Concerning Genealogies

Allaben, Frank, 1867-1927Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 91K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Concerning Genealogies by Frank AllabenAuthor: Allaben, Frank, 1867-1927,Language: English, Class: CS: History: Genealogy, Release Date: Mar 29, 2017

Editor's review

This book is about genealogy and falls under the category of history and genealogy; it is released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain eBook. For readers who want to understand the basic approaches of Western genealogical research and traditional methods of organizing family lines, this short English volume offers an early introductory perspective. Its value lies not in the completeness of a systematic textbook but in showing the concerns of an early twentieth-century American scholar with genealogical compilation, family origins, and source criticism, and it can be read in dialogue with modern genetic genealogy. The prose bears the marks of its era and is suitable as reference reading or research support material. Because it is a public-domain eBook, access is easy, making it especially suitable for writers who need to cite early genealogical views, local history enthusiasts, and learners who want to practice academic reading with short English texts. Readers are advised to treat it as a window onto the discipline's traditions rather than as a reference work for looking up specific family lineages.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers interested in genealogy and family history research
Historical writers who need to cite early genealogical views
Learners who wish to practice academic reading with short English materials
Practitioners engaged in organizing local documents and compiling clan genealogies

Not a good fit for

Readers who wish to directly look up specific family lineages and name lists
Beginners expecting a systematic and complete genealogy textbook
Readers who cannot read the English original and need a Chinese translation

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and preface to grasp the core questions and purpose of the author's discussion of genealogy.
Keep a notebook to record genealogical organization methods worth borrowing and compare them with modern research.
Treat the book's views as historical documents and note their historical context and limitations.
If used for citation in writing, verify page numbers in the original and cite the public-domain eBook source.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for looking up specific family lineages?

Not very suitable. It is more a discursive work about genealogy than a reference book containing specific family name lists. If you need to look up the lineage of a certain family, you should use specialized genealogical databases or local gazetteers. This book is better for understanding the methods and ideas of early genealogical research.

How difficult is the English, and what background is needed?

It is early twentieth-century English expository prose, with rather long sentences but not especially difficult vocabulary. A university-level reading foundation in English is enough to read it through with a dictionary. It is advisable to read the preface and the opening paragraphs of chapters first, become familiar with the author's rhythm of argument, and then proceed chapter by chapter.

As a public-domain eBook, what should readers note?

Public-domain eBooks may contain minor errors or omissions caused by scanning or typesetting conversion, so the original should be checked before citation. The views in the book have the limitations of their era and should be read critically. It is advisable to read it in comparison with modern genealogy and genetic testing materials.

Comments

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About the author

Allaben, Frank, 1867-1927 Author

Frank Allaben (1867-1927) is an English-language author about whom relatively little biographical information is available; he is now known mainly through a single work related to genealogical research, Concerning Genealogies. Public records offer limited details, and his nationality, education, professional career, and exact life dates are not clearly documented, making a full account of his life difficult. Judging from the surviving work, his subject was the tracing and compiling of family lineages, a field belonging to genealogy and the organization of local historical sources. Writing of this kind generally requires familiarity with archival documents, lineage records, and methods of verification, and tends toward orderly, evidence-based exposition rather than literary elaboration. The value of Allaben's book lies in the reference approach it offers genealogical researchers on collecting materials, organizing lineages, and keeping records, and it remains an early practical work in the field of genealogical writing, offering useful guidance to later students of family and local history.