Genealogy as a Pastime and Profession was published initially in 1930. The volume was written by one of the leading genealogists of the era, Donald Lines Jacobus. When the Second Revised Edition was published by Genealogical Publishing Company in 1968, Milton Rubincam wrote the Introduction for the book. The late Mr. Rubincam was one of a very few people who I would put on the same plain within the genealogy profession. He said this about Mr. Jacobus, “… a man who has complete mastery of his subject. He considered genealogy in all of its phases – the use of source materials, the evaluation of evidence, the cultural and sociological aspects, the origin of American colonists, conditions in the genealogical profession, and the compilation of a family history. In spite of all the “how to do it” books that have been published since 1930, Genealogy as a Pastime and Profession tops them all.”
Genealogy as a Pastime and Profession was recommended to me when I first became interested in genealogy. Although Jacobus wrote the volume a full two decades prior to my birth, I found it to be of enormous import to me when I first began work on my own family history – and later as I moved into the world of professional genealogy, as it’s the very foundation of scientific American genealogy.
Following is a listing of the Table of Contents:
- Introduction by Milton Rubincam
- Preface to Revised Edition
- Why This Book?
- Puritan Peccadilloes
- Family Pride
- Genealogical Byways
- Early Nomenclature
- Royal Ancestry
- Genealogy as a Profession
- To Become a Professional
- Commercial Firms
- The Client
- Source Material – Printed
- Source Material – Original
- Case Histories
- How to Compile a Family History
- Growth of a Colonial Family
- Genealogy and Eugenics
- Genealogy and the Law
- Dates and the Calendar
- How to Trace Your Ancestry
- Appendix
Although today we often have the opportunity to use the Internet, as well as Family History Library resources to do much of our research, our research techniques are the same in principal today as they were in the era of Donald Lines Jacobus. For this reason I recommend this classic to anyone seriously interested in doing their family history. If you are thinking of becoming a genealogy professional, it’s required reading.
I was recently able to obtain a large quantity of this book, and am offering them at a discount to my readers. For more information and/or to purchase a copy of Genealogy as a Pastime and Profession, click on the link. Only $8.96.
PS: In 1982, I had the distinct pleasure and honor of taking a number of classes at the National Institute for Genealogical Research under the tutelage of Milton Rubincam. During that two-week period, I got to know the man, enjoying a trip to Alexandria where we visited a book store full of old volumes of the type that genealogists love to find. Milton recommended I buy a volume that I still have in my library today. Milton has been gone for years, but he lives on in our memories.
