Family genealogy was, through the centuries, almost exclusively for upper-class people who wanted to show their social superiority.
Genealogical Searches for Mayflower Descendants, Revolutionaries or Royalty
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, families became enthusiastic about proving their lineage. Were they descendants of founding families or Mayflower passengers? Did their ancestors participate in the Revolutionary War or were they United Empire Loyalists? Could they be connected to European royalty?
Family history information was collected through letters to relatives who remembered stories told through generations. Documents were few. Records kept at local levels that had no index were difficult to search. Only people of means could afford to hire a professional genealogist.
Family Lineage Forgeries by Gustave Anjou
Genealogy was a source of income for many. Verification of the reports produced was almost impossible. Resident of Staten Island, New York, Gustave Anjou (later revealed to be Gustave Ludwig Jungberg of Sweden) claimed to be a professional genealogist. He was hired by many New England families during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Anjou earned a reputation for his abilities to provide large amounts of documentation that ‘proved’ his findings. He also earned great sums of money for his work. A family’s lineage was traced back by documentation to the immigrant. The surname was then searched in English registries at parishes and town offices. Fabricated records, with no proof included, were inserted to fill gaps in the history. Because many sources and citations were provided throughout the report, no one questioned omissions that occurred.
American Genealogists Reveal Forgeries
Several scholarly investigations of Anjou’s work revealed ‘flawed research with intent to defraud’. Donald Lines Jacobus, founder of American Genealogist documented the fakery.
George E. McCracken’s July 1976 article, “Title Unknown”, in American Genealogist, “is one of the most widely quoted sources on the Internet about Anjou's fraudulent works. McCracken's article also names other authors of "suspect" genealogies, although none come close to Anjou and his activities.”
Genealogies that are questionable according to McCracken are attributed to Gustave Anjou, Charles H. Browning, C. A. Hoppin, Orra E. Monnette, Horatio Gates Somerby, Frederick A. Virkus and John S. Wurts. He states that none of their work is reliable and all should be verified.
Certified Genealogists’ Articles
In 1991, Certified Genealogists Robert Charles Anderson and Gordon L. Remington wrote companion articles on Anjou in the Genealogical Journal, a publication of the Utah Genealogical Association. The publication contains a list of 109 genealogies that are in the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, done by Anjou and catalogued under his name. Anjou falsified clients’ ancestry, and “evidently he fabricated his own pedigree and credentials”, according to Gordon L. Remington.
Born in Sweden, December 1, 1863, Gustave changed his name to Anjou after serving a prison term in 1886 for forgery. In 1890 he emigrated to the United States where he restarted his forgery career. He created hundreds of genealogies for as much as $9,000 each.
As stated by Ron Wild in The Family Chronicle, “His report took approximately three weeks and included a coat of arms, a surname history, and an overwhelming number of citations to documents that actually exist interspersed with his creations that made the genealogy go where he wanted it to go for his unsuspecting and usually delighted clients”.
It is apparent that Anjou knew a considerable amount about genealogy. He would have to in order to prepare the convincing creations that held some grains of truth. All information included in family histories should be verified. Those associated with Anjou and others mentioned need extra scrutiny.
Fraudulent Lineages List
Certified Genealogist Robert Charles Anderson, a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists and the Utah Genealogical Association compiled a list of Fraudulent Lineages associated with Anjou.
Source:
The Family Chronicle
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
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