In the world of family history, digging into our past isn’t just about finding names and dates. It’s about telling the stories of our ancestors in a way that’s respectful and accurate. That’s where the genealogy research report comes in. It’s like a roadmap of our discoveries but also a reflection of how seriously we take our work.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting, learning how to create a polished genealogy research report is important to staying organized and telling our ancestor’s stories. In this blog post, we’ll break down the essential steps to help you turn your findings into an account of your ancestor’s life that anyone can understand.
I’ll be using the example of finding my 3x great-grandmother to help you see that you, too, can write like a professional.
Disclaimer: The original research report contains source citations. To enhance clarity, I have omitted these from the post.
Step 1: Craft a Research Question
What do you want to know? Who do you want to find? These are wonderful questions, but we need to be a bit more specific.
In my case, I’m looking for my 3x great-grandmother – or in other words the mother of my 2x great-grandmother, Susanna Krewson.
Here’s my question: Who is the mother of Susanna Krewson, born about 1829 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and married Andrew Bothell on 26 August 1847 in Newtown, Bucks, Pennsylvania?
Notice I included identifiers that make it clear of the exact person I’m working with. There will only be one Susanna Krewson with that birth and marriage information (hopefully). If not, I’ve got work to do to narrow the field to one.
Write this in your Word or Google doc and keep it close by to remind you of your genealogy research question.
You can read more about Susanna in a previous blog post here.
Step 2: Background Information
What information do you already know about your subject? Did you find a document that is key for starting this phase of your research?
Here is the background of my research report:
The starting point for this research session is the marriage record of Susanna Krewson and Andrew Bothell on 26 August 1847 in Newtown, Bucks, Pennsylvania. The father is listed as John Krewson, with no mother mentioned. It is the scope of this project to discover the mother of Susanna Krewson.
In Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania during the time frame of this project, there were two John Krewsons. One was a mason and one a carpenter. During a previous research project, it was discovered that John Krewson mentioned in the marriage record was a carpenter. His occupation stayed consistent throughout his life.
The surname Krewson has many spelling variations. The following are just a few: Krewson, Kroesen, Krusen, Crewson, Croeson, Crusen, Cruson, Crusin. The spelling used throughout this research report will be Krewson, except in the case of abstracts or transcriptions. Only then will the author use the spelling that appears in the document.
This section doesn’t have to be long or even in paragraph form. If you want to write what you know in bullet points, that’s fine. Whatever works for you. Remember this report is for you. Keep it simple.
Step 3: Limitations and Repositories
This section is a staple in professional reports. Limitations are usually in the form of time or money. For example, you may have a limit of 10 hours or online genealogy research only.
The repositories list will grow as you find new places to research (both online and in-person). Your research report is a living document until you finalize everything at the end.
Here is what my section looks like:
LIMITATIONS: 20 hours for research, analysis, and writing. Online repositories only.
REPOSITORIES:
Ancestry.com
Familysearch.org
Findagrave.com
Genealogybank.com
Step 4: Summary of Findings
This section is simply a summary, as titled. When we take clients, it’s good to have a condensed version of the report near the top in case they just want to know the bottom line. This is what the Summary of Findings section is all about.
When I start a genealogy research report and know what record groups I want to search, I make a list of them in this section. As I research each record and write about it, I modify that entry to reflect the findings.
For example, my list may start like this:
1860 census – John Krewson, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
1850 census – John Krewson, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
But then in my Summary of Findings, I changed it to reflect what I found:
In the 1860 census, John and Jane were in the household with their presumed daughters Elizabeth and Mary. Also in the household was Elizabeth’s son, John, and Mary’s family which consisted of her husband, Mahlon, and daughters, Emma and Henrietta.
The 1850 census listed John and Jane in the household with their assumed daughter Amelia and her husband William S. Scott.
In the end, I have something that looks like this:
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:
The objective has been met. Jane Parker was the mother of Susanna Krewson. The following evidence supports this parent/daughter relationship:
- In John Krewson’s will, he listed his children (women by their married names) including Susanna Bothel. The will did not include his wife.
- John Krewson and Jane Parker Krewson have memorials on Find A Grave. They are buried next to each other and list 3 of their 5 children.
- John Krewson and Jane Parker married in 1814. A marriage announcement was found in the Pennsylvania Correspondent newspaper.
- Two of Susanna’s siblings, Elizabeth and Samuel, had baptism records that listed John Krewson and Jane Parker as their parents. Also, Jane’s baptism record was found stating she was the wife of John Krewson.
- The baptism record for another sibling, Mary, was discovered with John Krewson and Jane Parker listed as her parents.
- In the 1860 census, John and Jane were in the household with their presumed daughters Elizabeth and Mary. Also in the household was Elizabeth’s son, John, and Mary’s family which consisted of her husband, Mahlon, and daughters, Emma and Henrietta.
