Talk:One-name study/Temp

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A one-name study is a project researching "the genealogy and family history of all persons with the same surname and its variants." Some people who research a specific surname may restrict their research geographically and chronologically, perhaps to one country and time period, while others may collect all occurrences world-wide for all time.

A one-name study is not limited to persons who are related biologically. Studies may have a number of family trees which have no link with each other.

Those who carry out one-name studies ("one-namers") mainly do so as a pastime. They build up a unique understanding of their surname and its significance both geographically and historically. As a recognised centre of information on the name, they will also receive enquiries from, and exchange information with, members of the public with an interest in the name.

They often work towards publication of their research, which may be of interest to other genealogists and also in the fields of onomastics, lexicography, demographics and history especially local history, as well as people who share the surname of study and simply wish to learn about its meaning, history and distribution.

Scope
(Dump this section - include some basics in Aims > Data collection below)

Aims
A common aim of a one-name study is to collect all examples of the study surname over the whole period since the formation of hereditary surname to the present day. With relatively common names this can be a daunting task not often attempted. In some cultures, one-name studies are impossible, since hereditary surnames are not used at all.

Civil registration (Vital records) and indexes
These record births, marriages and deaths and are usually kept by a civil authority. England and Wales started universal recording of these in 1837, Scotland in 1855, Ireland in 1865 (with Protestant marriages from 1845). Dates for other places can be found using Wikipedia or the at Family Search wiki. Not all countries have released their data to the internet community.

Parish and other church records, esp. of births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials
These vary greatly around the world. Most churches recorded baptisms, burials, marriages and not always the exact day of birth or death, so care must be taken. On the other hand many church record keepers added extras. So a marriage record may include four pairs of grandparents as well as parents and their occupations. This is particularly true in German records. Again Family Search is a great free source of information on and about church records as is Ancestry (a subscription site) and other large genealogical sites. Some parish registers start very early. In England, they start around 1560 (although not all have survived) and as such are a great help to one-namers.

Census returns
These exist for Canada (1851-1916), England, Wales and Scotland (1841-1921), Ireland (1901 and 1911 only), Germany, India, USA (from 1790-1940), and many other countries. Many are available online, but some only to personal visitors to a national register office or archives centre. They are good sources for finding family connections, occupations, addresses and other information.

Wills, letters of administration (admons) and other probate documents
These are a fantastic find for one-namers and anyone else. Copies may be kept in national archives, or at local archives offices  or in ecclesiastical archives and there is usually an index available. Some indexes are available online. Wills and associated documents give information on the status and wealth of the deceased, their family connections and other relevant information.

YDNA test results
A major database of test results is held by the commercial testing company Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). Due to privacy concerns it is not generally available but those who undertake a DNA test are put in touch with others whose test results match theirs. Surname Project Admistrators (who are all volunteers) have access to the results of their own project members.

Other sources
Also to be considered are city directories, tax rolls, military records, immigration, newspapers, telephone books, court records, family books, and family websites to name a few. Family books can often be downloaded little to no cost from numerous sites, especially Family Search and may include several hundred years of a given surname.

Methods
(combine with old Tools) (without separating into countries)

Guild of One-Name Studies
The lead organisation for one-name studies world-wide is the Guild of One-Name Studies. Founded in 1979 in Britain, the Guild has members all over the world, and is widely recognised as a centre of excellence in one-name studies. The Guild maintains a register of surnames being researched by members. It is thus a channel for anyone wishing to contact the person researching a particular registered name. In 2014 the Guild had over 2,000 world-wide members conducting studies of over 8500 individual surnames and their variants and has regional organisers in several nations.

It also has an on-line Forum where members can ask questions, give advice and offer news of new facilities. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mowfam (talk • contribs) 10:35, 22 February 2014 (UTC)

The Guild is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting public understanding of one-name studies and the preservation and accessibility of the resultant information. It is registered in England and Wales as an educational charity.