Paul J. Lareau, "What Kind of Genealogist are You? (http://www.lareau.org/genealtp.html : posted 10 June 2000) viewed on 10 April 2003.
Not all genealogists are pursuing the same hobby. I classify
genealogists into 4 general categories, with what I estimate are the
percentages of genealogist who fall in each group:
COLLECTORS OF DEAD RELATIVES (25%) — These folks happily
collect whatever information they find. They seldom if ever take the
trouble to confirm anything from original records. They seek quantity
rather than quality, are generally interested in all their ancestral
lines, and as many of their lines of cousins, no matter how distant,
as they can find. The Internet and the GEDCOM file have put them in
hog heaven, and you can hear them enthusiastically talking about the
2,500 new cousins they added last week. They are probably the most
enthusiastic genealogists, are the most willing to share their
information with others and are most likely to have their whole line
available on the Internet. They are the biggest offenders when it
comes to passing along errors, but collectors are also very easy to
identify, and can be avoided by those who take the hobby more
seriously. They have more fun trading ancestors with other
"Collectors" anyway, and think the others take it all too seriously.
HOBBYISTS (40%) — These folks often learned about genealogy
from a book or a class. They keep good records, tend to limit their
research to their direct ancestors, a few surname lines, and / or
cousins closer than 5th or at most 6th. They tend to put a great deal
more emphasis on biographical information, photographs, and copies of
certificates and documents (not because they're sources, but because
they're historical mementos.) Lists of names and dates with no "meat"
tend to bore them, and they're more likely, if they get such lists, to
start digging into the libraries and local records to see if they can
give the name a personality. For them, the family genealogy is a
continuing saga of people's lives, and their pride is in piecing
together the story. They record sources, sometimes, but they aren't
necessarily all that conscientious about it. They are not nearly as
turned on by Internet web sites, but ohhh, do they love email! For
them, genealogy is a social experience and email connects them with
more interesting people with more interesting stories. They're also
the most likely to be seen at family reunions, notebook or tape
recorder in hand.
PROFESSIONALS (25%) — Most of these folks don't do this for a
living, but they have a lot in common with the folks that do. For
them, documentation is the key. Quality is all important, quantity is
immaterial. Unlike the hobbyists, they feel genealogy is far less
social, as they're not all that impressed with oral history, in that
they suspect that many of the cute and interesting stories are
exaggerated and even fictional. Most of the people documented in their
records have primary or at least very dependable derivative sources,
or they are marked clearly as "unproven" or even "questionable." They
tend to spend lots of time scouring census records, church registers,
and public record offices. Like the Collectors, they are very turned
on by the Internet, but unlike them, they are using it to locate new
record sources in distant places where they can finally get what they
need to prove that elusive connection. These folks tend to happily fit
the stereotype of the genealogist at the microfilm reader in the
deepest, darkest basement room in the library.
SKEPTICS (10%) — These folks aren't as visible as the other
three categories. They are not all that interested in genealogy, per
se, but for other reasons, are involved in genealogy research. They
might be found among adoptees or persons assisting them; members of
patriotic groups like the DAR; lawyers looking for heirs or other
missing folks; or historians researching events or localities. Because
their quests involve things more important than just curiosity about
family or the fun of a hobby, they require a much greater level of
proof than even the professionals and reject many connections that
even the most diligent hobby genealogists would quickly accept. There
is also a class of skeptic into which a few ex-genealogists fall ...
persons who decided that most of the information available is likely
to be bad, if not because of transcription errors and premature
jumping to conclusions, but because of intentional hiding of the truth
by the ancestors and cousins themselves, trying to cleanse history in
their favor. They often quit the hobby in frustration.
While most genealogists clearly fall in one of these categories, some
do fall on the borderlines between them. The librarian who is really a
hobbyist but has the skill to document like a professional. The
collectors who spend more time and effort documenting their direct
ancestry, but lets the cousins fall where they may. The historian who
gets involved in the story of a family of folks from his / her town
and end up researching and documenting them as a separate project.
Whatever type of genealogist you are, my guess is that you could place
yourself accurately on this continuum, and with a little thought, you
could place everyone else you deal with somewhere on it, too.
PROFESSIONALS often have a very negative attitude toward
COLLECTORS. These folks are usually at odds with each other and have
caused a very large number of the arguments that have broken out in
genealogical societies and genealogical discussion forums on the
Internet. This is understandable, because they are truly pursuing
different hobbies. The HOBBYISTS tend to be the folks who referee
these debates, because they are thankful that the professionals are
there to document the records, and spend the time proving facts, while
the hobbyist would rather be out socializing with great aunt Martha.
On the other hand, the hobbyists are also thankful to the collectors
who give the hobby the enthusiasm that brings more and more people
into genealogy, and they also provide many, many leads that the
hobbyists can use to make contacts they never would have made
otherwise.
The answer to the problem is that each genealogist should use the
tools with which they are most comfortable, accept or reject
information from others as they see fit, and pursue genealogy in
whatever way they most enjoy it. Don't criticize or try to stop other
people who view the hobby differently from enjoying it, though by all
means, don't accept information that doesn't satisfy you. Censorship
or the imposition of higher standards than everyone is willing to
accept is not the answer ... it is just a way to start the kind of
wrangling that will make the hobby less fun for others. And that's the
real key. Genealogy is supposed to be FUN!! Take care not to spoil it
for yourself or for anyone else.