Julie's Genealogy & More

 Genealogy Merit Badge

 

 

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GENEALOGY MERIT BADGE

NOTE: most of the work on this merit badge will be done individually away from the organized meetings.  Nearly all of the requirements utilize online resources (many links below).  This merit badge can be completed without using the Internet but with the volume of online material available, some online exploration should be included!

Each participant will be expected to start and keep a notebook with written responses to the requirements along with completed pedigree and family group sheets (forms and a list of resources provided).

If you encounter specific questions, please e-mail your MB counselor (link below)!

So you can print as many as you need:

Ancestral Chart (Pedigree Chart)

Family Group Sheet

Requirement 4 -  Interview an older relative to obtain information about your family. This interview may be in person, by telephone, or by letter. Add any information obtained to your pedigree chart and family group records. 

Visit and read "Get Nosy with Aunt Rosie" to get ideas for interviewing.

 Requirement 7c:  Write a short history of yourself or of a close relative

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:  Where were you born?  Who were your brothers and sisters (names, ages)?  What kind of house did you live in?  What was your favorite game to play when you were a child?  Did you like school?  What was your favorite subject?  Why?  What was the funniest story you remember about your Dad?  About your Mom?  What kinds of tricks did you and your siblings play on each other?  Were your parents strict?  stern?  When you did something wrong, how did they punish you?  Did you go to church?  Which one?  Did you ever visit your grandparents?  What do you remember most about them?  How did you meet your husband/wife?  Did you have a big wedding?  Did you have a honeymoon?  Where did you go?  Where did you live after you got married?  What was your favorite place to go for fun before you had your children?  Visit HERE for more ideas!

 

Requirement 9d:  Contact ONE of the following and ask a question relating to its genealogical services or activities; report the results - A genealogical education facility or institution.

Suggestion:  Go online and visit sites.rootsweb.com and then www.ancestry.com.  Search for one of your oldest known relatives (usually works best for someone who is not still living).  Try your search at both websites and report on what you found (print out your results if you find someone in your family), which site you prefer and why.  Did one work more easily?  Offer you more help?  Which one would you go back to and use again?  Why? 

Other good resources to explore:

REQUIREMENTS

  1. Explain the meaning of genealogy and genealogical resources.
  2. Begin a pedigree chart with yourself and fill it in as far as you can at the beginning of your project. Add any additional names, dates, or places that you find.
  3. Show yourself as a child on a family group record form, and show one of your parents as a child on another family group record form.
  4. Interview an older relative to obtain information about your family. This interview may be in person, by telephone, or by letter. Add any information obtained to your pedigree chart and family group records. 
  5. Obtain at least one genealogical document showing proof of some information on your pedigree chart or family group records. This document may be located in your home, a courthouse, an archive or library, etc.
  6. Tell how you would evaluate genealogical information.
  7. Do ONE of the following:
    1. Do a time line for yourself or for a close relative.
    2. Keep a journal for six weeks, writing in at least once weekly.
    3. Write a short history of yourself or of a close relative.
  8. Do ONE of the following:
    1. Tell how the development of computers is affecting the world of genealogy. 
    2. Tell how the development of photography (including microfilming) has influenced genealogy.
    3. Tell how personal and family history have begun to influence the way society looks at local, national, and international history.
  9. Contact ONE of the following and ask a question relating to its genealogical services or activities; report the results:
    1. A lineage society
    2. A surname organization
    3. A professional genealogist
    4. A genealogical education facility or institution
    5. A genealogical record repository of any type (courthouse, genealogical library, state archives, state library, national archives, etc. )
  10. Tell where you would find current information about genealogical records and research methods.

BSA Advancement ID#: 56
Source: Boy Scout Requirements, #33215D, revised 2001

Questions?  Please send your merit badge counselor an e-mail!

Messages are checked daily.