Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

Genealogy and family history perhaps mean different things to different people, in much the same way that family trees and pedigrees do. I do not think it is specific as to what group of researcher, or type of individual use what terminology, nor do I think it matters.

I take the view that engaging with the research of families is what counts, and incorporating associated disciplines as we try to unravel the lives of others with whom we share something, whether that is link to a place, link to a family or a surname, or genetics.

The Advanced One-Name Studies course is a good course to looking at the more in-depth approach to One-Name Studies and researching surnames. It is not about a numbers game, I have X amount in my study. Instead it is more of a rounded approach to surname research, whether that is a surname specific project, or a more general surname interest. Not just that, it is about interacting with other researchers who understand the process of analysis and synthesis of research, and all the other fascinating material we all love.

The Advanced course, which is linked above is set to run in June 2026.

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

As with any project, you need to sit down and scope out your plan and what you want to achieve from the project.

A surname project or One-Name Study is no different. Perhaps though, what is different is when the researcher started their research and that might have a direct correlation to how the project progresses and how the material is kept.

1. What project do you want to undertake? – What is it that makes X fascinating to you that you want to explore more in-depth? This could be a One-Name Study or a One-Place Study. Researching a house, business, school etc.
2. How are you going to achieve your quest? – How many hours do you have available to undertake the project? It does not need to be a lot, you might be working full time with a family and still want to undertake a project of this kind. Or you might be retired and have an abundance of time available. Perhaps consider working with others who share the same interest, or maybe you already have a body of work that you are using as your basis for the project.
3. Plan the Structure of your Project – This will likely depend on what your project is and your starting data. You might be researching a Surname that you know originates in Ireland and you reside in the United States. Establish how big the surname is, look at migration points – where folk migrated to and how they did. Look at what material is available online and with easy access. Bear in mind that only a fraction of what is available is online. Given that the fact that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was one Country until 1922, you might find that records exist in both the archives of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Given that and the geographical distance from Ireland to England, you could look at FreeBMD and search for your surname. How many are there? You might also consider HOW you are going to keep data that you find? – input directly into a genealogical programme or downloaded to a hard drive or copied into a note book or even create a spreadsheet. FreeBMD data can be exported as a CSV file and imported directly into Excel.
4. Focus on the elements of a project – This might include the distribution of the surname, using a mapping site such as public profiler or Surname Atlas. It might include the origin of the surname and the type of surname it is. For each element I recommend a plan to be written. It does not have to be fancy, just a note of what you plan to do.
5. Create & Maintain a Research Log – This is really important as it enables you to track what you have looked at and what you have found, so be sure to record positive AND negative results.
6. Managing Research Results is important, otherwise you will drown in data. Decide how you are going to process your data – enter it straight into a family history programme, or an Excel file. You could add to Evernote or One-Note. There is no right or wrong way, find what is best for you. Make sure that you record the citations of the information you find, perhaps this is a newspaper article, or information from a parish record, the purpose of a citation is essentially to share with others where you saw the information, so that they, if they wish can follow your research.
7. Connecting with others – This is really important. Firstly you get to share your journey with others and you can connect with others who might share the same interest. You could set up a Facebook Group (or Page, although I prefer Groups). You might use a Twitter account, you might join organisations such as the Guild of One-Name Studies or Society of One-Place Studies, you could add your place to the Register for One-Place Studies. Another avenue to explore is the facilities of archives, libraries or museums – if your surname “hotbed” or place is located in a particular County check out the archives, include local museums and share your interest with them. They might help you connect with others with the same interest.
8. Bring your data together – in this element we are concerned with family reconstruction, essentially putting families together, using primary source material. You can also draw out an individual timeline, such as I described HERE that way you can see what your individual was doing at a particular time and you can see what is missing and then consider where you could look for that data.
9. Share Material – Having worked really hard to gather and expand your collected data, I would recommend enabling others to see it. You can do this in a variety of ways, write a blog, have a website, write articles, share stories via Facebook.
10. Preserve Your Work – If you are a member of the Guild of One-Name Studies with a registered surname, you can signup to a Members Website Project. That enables you to advertise your study, display it for others and preserve it, all the while working on your project.

A frame work for this kind of project is not clear cut and it does not need to be. The one consistent & important thing is that you set the perimeters for your study. You choose your starting place and then do the hardest thing….start. If the way you have started does not feel right or comfortable then stop and look at what is not working and what is then carry on.

When the Guild for formed in 1979 the only way to collect material was by visiting St Catherine’s in London and extract by hand the appearance of your surname, quarter by quarter. It was fairly hefty work and laborious, but people kept going. In the modern days it is easier to go to FreeBMD, but that even does not necessarily contain all the references.

The only way to reconstruct family groups was to work through the registration districts and then each venue in turn. A Guild member said to me once, that there was no point in collecting those, as they were nothing more than an index and in part they are correct, but that time consuming process was undertaken by a generation of genealogists and is very much woven into the history of one-name studies.

Try out Tip – Look at the surnames in your family. Which one lends itself to a Surname Project or One-Name study? If you were going to embark on such a project what would you do first to get going and why?

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

I have written a lot previously about One-Name Studies (If you are new here, welcome! – you can read all the posts about researching surnames HERE).

