Junk Genealogy Masquerades as the Truth - Mary E. Petty's Answer to Question #1

Question #1: Without organized professionalism and its attendant standardization, how is junk genealogy to be unmasked? Or put another way, how do you separate true and accurate genealogy from junk genealogy in the non professionalized world of family history?

While there is no quick fix, there are four possible approaches to the problem.

1. The consumer can wait till his family tree has been climbed by others; and then, hope that Genealogy Research Services has professionalized so he can hire a real professional to validate or disprove all the genealogy work discovered in the past. Could be in the next life!
2. The consumer does his own genealogy after he devotes considerable time and effort to becoming a professional genealogist by adhering to the hallmarks of a real professional – college education; skill training, work experience; competency testing, verifiable credentials; compliance; membership in qualified members-only organization that requires these qualifying standards, best practices, and ethics. If the consumer is willing to become a real professional genealogist!
3. The consumer encourages the formal establishment of a profession in Genealogy Research Services to create qualified practitioners (education, training, experience, competency testing, continuing education, compliance) with members-only professional organization supporting and maintaining recognized methodology, best practices, ethics, and standards so trustworthy genealogy can be accurately discovered and documented, verified, reproduced, and certified. My Dream by 2020!
4. Practitioner initiative (actual workers who make a living doing genealogy research for hire for clients, organizes a real profession in Genealogy Research Services by 2020 to establish and verifiably maintain the qualified practitioner criteria, standards, methodology, technology, science, best practices, and ethics. My Dream by 2020!

Personally, I feel it is impossible to unmask junk genealogy in today’s non-professionalized genealogy research services marketplace. Just calling something Professional Genealogy does not make it so for either the practitioner or the products and services and outcomes. Any one can work in genealogy today, producing whatever they call genealogy, with no standardized qualifier as to the validity, quality, and status of the product or the producer. Any one can self-appoint themselves as a professional and charge money for their services, products and work, or do this for free, falsely claiming pro bono or professional stature of the advice, instruction, or facts. In such unstructured commercial activity, you can’t tell the real practitioner from the non-qualified or self-appointed worker, or whose work or efforts is true or junk genealogy. For the consumer’s, it’s a real buyer’s-beware environment.

Genealogy is so intertwined with hobbyist, amateur, and self-styled professional work, that consumers have no authoritative means of separating between the real work of authorized practitioners, and that produced by the self-designated professional or massed-produced or recopied by the hobbyist world. Without recognized professionals who have access to standardized education, training, competency testing with verifiable continuing education, compliance, standards, ethics, and best practice, there is no authoritative means to differentiate between the qualified and unqualified practitioner and their outcomes. Everyone and everything is suspect in today’s world of genealogy research services, resulting in unfettered junk genealogy. Anyone may self-designate as a genealogist, often erroneously self-applying the term professional genealogist to lead the consumer to believe that there is a profession in genealogy research services. Such self-styled workers then call their genealogy services or outcomes “professional”, be it actual research work or just talking, writing, blogging, speaking, lecturing, or teaching about genealogy. Junk Genealogy thrives in such a world of non standardization or un-professionalism. It will always be a problem till the work of Genealogy Research Services professionalizes and formally organizes as a profession. Just like true and accurate research in any real research and discovery profession like paleontology, archeology, and astronomy, professional designation in genealogy must be credible, competency-based, maintained and reproducible; verifiable and restricted by standardization to qualified practitioners only.

Genealogy is a lot like paleontology, archeology, and astronomy. They are all very technical, scientific and scholarly research-oriented fields of endeavor and interest that have very small professional occupations, affiliated business and industry work opportunities, and very large hobbyist or amateur participation. They all suffer from free junk made available to the consumer by the unqualified, as well as non professionals who compete with the real professional practitioners for the consumer dollar by doing research and writing, speaking, teaching, and producing materials and results that are marketed to the consumer as true and valid.

Paleontology, archeology, and astronomy have existing professions that use the well-established pattern of professionalism to control who is designated by their professional organizations as a real paleontologist, archeologist, and astronomer. So pros can trust other pros, for trustworthy, verifiable and reproducible results, practitioners have earned the profession-mandated college education and skill training as the entry-level hallmark designators for a professional or career worker in their field. This achievement of the required content-specific college degrees and on the job training at the graduate level separates the hobbyist from the qualified and allows the degreed person to be designated as a professional in their respective occupation.

