FindMyPast At Home Interview
I am grateful to Jen Baldwin and Eleanor Overthrow-Jones of FindMyPast for the interest in LGBTQ Genealogy. I also thank all the listeners who logged into the live interview on 25 February 2021 or are now watching it on YouTube. On the day of the interview, I was still experiencing side effects from the second Moderna vaccination, specifically a fuzzy head. I wasn’t thinking too well and experienced several memory blanks. Therefore, in this blog post, I’d like to improve on some answers, now that my head is clearer and I’m not doing it live.
When discussing the definitions of L, G, B, T, and Q I want to point out that we are talking about two different things – Sexual Preference and Gender Identity. LGB are sexual preferences that define a person’s attraction. In contrast, T is about Gender Identity. A Trans person’s sexual preference can be to their own gender or not.
The author of the Homo History photography blog is Jeffery Gent.
The FindMyPast database on police records is called England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment Browse, 1770-1935.
There was a question of how to name someone who was previously married, then transitioned and married again. How do you name that person in each of the marriages? As discussed earlier in the interview we should not use deadnames in any media that will be shared with others. A deadname should remain private, in your own notes and for your own research. For writings that will be shared, always use that person’s chosen name. Also, whenever possible please ask the person how they would like to be documented.
For example, say that Bob & Sue were married. Then Sue became Fred, transitioning from female to male gender identity. Fred then married Georgia. As you are documenting Fred’s life, you will change that his name in your database and reserve the name Sue as private. Therefore, in your database, Fred’s first marriage will look like Bob & Fred were married, implying a gay marriage. This seems inaccurate and goes against the grain to fact-obsessed genealogists, but it is a compromise to be respectful to who Fred is now. In your narrative, you will explain that Fred transitioned from female to male and that his first marriage was to a heterosexual man. You can still explain and write the story without revealing the deadname.
Also, on YouTube, watch FindMyPast At Home interviews on
- Family History Resources for Queer History, 10 February 2021
- Tracing LGBT Ancestors, 18 February 2021
