Whaddya Call It?

Geneabrarian’s thoughtful post on genealogy/hobbyism/professionalism/identity, along with equally thoughtful commentary from Elyse Doerflinger and Thomas MacEntee, really got me thinking, even with a sinus headache raging in the background.

Although I don’t think there’s anything wrong with genealogy-as-hobby, I hate that word. I have a totally personal dislike of describing serious concepts with words employing that “-y” sound. For instance, I also hate the term “bullying.” In workplaces, you’d call it harassment. In school, we call it “bullying,” which gives out a cuddly, nursery-school vibe. It minimizes. Similarly, “hobby” sounds trite as opposed to, say, “avocation” or even “pastime.”

And yet, from very early on I have shied away from calling myself a “genealogist.” For one thing, as I wrote a while back, it could get people’s backs up, and wreck perfectly good parties. Then, too, there was the little matter of the complete lack of credentials. Without a C.G., was I a genealogist? Could I be? If not, what was I?

Thinking over Geneabrarian’s post, I realize that for years I have been sidestepping this issue by describing what I do, not who I am. “I’m tracing my ancestors in upstate New York,” I began saying not long after starting in genealogy, in the early 1990s. I was still a working journalist at that point, and this sort of language clicked with colleagues. But this method has continued to be useful in that it expands to fit the situation. “I write family histories.” “I help people retrieve records for their genealogy research.” And so on.

Yet a unified brand makes sense. So much of communication today revolves around the instant sense of connection, the strong first impression. But this is a challenge when applied to the world of genealogy. Some of us are trying to earn an income from genealogical research. Some are not. Some are thinking about it. Some are combining genealogical interests with other professions.

Right now I’m at a loss for a noun that works for all of it.  Maybe a phrase — like “people who rescue the history of everyday citizens.”

Unfortunately, that would look like hell on a logo.

January. Cold But Invigorating.

On New Year’s Eve, the resident teenager turned to me and said, “Are you ever glad to see some years go?”

Granted, this is the sort of question one should expect from a resident teenager. And yet, some years really do not inspire tears of nostalgia. I have a feeling that for me, 2011 will turn out to be one of them. I hasten to say that everyone at Archaeologist Central sailed through 2011 just fine, with some laughs, even. But the feeling at the end of the year was … OK, there ya go. No sniffles here. Off to something new! Bring it on, 2012!

In the spirit of New Shiny Stuff, I’ve decided to move the Links to Wednesdays. Blogging can become an awful stuck-in-the-mud thing if one doesn’t watch it, and it feels like a shakeup is just the ticket, even a minor one like moving the Links around. Full disclosure: I was thinking of canning the Links altogether in favor of quick individual posts. But I do rather like lists. So in a triumph of indecision that we’ll all agree to call diplomacy, I’ll do a combination — shorter Links, plus quick takes.

Blogging during the last three months of 2011 was light due to real-time, off-line genealogical endeavors. I learned a lot, and got a lot of food for thought, and some future posts about new ways I see my own family research.

So … Happy New Year, everybody. Now, back to work.