Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 1

Explain the meaning of genealogy and genealogical resources.

01. Genealogy is:

a. the study of one's family history.
b. identification of ancestors and their family relationship.
c. derived from the Greek language and it means the study of family history and descent.
d. the study of past and present family emphasizing ancestors such as parents, grandparents and beyond.
e. descent traced from an ancestor, pedigree; organism's line of development from earlier sources.

02. Genealogical Resources are:

a. Basic types of genealogical records.
b. Transcriptions, such as wills, Bible records, or other information that acts as documentation.
c. A supply of useful and valuable family history associated study material available for support or help.

03. The five most valuable genealogical resources are:

a. Homes
b. Libraries
c. Archives
d. Diplomas
e. Microfilm
f. Cemeteries
g. Courthouses
h. Photography
i. Living relatives
j. Maps and atlases
k. Internet and email
l. Software programs
m. Several types of charts
n. Published works and notices
o. Commercial genealogical companies
p. Official civic records and legal documents
q. Records of organizations, e.g. churches, military, employers
r. Collections, e.g. journals, letters, diaries, bibles, scrapbooks, albums, etc.

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 2

Begin a pedigree chart with yourself and fill it in as far as you can at the beginning of your project.
Add any additional names, dates, or places that you find.

04. A pedigree chart starts with your name listed as number:

a. 4
b. 1
c. 5
d. 0

05. A surname is:

a. A name used for men only.
b. What a military officer would use.
c. More commonly referred to as your last name.
d. Your mother's name before she married your father.

06. A given name:

a. can not be taken away.
b. must be awarded by your friends.
c. include your first and middle names.
d. of no use when making a pedigree chart.

07. Pedigree Charts include numbers for each family member listed.

a. True
b. False

08. Fathers listed are numbered:

a. with even numbers.
b. with odd numbers.

09. Father's numbers are _____ times that of their children.

a. four
b. two
c. seven
d. three

10. Use of all capital letters for the surname helps:

a. separate it from given names.
b. especially when a member has a compound name.
c. when you usually type everything in capital letters.
d. separate it from given names and when a member has a compound name.

11. The recommended pedigree chart date format is:

a. 4-19-86
b. (13) (December) (1949)
c. 07/15/1988
d. 12 Jan 2002

12. A pedigree chart looks most like:

a. human footprints at a forty-five degree angle.
b. the hairs on a dogs back when it becomes angry.
c. a series of bubbles, each containing a member's name.
d. an organizational chart used by businesses to show who's boss is who's.
e. an ever expanding two prong musical tuning fork lying horizontally, handles facing to the left.

13. I have started a pedigree chart about myself and filled it in as far as could at the beginning of your project.
I plan to add any additional names, dates, or places that you find.

a. True
b. False

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 3

Show yourself as a child on a family group record form, and
show one of your parents as a child on another family group record form.

14. A family group record form helps organize information for:

a. one family unit.
b. direct ancestors.
c. direct descendents.
d. groups of families who share the same last name.

15. A family unit consists of:

a. parents and siblings listed by oldest to youngest.
b. parents and siblings listed by youngest to oldest.
c. children who have the same mother and father only.
d. father, mother, and all of their children from oldest to the youngest.

16. The family group record basic information includes dates and places of:

a. birth, burial, death, marriage, and schooling.
b. religion, schooling, military service, and employment.
c. military service, marriage, birth, and religion.
d. birth, marriage, death, and burial only.

17. The family group record basic information includes names of the:

a. father, husband, mother, wife, children, and other spouse[s].
b. stepfather, husband, mother, wife, children, and other relative[s].
c. father, husband, mother, wife, children, uncles, aunts, and cousin[s].
d. wife, father, husband, mother, brother[s], sister[s],and other spouse[s].

18. I have completed a family group record form showing myself as a child.

a. True
b. False

19. I have completed a family group record form showing one of my parents as a child.

a. True
b. False

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 4

Interview an older relative to obtain information about your family. This interview may be in person, by telephone, or by letter. Add any information obtained to your pedigree chart and family group records.

20. I have interviewed an older relative and obtained information about our family.

a. True
b. False

21. The interview was conducted:

a. over the telephone.
b. by written letter correspondence.
c. directly, an in-person conversation.

22. I asked the following questions and inquiries: [Mark all that apply]

a. Do you have a nickname?
b. Where did you attend school?
c. Were you in the military service?
d. What do/did your parents look like?
e. Is there a family cemetery or burial plot?
f. Have you ever attended a family reunion?
g. What was life like as your were growing up?
h. Were you named after someone in the family?
i. How many places have you considered home?
j. What do you know about your family surname?
k. Does the family have any outstanding members?
l. When and where did you meet your wife/husband?
m. Do you have any favorite memories of a family member?
n. Do you recall when and where your grandparents were born?
o. Do you recall when and where your grandparents were born?
p. Who in the family would have recorded family history in the past?
q. Do you know of any family member who had an unusual occupation?
r. Do you remember visiting other relatives or family friends as a child?
s. Does our family have photo albums, scrapbooks, slides, home movies?
t. Has the spelling of your/our surname changed at some time in the past?
u. Have any recipes been preserved in your family from past generations?
v. Who was the oldest person you can remember in your family as a child?
w. Tell me about the home you were raised in - what day to day life was like.
x. How is the world now different from what it was like when you were a child?
y. Do you remember any stories that your parents shared with you about your birth?
z. Are there any items, traditions, or family customs which have been handed down from generation to generation?

