Start with the book, not the oldest name
A relative sends you a page from a genealogy, and there is a name that looks like your great-grandfather’s. Before following it back ten generations, ask for the cover, preface, reading conventions, neighbouring pages and visible volume and page numbers. One chart may not tell you which village or branch it covers.
Note the title, compilers, edition or revision date, number of volumes and location of the copy. Is it an original printing, a manuscript copy, a reprint or a few photographs? Separate the date the book was made from the dates of the lives it describes.
The Liuxi Zhou Genealogy and Zhou Decheng used here are fictional examples. If a preface identifies a village but the cover is missing, keep that clue and compare it with family letters. Mark the edition as unconfirmed rather than inventing a complete reference.
Search by place and family details
Make a short list of what you know: village and county names, surname, ancestral hall name and any generation-name sequence. Give a source for each detail and leave unknown fields blank. A village or branch may narrow the search more than a common personal name.
FamilySearch explains that individual names in many jiapu are not indexed. Its tools help locate books through place, surname and other clan information.[1] A failed search for one ancestor’s name is therefore a reason to try finding the book, not evidence that no relevant genealogy is held.
Compare places and dates in similar catalogue results. Keep historical place names alongside modern equivalents. If two counties have a village called Liuxi in our fictional example, use a known envelope, gravestone or household record to distinguish them.
Read the conventions before tracing a line
Look for the book’s conventions, preface or contents before following a chart. Establish how it numbers generations and separates branches. Nearby names are not necessarily a parent and child. FamilySearch’s guide illustrates several layouts; use it as an introduction, then check the particular book.[2]
Copy one generation as a trial. Which words and lines identify the parent, spouse or children? Tie every connection to a page. Transcribe adoption or succession terms before deciding how to represent them; different kinds of relationship deserve separate notes.
Record both the printed page number and the viewer’s image number. Use a question mark for a connection that runs across a page you have not yet read clearly. A small, provisional diagram is easier to review than a large tree built on one uncertain line.
Work backwards from a relative you know
Begin with a parent, grandparent or another relative you can document. Compare spouses, children, residence and dates as well as names. For each step back, ask which evidence establishes the relationship. Say when the genealogy is your only source and list any certificates, gravestones or letters that support it.
In the fictional example, Zhou Decheng has a spouse surnamed Chen and two sons whose names fit family information, but his birth year differs. Keep the disagreement. Check the date reading, whether the family date was approximate and whether a namesake appears in the same branch.
If the link remains uncertain, retain him as a candidate with a book and page reference. You can study the genealogy without adding its entire lineage to your own tree.
Keep the original wording beside your reading
Keep three columns if helpful: original text, your reading and questions. Copy reign years, cyclical dates and lunar dates before converting them, then record the tool and assumptions used. An age alone may not give a straightforward birth year.
Personal, courtesy and other names may refer to one person, but the entry must support that reading. If a spouse is identified only by surname, retain only that surname. Do not translate a residence as a birthplace.
For a difficult character, compare the same writer or typeface elsewhere and ask for help with the whole line. Record suggested readings and why you accepted one. Keep the image, transcription and relationship diagram separately so later readers can distinguish source text from interpretation.
Look beyond the people included in the book
The book’s scope affects who appears. FamilySearch notes that many jiapu centre on male lines and record women differently.[2] Check this volume’s conventions. An omitted name does not establish that a person never existed, had no children or lost contact with the family.
Try marriage records, letters, local records, graves or migration documents for missing connections. Attribute origin stories to a particular edition; later copies may repeat the same account. If images are unavailable, retain the catalogue reference. FamilySearch flags suspended access to some Chinese family records, so check the current access notice.[1]
At the end of a session, save a sourced diagram of recent generations, unresolved questions and your place in the book. Include edition, volume, pages and repository in references. Agree on sharing privately held pages and remove unnecessary details about living relatives before publishing.
Sources
Explore these institutions’ guidance and check collection coverage and original records.
- FamilySearch: How do I find a Chinese jiapu?www.familysearch.org
- FamilySearch: What is a Clan Genealogy Book?www.familysearch.org