A number of members of the Guild of One-Name Studies have an associated DNA project that runs alongside their study. I am no exception and have a study with Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) that runs alongside my Orlando One-Name Study. FTDNA are the only company that offers these types of projects, There are also projects based upon geographical regions – Polish and Italian for example and there are also projects that are aligned to those that have Jewish ancestry.

The Orlando project has the Guild logo along side the project name as the following image shows. The link to the Orlando Project can be found HERE

There is also a list of other projects where the surname appears, such as Malta and Prussia. The FTDNA Projects mainly focuses on Y-DNA which is passed from father to son. You can also undertake a Family Finder (Autosomal) test, which I have done.  Instead of going back in a father to son method, it goes back and round, effectively its outreach is wider – Cousins etc.

There are also tests available from Ancestry and likewise I have tested there too. Whilst not everyone has a DNA project with their study ,many members do. It enables members to reach out to others with an interest in a particular surname.

Try out Tip – Visit the FTDNA website and scroll half way down the the page to the search surname box. Insert your family surnames and see if there is a DNA Project available. Have you undertaken a DNA test? If not would you? If you are particularly interested in the surname of Orlando, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

The internet has shrunk the world to the size of a matchbox.

It enables us through email or a variety of apps and websites to connect with people we knew from school, university or employment. It also bridges the gap between family and friends. Relationships can to continue, renewed and made online, and that a great thing. We can engage in online learning, from online providers such as Pharos Tutors and the Society of Genealogists, undertake degree courses and professional development. Sure, there are downsides, but used appropriately, I believe the positive outweighs any negatives.

The genealogical world is one that has embraced online opportunities. We can sit at home and access a wide variety of material from indexes to actual images that might relate to our own family history or a wider, bigger project such as a One-Name, or One-Place Study. As part of the development of science and genetics we can take DNA tests and familiarise ourselves with DNA results, whether that is our own, or that which relates to a DNA project.

This enables me to share posts like this one, and more importantly, I can receive comments and I do reply to each one. I find it curious that some sites, whilst sharing information do not openly engage in communication with readers – totally baffling!

Communication is a really important element of being online, enabling us to share experiences, interests and connection with likeminded people. I think it fair to say that genealogy is a hobby that engages with others, at a variety of levels and there is nothing quite like the feeling of excitement at receiving an email from a researcher wondering if a genealogical connection exists.

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

The online world has provided the potential for books outside of their copyright to be available to researchers. Those providers offering access FREE are:

• Google Books
• The Internet Archive
• Project Gutenberg
• Hathi Trust

……. And, there may well be others. If you know of any please do leave a comment.

In the Introduction to One-Name Studies course, we explore the broad topic of the history of surnames. Do those earlier views by scholars of the times remain true today, or has the understanding evolved? If it has evolved, then the evolution is part of the history to, along with any hypothesis or conclusions drawn. Those researching surnames whose origins are not British, may find there are a mix of similarities with British names and some differences. In which case what drives the similarities and differences, and have they too evolved over time?

Material published previously about specific surnames adds to the history of that surname and are a useful addition to the One-Name Study, regardless of not whether it is registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies

Whether or not the books are available as free downloads or are texts still in print and copyright, they very likely contain a bibliography within the confines of the latter pages. Those bibliographies are incredibly useful as they provide opportunities for further considerations and research. One resource worthy of visiting is Modern British Surnames which is hosted by the Guild of One-Name Studies. The resource is the work of a former member, the late Philip Dance, and you can read about it HERE and how the site came to be relocated. Part of that resource is a Bibliography which can be found HERE. Whilst the title of the site is Modern British Surnames, it does contain information and resource relating the globalisation of surnames.

The online providers linked above, provide opportunities for site users to create accounts, enabling the creation of some form of book collections. To access the Hathi Trust you generally need to be registered with a partnered organisation. If that is not possible, you can sign up as a Friend of the University of Michigan, which is offered FREE of charge and having done so you can login to the books available. You can create collections and make the collections public or private as you wish.  To register as a friend of the University of Michigan click HERE (this is available to all, not just those in the United States).  I am in the process of adding material to my collections which can be found HERE and I will add the link to this site (either under Surname Research or Links) so stay tuned for details!

Courtesy of A-Z 2026

I was not sure that I was going to take part in the A-Z Challenge this year, but suddenly found myself on the sign up page and thought as it was still possible to sign up that I would.

Over the years I have written about aims of surname studies, but this year I am going to share a more varied approach. 

Our research needs to account for something, that means that there should be some plan at least, do we want to have a website, write a book, write blog posts, inspire people, or perhaps a combination of all of those, otherwise, we might just as well not bother.

My aims are at this point about ensuring that I have a sound database of material, properly sourced, all my references cited and my to do list up to date and for it to be accessible. My surname projects, are destined for a website, that provides the opportunity for others to view and find something of use for their research.

My current plan remains to dispose of the volumes of paper once I have added the material to my database. As part of that I am having a restructure of my digital files, with those that relate to individuals filed using the number that is allocated as soon as that individual is added to my genealogical software. Whilst that does not sound remarkable, it is a such a basic concept that I actually had not thought of it. I gave it a test drive and feel fairly content. All I now need to do is be more productive during the day, then by the time I am 102 I might have dumped all the paper! I know that I am likely to talk about this filing structure during the month, complete with images…