Scandinavian patronymics: how to separate monkey piles...
LegacyUser
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crhansen said: In any given year in Denmark, there are about 15 Kirstine Jensdatters born and maybe 10 Rasmus Nielsens. In any 10-year period one may find a half a dozen marriages between the two. Inexperienced users attach too many records and merge them under the delusion that anyone with a correct name must be the ancestor they are seeking. How does one peel them apart into separate families?
I often consult Google maps on locations. People didn't move around very much in 1800's Europe. How far could one move with a horse cart? It was too difficult. Without cardboard boxes, imagine assembling wooden crates, packing and moving them by train, hoping they aren’t stolen. I've only encountered one family that had kids in both Jutland and Sjælland. They were probably wealthy. Holbæk and Hejls are worlds apart. Generally people married someone in the ~50km vicinity, settled down nearby and had a bunch of kids, who often died early.
Records are better than memories, so I attach all valid records and consolidate until I reach a contradiction. One woman cannot bear two children in any 9 month period unless they are born no more than one day apart! Census workers are terrible at spelling, but they usually get the dates correct. OCR can make mistakes, so sometimes it helps to read the image of the actual record to resolve conflicts.
These are great websites for Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian church records:
https://www.danishfamilysearch.com/am...
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/kyrkoarkiv...
https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/kb...
For how to read Gothic handwriting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL0wF...
Don’t panic - it’s just another font to learn! And I keep this page open in a tab:
http://www.tydatext.se/tyskstil/
Begin the unmerge process by restoring an adequate number of parents/marriages to collect children under. Use copy/paste of the unique person ID to make fast work of this. Pay very close attention to detail when it matters. With identically named parents living only 2km apart, I referred to mother's ages recorded in the actual birth records to separate the children into their respective families. When the family topology is correct, the records will fit like a glove. Any anomalies should be easy to explain. As a final step, review all source attachments. (It’s easier working up from the bottom.) And don’t forget to celebrate the accomplishment.
So bottom line, please don't attach records unless they really fit, and don’t merge unless dragged kicking and screaming to do so. The computer is only a helper - it doesn't do the thinking for you.
Thanks for listening!
Chris
I often consult Google maps on locations. People didn't move around very much in 1800's Europe. How far could one move with a horse cart? It was too difficult. Without cardboard boxes, imagine assembling wooden crates, packing and moving them by train, hoping they aren’t stolen. I've only encountered one family that had kids in both Jutland and Sjælland. They were probably wealthy. Holbæk and Hejls are worlds apart. Generally people married someone in the ~50km vicinity, settled down nearby and had a bunch of kids, who often died early.
Records are better than memories, so I attach all valid records and consolidate until I reach a contradiction. One woman cannot bear two children in any 9 month period unless they are born no more than one day apart! Census workers are terrible at spelling, but they usually get the dates correct. OCR can make mistakes, so sometimes it helps to read the image of the actual record to resolve conflicts.
These are great websites for Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian church records:
https://www.danishfamilysearch.com/am...
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/kyrkoarkiv...
https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/kb...
For how to read Gothic handwriting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL0wF...
Don’t panic - it’s just another font to learn! And I keep this page open in a tab:
http://www.tydatext.se/tyskstil/
Begin the unmerge process by restoring an adequate number of parents/marriages to collect children under. Use copy/paste of the unique person ID to make fast work of this. Pay very close attention to detail when it matters. With identically named parents living only 2km apart, I referred to mother's ages recorded in the actual birth records to separate the children into their respective families. When the family topology is correct, the records will fit like a glove. Any anomalies should be easy to explain. As a final step, review all source attachments. (It’s easier working up from the bottom.) And don’t forget to celebrate the accomplishment.
So bottom line, please don't attach records unless they really fit, and don’t merge unless dragged kicking and screaming to do so. The computer is only a helper - it doesn't do the thinking for you.
Thanks for listening!
Chris
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Gordon Collett said: A couple of other pointers for Norway:
1) Always use full place names, not just parish or community, whenever possible.
Incorrect: Stord, Hordaland, Norway
Correct: Vikanes, Stord, Hordaland, Norway
Incorrect: Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
Correct: Strandgaden 42, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
The standardized valued may only have the parish/community, but one can always add more for accuracy and clarity. Do not confuse "standardization" and correct data entry. Learn to use Family Searche's dual place and date system correctly.
2) Always use the indexes to help find the original parish records and check those records. With all the microfilmed records available on the Digitalarkivet site mentioned above, there is no excuse for not checking the full record. Never merge based just on an index with incomplete information.
3) Do not do any merges before 1815 before doing a hundred after 1840 and in that way becoming very familiar with Norwegian records. There is plenty to keep new users busy in Family Tree without jumping directly to the 1700s.
4) For families that used them in the rural areas of Norway, which were a large majority, always include their full name which includes their farm name.
Incorrect: Ole Olsson
Correct: Ole Olsson Høyland
When in doubt, it is always better to include a farm name than to leave it out. Include changes in that farm name as a family moved as Alternate Names.0
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