Boyden Name Study

Profile managers: Nick Dann [send private message] and One Name Studies WikiTree [send private message]

About the Project

The Boyden Name Study project serves as a collaborative platform to collect information on the Boyden name. The hope is that other researchers like you will join the study to help make it a valuable reference point for other genealogists who are researching or have an interest in the Boyden name.

As a One Name Study, this project is not limited to persons who are related biologically. Individual studies can be used to branch out the research into specific methods and areas of interest, such as geographically (England Boydens), by time period (18th Century Boydens), or by topic (Boyden DNA, Boyden Occupations, Boyden Statistics). These studies may also include a number of family branches which have no immediate link with each other. Some researchers may even be motivated to go beyond the profile identification and research stage to compile fully sourced, single-family histories of some of the families they discover through this name study project.

Also see the related surnames and surname variants.

How to Join

To join the Boyden Name Study, first start out by browsing our current research pages to see if there is a specific study ongoing that fits your interests. If so, feel free to add your name to the Membership list below, post an introduction comment on the specific team page, and then dive right in!

If a research page does not yet exist for your particular area of interest, please contact the Name Study Coordinator: Nick Dann for assistance.

... ... ... is a member of the Boyden Name Study Project.

Once you are ready to go, you can also show your project affiliation with the ONS Member Sticker:

Research Pages

Here are some of the current research pages included in the study. I'll be working on them, and could use your help!

Membership

• Nick Dann
• Mary Clarkson

Related Surnames and Surname Variants

None identified

Task List

Contributions

Citing Sources

See Census Records, below.

Please Note:

References to other family trees at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org or other online sites are NOT considered proper documentation, please do not add these as sources, and do not remove the unsourced tag from profiles citing only these trees.

These intended 'sources' often come from GEDCOM uploads. It's perfectly OK to upload GEDCOMs as it helps deliver raw data, but proper source citations are preferred. As profiles are edited, don't be surprised if 'sources' citing Ancestry, Rootsweb, or FamilySearch trees are expunged and (hopefully) replaced with proper sources.

Census Records

• In citing Census Records:

Watch for enumeration errors, such as name variations.

Remember that humans were the input: dates and ages can be erroneous. The respondent may have had a memory lapse or poor recollection; the enumerator may have been hard of hearing, or simply transcribed what was told him in error.

It's best to avoid adding a link to an actual record, such as Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org. Why? Links can and often do change.

Provide the basic record info so that the record can be re-found, if necessary. Using References, the NARA (or similar)^[1] citation should be shown, according to proper genealogical research convention. Researcher Nick Dann provides the following example:

• 1870 US Census: Cleveland, Ward 7, Cuyahoga County, OH, 15 Aug 1870, Pg. 122 (Citation Footnote (using References): Year: 1870; Census Place: Cleveland Ward 7, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: M593_1190; Page: 229B; Image: 462; Family History Library Film: 552689)

• Sometimes Census records can have errors. The obvious is surname spelling. Patience will eventually get you to the record you're seeking. Sometimes, one has to be creative, as in this example.

In this case, an enumerator wasn't listening closely. Mark Heber Beardsley (1874 – 1947) appeared correctly, or nearly so, in 1880, 1910, 1930, and 1940 Census’. However, it was difficult to find him or his family in a 1920 Census. By searching with just his and his wife’s given name, no surname, and a known location (Texas, in this case), the family did appear with the surname ‘Heber’, Mark’s middle name. As mentioned above, it must sometimes be remembered that the enumerator is also human. And so was the person the enumerator was interviewing.

An excellent example of what can happen in the transcription of enumerator errors, or the enumerator simply recording what the interviewee is telling him, can be found in a Footnote attached to Harry Markle Beardsley, in this case having to do with the birthplace of his parents.

• What happened to the 1890 Census? It was lost in a fire!

See The Fate of the 1890 Population Census

and Wikipedia; 1890 Census

See also: 1890 Veterans Schedules, database for some individuals can still be found. Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890), enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War.