but they have a profound respect for the future of research in their respective fields.

Architecture is also studied by archaelogists.  Do you live in a house?  Does your house have a front porch?  As Deetz states in his book, "In Small Things Forgotten" (p.231), "It was a place to sit and swing, make ice cream, pick a tune ot two, and even store a broken wringer washing machine, and we owe it all to those anonymous people who brought it from West Africa".  Europeans didn't build their homes with porches, yet nowadays, millions of homes across the country have a front porch.  They were first seen in America on slave cabins and slowly spread throughout the country.  In this way, we can see how one culture had an influence on another.  Archaeologists see cultural influences in other artifacts as well.  Since many dates in historical archaeology are known as to when one culture came into contact with another, these influences, marked by what types of artifacts were found on site, can help to date the occupation of homes being excavated.

You may have an artifact in your own home: something handed down from generation to generation which can lend itself to a better understanding of the people & culture of the time.  Perhaps you have a pocket watch from a gg-grandfather or an old painting of your ancestor hanging on your wall.  Technically, those are also artifacts.

Although I doubt you'll be digging up the skeletal remains of your ancestors, there is an amazing amount of information that can be acquired from examining the bones of an individual.  You can learn the more obvious, such as their gender, age and, in some cases, what killed them.  There's a reason doctors use x-rays to look at your bones.  Injuries, diseases and other conditions can be discovered by looking at the bones.  You can even see old injuries someone may have had during their lifetime that have healed, or were healing at the time of death.  Some diseases can give a clue as to if a society or individual had contact with other societies.  [Note: If you're interested in learning about what happened when two or more societies interacted with one another in history, which society suffered from that contact and why, I highly recommend the book "Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamond.]

With testing techniques performed on the bones that are now available, you can even tell if they were likely from the same area where they were buried or what their diet was.  Through examination of the burial, you can learn what that culture's views on death were by how they were buried, where they were buried, the position of the body, and what items were buried with them.  You may not be digging up an ancestor to find out these things, but archaeologists have found the skeletal remains of thousands of individuals over the years.  They may have already examined the remains of someone from the same time and region as your ancestor.

In conclusion, there is a strong relationship between the written record and the artifacts left behind by our ancestors.  Studying one or the other doesn't come close to what you can learn from combining the two.  In my last blog post, I talked about how getting to know someone in another occupation could be beneficial to both, using the field of criminal justice as an example.  Genealogists would also greatly benefit from the knowledge archaeologists have acquired from studying artifacts that have been left behind and archaeologists can benefit from the knowledge genealogists have of the written record.

If you're a genealogist, or researching your own family tree, I would highly suggest visiting an archaeological dig, and if you can find a society, college or other group that will let you, see if you can participate in a dig or just observe and ask questions. 

Archaeology Links:
The Society for Historical Archaeology
The Process of Archaeology via Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center
Society for American Archaeology
Center for the Study of Architecture

Books on Archaeology and Related Topics:
"In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life" by James Deetz (an American classic & a great intro to the field)
"A Guide to the Artifacts of Colonial America" by Ivor Noel Hume
"Doing Historical Archaeology: Exercises Using Documentary, Oral, and Material Evidence" by Russell J. Barber
"Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America 1650-1800" by Leland Ferguson
"Jamestown: The Buried Truth" by William M. Kelso
"Flowerdew Hundred: The Archaeology of a Virginia Plantation, 1619-1864" by James Deetz
"Time Detectives: How Archaeologists Use Technology to Recapture the Past" by Brian Fagan
"Here Lies Virginia: An Archaeologist's View of Colonial Life and History" by Ivor Noel Hume
"Martin's Hundred: The Discovery of a Lost Colonial Virginia Settlement" by Ivor Noel Hume
"The Practical Archaeologist: How We Know What We Know about the Past" by Jane McIntosh
"The Archaeology of Disease" by Charlotte Roberts & Keith Manchester
"Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamond

Archaeology & Artifacts on Television:
"Antiques Roadshow" on PBS
"Pawn Stars" on History Channel
"Ancient Discoveries" on History Channel
"American Pickers" on History Channel
"Bone Detectives" on Discovery Channel (focus on ancient human remains) [Reruns on Green Channel]
"The Naked Archaeologist" on History International Channel (focus on Biblical archaeology)
"Skeleton Stories" on Discovery Health Channel (focus on forensics)
"Guns, Germs & Steel" on PBS
There are also occasional specials on channels such as PBS, History Channel, History International, Discovery Channel, etc.