This enables the professionals to know who is professionally qualified, and by right, use the professional designation as paleontologist, archeologist, and astronomer. There is no self-appointment as a professional. This does not prevent someone from working in these fields, but it does remove the possibility of confusing professional work from that done by the unqualified. In other words, professionals know who is producing the materials and can easily separate the credibility and competency of the work and the provider. While this does not stop the active hobby world from digging for dinosaurs, or historical artifacts, or searching for new planets and then holding conferences, publishing consumer magazines and blogging their findings, it sets trustworthy criteria for both the consumer and professionals to use to unmask the junk in their fields. Paleontology, archeology, and astronomy differ from genealogy because of such professionalization and the resultant professionalism of the practitioners.

This professionalization and ensuing professionalism are in the best interests of the consumer, the practitioner, the profession, the affiliated partners in technology, science, goods, and services, and the public and private domain family trees. My dream is the establishment of a real profession in genealogy research services by 2020 through the actions of career practitioners and the efforts of well-meaning consumers. Here we will find the true, reliable, and trustworthy means and tools to unmask junk genealogy and to climb the family tree professionally, and accurately identify individuals an link them to their real ancestors, descendants, and relatives, and their place in history.

Submitted by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)
Ancestors are the People of History.● Do you know who yours are? ● Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! ●1-800-570-4049 ● www.heirlines.com ● PO Box 893 ● Salt Lake City, UT 84110
© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Junk Genealogy Masquerades As The Truth

Things are seldom what they seem -Skim milk masquerades as cream.
Quotation by William S Gilbert (1836 – 1911)

Most genealogy enthusiasts, patrons, customers, vendors, and practitioners want the truth in data, products, and services. Whether these genealogy consumers are one of the few - a pre-qualified, practitioner-designated “professional genealogist” (earned status and experienced as a “pro”, or “expert”) or self-proclaimed as such; whether they are a commercial provider/vendor, a hobbyist, or a potential client; whether they do genealogy research, or write, blog, or teach about genealogy; whether they produce, promote, market, or distribute genealogy; or whether they use, buy, or sell genealogy data, products and services, the majority interested in genealogy today want to know who and what is real, true, and safe, and to be able to easily make the best and correct choices. With the coming of the Internet and the ensuing development of free computer and E-commerce genealogy and family history web-based businesses, databases, products, services, technologies, resources, and activities found on and offline, achieving these desires have become increasingly challenging in the field of Genealogy.

Why?

One of biggest problems facing family history consumers is junk genealogy masquerading as the truth. This is a direct consequence of the non-professionalization of the so-called profession of Professional Genealogy.
The required professional authority, criteria, and competency of authorized professional genealogists, needed to create the quality, integrity, and service of professional work and outcomes in business, commerce, and pro bono genealogy that is now so readily accessed on and off the Internet, must be set and maintained institutionally, and supported by qualified practitioner-designated “professional genealogists”. This has not happened yet in Professional Genealogy.

Only a very few practitioners have been willing to support the formation of such a profession in Professional Genealogy with standardized standards, methodology, ethics, best practices, and admission policies; and fewer still, to earn the available (emerging, but still non-standardized and not for pre-qualified professionals only) professional genealogy education, training, experience, competency, credentials, membership, and compliance that warrant the qualified-designation as “professional genealogist”. Without organized professionalism and its attendant standardization, how is junk genealogy to be unmasked? how can the consumer accurately determine genealogy and family history? and how does a consumer choose a qualified professional genealogy practitioner or reputable genealogy research services business, or provider of genealogy databases, products, and related services?

How?

As Vice President of HEIRLINES Family History & Genealogy, Inc., I have asked myself these same three questions. After briefly introducing Heirlines and its professional genealogy owners, over the next couple of blogs I will specifically address each of these questions and share our solutions with you, gained from our nearly 40 years experience in professional genealogy research services, providing verifiable forensic genealogy, in-depth genealogy and family history research, analysis, and reporting, databases, and genealogical information for our clients and the private and public domain family trees. If you have additional questions, please go to our website www.Heirlines.com and contact us using the Free Consultation Form. We will be happy to talk to you in greater detail about professional genealogy.

HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY, INC.
Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are?
Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry!
1-800-570-4049 ▪ www.heirlines.com ▪ PO Box 893 ▪ Salt Lake City, UT 84110

HEIRLINES Family History & Genealogy, Inc. is a full-service Professional Genealogy Research Services firm based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a BBB Accredited Business with Utah incorporation and Sandy City Business License compliance. HEIRLINES provides Certified Family Trees ™, Forensic Genealogy, Custom In-depth Research, Analysis, Reporting verifiable American and International Ancestry, LDS, Lineage Society, Ethnic and Minority Status, Pro – Pro, DNA Surname and Mitochondrial Studies, Family Health History, Corporate History, Consultation and other Professional Genealogy Research Services through for-hire contracted work. HEIRLINES primary, locally-accessed, professional genealogy repository is the #1 premier, world- renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Additional resources, sources, and databases are accessed through on-line corporate Internet accounts, qualified sub-contractors, and in-person onsite research at repositories worldwide.

A private family-owned corporation, HEIRLINES is led by President and Principal Genealogist, James W. Petty, AG®, CGSM. He is a member in good standing with the National Association of Professional Genealogists and local APG Salt Lake City, Utah chapter, since its first year, 1979. A commercial genealogy practitioner, Mr. Petty has had a full-time career “climbing the family tree professionally, since 1969”. As a qualified professional genealogist, James W. Petty, AG®, CGSM has set the professional standard for our Professional Genealogy Research Services company by earning his designation as “professional genealogist”. He has adhering to the most popular professional career path even though it has not been formally instituted or standardized for the Profession as a whole in genealogy today. As of the beginning of the 21st century it is available with quasi- professional standards, ethics, methodology, best practices, and admission policies including: Formal Education in Professional Genealogy Research; Formal Training in Professional Genealogy Research; Formal Experience in Professional Genealogy Research; Competency Testing and Maintained; Continuing Education, Business Compliance, Member of APG (as of 2009, this is not a profession-qualified members-only organization).

James W. Petty, AG, CG Professional Genealogy Career Path: 1969 - Present

• Full-time Career Professional Genealogist in occupation and emerging profession of Professional Genealogy Research Services: Education, Training, Experience, Credentials, Membership (1969-Present).
• Full-Time Career Professional Genealogy Research Career Experience - DBA as James W. Petty and James W. Petty, AG (1969-1979) ; then President and Owner HEIRLINES Family History & Genealogy, Inc. and DBA (1979 – present); E-Commerce website www.Heirlines.com (1998- present).
• Formal Education and Training in Genealogy Research - 1969 – 1973
• Graduate: BYU - B.A. History 1972, B. S. Genealogy 1973.
• Formal Experience in Professional Genealogy Employment: GSU/LDSGD/FHL: Field Operations, Reference Librarian, Researcher (1973-1980).
• Competency Tested Credentials Earned and Dates Maintained:
FHL/ICAPGen: AG®, Accredited Genealogist in 4 areas of specialty. (1971- Present);
BCG: CGSM , Certified Genealogist. (2005-present);
Previous Certifications: CALS, Certified American Lineage Specialist. (1983- 1988); CGRS, Certified Genealogical Records Specialist. (2000- 2005).
• Created Certified Family Trees ™, Historical Event Genealogy™, and the Jamestowne & Colonial Virginia Genealogy & DNA Project TM.
• Recipient of BCG Education Fund 2005 Donald Mosher Award.
• Instructor: Heritage Genealogy College; Salt Lake Community College, National, State and Local Genealogy Society Conferences.
• Internship Mentor: BYU, HGC, SLCC, Salt Lake Institute genealogy research students.
• Professional Genealogist, Forensic Genealogist, Researcher, Author, Columnist, Lecturer, Consultant, Expert Witness.

The ICAPGenSM service mark and the Accredited Genealogist® and the AG® certification marks are the sole property of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. All Rights Reserved.
CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license after periodic evaluations by the Board.

