Tools

Here are some handy conversion tables and tools for genealogical research.

Consanguinity Chart

Who are all these cousins anyway? Use this chart to identify relationships between you and your relatives. Start with Self, that's you. Each row is a generation. Move down to identify children. Move across to identify brothers, sisters, and cousins. Move diagonally upward to identify parents. For example, first cousins are children of your grandparents' children. A cousin once removed is one generation before or after your own.

Soundex Codes

Surnames in the United States federal census records are often encoded. This encoding, call the soundex code, is based on the way a name sounds rather than how it's spelled. This simplifies searching the census records, which generally have wide variations in spelling for the same surname.

Use this form to convert a surname to a soundex code. Use the code when searching census records from 1880 onward. Two soundex codes are generated in certain cases. You should search using each code separately. I also recommend trying different first letters for a surname. Sometimes the transcriptionist may mistake a P for a D, for example.

French Republican Calendar

French vital records during the time of the French Revolution use the French Republican Calendar. You're likely to see some strange dates on records during the years 1793 to 1805. Use the following form to convert between our present day Gregorian calendar and the French Republican calendar.