Genealogy & Family Search · Source Interpretation · Published on 2026-10-02

Chronological Information and Genealogical Research Value of the First Volume of the Shao Clan Genealogy

The first volume of a Shao clan genealogy, dated 1368 to 1898, contains 131 pages. Existing records confirm its title, date range, and volume number, but the specific place of compilation, first ancestor to migrate to the area, branch distribution, and genealogical details still need to be checked against the original genealogy pages and local historical sources.

Among the existing archival records is a Shao clan genealogy identified as the first volume, covering the period from 1368 to 1898 and comprising 131 pages. This date notation first indicates that the volume spans a relatively long period of record-keeping, but it should not be understood to mean that the genealogy was compiled in a single undertaking as early as the Ming dynasty. Genealogies often undergo different stages, including initial compilation, continuation, revision, and supplementation. The compilation dates reflected in the title page, prefaces, postscripts, and notes on editorial conventions may also differ from the starting dates of the recorded lineages.

From a research perspective, a first volume may typically contain a genealogical preface, an account of the clan’s origins and transmission, notes on editorial conventions, generation names, information on ancestral halls, or a general account of the lineage. However, the specific contents of this genealogy cannot be confirmed from its title and volume number alone. In particular, information about the founding ancestor, the first ancestor to migrate, the ancestral hall name, the commandery designation, and the branches and household divisions must be cross-referenced against the original genealogy pages, prefaces, epitaphs, local gazetteers, and other family-held documents. Shared surnames, ancestral hall names, or similar place names alone cannot establish that different groups belong to the same lineage.

Members of the Shao clan conducting genealogical research can begin with genealogical records preserved at home, ancestral spirit tablets, photographs of gravestones, ancestral place names, and oral recollections, and then compare them with individuals, generation numbers, and places of residence in online genealogies. If clear links in generation names, corresponding father-and-son names, migration points, and marriage records can be found, the scope of the search can be narrowed more easily. Family memoirs are also useful as supplementary sources, particularly for recording modern and contemporary relocations, branch divisions, lost genealogies, and the process of continuing or revising genealogies. However, oral accounts still need to be checked item by item against available documents.

Entries in surname databases also indicate that some surnames have multiple origins, and that ancestral hall names and regional identifiers may be used by different branches. For example, Fan'yang Hall and the place names Fan'yang, Zhuojun, and Henan found in Jia clan materials are primarily clues for identification and searching; they cannot, on their own, prove that Jia clans in different places descend from the same lineage. The same principle applies to research on the Shao clan: ancestral hall names, commandery designations, or a shared surname can serve only as clues and cannot replace complete lineage evidence.

When organizing this Shao clan genealogy, it is advisable to record page numbers, personal names, courtesy names and other personal designations, spouses, children, places of residence, and annotations page by page, while distinguishing clearly between the original text and inferred content. Key place names should then be cross-referenced with local gazetteers, inscriptions on ancestral halls and temples, burial records, and other editions of the genealogy, with particular attention to variant characters, taboo characters, people with the same name, and chronological displacements. This approach allows online genealogies, local gazetteer databases, and genealogical research services to support the search while avoiding the premature assembly of scattered clues into a definitive lineage.

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