About the Skyrm(e) One-Name Study. This page covers the objectives and approach. The workplan page describes current progress and future plans.
Objectives
The objectives of this study are to research, record and share information on the origins, distribution, family histories, historical and geographic contexts of people with the surname Skyrme, Skyrm and variants world-wide.
Expanding on this statement:
- Research - using a wide range of research sources and applying good research methods (see approach below)
- Record - record data in a geneaological database and in a structured set of computer folders and other databases / spreadsheets if appropriate.
- Share - using this website and emails as the primary vehicle for sharing information
- Origins and distribution - how the name originated and spread throughout the centuries
- Family histories - family trees, facts on individuals and their families, stories etc.
- Historical and geographic context - information about the localities and times in which individuals lived
- Variants - initially Skyrme, Skyrm, Skyrmes, Skirm, Skerm. Later the names Skermer, Skirmer may be researched to see if they are connected
- World-wide - not restricted to the initial focus on England and Wales but covering other areas where Skyrmes are found, notably the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Approach (the '7 Pillars')
Although this started as a family history of the ancestors of David Skyrme, it is now a One-Name Study which The Guild of One-Name Studies defines as "a project researching the genealogy and family history of all persons with a given surname and its variants (as opposed to researching a particular pedigree)".
The Guild suggests that an ONS has '7 pillars' These are listed below with the approach currently be adopted or planned:
- Data collection: this is ongoing. As new sources are identified records that contain Skyrm(e)s are indexed or copied. Depending on format they may be kept as transcripts, images or spreadsheets, initially in "to process" folders (currently just under 3,000 individual files).
- Analysis: as data is processed, family trees are constructed (using Family Historian V5) and source material refiled into a set of structured folders and files (currently some 3,000 files). Links between isolated branches proposed and tests are run for consistency.
- Synthesis: this is where patterns are identified (e.g. on migration, changes of occupation, dispersion of family members to different localities), hypotheses are made (e.g. on reasons for particular facts, or the root cause of variants) and a picture starts to evolve of particular clusters of Skyrmes.
- Responding to Enquiries: this is one of the core responsibilities of Guild members who have registered a surname - our contact page gives more information on how to contact me with an enquiry and the response you can expect.
- Publicising the Study: with only a small number of people interested in the Skyrmes, it is felt that is sufficienht to publicise through this website, The Guild website, email contacts and postings and articles on other relevant websites and Family History Society journals.
- Publishing the Findings: the library section of this website will be the main outlet for publication, though short summaries will be submitted to relevant publications, e.g. Family History Society journals.
- Preserving the One-Name Study: data is regularly backed-up; longer-term - as certain milestones are met - key records and outputs will be sent to the The Guild of One-Name Studies archive.