GUIDE TO One-Name Studies
Debbie Kennett explains the many benefits of researching a single surname in depth
Aone-name study is an interesting and popular extension of family history research. Most people do not start their research by deciding to do a onename study; instead they end up doing it without even realising. Many family historians find that they spend more time researching one or two of the more interesting surnames in their tree. It may be that their surname interest is sparked by a desire to verify family stories about a connection to royalty or a link with a famous person. As the research progresses back in time it becomes necessary to collect all of the references to a surname in a particular county or location, and to reconstruct the families by matching up the baptism, marriage and burial records in order to correctly assign the events to their own direct line. By this stage they have already covered some of the basic elements of a one-name study by researching beyond their direct ancestral line.
We all have different objectives for our surname studies. Some people focus on reconstructing family trees for everyone with the surname. For rare surnames it may be that everyone can be linked into one big tree, whereas for more common surnames you will have
‘For rare surnames it may be that everyone can be linked into one tree’
multiple unrelated family trees. Other researchers like to look at migration patterns; analyse birth, marriage and death statistics; or explore the social history of the places where their surname is most prevalent. It can be fun to research the lives of the famous or interesting people who bear your surname. You might find that the personalities in your one-name study are more interesting than the long lines of agricultural labourers in your own tree! Another common objective is to research the origins of your surname by identifying early references in medieval records.
Join The Guild
The Guild of One-Name Studies ( onename.org) is a registered charity that promotes the interests of individuals and groups engaged in one-name studies. The Guild defines a one-name study as “research into the genealogy and family history of all persons with the same surname and its variants”. At the time of writing there were 2,390 studies hosted by the Guild representing 8,454 surnames, including my own one-name study of the surname Cruwys. It is perfectly possible to organise a one-name study independently of the Guild, but membership provides considerable benefits and gives your study an aura of authority.
If you’re thinking of registering a surname, it helps to do some preliminary research to determine the size and scale of your study and to decide which variant spellings you wish to include. You can get an estimate of the frequency of your surname and the number of available records worldwide by doing a surname search on the major websites such as Ancestry ( ancestry.co.uk), Family-Search ( familysearch.org) and Findmypast ( findmypast.co.uk). Surname mapping is an invaluable tool for assessing the frequency and distribution of your surname, and for assessing whether or not different variants are likely to be related. There are a number of useful websites for free surname mapping (see box, page 27).
Strength In Numbers
If your surname is relatively rare then a one-name study is not going to be too different from researching your own family history. However, if you are interested in a high-frequency surname then you will need to adopt a collaborative approach, and find other genealogists who can share the workload. Collaborators can join the Guild as study associates.
Note that you don’t have to
register a surname to belong to the Guild and access the benefits for members. If you’re not ready to take on a full-blown one-name study, you can register your surname interests with the Guild and list the locations and time periods you are interested in. These surnames will show up in a search of the surname register.
If one-name studies are not for you, it’s still worth searching the Guild’s website for your surnames of interest. Members might well have some valuable information to help with your family history research. The website also has a lot of freely available educational material about surname research and DNA testing.
Organising Your Research
Organising your genealogical records is important for all family historians, but is absolutely essential when you are collecting records from multiple unrelated lineages. This is best done using dedicated family history software. Family Historian, Legacy and RootsMagic are the programs that provide the best functionality for one-name studies. Combining all of the family trees into one big file allows you to look for patterns in the data you’ve gathered, reconcile duplications, and spot previously undetected linkages.
In addition, Excel is useful for downloading and storing large datasets such as birth, marriage and death indexes. Powerful notetaking programs such as Evernote and OneNote are useful for collating, indexing and searching information from multiple sources in diverse formats such as web pages, PDFs and e-mails.
Good backup procedures are important. These can be online, using cloudbased services such as OneDrive or Dropbox, supplemented by backups on alternative media such as an external hard drive.
freely ‘The Guild’s site has a lot of available educational material’
A very important tool for onename studies is DNA testing, and many members of the Guild have set up surname DNA projects to provide further insights into a particular surname.
DNA projects are based on Y-chromosome DNA testing, because the transmission of the Y-chromosome generally corresponds with the inheritance of surnames. Y-DNA testing can be used not just to verify that the genealogical research is correct
– it can also provide clues about the surname’s origins. Testing can also determine whether or not two variant spellings are related. The Guild has a DNA adviser who can help you set up projects and interpret DNA results. The Guild also provides discounted DNA kits for its members.
The Joy Of Collaboration
One of the joys of a one-name study is collaborating with and learning from other researchers. I’ve found that one of the main benefits of my membership of the Guild is the combined wisdom and knowledge of my fellow members, and the ability to belong to a community of like-minded individuals who share my enthusiasm for family history research and my interest in surnames. The Guild has a lively Facebook group and mailing list, as well as an online forum. Whatever questions you have about research anywhere in the world, there will always be members who are willing and able to provide answers.
We also have interesting discussions about best practice, methodology, and good tools and websites to use in our research. What’s more, the Guild offers four seminars a year and these events are open to both members and non-members. These were previously in-person events, but have now moved online during the pandemic. Most of the talks from past seminars going back six years or more have been recorded, and members have access to a rich archive of educational material.
BENEFITS AND OBLIGATIONS
The only formal obligation when registering a one-name study with the Guild is that you agree to respond to all inquiries in a timely fashion. Crucially, you are not expected to have all the answers, and you can respond to say that you don’t yet have information on a specific lineage or country. The ultimate objective is that a study should be worldwide in scope and cover all time periods. In practice, research can be done at your own pace, but it helps if you at least have some awareness of the main countries where your surname is found. The Guild provides the facility to have a free, easily editable profile page, where you can publish information about your study and details
of all of the records that you have collected. You will find that people write to you to share their research for safekeeping. Sometimes it is the inquiries from other researchers that spur an interest in researching a particular lineage or exploring records in a new country. The receipt of information from a researcher in one country can sometimes resolve a long-standing brick wall in another country through the discovery that the missing person has emigrated.
Preservation And Publication
The preservation and publication of your research are important considerations for anyone involved in a one-name study. In the days before the web, ‘one-namers’ often produced regular newsletters or compiled genealogies into published books. However, it is now more common to find that research is published online in a blog or on a website.
For many researchers their website effectively serves as their one-name study.
The Guild’s Members’ Websites Project gives family historians the opportunity to host a website on the Guild’s domain, to provide for the long-term preservation of their research. Members can also deposit digital research, including GEDCOM files, in its library.
A one-name study is a journey of discovery, and can be the source of huge personal satisfaction and enrichment. You will have the opportunity to communicate and make friends with researchers from around the world who share an interest in the surname that you are investigating. What’s more, you can build up a lasting legacy of research for the benefit of future generations. Finally, you can also take great pleasure in the knowledge that you are the world’s leading expert on a particular surname.