Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purposes of review and I have received other books from Genealogical Publishing Company, also for review. However, my opinions are my own and not influenced by outside sources.
Intriguing. Professional. Compelling.
The way in which genealogists and family historians tell their stories has matured through the years. Whereas beginners (no criticism here as you can’t write about unknown ancestors) are generally name collectors adding to their pedigree charts, more experienced researchers understand how important it is to make those who came before us come to life.
How can we best tell their stories, fairly and impartially?
Darcie Hind Posz has written what is sure to become a classic, educating the reader, step-by-step, in how to approach and analyze the facts, documents, photos and heirlooms that will enable us to share their stories as accurately as we can.
I began this review with “Intriguing” for a reason. There are so many educational paths available to genealogists today. Many books, classes, seminars and webinars say much the same thing with slight variations.
However, I was immediately intrigued with Ancestoring: Understanding Records, Family, and Ourselves because the author takes the unique approach of teaching us how to learn about our family from the point of view of the records and how to look outside the box when analyzing them.
The “outside the box” thinking is clearly demonstrated by the non-traditional chapter titles.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface
Part 1: Understanding Records
Chapter 1: Life in a Trunk
Chapter 2: Take Apart a Picture
Chapter 3: The Joy of Recreating
Chapter 4: Favorite Conspiracy
Chapter 5: Room 1219
Chapter 6: People As Containers
Summary of Part 1
Part 2: Understanding Family
Chapter 7: Why We Leave; To Belong
Chapter 8: Picnic: Approaching Strangers in Research
Chapter 9: Five Easy Pieces: Drifters
Chapter 10: Sisters & House Rules
Chapter 11: What Family Looks Like
Chapter 12: Taboo/Haunting
Summary of Part 2
Part 3: Understanding Objectives
Chapter 13: Dreams & Premonitions
Chapter 14: Trauma & Memory
Chapter 15: Rememory
Chapter 16: Identity and the Genealogist
Chapter 17: Brown Outs
Chapter 18: Losing Yoshito (When We Are Wrong)
Section 1: Presentation of the Problem and/ir Error in Lineage
Section 2: Research Paths from DNA to Documentation
Section 3: The Diaspora Dilemma and Racial Inferiority Complex
Appendix: A Self-Test for Problematic Ways of Thinking
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Index
Author Biography
The second word of this review is “Professional.”
Professional is not unexpected for two reasons. First, author Darcie Hind Posz was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (FASG) in 2023. Membership in the American Society of Genealogists is by invitation, restricted to fifty living members at any one time and represents the cream of the American genealogists.
Second, this book was published by Genealogical Publishing Company, which is known for excellent quality publications.
Third, Ancestoring is professionally organized in such a way that motivated readers could work through the chapters – and complete the suggested tasks to sharpen their skills – on their own OR the book would work equally well as the textbook in a class teaching these skills.
It’s a definite plus that the author included examples from her own really interesting family tree when discussing concepts in the chapters.
The third word that opened this post is “Compelling.”
I can’t imagine any serious researcher reading this book to not feel compelled to dig in, digest and use the information to think outside the box when compiling records pertaining to ancestors and using them to write an interesting life account that takes into consideration each person, his/her life choices and how social customs and culture, along with events happening in the world around them, might have influenced those choices.
I also love the extensive list of resources (articles and books) provided at the end of each chapter. I am familiar with many of them, but not all, and will be checking them out.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough, both for beginners, who may use it as more of a resource as they begin down the family history road, and for more experienced researchers, who can implement strategies and suggestions immediately.
Ancestoring: Understanding Records, Family, and Ourselves by Darcie Hind Posz can be purchased as a paperback online at Genealogical Publishing Company for $34.95, which is worth every penny. This book is a class, in and of itself – a bargain!
Looks interesting…will have to see if I can get it for the library’s collection. Our book budget has been reduced, so I have to be judicious in what I request, but this definitely looks like a great addition.
Ouch – it’s $65 Cdn…not sure I can swing it ☹️
Thanks for the great review of the book. I am going to check it out.
I’m intrigued by Linda Stufflebean’s review of Darcie Hind Posz’ Ancestoring with her statement that the “author takes the unique approach of teaching us how to learn about our family from the point of view of the records and how to look outside the box when analyzing them.” This idea couldn’t be more timely in my and perhaps other’s research. In my case having combed the records of my ancestors in colonial Virginia for many years, I discovered there are a couple dozen surnames that continued to show up in the records alongside my ancestors. But to date there is nothing that explains why they continue to show up with my ancestors. Land, court and survey records always stick with their purpose – to record a deed, identify survey boundaries and when in court who won or lost a jury trial, who will be fined, who recent orphans will be bound out to. With the many years of study and thought I’ve put into these records, I have begun to formulate some ideas that could give a plausible reason for these close associations.
My reluctance to begin moving into this direction was for the same reason I get frustrated when I see someone make a broad generalization behind the meaning of a relationship in a deed by simply seeing names show up in the record for the first time. But this cautiousness had kept me from making some assumptions borne by years of searching. This new idea posed by Ancestoring is refreshingly creative and emboldens me. I understand we will still need to be careful to justify and explain our “out of the box” discoveries in a way that shows the “why” and “how” we arrived at these fresh new explanations so that they can be tested and repeated by others.