Mary E. Petty, B.A. History BYU 1972, B.A. Genealogy HGC 2008, serves as Vice President of Heirlines. She has more than thirty- seven years’ experience in commercial genealogy research services, development, and project management: responsible for accounting, marketing, business development, and client/customer relations in consumer genealogical and historical research. Working along side James W. Petty, AG®, CGSM, Mrs. Petty has provided professional genealogy services including in-depth family tree research, consultation, special projects, and DNA genetic genealogy for individuals, family organizations, ethnic minorities, businesses, and law firms world-wide since 1972. Both she and Mr. Petty have served on the Utah Department of Health’s Family Health History Task Force and she is a member in good standing with National and the local Salt Lake City, Utah Chapter of APG. A published professional genealogy author, editor and family history branch librarian, Mary has continually worked to help clients, consumers, and amateur and professional genealogists have a better understanding of the professional genealogy industry, its potential, professionalism and professionalization. Her dream is to have a full-fledged profession in genealogy with standardized standards, ethics, methodology, best practices, and admission policies by 2020.

Submitted by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)
●Ancestors are the People of History.● Do you know who yours are?
● Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry!
●1-800-570-4049 ● www.heirlines.com ● PO Box 893 ● Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Professional Genealogy Tip: Use long-form legal birth certificate record for maximum genealogical, historical and family history information, not merely "certification" or short-form abstract copy of live birth legal record. Compare Obama's short-form certification of live birth with 50 states long-form certificate of live birth. What a big difference in what information is provided on a "real" birth certificate!

Recently I did professional genealogy research on Hawaiian ancestry using several long-form legal birth records called “certificate of live birth” for the years 1949 (a legal copy produced in 1950) and 1971 (a legal copy produced in 1985), as well as the short-form record called “certification of live birth” for 1961 (a legal copy produced in 2008). Anyone familiar with the value of birth records in genealogical research, knows there is considerable difference in available information between what is included on the legal live birth long-form (the commonly called “real” birth certificate) and legal short-form (which is an abstract of the long form). Information accuracy, access, and availability are the life blood of professional genealogy research, and less is not better! In the course of this research I was told that only the short-form birth records are available for purchase and use by today’s researchers. I heard this change took place in 2001 when Hawaii went paperless. Is this really true? What is the Hawaiian legal code authorizing this? Has Hawaiian genealogical research using copies of original long-form birth records been stopped and now limited to the minimal information that is found on the short-form? If so, it is a professional genealogist nightmare and for those who are not professionals, even more of a loss because most do not have the education, training and experience to find alternative sources of information!

I wonder: What happened to the long-form certificates that were collected, stored and microfilmed in the past? I just can’t imagine that the genealogists, family historians, and professional researchers working with Hawaiian ancestry have allowed this to happen. Are there people in Hawaii who are working to reverse this limited records access?

I wonder: What is public access today for Hawaiian birth records? What kind of birth record is available in 2009 in Hawaii for genealogical research? Are there different categories in Hawaii of certification or certificates available for legal birth records such as employment and citizen verification, identity verification, passport use, prima facie evidence in a court of law, school admission, driver’s license application, social security application, and genealogical for the genealogical researcher of Hawaiian birth records? What Hawaiian legal codes cover all of these different categories and uses of Hawaiian legal birth records?

I wonder: Is this the wave of the future for the other 49 states – inhibiting research and discovery by not legally allowing citizens to access public records? I know Utah still offers long-form and short-form birth records access, even though their records have been digitized since 1999. The long-form costs $21 while the short-form costs $18. Makes you wonder what the rest of the states are going to do? Do you know anything about this issue? Please contact me via my website www.heirlines.com so we can work together for the future accessibility of such important genealogical records as long-form birth records.

Submitted by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)

Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are? Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! 1-800-570-4049 www.heirlines.com PO Box 893 Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Many people have acquired an extensive collection of family history materials and documents related to their genealogy that they wish to donate to libraries for their genealogy section. They are looking for an inexpensive way to learn the value of their holdings. We have had clients who required expert witness testimony on the value of their flood damaged/destroyed family history materials that have been gathered over a lifetime by personal efforts as well as through professional genealogy research services. These collections were very large. We recommended to them an inexpensive way to get an idea of the value of the collection is to contact your insurance company about insuring your collection. See what criteria they use for establishing value and replacement cost if they were to insure your collection. That is a good way to establish current day dollar value.

