Patrick Scoggin

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Patrick Scoggin [send private message]

Greetings,

I started my genealogy search as a teen, I had seen a movie “Ivanhoe” in the 1950s and had wanted to find my family coat of arms. My mother put me in touch with her sister who had done genealogy to get her mother into the local DAR chapter. I learned some very basic information like you are supposed to actually trace your family back to someone who had a coat of arms. I gathered some basic information back to my great grandparents and lost interest.

Then I was working in NYC in 1977 when the “Roots” TV series aired. I was reinspired and began spending my lunch hours at the huge genealogy wing of the New York Public Library. I contacted my aunt again and she sent me copies of her copious work on my mothers’ side. I got a lot of work done on my paternal side working now and then. That was all in snail mail before computers time. I mentioned to another aunt once that I had found where two generation of one of our lines had been collapsed into one as the names of fathers were the same.. I was told in no uncertain words that I was NOT to question the work of my genealogist aunt… end of conversation.

Then the internet happened and one night I found myself connected to “one world tree” on a dial up modem… waiting for each page of a genealogy to load with four generations at a time. I was excited and stayed up all night, Four generations at a time I climbed my tree. When we reached the 400s AD I was ecstatic… then eventually the tree took me to John the Baptist, the Titans and Thor along with Genghis Khan. Ok.. it looked like maybe citing sources and getting some documentation might be a good idea so I got the Elizabeth Mills book

I wrote some emails and visited the local Family History Center. I hit a brick wall with my 4th great grandfathers’ generation. To take on this challenge I started a web page in an attempt to do some end run genealogy. I knew the names of three of that generations children and set out to identify as many of the others as I could to see if they might lead me to further generations. I got a lot of response and met people who had published books and articles on the line. I also started a surname group at Family Tree DNA which now has 90 plus members following.

Recently at my local genealogy club we had presentations online from national leaders at Wikitree and FamilySearch. Wow what a great find… these are supposed to be collaborative trees connecting all the generations… Great Idea!!! And… I have found on occasion instead of collaborative trees they can look like more like combative trees. OK … that might be expected. Afterall people have put a lot of years into developing their trees and some, it seems, do not take well to alternative suggestions…. Like my aunt I told you about. I’m keeping an open mind, welcome all suggestions and have been able to work though some puzzles with fellow genealogists. Thank you all.

Sources

• First-hand information. Entered by James Patrick Scoggin at registration.