Sometimes the past doesn’t need to be so distant to seem far away. Cleaning out things that the kids have outgrown turned up one of those typical alphabet books that are for kids that can’t yet read. The kind of book with one letter per page that starts out—
A is for ant, watch it scurry.
B is for bunny, soft and furry.
Oddly enough, it got me thinking about what an alphabet book for genealogists might look like. I’ve already taken a stab at “A.” So, for genealogists what might “B” be for?
B is for Boundary
“B” could be for “boundary,” the division between one area and another. People tend to think of them as static and “set in stone” but they are created, moved and erased over time. The boundaries in which your ancestors lived may be long gone and the records that were created within those archaic boundaries may be in unexpected places.
“B” could be for “bounty land,” given to former soldiers as a reward for their service. If an ancestor was awarded bounty land, that award might have launched him and his family on a long migration.
“B” might be for “Black’s Law Dictionary,” early editions are very handy for understanding obscure wording in old documents.
“B” could stand for “bond,” a a document that might be related to many events, marriage and the assumption of guardianship, for example.
“B” might be for “birth,” “baptism,” or “burial” records of those three events are some of the most important in genealogy.
Those are all fine words, but, given how genealogists are always searching for evidence of relationships, a genealogists’ alphabet has to have “b is for brother.”