Submitted by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)

Ancestors are the People of History.● Do you know who yours are? ● Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! ●1-800-570-4049 ● www.heirlines.com ● PO Box 893 ● Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2009, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.

Best Genealogy

Best genealogy. That term can cover a lot of ground, from the best genealogy websites on the Internet to the best genealogy software available. But, for most people, best genealogy means climbing the family tree, professionally. In other words, best genealogy is a lineage or pedigree produced through adherence to the professional code of ethics and standards of performance of the commercial industry called Professional Genealogy Research Services.

This is where people come for professional research services when they want to join a lineage society, document their royal pedigree or connection to the rich and the famous like Charlemagne, George Washington, Robert E. Lee, or Clara Barton; find missing heirs, prove their Native American Heritage, or dig for their family roots; locate where, when, and on what side their ancestor fought in the Civil War, American Revolution or Agincourt or accurately trace their ancestry. When you want an authentic pedigree that is properly documented and sourced, you want the best genealogy. Heirlines Family History and Genealogy, a Professional Genealogy Research Services Company has been climbing the family tree professionally, since 1969. Here is some of their “best genealogy” advice.

Best Genealogy Practices

The best genealogy practices are used by commercial professional genealogists who have the right education – a 4 year college degree in genealogy; the right training – as a researcher in the professional genealogy research industry; the right experience – years and years of full-time career experience working with clients to discover, determine, document, and display their family tree.

Some best genealogy practices can be taught to an amateur, but to be an expert and capable of delivering commercial services, a professional genealogist must have career-oriented training and many years of experience in using professional standards of methodology, ethics, project management and organization. To do the best genealogy work, the professional researcher must have a clear understanding of client-provided materials and family traditions, and know how to access, organize, use, data-input, store, and report positive and negative results from researching a wide variety of research facilities, libraries, computer-based Internet websites, and databases. The best genealogist must be able to deliver professional, reliable and consistent customer care to authoritatively tackle the many facets of client genealogy. Such quality of product, customer service, and responsible performance comes from professional experience with career work where the practitioner uses best genealogy practices and produces everyday, best genealogy for clients.

Best Genealogy Resources

Today, because of the world-wide interest in genealogy and the explosion of facts and fiction on the Internet, people seem to be finding genealogy resources everywhere. The big problem is are they true? Most people do not know how to access the best genealogy resources and determine whether they are right? Do the resources apply to their true family tree or are they fact or fiction? It takes a very experienced professional genealogist to separate the wheat from the chaff, and prove a pedigree or authenticate a lineage. Tracing ancestry is a very time-consuming and scholarly activity that requires considerable knowledge and experience with genealogical and historical records and resources that are often hard to read, hard to understand, and hard to link together for best genealogy results. For the best genealogy, documented evidence and sound reasoning must be used to efficiently and effectively dig for family roots and substantiate an accurate family tree. This kind of research and the high quality of results of best genealogy requires a qualified Professional Genealogist and experienced Professional Genealogy Research Services Company.

Heirlines has a list of professional genealogy resources that are available by category on Heirlines Professional Genealogy Blog
(http://heirlines.com/blog). Check back often to see the new additions.

Heirlines Family History and Genealogy, Inc. is dedicated to producing this highest quality of genealogy research. Check out their website http://heirlines.com to learn about their nearly 40 years experience in climbing the family tree professionally since 1969. To learn how you can have the best genealogy, for a free consultation with Certified Genealogist, James W. Petty, AG, CG, BA (History), BA (Genealogy), call toll free 800.570.4049 or contact us online at (http://www.heirlines.com/free_consultation.html).

Written 11/05/09 by Mary E. Petty, BA (History), BA (Genealogy)

Ancestors are the People of History.● Do you know who yours are? ● Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! ●1-800-570-4049 ● www.heirlines.com ● PO Box 893 ● Salt Lake City, UT 84110

© 2008, Heirlines Family History & Genealogy, Inc. All rights reserved.