Preserving, Protecting, And Growing The Pursuit of Genealogy (February 7, 2020)

We often see articles and blog posts about the dilemma of what to do with all our genealogy research and discoveries; how to preserve it, who to leave it to, how to interest others in keeping and extending it, etc.  Recently there have been a few news items that impact the pursuit of genealogy and  warrant possible concern about the future of genealogy study and research.

It was announced this week that Ancestry is laying off 6% of its workforce (about 100 people) due to a drop in the purchase of its DNA products over the last year and a half.  Similarly, 23andMe announced a layoff of 14% of it workforce (also about 100 people).  Both of these workforce reductions were explained as necessary due to a decline in the sale of DNA kits.  As the Ancestry CEO stated, most early adopters of the DNA technology have already made their purchases and thus Ancestry believes "[f]uture growth will require a continued focus on building consumer trust and innovative new offerings that deliver even greater value to people."  And yet, while Ancestry plans to focus on its main family history business it will also try to grow its new AncestryHealth business.  AncestryHealth is designed to compete with 23andMe by using two DNA screening products to indicate for purchasers the possibility of predispositions for particular disorders and diseases.

Another genealogy-related development is underway in Massachusetts.  The governor's proposed budget for fiscal 2021 contains a provision at p. 277 of the budget that significantly limits the examination and availability of copies of birth, death, and marriage records unless such records are more than 90 years from the date of birth or marriage or 50 years from the date of death.  There is no exception for genealogy/family history use and there is no exception for those able to document descent or relationship to the person who is the subject of such records.  And this record limitation is on the heels of the recent USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) push to increase fees for copies of historical records requested by genealogy and other researchers by 492%.

So what to make of these various genealogy tidbits?  

Is the enormous popularity of genealogy during the rise of the age of digital technology on the wane because – like the decrease in DNA test sales – the early adopters/fad followers have dipped into the subject and are now moving on?  Is the rising concern about personal privacy in the digital age leading to a trend of shutting down access to history and genealogy-related records thereby seriously undermining the popular pursuit of family history research?

As with many conundrums about whether or not we should be optimistic regarding the future, with respect to genealogy perhaps it would be encouraging to somehow look to our youth.  To preserve, protect, and grow the research and study of our family histories it is most likely the young people in our lives that we will need to rely on.  So it is probably a good idea to see what can be done to make sure the young are increasingly introduced to genealogy and their family history; which led to the idea of looking for some data points on youth interest in genealogy . . . and explains why the image at the top of this post is of the Genealogy merit badge offered by the Boy Scouts (now also available to be earned by girls as well as boys in the new Scouts BSA program).

Scouts BSA has about 138 different merit badges that can be earned.  Genealogy is just one of them and it was introduced in 1972 based on an increased interest in –– and popularity of ––genealogy.  The creation of the Genealogy merit badge occurred on the very cusp of the modern computer age and the coming of a general availability of digital records.  Genealogy is not one of the newest merit badges – there are many that go back to the founding of the American scouting movement in 1910-11.  Looking at the status and popularity of the genealogy merit badge sounded like a good place to take the temperature of the health of genealogy among today's youth.  And as it turns out, there are some statistics about merit badges thanks to Bryan Wendell of Bryan on Scouting: A Blog for the BSA's Adult Leaders. 

Mr. Wendell used actual numbers from the local Council charter applications to determine how many of each available merit badge were earned nationally in a number of fairly recent years.  In this way he was able to rank the"popularity" of each merit badge over time.  In the "lifetime" (1911 - 2016) rankings of the various merit badges, Genealogy has been earned by 241,524 Scouts and so comes in at No. 78 out of 138 merit badges ranked.  But recall that the Genealogy merit badge did not exist until 1972, whereas the No. 1 merit badge – First Aid (earned by 7,137,872 Scouts) – has been around since 1911 and is an "Eagle required" merit badge.  Genealogy is not required to earn the Eagle rank and so is considered an "elective" merit badge, (but it is not among the top ten elective merit badges erned by Scouts today).  These statistics mean that Genealogy cannot be compared apples-to-apples with much older merit badges, but age and required vs. elective considerations aside, it means Genealogy currently ranks in the bottom half of merit badges earned.

It is possible to get a better handle on the status of Genealogy study among Scouts ages 11 - 17 by looking at the more recent data gathered on awarded merit badges rather than over the entire lifetime of the merit badge program when for long periods many merit badges (such as Genealogy) did not even exist.  Mr. Wendell provides data for merit badge awards for each of the years in the period 2012 - 2016 when Genealogy had been around for more than thirty-seven years.  In 2012 Genealogy merit badge was earned by 5,641 Scouts; in 2013 it was 5,740 Scouts, in 2014 it was 5,474 Scouts, in 2015 it was 5,316 Scouts, and in 2016 the award of the Genealogy merit badge dropped to only 4,570 Scouts.  So from a high of 5,740 Scouts studying Genealogy and earning the merit badge, the "popularity" of the badge dropped by 1,170 in just three years. [1]  In fact, most recently the popularity of Genealogy merit badge fell 14% in just the period from 2015 to 2016.  Only 15 of the 138 merit badges suffered a greater decrease in popularity than did Genealogy!

What, if anything, does the examination of merit badge statistics say about the current health and future of an interest in genealogy?  

There are several weaknesses in drawing conclusions from the selective sample of just young boys who participate in Boy Scouts.  [As just one example, girls were not part of Scouts BSA until February 1, 2019.  The Girl Scouts do not have a specific badge devoted to genealogy that can be compared and contrasted with the Genealogy merit badge.  And we all know that in both professional and hobbyist genealogy women have played a very large role.]  If we are to look to today's youth as the best hope for the future pursuit and continuation of the discipline of genealogy, then we need to pay attention to the status of genealogy interest among our young population not just for the preservation, protection, and growth of the individual research results in our  family histories, but also in order to have a continuing "lobby" for reasonable, inexpensive access to the important records of genealogy research.  We need our youth to develop and nurture on ongoing interest in the study of genealogy for the sake of preserving, protecting and growing the discipline of genealogy itself.

There are many organizations that have outreach efforts to interest young people in the subject of genealogy––to name just a few, there are: the societies of Mayflower descendants on the national and state levels; the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR); numerous local, regional and national genealogical societies; and even genealogy programs by local libraries.  There are also (as of 2017) the 2.3 million youth in the almost 100,000 individual units in the BSA that always have openings for Genealogy merit badge counselors.  These and similar efforts need to continue to keep the discipline of genealogy alive and thriving instead of becoming just another passing fad –– and this may be especially so in the face of what can often be seen as recent assaults on the availability of the very materials that are the foundation of genealogical study and research.         

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[1]   It is interesting to note that the Computers merit badge was discontinued at the end of 2014 after it had suffered a 79% decrease in popularity. 

For further reading see:

     The Merit Badge Program –– https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/the-merit-badge-program/

     Genealogy Merit Badge Requirements –– https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Merit_Badge_ReqandRes/Genealogy.pdf

     Girls Can Now Join Scouts BSA –– https://www.cbsnews.com/news/girls-officially-join-boy-scouts-bsa-today/

     History of Merit Badges (Wikipedia) –– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_merit_badges_(Boy_Scouts_of_America)

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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