Part IV: Get to Know Another Occupation

When I started doing genealogical research, I was working on a degree in criminal justice.  In fact, my final few credits for my degree was an internship.  I figured I could do a genealogy internship.  I went to the head of the Criminal Justice Department with a prepared proposal stating how genealogy had a lot in common with studying law and how genealogy is mainly focused on researching the legal documents that remain after that person has died.  It worked, and I completed my internship and got my criminal justice degree with honors.  

While doing the internship, I discovered I had a knack for this "genealogy thing".  After all, I grew up with a genealogist father, so it was already something that pretty much surrounded me (some of it literally surrounded me as there is a huge printout covering the entire dining room wall containing the work my father completed on our family tree). 

The more I learned from my father concerning when to look where and what records were available, the more I loved it.  I also noticed the overwhelming amount of similarities there were between genealogy and criminal justice: it's not just what I told the head of the criminal justice department about.  For instance, there are several types of evidence from witness statements to documentary evidence & forensics while, in genealogy, there's witness accounts (such as a bible record written by an ancestor at the time), there's documents such as deeds & wills and there's DNA testing.  In criminal justice, there's an unknown criminal that police attempt to locate using what evidence they've gathered and, in genealogy, there's an unknown ancestor we search for using what data has been provided by the descendant & uncovered through research.  Both the genealogist and those on the case to find a criminal need to build a case using the evidence they gathered.  Although the burden of proof is much stronger in the criminal justice system, the way of thinking and analyzing the evidence is very similar. 

The Case

When presented with a case, the detectives/investigators need to be completely unbiased, just like a genealogist.  They can't begin an investigation with the goal of proving what they want to be proven or placing guilt on the guy they want to be guilty, they have to be open to the possibilities and must strive to reach the truth, not just the truth they want.  The same is true in genealogy.  One example would be if you wanted a genealogist to find you a Revolutionary War ancestor so you could get into the DAR or the SAR.  The genealogist couldn't just look and accept only the evidence pointing toward that conclusion, they have to take everything into account, whether it points to a Revolutionary War ancestor or not.  The police might want a certain person to be guilty of a crime, but if some of the evidence doesn't support that, they have to admit that and reassess.  In either occupation, we can't let our wishes and hopes get in the way of the facts.  Genealogists, detectives & investigators must go where the evidence leads them, not to what any preconceived notion they might have had will take them. 

Reliability of the Evidence

At a crime scene, there are usually pieces of evidence that can be gathered to aide in finding the culprit.  Genealogists are much like crime scene investigators (CSIs) and police detectives in this way.  We gather what evidence has survived the test of time in order to find that unknown relative, and just as the police and CSIs, we must evaluate the evidence as to it's reliability.  

A police detective might get several eyewitness statements that conflict each other.  Not every eyewitness is reliable.  When it comes to forensics though, the results found (like DNA) are pretty much irrefutable.  What isn't irrefutable is how they interpret those results.  They may say, "Well we found suspect X's DNA on the scene, so he must have killed the victim".  Interpretation is always done by humans, and humans are imperfect.  Just because his DNA was at the scene, it doesn't mean suspect X was the murderer, or even at the scene for that matter.  All there is absolute proof of is that his DNA was at the scene.  Who knows how it got there.  Perhaps someone was attempting to frame suspect X. 

Thinking this way can be a great help when searching for our ancestors.  Interpreting evidence without thinking of all the possibilities can easily lead you reach a faulty conclusion.  It's a a mistake many have made in genealogy as well as the criminal justice system.  Although it's unlikely for an  innocent man end up on death row because of a faulty conclusion made in genealogy, it's still good to be careful to avoid making faulty assumptions of what the evidence tells us.  It makes us better genealogists. 

When I come to a specific conclusion through analysis of the data, I face it head on.  I act like I am in a debate and was just told this conclusion by my competitor.  Then, I try to poke holes in my analysis of the evidence trying to think of any way possible that it could be wrong.  If I can poke holes in my conclusions, I go back to the research and close those holes up. 

Documentation

What happens if the CSI does not document where the evidence came from?  Well, the chain of evidence is not maintained for one.  It also likely can't be used to prove the case and it won't hold up in court.  If the case wasn't solved and goes cold, when the next detective picks up where they left off, the evidence gathered without proper documentation gives them nothing.  The same happens with genealogy.  If we don't have source citations, whatever we gather cannot be used to prove our case.  Also, if another genealogist wants to pick up where I left off, they'd have proof of nothing because they can't check the sources if there are no source citations.  This is particularly true when it comes to joining a genealogy related organization such as the DAR, SAR or The Cincinnati Society.  They require source citation because they will be checking your work.  They have to make sure the work was done correctly and the conclusions you came to make sense.  If you don't have source citations, you won't get in to any of these organizations. 

