Monthly Archives: December 2025

(Advent 8) – Help at Hand

The Genealogical community, both on and offline is in the main a friendly one, where sharing knowledge and ideas for research is given freely and frequently. The internet has shrunk the world to the size of a matchbox, with interactions … Continue reading

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(Advent 7) – Gathering Data

Any One-Name and surname research project will involve the collection of material, what I refer to as raw data. Regardless of where your surname originated from or where you reside, to undertake a One-Name Study and register this with the … Continue reading

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(Advent 6) – Family Trees

Family Trees, Pedigree, or lineage – are they the same, different or simply different things to different people? A family tree is something that I produce when I am researching. It is a rough drawing of who sits where in … Continue reading

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(Advent 5) – Evidence

Regardless of what research you are undertaking, every separate fact contained within a document should be individually recorded into a database, and subsequently, every fact should be supported by evidence. The evidence documented with the citation, which subsequently can be … Continue reading

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(Advent 4) – Distribution of Surnames

Surname distribution maps add a new and different dimension to a One-Name study. A surname may well have it’s origins in one Country, and a map can provide an interesting insight to how migration can influence the geographic spread of … Continue reading

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(Advent 3) – Choosing a Surname

There are always more questions than answers, and always a burning obsession to find out more, even if the odds are against a successful search. Therefore it is no surprise that researchers choose their surnames of interest for a variety … Continue reading

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(Advent 2) – Back up Data….

On the first of every month I do a series of things, all of which keep me organised and undertaking what I call my office housekeeping. Back-up computer files.  Downloads from talks, other genealogists etc, these are moved to my … Continue reading

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(Advent 1) – Aims of a One-Name Study

One of the questions that is asked, of students on the Introduction to One-Name Studies course is about Organisation. The way we keep our study may differ from that of our own family history research. As I responded to a … Continue reading

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