FAQ Page about Nathan Boutwell
Q: What are the four types of written genealogies?
A: There are four common styles of written genealogies: a Compiled Genealogy, a Narrative Genealogy, a Narrative Lineage, and a Narrative Pedigree.
A Compiled Genealogy is a basic work that assembles all known family members into an organized pattern. It provides the vital statistics for each person; identifies parents, spouses, and children; and, gives the essential records for each person, such as marriages, deeds and military service. This is the most commonly found written genealogy, especially those written prior to 1980. To see an example, click here.
A Narrative Genealogy goes deeper; it is a story, a history of a family, in which each individual is presented as a biography with the genealogical details woven in. These are becoming more popular as contemporary readers want to know how an ancestor lived, not just when they were born and whom they married. To see an example, click here.
Compiled and Narrative Genealogies usually start with the eldest ancestor first and come forward to the most recent generations.
A Narrative Pedigree is the same as a Narrative Genealogy, except it begins with the most recent family member and works its way back to the oldest known ancestors.
A Narrative Lineage is the same as a Narrative Genealogy, except that it traces a family through a direct line, not varying into collateral families. It can be forward from the oldest generation, or backward from the most recent. To see an example, click here.
Which ever of the four types of genealogies you want, I can write it for you, based on your research and desires.
Q: Why did you get into genealogy?
A: That is a long story! It began in the fall of 1985. I had just graduated from college and was unemployed. I was sitting around the breakfast table with my parents, and Mom said "Let's go to north Georgia and look at the leaves." That night, we were in a hotel in Athens, Georgia. The next day ... we found out that Georgia had had a dry summer and the leaves were brown. So, sitting around coffee in a Dennys in Athens, I said "We could go to Alabama and try to find out something about Dad's family." Dad said "My grandfather's names was John and that's all I know." That night, we were in a hotel in Montgomery. The rest is history. Literally!
Q: What is your family lineage?
A: My Dad's family is pretty much all Scottish and Cherokee. The Boutwells can be traced back to North Carolina in 1701. My Mom's family is diverse. Her father's father was a New Yorker, being descended from Quakers and a man who ran the Underground Railroad. Her mother's mother was descended from German Jews who converted to Methodism. Mom's mother was descended from Scots-Irish from North Carolina. My family names include: Boutwell, Burch, Killingsworth, Johnson, Bray, Goodson, Brake, Hartshorn, Redwine, MacKey, Malcom, Barnett, Autry, Adams, Haynes and Garrison.
Q: What is this book you wrote about your wife's family?
A: The Jordans of Mason County, Kentucky. Trish is a Jordan. They hail from Portsmouth, Ohio, by way of Mason and Lewis Counties, Kentucky, and can be traced back to Culpeper and Prince William Counties, Virginia. I've traced them to about 1730. Fascinating family! I need to update that book.
Q: What is it with you and Lulu.com?
A: I just like the way that program works. They have published five books for me, at no cost to myself. Free is always good! I only pay when I order a book, which I do to give the book as a gift. I also like being able to control the sales and marketing of the books myself, and to have a say over the way the book looks. The books are very high quality, looking like something you would find in Borders. They stay together, too. The spine doesn't fall apart half way through the first reading.
Q: Are you a natural blonde?
A: What the heck?
Q: What genealogies have you written, besides your own family?
A: I am currently writing a genealogy for an oilman locally. That is a 1,000 page book. I am also researching and writing family stories for two friends. Those are going well. Can I add yours to the list?
Q: How do you pronounce the word GENEALOGY?
A: Some people say GEE-nee-ology. That isn't wrong, because it's based on the same root word as gene (like DNA and Chromasome). But I say JEH-nee-ology, like the name Jenny. It's just a regional difference.
Q: You have a weird accent. Where are you from?
A: I'm a native Floridian. What you hear is that swamp Southern accent. HEY! How can you tell what I talk like? You can't hear me online.
Q: Will you research my family for me?
A: I would if I had access to a good archives. I live in Fort Worth, Texas. While we have a good library, it is limited. So the problem with me doing your research for you is that it will be very limited. I can only do so much from this distance. You would do better doing it yourself, because you probably have access to things that I don't. I certainly won't be able to interview your family members or find photographs or visit cemeteries.
Q: There are holes in my research. Can you help?
A: Maybe. I can't make guarantees. But I can use the online subscriptions I have to try to fill in the gaps for you. I will charge you the usual hourly rate for that. We can try.
Q: What are you going to do with your Masters Degree?
A: I want to teach literature and composition at the community college level. To do that, I need the degree. I might teach a genealogy class as a continuing education class, too. That would be fun.
Q: What else have you written besides genealogy books?
A: The five books I've written are As Leaf Subsides to Leaf (my life with my parents and my life without them), As You Love Yourself (what I learned from almost dying in 2007), Tantric Jesus (a look a theology), Invictus (a collection of my photographs interpreted with poems and essays) and There Is Something Rotten on Azusa Street (another theology book). Besides that, I was a reporter for the small town weekly newspapers The Troy Progress and The Chiefland Citizen, and was the editor of the employee newsletter for the Chevy Chase Savings Bank.
Q: I have several theories about which ancestor is mine, but I'm not sure which one is right. Can you help me with that?
A: Sure. Let me hear all your theories, and see your sources, and I might be able to help you sort it out.
Q: Can you read this durn Colonial handwriting?
A: Absolutely. I've had to train myself to read it. It is a mess, isn't it?
Q: How picky are you about documentation? Do you demand endnotes?
A: Being an English major and a historian, I do like documentation. Meaning, if you say your great-grandfather served on the USS Saratoga, I'd like to know how you know, and cite that as an endnote. But it's your book. If you're happy just saying that, then I can be happy writing the book without the documentation. Your name is going on the book, not mine, so it's up to you.
Q: Do you have a money back guarantee?
A: OUCH! Okay, I can guarantee you to give you the best product that I can give you. The quality is really up to you. The more you give me to work with, the better a product I can give you. What I am giving you is my time, my ability to sort through historical documents, and my ability to write. You are renting my brain. So, really I can't promise you a refund if the book doesn't meet your expectations. But I do promise to listen to your instructions about how you want the book to look, how you want it written, and how you want it organized. We'll work together to give you a product that you will be happy with. If at some point during the project, you are not happy with the way things are going, you have the right to fire me, and take the project to someone else. I won't insist that I get any credit for the work already done. If you fire me, that means I'm not the man for you, and that's fine. That's why I will maintain constant contact with you during the writing of your book. If you are totally dissatisfied with the end result, we can talk about it. Otherwise, it would be unfair to me to give you a money back guarantee, because I can't redeem my time. It isn't something that I can put back on the shelf and sell to someone else.
Q: Are you a certified genealogist?
A: Yes and no. Between 1992 and 1994, I was certified by the Board of Certification of Genealogists. During that time, I was a professional researcher, looking up documents and helping people with their family lineages in Alabama. After I left Alabama, I let my certification lapse. Currently, I am working on compiling a portfolio so I can be certified again. Hopefully, I can have that finished by the end of the year.