Hello and welcome back to my blog, my genealogical friends! I hope that your journey to grow your family tree is going well! My past few posts have been devoted specifically on how to start and continue your genealogical research. Though we have covered quite a bit there is one last helpful tool I would like to share with you it is called F.A.N. As you may have gathered by now research can be quite an overwhelming task, but by remembering this helpful acronym it will ensure that you don’t forget to reach out to certain sources as you gather new information about your ancestors.
When you think about the word fan you might think of the little tool with spinning blades that keeps you cool in the summertime, or maybe the hordes of people that devote themselves to celebrities. I would say our genealogical definition of the word/acronym fan is much closer to the second thought than the first. F.A.N. stands for family, associates, neighbors. So how do all these people relate to your journey to build an ancestor’s profile and further your tree? Why research even more people than just the one ancestor you’re focusing your efforts on right now? The answer becomes more obvious once we remember that just like us our ancestors lead fulfilling lives filled with each of the groups of people! By looking through the lenses of these people that knew your ancestor you may be able to gather a fuller picture of who and what your ancestor was like as a person helping you to put their life into context.
Finding people that fit within all these groups in your ancestor’s life may feel like a large undertaking, but it’s important to try and find people who fit into as many of three groups as possible as it will help envision a fuller picture of your ancestor’s person. Persons who may be considered family to your ancestor may help you understand the dynamics of relationships they had and help you find more people that fit on your tree related through them. To find richer family relationships remember to look for not just at direct relatives of the individual your researching, but also their cousins, uncles, aunts, etc. Associates can help you identify what events your relative attended, whether they were religious, and even what their interests might have been. Persons who are connected to your ancestor via being neighbors will lead you to places where they lived.
Each portion of F.A.N. covers a particular group of people linked to your ancestor in some way and you may feel that finding even one connection feels like enormous undertaking. It is totally natural to feel so but remember that the world of genealogical sources is vast, yet simple, just as we covered in my beginner blog. Start with “vital records” then start looking into directories, newspapers, landownership records, etc. Through these basic records you will begin to find your ancestors F.A.N. network.
I hope that you have enjoyed this blog and that the F.A.N. acronym will become a useful tool in your genealogical toolbelt. Once again if you have any questions, please refer to my webinar tab first where you will find longer form content that dives deeper into genealogical content I have covered here in today’s blog, as well as past posts. If you have further questions that remained unanswered afterward, please feel free to contact me via the above listed information. Good luck on your journeys’ friends!
Winona I Laird
The Genealogy Granny
