CGL Content Knowledge 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which U.S. federal census was the first to list every member of a household by name?
- 1840
- 1850 (Correct answer)
- 1860
- 1870
Correct answer: 1850
The 1850 census was the first to list every free household member by name, age, sex, and birthplace, rather than only the head of household.
Question 2: A genealogist finds two conflicting birth years for an ancestor in different records. According to the Genealogical Proof Standard, the next step is to:
- Accept the earlier date as more likely correct
- Perform a reasonably exhaustive search and then analyze and correlate all evidence (Correct answer)
- Discard the derivative record automatically
- Contact the repository for clarification before proceeding
Correct answer: Perform a reasonably exhaustive search and then analyze and correlate all evidence
The GPS requires a reasonably exhaustive search followed by thorough analysis and correlation of all evidence before resolving conflicts.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of an Ahnentafel numbering system?
- To number all descendants of a single ancestor
- To assign a unique number to every direct ancestor of one individual (Correct answer)
- To track DNA segment inheritance across generations
- To organize collateral relatives by generation
Correct answer: To assign a unique number to every direct ancestor of one individual
The Ahnentafel (German for 'ancestor table') assigns systematic numbers to direct-line ancestors: 1 = subject, father doubles the number, mother is father's number plus one.
Question 4: Which Irish record set, largely destroyed in the 1922 Four Courts fire, documented land valuations and became a partial substitute for lost census records?
- The Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith's Valuation (Correct answer)
- The Registry of Deeds indexes
- The Catholic parish registers on microfilm
- The Civil registration indexes from 1864
Correct answer: The Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith's Valuation
The Tithe Applotment Books (1823–1837) and Griffith's Primary Valuation (1847–1864) survived the fire and are widely used to locate Irish ancestors and establish residence.
Question 5: When researching African American genealogy in the post-Civil War South, which record series created by the federal government documents freedpeople's labor contracts, marriages, and family separations?
- Freedmen's Bureau records (Correct answer)
- U.S. Colored Troops pension files
- Southern Claims Commission files
- Contraband camp registers
Correct answer: Freedmen's Bureau records
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen's Bureau) created extensive records from 1865–1872 documenting freedpeople's daily lives, labor, and family reunifications.
Question 6: In DNA genealogy, what does the term 'endogamy' mean and why does it complicate match analysis?
- Marriage outside one's ethnic group, creating unexpected distant matches
- Marriage within a closed community, causing relatives to share more DNA than expected for their relationship (Correct answer)
- The tendency of DNA segments to cluster on the same chromosome across generations
- A testing company's algorithm for predicting ethnicity estimates
Correct answer: Marriage within a closed community, causing relatives to share more DNA than expected for their relationship
Endogamy (marriage within a community) causes individuals to share inflated amounts of DNA with many matches, making it difficult to determine the actual genealogical relationship.
Question 7: Which repository holds the original Freedman's Bank records, which can help trace African American families in the post-Civil War era?
- Library of Congress Manuscript Division
- National Archives and Records Administration (Correct answer)
- Smithsonian Institution Archives
- Howard University Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
Correct answer: National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives holds the Freedman's Savings and Trust Company records (1865–1874), which are indexed on FamilySearch and often contain detailed personal and family information.
CGL Content Knowledge 3
Which U.S. federal census was the first to list every member of a household by name?