When people try and tell me there isn't a stigma or some type of vendetta against young genealogists -- I roll my eyes every time. Here's a great case to show that there absolutely is a stigma against those who do genealogy and are under the age of.. well, let's shoot for about 50 years old.
Now, as Daniel did, I'd like to point out that americanancestors dot ORG is the NEHGS and this IS NOT their blog. This is americanancestors dot INFO. But whoever created this blog absolutely infringed upon NEHGS and wanted their blog to be "credible" and "believable" and get a higher number of readers. Absolutely intentional.
Look, I'm woman enough to admit that as a young genealogist, I've made some mistakes. In my own tree, when I was younger, I chased whatever lead I could find. I was a teenager. I didn't know any better. I thought anyone older than me and who had researched longer than me must have known everything....and they didn't know jack squat.
When DNA became available for me, that helped me fix A LOT in my tree. Like a whole lot. I hadn't gone down many wrong branches but, I had a lot of stump ancestors it helped me get past.
I'm even woman enough to admit that I've chased the wrong lines in a clients tree before. Especially if it's a super common name like Smith, Johnson, etc. I mean, in one given area, do you know how many John Smith's or Bill Johnson's there are? It's insane at times!
But not every young genealogist is in it as a "money grab" and doesn't know what the hell they're doing. There is a stigma in ANY profession that if you don't have a fancy $$$ degree or certifications that cost a bunch of $$$ then you don't know what you're doing.
I have proved a lot of those fancy $$$ certificate holders wrong over the years. I have proved a lot of "I've been doing genealogy for 50 years" people wrong. I have disproved family Bibles. I have disproved personal family history books written in the 1960's and 1970's.
Genealogists work with something called the G P S. Genealogy Proof Standard. The GPS talks to you all about how as a genealogist, you can make an educated guess/theory based on all the evidence you've found. That's something I've used for years to help me with Joel Gibson and his descendants. Guess what? I finally found court documents to back up my GPS theories about Joel. Theories I made when I was a teenager. Stick that in the ol' pipe and smoke it.
This blog was clearly written by someone I'd say over the age of 60 and they have been put to shame by a young, business, local, amateur genealogist. Sorry, but I'm not sorry you got your booty whipped by someone younger than you that you probably called a 'whipper snapper,' when they did it, lmao.
There is a stigma in today's society that the only way someone can think "they know what they're about" with you is if you have a $$$ degree or $$$$$$ certifications. That simply isn't true. It's like schools today pushing kids to get a $100,000 degree from a 4-year-university and then only end up maxing out with a $18/hr job, whereas they could forego a university and go to a trade school and top out at much higher than that, without all the debt a university leaves you with.
I wasn't born with a silver spoon. I don't have the $$$ to convert my religion and attend BYU for a fancy bachelors, then masters, then perhaps doctorate degree in genealogy or family history. I desperately wish I did. That said, I sure ain't willing to put myself in debt or my Dad in debt begging for the money to go to a prestigious university for that $$$ degree. Genealogy is the one and only thing that would EVER tempt me enough to go back to school. You're talking to a woman who doesn't even have a G.E.D. because, I'm doing just fine without it.
I also don't have the luxury, time, or money to do a certification right now in life. Maybe when I'm older and have a bit more time, money, and luxury on my hands to be certified through the AGS or BCG, I will.. but for now. I'm making due.
I've been at this for 21 years. I started at 7 years old in the genealogy department of HCPL. I learned how to do research the old way. Sure, by 2000, HCPL's genealogy department was a far cry more updated than it was in 1970 I have no doubt. But I learned without a computer.
Does a computer help with genealogy now? Absolutely. Especially in C19 era. Has Ancestry, FamilySearch, and other websites been a huge help to genealogists, professional or enthusiast? Absolutely! People get mad at us "technologically savvy" genealogists but hey, we've discredited work done 50+ years ago because we now have hard documents to look at thanks to Ancestry and the like.
We can now, sitting in our kitchen chair in the United States, look at documents scanned in on Ancestry from Germany, Russia, and the like. We don't have to travel places anymore to get what we need. Does traveling help and is it fun? Absolutely. But traveling to these courthouses that are 1,000 miles away... with gas almost $3.00/gal is NOT something you have to do. In today's age, you can call a courthouse or funeral home or cemetery office those 1,000 miles away and within a week, someone will fax you or email you a copy of the document you requested.
That does NOT make me any less of a genealogist. Doing a binder for $210 instead of $3,000 doesn't make me any less of a genealogist. Working with DNA for $100 instead of $1,000 doesn't make me any less of a genealogist. I'm a small business owner and I know for a fact, I'd have never sold a single binder yet if I'd have started them at $3,000. But I'm enough of an educated woman to know at $210, I'm not turning a profit. That's why at the start of the year, my prices will go up again on everything. I know my worth. You don't get to determine that for me. A piece of paper from a college or certification board doesn't determine that for me.
My happy clients, my success in finding biological families for almost a dozen people now... that is what determines my success.
*mic drop*
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