Some methods used in genealogical books that are unnecessary on the internet

NUMBERING SYSTEMS. Printed genealogies are commonly presented in one of two formats--indented or by generations. In the indented method, offspring are indented a fixed number of spaces relative to their parents. Because there can be grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, etc., of any individual in a family, the names of siblings can be printed at a considerable distance from each other. To make it easy (or, at least, easier) to connect siblings as well as to follow a lineage backward or forward, each individual in the family is assigned a unique number. An example of such a number might be 13242. This particular number would mean that the person to whom it was assigned--and here we need to read the number from right to left--was the second child of the fourth child of the second child of the third child of the first child of the original ancestor in that particular genealogy. Now, it would be nice if that number could be permanently affixed to an individual so any time that person appears in any genealogy (or history, for that matter), the number would be given, perhaps parenthetically, and everyone would know which John Smith was being discussed. These "unique" numbers, however, are valid only within the book they are found in, an exception being another book that starts with the same ancestor and with the assumption that no additional children (other than a youngest) are discovered in any family. This discussion can become quite involved at this point and get in the way of the topic at hand. Suffice it to say, this numbering system is much like a page number for a topic in an index; it is not transferable to another book. In the second method, that is, when the printed genealogy is arranged by generations, a number is assigned to only an individual who had offspring. If the couple from whom everyone else in the book was descended had, say, nine children and only four of those nine had children themselves, those four would be numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4. You would then move ahead in the book to the section titled "second generation" and look for a 1, 2, 3, or 4, depending on which line you wanted to follow. Each offspring of individuals 1, 2, 3, and 4 who, again, themselves had children would receive a number, the first one being 5, and so on. You would then turn to "third generation" and look for their numbers.

Neither of these numbering systems is necessary on the internet. How, then, does one navigate through a genealogy, tracing lineages forward and backward? It is as easy as the click of a mouse. When the html code is written (either by some software package or by a computer geek--I won't tell you which way I do it. I'll keep that secret tucked away in my pocket protector.), the appropriate links are established that lets one move from one generation to the next (or to the previous). These links are the computer equivalent of the numbering systems in books. Now, it is true that one can use the numbers of the first system to develop a method of determining what relationship exists between two persons, but that use is insufficient to warrant the effort of assigning (and typing!) the numbers when a quick diagram created with pencil and paper can accomplish the same thing.

But, is there any harm in using an unnecessary numbering system with material posted on the internet? No, but if one does use a numbering system for a genealogy on the internet, then one has the obligation to correct the numbers when errors or new data are found. Correcting those numbers can be considerably time consuming/wasting if any person whose assigned number changes had a lot of descendants.

ANCILLARY MATERIAL. I use the word ancillary here to refer to anything other than names, dates, places, and genealogical relationships. When researching one's family, a number of interesting topics can arise. Perhaps great great uncle Harry was the first doctor in town, or maybe there was a reason why both your great grandfather and the mailman had red hair. This information adds flesh to the bones of the genealogical data but can get in the way when you want to focus on names and dates. In a book, there are a few choices of where to put this material, but none is really a great solution. There are footnotes (with really fine print or the footnote is so large that there is no room for anything else on the page), endnotes (and few people like to keep one finger marking the right page), and an appendix (same problem as endnotes).

How does the internet solve the problem? The answer, again, is with links. One can make a person's name a link (click on the name to see related information), or a separate word or phrase, such as "click here for more information" can be used.

ADDENDA. Anyone who has ever done genealogical research knows that you are never done. Of course there is always the new baby or a death or marriage, as well as the usual typographical errxrs or a mispelling here or there (yes, I know it is "misspelling"). Probably the most exciting part of research is finding a missing link or discovering a new family. What does one then do in a book? Short of a second printing, a rather unusual event for a genealogical work, one has to prepare one or more pages of "addenda" as an insertion.

Additions, deletions, and corrections on the internet are not a problem. There is no need to prepare a list for distribution. Just make the change(s) in the document on your computer and upload the updated version to the internet for everyone to see.


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