34 Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Fall 2000

Genealogist

You’re a what?

Kathleen Green is managing editor of the OOQ,

(202) 691-5717.

by Kathleen Green

Photo of Jane Gardner Aprill courtesy of Carter Stevens

If you’ve ever wondered about your

ancestry, you’re interested in genealogy. And if you’ve tried tracing part of

your family history, you’re a budding

genealogist.

“Genealogy is about connecting

people,” says Jane Gardner Aprill, a

professional genealogist in New

Orleans. “You can do it by going

back—for example, starting with

yourself and then your parents, their

parents, and so on. Another way is to

pick a person, perhaps a famous

person, and then come forward in

time, listing children, grandchildren,

great-grandchildren.” Either way, the

number of people involved grows

rapidly.

But the speed with which family

connections grow does not translate

into fast research. In fact, researching

genealogy is time consuming because

everything must be independently

verified. “If you want to add a branch

to your family tree,” Jane points out,

“you have to make sure it’s the right

branch.”

Like most genealogists, Jane begins

a project by basing her research on a

fact usually supplied by the client who

hires her for the genealogical research.

A fact is simple—your grandmother

was born, for example—but provides

the springboard for researching

questions surrounding it—such as

where and when your grandmother

was born.

Jane then devises a plan for researching that fact, studies available

sources, and reaches a conclusion. To

complete a project, she summarizes

her findings in a report to the client.

Planning, source examining, and report

writing each consume about one-third

of the time required for a project.

In devising a research plan, Jane

considers the available resources,

including both home and published

sources. She first inquires after home

sources, such as personal letters,

photographs, and information relatives

may have. Then, to expand on the

home-source information, she turns to

published sources such as books,

bibliographies, and collections of

records. “The best source is the one

that gets you closest to the event or

fact recorded,” says Jane. The plan

reflects her decisions about which

sources will be most useful to her

research.

Retrieving these sources first

requires tracking them down. Home

sources may be available locally or

might be spread among many family

members throughout the country.

Published sources are in a number of

places, including public and repository

libraries, State archives, and city,

county, or State offices of public

record.

Sometimes, Jane gets the information she needs via phone, fax, or mail.

But she usually visits the source site

herself to review, evaluate, and verify

each piece of information. That’s a lot

of trips to a library or courthouse. It

also means spending many hours

there, because most sources are

reference materials that cannot be

checked out.

Jane makes notes and copies of the

information she finds, organizing her

research at the end of the day. Documentation—noting where information

came from, such as volume and page

numbers—is the key to good research.

When satisfied she has all available

sources for a project, Jane begins

analyzing the results of her search to

reach a conclusion. Each project

concludes with a report, which states

what was requested and what was and

was not found.

Completing a project is very satisfying, Jane says, but by far the most

enjoyable part of her work is the rush of

adrenaline that comes from finding an

item she’s looking for. Especially fulfilling

is uncovering a fact buried in volumes of,

say, unalphabetized, handwritten records.

“Whether I’m doing research for myself

or for someone else,” she says, “the

reaction is the same: ‘Ah, there it is!’”

Gaining satisfaction from researching for others is a benefit Jane never

expected. That’s because she never

expected to do genealogical research

for anyone other than herself. Like

many genealogists, Jane’s interest in

the field began with a curiosity about

her own roots. As a child, she enjoyed

figuring out her relationship to

maternal aunts, uncles, and cousins

who lived nearby; members of her

father’s family, who lived farther away,

came to life in photographs she

grouped and labeled.

Jane continued tracing her ancestry

sporadically as she grew up. The

familial fascination was always present,

even into adulthood: driving through a

town might include a stop to inquire

about her father’s family.

Finally, in the late 1980’s, Jane

became a serious student of genealogy.

She took courses through the Institute of Genealogy and Historical

Research at Samford University in

Birmingham, Alabama, one of a handful
Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Fall 2000 35

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of genealogy

institutes

offering classes

in the United

States.

After completing genealogy

coursework, Jane

began attending

conferences, subscribing

to journals, reading books,

and networking with other

genealogists. Through the Board for

Certification of Genealogists, she

earned the designation of Certified

Genealogical Record Specialist. She is

a member of the Association of

Professional Genealogists, serving as

its secretary and Louisiana Chapter

liaison. To educate the public about

genealogy—an Association objective—

Jane sometimes gives talks on a variety

of topics.

As busy as genealogy keeps her,

however, Jane works at it only part

time. And according to a 1997 Board

survey, she’s in the majority. The

survey found that of certified associates, 57 percent work part time and

34 percent work full time; nearly all

are self-employed. Another 9 percent

are hobbyists.

Counting genealogists is more

difficult. The Board estimates that

there are currently about 320 certified genealogists. But because certification is voluntary, the number of

genealogists is much higher. There are

1,100 Association members throughout the country, with another 100

members outside the United States.

The Federation of Genealogical

Societies has about 550 member

societies representing 500,000 people,

but many societies do not belong to

the Federation. A still greater number

of genealogists are not members of

any such societies. How many are full

or part time or hobbyists also is

unknown, as is the number who

collect fees for their services.

Genealogists who charge for their

work usually do so by the hour; they

also bill for out-of-pocket expenses

such as travel and photocopies.

According to the Board survey, hourly

fees for certified associates averaged

about $25, with noncertified survey

respondents charging $23. As with any

occupation, fees may be higher or

lower depending on a number of

factors, including experience, credentials, specialty, and geographic area.

A project’s total cost is determined

by the number of hours it takes a

genealogist to complete it. That

depends on the project, but Jane says

it ranges from 1 hour for a marriage

record search to 1,000 hours for a 3-

generation family history. Such estimates can startle new clients, who

usually have little idea of the time

required.

Sometimes, Jane and her clients

agree on a maximum number of hours

she should work on a project. Jane

lets clients decide whether they want

her to continue when she reaches the

threshold. Usually, they say she should.

“Most people have no concept of how

long it takes,” says Jane. “They’ll tell

you, ‘I want

everything all

the way back

to Adam.’ You

need to be

patient and

willing to explain

again and again why

requests like that

just aren’t practical.”

In addition to patience,

genealogists need other

qualities and skills to do their work

well. They should be inquisitive, have

good organizational skills, and know

how to use a library. Math, accounting,

and communication ability also are a

must for figuring out dates, tallying

hours and expenses, and explaining

research results clearly. Knowing the

history of a region is often essential to

research. Depending on genealogists’

specialty areas or geographic location,

they may need other skills; Jane notes,

for example, that researchers in

Louisiana must know some French and

Spanish to decipher old records.

Basic computer knowledge also is

important. Some libraries have created

databases and digitized their records,

making select searches faster and the

information more accessible. But Jane

says some clients have misconceptions

about the power of technology.

Electronic research is another tool

for—not a replacement for traditional

methods of—finding information. “An

Internet search may give you facts,”

she says, “but it usually doesn’t tell you

where those facts came from.”

Identifying and documenting facts is

the root of genealogy. For Jane and

genealogists like her, it’s a thrilling

challenge—despite the slow pace of

the work. Says Jane, “As an old woman

once said, ‘Genealogy is like water

dripping on a rock: it’ll make a hole,

but it’ll take a long time.’”