El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-08

is almost as old as civilza-
: ton, and yet as a comfortable and
I cOngeniaI means of securing a liveli-
hood II may be said to be one OF the
| newest professions. The modern gen
I ealOgist is not the gray-bearded, an
/ tiquated bOokWOrm formerly assO-
ciated with the term, but an alert,
/ active young man or woman who Is,
perhaps, well fortified by university
degree signifying advanced work in
I history. Such a person may also pos
I seSS a reading knowledge or several
| languages which will materially aid IN
the process Of tracing ancestry through
/ foreign records
This article considers. Of course. only
/ the reputable and honest genealOgist-
/ The pedigree builder who is willing
to furnish any sort of q family tree
to any sort Of a family upon payment
Of a sufficient sum OF money, is
/ fraud pure and simple The victims
| OF his SW1ndllng, however are re
| Quently only too glad TO be cheated In
this way, for snObbery IS essentially
/ self-swindling.
The Work Is Fascinating.
There can be no more delightful
work to one who is studiOusly inclined
than ancestOr-huntings providing one
is fortunate enough to secure the
cult than formerly. however. because
the increasing interest in genealOgy
cOrreSpOndingly increases the number
Of persons who are DESTROYS Of pos
D
pedigree and are willing to pay to
have It made out One young woman
genealogist for some time has been
making an annual trip to Europe IN
the interest of her profession. Some
times her entire expenses are paid by
one customer who desires proof Of his
( lineage which cannot be secured in
the United States. At other times she
/ will take notes for half dozen eli
ents. always keeping a sharp eye on
all records showing American connec-
become worth their weight in gold to
her at any time since she never
knows when some new order viii call
for just that material
The Pedigree Charts.
The modern genealOgists have pedl-
gree charts. prepared according TO the
individual judgment Of the user, which
aid materially in the work of ances-
tOr-hUnting. While each experienced
worker has a system Of his own, these
charts have salient points in common
70 all and are similar TO the pedigree
charts used by cattle dealers They
begin with the individual and give
spaces for two ancestors in each gen
Grafton as far back as the applicant is
able to go When there is a demand
for an entire family with all Of its
branches the charts are broader and
contain more spaces. Every modern
genealogist endeavors IF possible, TO
dates OF the BIRTH marriage and death
Of each person mentioned
Occasionally there is a demand for
a complete record showing all the des-
cendants Of a family for a number OF
generations and such an order may
give the genealOgist work for months
or years. Usually the descent OF only
one line is wanted and this may 90
back for 10 or more generations After I
10 generations access 70 European
records is always necessary Often l
an amateur Will have the pedigree
well In hand and only call upon the
expert for the completion of the record 1
While genealOgy should not en-
courage snObbery, and viii not with I
any broad minded persons. genealogists !
admit that there is decided DISPOSE |
ton on the part OF most Americans to [
trace their ancestry back to aristOc-
racy, despite their much Wanted de- I
mocracy- A well known genealOgist ]
tells this story, the name Jones being /
OF course fictitious.
Il received an order from a promi- /
nent Missouri family to establish its /
connection with a certain Hugh Jones /
OF Virginia, concerning whom their I
records were incomplete. Now the I
Hugh Jones with whom they believed !
themselves connected was q well known I
and therefore an aristOCrat Of highest /
rank After some little difficulty. and I
the expenditure Of over $500. found /
their ancestor was not the cavalier.
but Hugh Jones. a carpenter, WhO had
g most important part in the building !
up Of the early colony. When I in
4O4l 4EQ LLA6 AdQN OF the LalullN. she was
highly Indignant OF course you mean
Hugh Jones, an architect she said
after I had proved to her that the gay
cavalier left no progeny in America
NO, madam 1 answered with equal
fervor. mean Hugh Jones, the car
penter, and he was a good one at that /
and 1 want TO tell you that carpen-
ter, in those days, who could turn the
corner of log house was Of more
use TO the country than the best ar
chitect In the world is today, and a
true genealOgist would ScOrn to change I
a record that his descendants ought to
be proud Of She paid for the record
after that but she did not frame it
and hang II in her parlOr as would
have been done II the word carpenter
had not to her mind Indicated plebian
origin"
Is Usually Expensive.
1t is usually expensive business to
prove the records OF an entire family
for even five or six generations. A
genealigost. whose work
for other people gave him excellent Op-
portunity to secure information for
himself, claims to have expended over
SIUVOO in proving the records for his
mothers family for eight generations. J
To establish the connections Of the diff
ferent branches involved. required
journeys to Holland. Scotland, France.
Wales, Switzerland. Germany, Ireland
Massachusetts Georgia and Pennsyl-
vanfa- As he could not himself
translate the records in some OF the
]
but to him the result is
worth the time and money expended. /
as he has a record OF indisputable au-
thenticity-
The true genealogIst deals not with
traditions until they have been absO-
utely verified You may have beau
tiful story in your family about the !
courtship of your great great grand
mother who refused to marry her hus- /
band until after he had Joined the Con-
dnental army and then endured count /
ess hardships while he was away in
the service of his country. But the |
genealogist. looking upon all human /
sentiment with a colby scientific eve, !
viii show YOU proof that your great
were married two ,
years before the Revolutionary war !
began. and that your great great
grandfather deserted after the first
battle because his wife insisted that :
ihe could not manage the farm alone !
How many a would be-lOiner" of a pa
.riotic order has wept bitter tears over
iuch a disclosure. Inundated not so I ]
much by the fact that her ancestor was 7
better husband than he was a pa
riot. as bv the fact that she could not
,ose as the descendant Of a hero The I
is nCt Of course to blame q