Genealogical Studies are a Euro-Centric Activity

By and large, most family history research is directed primarily at uncovering European roots.

I guess that should not be surprising since much of the early work in reviewing and copying records began with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), whose founders were of British stock. Many of the early researchers were from North America and the British Isles which emphasized studies into English and Scottish roots.

A local family history society did a survey of members’ interests several years ago. They found that of 3,388 submissions concerning the locations of surname interests, 1,758 (52%) were for the United Kingdom, 852 (25%) were for Canada, 380 (11%) were for the United States and 353 (9%) were for continental Europe. Only 3% of family historians were interested in the whole rest of the world. I suspect that most other societies show a similar pattern.

The major databases of ancestral information are concentrated in English-speaking regions: FamilySearch, Ancestry, FindMyPast, MyHeritage and a few others. Their collections are also geographically most heavily weighted to English-speaking countries as the table below indicates.

Database	Total Collections	United States	United Kingdom	Continental Europe & Ireland	Canada	Rest of the World
FamilySearch.org	2,371	1,133	137	603	99	399
Ancestry.com	33,620	25,236	3,248	2,122	1,958	1,056
MyHeritage	4,690	3,181	576	424	141	368

This weighting may be due to:

·         the number of records that were originally created

·         the number of records that have been preserved

·         the number of records that have been digitized and available to view online

·         the number and location of interested family researchers

Information about Asian countries is gradually making its way online although the number of collections is only a fraction of what is available for North America and Europe. Whether it can be integrated with the large volume of records from “Western” nations is unknown. A FamilySearch Wiki describes some of the material that can be searched.

If you are a student of history, or have read about any historical events, you will have learned about the expansion of European societies to the far corners of the world, primarily beginning in the 15^th century.

 

The Cantino planisphere, completed by an unknown Portuguese cartographer in 1502, is one of the most precious cartographic documents of all times. It depicts the world, as it became known to the Europeans after the great exploration voyages at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century to the Americas, Africa and India. It is now kept in the Biblioteca Universitaria Estense, Modena, Italy

What you will also have realized is that, in addition to the expansion of trade and opening up of new regions where people from all corners of Europe could relocate, there was also a terrible toll on the people who already lived in those regions. What was done by exploring nations, much of it in the name of Christianity, was the wholesale slaughter of indigenous peoples, to start with, and the subjugation of established societies that continued for centuries. Thousands of families, along with information about the survivors, were lost in this global expansion by Europeans.

Practically, we can only trace our families back about 600 years. The lack of records that describe people, in particular with respect to surnames, are lacking prior to the 14^th century.

The result for family history studies is that it is almost impossible to trace families further back that the late Middle Ages. Families have existed, of course, since the evolution of humans. Civilization (definition: advanced stage or system of social development) goes back about 10,000 years but we are restricted in being able to discover our roots for only 5% of that time. Defining lineage or pedigree eventually gets into archaeology (definition: the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of physical remains).

Genealogy then has a very limited reference period, both in terms of time and geography. Is that important to most of us? Well, there are a lot of records available (and more becoming available every day) that cover the last few centuries, so we have lots to keep us busy. The complexity of family dynamics also challenges us to define our true ancestral lines which should modify expectations of any study.

When you add in the impossibility of finding information about people in other that European-based societies (Oriental, African tribes, New World indigenous, etc.) because of the absence of written records of any kind or the difficulty of reading what material there may be, the construction of a World Family Tree, even utilizing DNA analyses, becomes a fantasy.

At least the business part of family history research is. Because the written record is concentrated in European centres and part of European history, that is where the focus will likely remain.

Tess (2005-2018)

For the second time in a week we lost a dear little companion.

We were surprised and shocked when Tess developed some very serious health problems in the last few months. While we hoped we would be able to deal with them, recent deterioration in her well-being led us to conclude that we needed to spare her any unnecessary discomfort. We believed it was going to be an uphill battle for her to regain a quality of life she needed and deserved in order to go on. She died peacefully in our arms at the vet clinic on 13 October 2018.

Some readers may find it strange to talk about dogs in a genealogical-related blog. My view is that “family” often goes beyond just parents, children, grandparents or siblings – or even human beings. Those warm, loving little animals we choose to share our homes and lives with are also family. And their passing brings heartache!

Tess was born 18 March 2005: mother, Ellie; sire, Draco. She came home with us on 15 May 2005 and was immediately adopted by Robbie – the West Highland White Terrier that we lost earlier last week – the two becoming life-long friends. And family, of course.

She was a sweet dog, prone to friendly licking of anyone who came within tongue distance – which made children giggle and adults squirm. From the start she was an energetic dog – in so being, energizing the rest of us. She never had a litter of her own but she did her best to mother Robbie, regularly grooming his coat and cleaning his ears. Tess could also be fierce at times, especially if any other dog looked crosswise at Robbie.

Tess was a brindle Cairn Terrier, with white, gray and brown in her mostly black coat. We liked to tell people that she was a look-a-like to the original Toto of Wizard of Oz fame, also a brindle Cairn. She was not a registered purebred dog but that was not of concern to us. Our grandson did think she deserved a bigger name, though, and decided she should be called Contessa Licksalot in recognition of her overbearingly-friendly demeaner.

In people years, Tess would have been close to 70, not a bad age for a terrier, although we certainly would have wished for more time with her, as well as with Robbie.

It is difficult to convey in a few words what a lifetime of joy these pets gave us. If electronic messages could be tear-stained in the way hand-written notes can be, this would be one of them.

Robbie and Tess had an enormous impact on our lives and will be lovingly remembered.

Robbie (2003-2018)

We lost a very dear pet this week. Robbie’s health had failed considerably over the past several months. We knew it was his time and that we had to give him relief from his daily struggles. He died very peacefully in my arms at the vet clinic on 7 October 2018.

Losing a pet is not the same as losing a parent, sibling or child. Nonetheless they become very important members of our families and I think they also deserve eulogies. Pets give us great joy and companionship. The fact that we elect euthanasia to end their stress or sickness does not take away our pain or sense of loss.

Robbie was born 29 November 2003. His registered name was Brynmill Billy Barkwell: sire, Brynmill Bobbie Burns; mother, Banffshire Chloe. That did not mean much to us, really. He was just Robbie! We brought him home on 24 January 2004.

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. And while it has turned out to be a very sad time, we are thankful for having had Robbie in our lives for so many years.

Robbie was a very good dog for us. He was gentle; he loved people, especially children; the kennel where he used to visit put him in with the puppies staying there because he was so friendly and liked to play with them. He was also a curious dog, and his adventuresome nature occasionally got him into trouble when he was able to get through an open gate into the wide open neighbourhood. He did not bark much, in spite of his name, except when unauthorized cats or rabbits invaded his yard. He also had a thing about cube vans and made a scene until they drove away.

As one gets older I think the loss of a pet becomes somewhat more distressing, perhaps because we see the end of their life span in terms more relative to our own. In people years, Robbie was just a little older than me – a septuagenarian – so in that respect we can say he lived a full life.

Robbie captivated our hearts. And those hearts have broken a little with him now gone. He will always be in our memories, aided by the dozens if pictures we have of him in our family albums.

The last comment the attending veterinarian said to us was that she thought we had given him a very good life. My response was “and vice versa!” He gave us a great deal of happiness in return.