Conclusion 

Criminal justice is just one example that is filled with people who have several different occupations: detectives, investigators, forensic technicians, criminologists, crime scene investigators, etc.  When you get to the court/trial stage in the criminal justice system, there's also people such as the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge & court reporter.  

My suggestion is to get to know someone who has one of these occupations so you can learn what it is they do and how they think.  Personally, I know that my background in criminal justice has been an invaluable resource that has greatly added to my ability to do genealogical research and analysis.  What are some other occupations that could help you in the field of genealogy?  How about getting to know an archaeologist, one who's focus is in the area and time period in which your ancestors lived?  I'm sure they would have a great deal of insight into what the day to day life of your ancestors would've been like.  They've probably had the opportunity to hold in their hands, artifacts from that time, set foot inside the fallen walls of a home built by someone similar to your ancestor, sifted through their 200 year old garbage.  You can learn a lot about people by what they threw out.

Another occupation would be a sociologist (mentioned in my previous post).  A sociologist could give you great insight into how your ancestors thought and what decisions they might have made.  How about getting to know a historian who's focus is on the area and time of your ancestors or an anthropologist?  How about someone who has studied the history of transportation, medicine, meteorology, politics, theology, law, economics, fashion, photography or technology?  There's a whole world of occupations out there that, when the knowledge of which is combined with your knowledge as a genealogist, can really add to how you go about your research and analysis & how you look at the way your ancestors lived.  With social networking being what it is now, it's also fairly easy to find someone who has one of these occupations.  There's also courses on several different subjects you could take at your local college or university, or even free on iTunes U.

Helping Each Other 

Getting to know others in different occupations can actually be beneficial in another way.  After learning more about each others' professions, you might be able to find ways that your knowledge of your own profession can be of help to the profession you're learning about.  For example, I've thought of a few things that could help the field of criminal justice, using my knowledge in genealogy, and vice versa.

Genealogy helping Criminal Justice

It's obvious that DNA is deeply intertwined with both genealogy & criminal justice.  Sometimes, you can combine methods used in the two.  For instance, police sometimes find themselves with their alleged criminal's DNA: evidence found at the scene of a crime that has been confirmed through other pieces of evidence to have belonged to the person who committed that crime.  The problem is when none of their databases has that suspect's DNA in their systems.  If they have nothing to match it to, they can't catch their suspect.  Also, when there are no eyewitnesses for the crime, they have no idea what that suspect looks like.  

In genealogy, we know about certain inherited traits & how certain parts of DNA can help tell us what other people in the world share those parts of DNA with us.  Going back to the police's DNA conundrum, why not take the DNA they found at the scene and use it to help describe what their suspect looks like.  Granted, it won't tell you if he/she has long or short hair, but it will give them more than what they had prior.  An excellent special on PBS called "African-American Lives" (also "African American Lives 2") hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. helped identify where in the world their guest's DNA could be traced back to (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa).  If the DNA the police have in evidence indicates that their suspect's DNA also originates from Sub-Saharan Africa, it's likely the suspect is black.  There are also other inherited traits they could look at: likelihood of a cleft chin, detached earlobes, red hair, etc.  Finally, there is the concept of checking to see if the suspect's DNA is likely related to someone who is known to the police.  You know all those DNA web sites where you can swab your mouth and send it in and you can check to see if anyone else shared your DNA?  Why not use this concept in the criminal justice system?  Maybe a family member is in one of those DNA databases the police have in their system.  If they can find a relative (who knows the suspect), you're that much closer to getting that suspect in custody.

Criminal Justice helping Genealogy

Facial Recognition Software is currently used by many in the Criminal Justice arena as well as some businesses that need strict security (e.g. casinos).  Why not use facial recognition software to help with genealogy?  Here's my idea: a facial recognition program integrated into the image search of a search engine (e.g. Google).  You could scan a photo of an ancestor, upload it to the web, then the web can search for the face that's in your photograph throughout the entire internet.  Perhaps you don't know who's in that photo or there are more photos of that same person somewhere else on the web that might identify the subject.  Wouldn't it be nice to know who that person was and have more pictures of them to share with your family?  How about incorporating aging software as well?  The criminal justice system uses aging software with missing children cases to see what that child might look like 5 years later if they still have not located him/her.  If aging software is incorporated into a search engine along side facial recognition software, you could scan a photo of your 35 year old ancestor, upload it to the web, locate and positively identify a photo of that same person at 5 years old or even 75 years old.  Neat, huh?