Knowing History

I get asked what is the most difficult thing to have to know and do when making a family tree. Besides reading hand-written documents and trying to translate them from a language you don’t know: the most difficult thing is knowing your history. Some trees include more than dates, but have stories on them too. 

Luckily I have always been great at history (especially US, Canadian, Irish, British, Russian, French, Israeli, Spanish, German, Jewish and Polish history.) I have done lots of trees where 1 single person has lived in 5 or more countries without ever leaving their town and in some cases the town’s name also changes. 

You also have to know when the places changed their calendars (from Julian to Gregorian.) Catholic countries (like Spain, France, etc.) changed to Gregorian in 1582. Protestant countries (the UK, US, Canada, etc.) changed in 1750. Eastern European countries (like the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) changed in 1918. 

It’s why the Great October Socialist Revolution which brought the Communists to power in the RSFSR and later the Soviet Union which happened on October 25, 1917 in the Julian Calendar and on November 7, 1917 in the Gregorian Calendar is still called the October Revolution even though it was celebrated in November. 

Example 1: A German who lived in the German Empire (1871-1918),  the Weimar Republic (1918-1933), Nazi Germany (1933-1945), the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany (1945-1949), East Germany (1949-1990) and reunited Germany (1990- Present Day) all without changing their home address. 

Example 2: A Latvian that was born when Latvia was in the Russian Empire (1795-1917), lived in independent Latvia (1918-1940), lived in Soviet-occupied Latvia (1940-1941), lived in Nazi-occupied Latvia (1941-1944), lived in Soviet reoccupied Latvia (1944-1991) and lived in independent Latvia (1991-Present Day.)

Example 3: An Irishman who was born in British-controlled Ireland (1801-1922), was married in the Irish Free State (1922-1949) and died in the Republic of Ireland (1949-Present Day.)

Example 4: A Spaniard who lived in The Restoration/Kingdom of Spain (1874-1931), the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936), fought during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), lived under Franco’s Fascist Dictatorship (1936-1975),  during the Transition to Democracy (1975-1982) and in the Kingdom of Spain (1975-Present Day.)

Example 5: An American born in the Territory of Alaska (1912-1959), lived through the Japanese Occupation of Alaska (1942-1943) and died in the State of Alaska (1959-Present Day.)

Example 6: A Russian born in Saint Petersburg, the Russian Empire (1781-1914), lived in Petrograd, the Russian Empire (1914-1918), lived in Petrograd, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1918-1922), lived in Petrograd, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922-1924), lived in Leningrad, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1924-1991), lived in Saint Petersburg, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1991), lived in Saint Petersburg, the Russian Federation (1991-Present Day.)

You have to know all the different historical dates and details as well as the current details so you can give an accurate tree.