- The 1850 census listed John and Jane in the household with their assumed daughter Amelia and her husband William S. Scott.
Step 5: Genealogy Research Notes
In this section, I look at each record, analyze it, and correlate it with other information I’ve found.
This section of the report is not a travelog, which is the order in which you found the records. Instead, rearrange the records in an order that makes sense to the reader and helps build your case for a possible conclusion.
Here is an example of one of the records and the notes I made:
Will – John Krewson – Newtown, Bucks, Pennsylvania
Abstract:
Will of John Kruson
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Will Book 16:376
Written 3 January 1866; proved 28 February 1866
I, John Kruson of Newtown Township Bucks County. Executor to sell my Real Estate & personal property; to my five children to be equally divided: Elizabeth Bethel, Samuel Kruson, Mary Worthington, Susanna Bothel, and Amelia Scott. I appoint Nicholas W. Willard Executor. 3rd day of January 1866.
Witnesses: Chas. Willard, Robert M’Master. [Signed] John Kruson
Proved 28 February 1866, on oaths of Charles Willard and Robert M’Master, witnesses.
H. R. Sager Register of Wills, Bucks County, letters testamentary were granted to Nicholas W Willard Executor.
Analysis: This is a digital copy of a derivative record of the will of John Krewson, written on 3 January 1866 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The book is in good condition with legible writing and for the most part, easy to decipher. The entries were most likely recorded by the Register of Wills, H.R. Sager. It was the job of the Register of Wills to maintain documents relating to probate files. Bucks County probate began in 1684, shortly after its creation in November 1682.
This document is direct evidence of the parent/daughter relationship between John Krewson and Susanna Bothel, as he directly names each of his children: Elizabeth Bethel, Samuel Kruson, Mary Worthington, Susanna Bothel, and Amelia Scott. The women have all married and are listed by their married surnames. The one person who is not mentioned in this document is his wife. It is presumed that she is deceased at this time, but more evidence is needed to prove this.
Repeat this section for every record you find.
Step 6: Conclusion
In a genealogy research report, you may or may not reach a conclusion. If you do, state it here. If you don’t, write about what you did find and what you think will help you in another research session. When clients pay for a certain amount of time, there is no guarantee of reaching a conclusion. Even doing research for yourself, you may not get an answer.
Here is my conclusion:
There is direct evidence for the parent/child relationship between John Krewson and Susanna Krewson Bothel through Susanna’s marriage record and John’s will. The will is also direct evidence of the sibling relationships between Susanna, Elizabeth, Samuel, Mary, and Amelia. There is direct evidence of the parent/child relationship between John and Jane Krewson and their children Elizabeth, Samuel, and Mary through baptism records. There is indirect evidence of the parent/child relationship between John and Jane Krewson and their daughter Amelia through the 1850 census and their daughters Elizabeth and Mary in the 1860 census.
Since the relationships are established between John, Jane, and all their other children, and Susanna is directly listed as a child of John Krewson in his will, we can therefore determine that Jane Parker is also the mother of Susanna Krewson Bothel.
One piece of feedback I received when I submitted this report as a ProGen Study Group assignment questioned whether Jane could have been John’s second wife. I conducted further research and confirmed that Jane was John’s only wife.
Step 7: Future Research
This section is to help your future self or tell your client what can be done in a future research session. Did other questions come up during this project that you’d like to explore? Was a conclusion not reached and you have more records to look at that may lead you to an answer? Did you run out of time for this project and want to record your thoughts for another session?
Here is a list of what I’d like to know in a future project:
- In the newspaper article giving the marriage date of John Krewson and Jane Parker, Jane is listed as Mrs. Jane Parker. Research to see if Jane had a previous marriage.
- In John Krewson’s probate record, the land he owned was to be sold and the money distributed between his five children. Look for land records for this sale and to see if the children are named.
- Andrew Bothel and Susanna Krewson’s marriage license cost 35 cents and it was returned because they were so poor. Discover more about their financial life.
If you know what record set or repository can help you for your next session, include them here. Go ahead and write in a source citation to save you time later on.
Finally
Sometimes the key to writing is just staying organized. If you write as you go, you will always be in control of your report and you may make connections in your brain that you hadn’t before. This may lead you to find an answer much faster than if you left all the writing until the end.
All professionals write genealogy research reports, but as you’ve learned here, you don’t have to be a professional to write like one.
Genealogy tip: Use the steps outlined in this post to make a research report template. Keep a master copy so you’ll be consistent each time you want to research an ancestor.
Do you need a professional to find your family? I’d love to hear about your project and how I can help. Schedule a free 30-minute no-obligation consultation below.