23. After the interview, I added new information to my pedigree chart.

a. True
b. False

24. After the interview, I added new information to my family group record.

a. True
b. False

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 5

Obtain at least one genealogical document showing proof of some information on your pedigree chart or
family group records. This document may be located in your home, a courthouse, an archive or library, etc.

25. I have obtained _____ genealogical document[s] showing proof of some information on my pedigree chart or family group records.

a. three
b. four
c. one
d. two

26. I obtained the following proof document[s] checked below: [Mark all that apply]

a. Will
b. Land
c. Deed
d. Birth
e. Bible
f. Death
g. Church
h. Library
i. Census
j. Probate
k. Archive
l. Fraternal
m. Divorce
n. Military
o. Marriage
p. Cemetery
q. Old Letters
r. Adoption
s. Newspaper
t. Courthouse
u. Employment
v. Educational
w. Immigration
x. Funeral Home
y. Naturalization
z. Family History

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 6

Tell how you would evaluate genealogical information.

27. Realistic family historic detective work requires understanding the differences between:

a. fact, evidence, and opinion.
b. primary and secondary sources.
c. closeness, credibility, causality, and corroboration.
d. fact, evidence, and opinion as well as primary and secondary sources.

28. A primary record or source is one created:

a. by an eyewitness of an event.
b. when there are no other sources available.
c. based upon evidence gathered after an event occurred by a person who was not an eyewitness.

29. It is important to be alert to clues that lead to more information.

a. True
b. False

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 7

Do ONE of the following:

Do a time line for yourself or for a close relative.
Keep a journal for six weeks, writing in at least once weekly.
Write a short history of yourself or of a close relative.

30. A timeline has one _____ line and at least ten _____ lines.

a. wavy - dotted
b. double - horizontal
c. horizontal - vertical
d. vertical - horizontal

31. Vertical lines represent:

a. events
b. time
c. you
d. legs

32. Distance between vertical lines represents the incremental passage of:

a. ships
b. exams
c. money
d. time

33. I completed a time line for myself or for a close relative.

a. True
b. False

34. I kept a journal for six weeks, writing in at least _____ weekly.

a. three times
b. twice
c. once
d. four or more times

35. I wrote a short history of _____ or of a close _____.

a. myself - relative
b. the community - town
c. safety - call
d. life - lifeform

36. Personal history contains information about what has happened in your:

a. future
b. memory
c. absence
d. past

37. Sometimes audio taping a close relative's interview:

a. makes them not talk as openly as they otherwise would.
b. requires your attention to be not directly focused upon what they are saying.
c. allows the capture of more information than you could have recorded within your notes.
d. consists of all the answers mentioned in the above three choices to this question about audio taping.

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 8

Do ONE of the following:

Tell how the development of computers is affecting the world of genealogy.
Tell how the development of photography (including microfilming) has influenced genealogy.
Tell how personal and family history have begun to influence the way society looks at local, national, and international history.

38. The development of computers is affecting the world of genealogy in the following ways: [Mark all that apply]

a. reduced storage space.
b. on-line access to information.
c. automation of library catalogues.
d. increased distribution of information.
e. makes recording and retrieval more efficient and easier.

39. The development of photography (including microfilming) has influenced genealogy by: [Mark all that apply]

a. storage space reduction.
b. copying originals for greater distribution.
c. original document review for information verification
d. providing visual images of family members and archived vital documents.

40. Family history increases one's understanding of the universal relationships of all people.

a. True
b. False

41. History of the human race is actually the history of individuals and families.

a. True
b. False

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 9

Contact ONE of the following and ask a question about its genealogical services or activities; report the results:

A lineage society
A surname organization
A professional genealogist
A genealogical education facility or institution
A genealogical record repository of any type
(courthouse, genealogical library, state archives, state library, national archives, etc.)

42. I have contacted a ____________ and asked a question relating to its genealogical services or activities.

a. lineage society
b. surname organization
c. professional genealogist
d. genealogical education facility or institution
e. genealogical repository (courthouse, genealogical library, state archives, state library, national archives, etc.)

43. The name of the contacted entity is:

44. Find below the question relating to its genealogical services or activities that I had asked:

Genealogy Merit BadgeGenealogy Badge Req. 10

Tell where you would find current information about genealogical records and research methods.

45. Places of current information about genealogical records and research methods include: [Mark all that apply]

a. the local library
b. the local genealogical society
c. National Genealogical Society
d. Federation of Genealogical Societies
e. New England Historic Genealogical Society
f. National Archives and Records Administration
g. Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
h. the Boy Scouts of America, Genealogy merit badge pamphlet # WW33383
i. The Genealogical Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

46. The National Genealogical Society is located in:

a. Boston, MA
b. Arlington, VA
c. Washington, DC
d. Salt Lake City, UT

47. The Federation of Genealogical Societies is located in:

a. Boston, MA
b. Arlington, VA
c. Washington, DC
d. Salt Lake City, UT

 


Scout's Name: Troop Number: Date:

If answered on-line, be sure to print your exam for submission to your local counselor then,


Courtesy of Robert Havlicek and Associated Families
Created: 12 January 2002 - Last Edit: 29 December 2005