Thailand Compiled Genealogies

Compiled Genealogies
The term compiled genealogy is used in this Wiki article to describe a variety of records containing family information previously gathered by other researchers, societies, or archives. These records can include pedigree charts, compiled data on families, correspondence, ancestor lists, research exchange files, record abstracts, and collections of original or copied documents. These can be excellent sources of information that can save you valuable time. Because they are secondary sources of information, however, they must be carefully evaluated for accuracy.

Family Trees

 * FamilySearch Genealogies
 * Or to filter for oral genealogies, click on "+ Collections". From the drop-down menu, select "Oral Genealogies".
 * Ancestry.com Public Member Trees ($)

Digital Books

 * FamilySearch Books
 * Google Books
 * World Cat
 * HathiTrust
 * Internet Archive

FamilySearch Catalog
Many family histories can be found on the FamilySearch Catalog by performing a surname search:


 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog
 * Click on the Surname link
 * Type in the search field the last name of the family that you are researching

OR to filter by location and surname:


 * Go to the FamilySearch Catalog
 * Click on the Keyword link
 * Type in the search field the country of residence and last name of the family that you are researching

Oral Genealogies
There are not many oral genealogies online for Thailand, and therefore, interviewing likely family members of the deceased individuals may be more productive than searching for oral genealogies online. Family members may be able to tell you who in the family knows the oral genealogy of the family.


 * For more information on how to do this see Creating Oral Histories.

Thailand Ethnic Groups
Seven major hill tribes in Northern Thailand:


 * Karen, Akha, Lahu, Hmong, Mien, Lisu, and Palaung

Each has a distinct language and culture Ancestral origins: Burma, Laos, and ultimately, China Some preserve an oral genealogy tradition

Other ethnic groups:


 * Thai, Malay, Khmer

Karen/Kariang People

 * KAREN COMMUNITY ORAL HISTORY PROJECT: by the Minnesota Historical Society

The Karen/Kariang people are one of the largest hill tribes in Southeast Asia.


 * Southern and Southeastern Burma (7 M)
 * Northern Thailand (400 K), by far the largest hill tribe
 * United States (65,000), diaspora began in 2000
 * Heterogeneous ethnicities

Oral history project at Chiang Mai University


 * Center for Ethnic Studies and Development
 * Director: Chayan Vaddhanaphuti
 * Assistant: Malee Sitthikrienkrai

The project ‘Living with and in the Forest in Northern Thailand’ of the Center for Ethnic Studies and Development (CESD), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, aims to enable the Karen youth of Huay Hin Lad Nai to study their own community history…. The youth group has started to conduct in-depth interviews with community elders, particularly on the historical background of the community, family and kinship structures…. Supported by academics from CMU, they transcribed, edited and discussed the recorded material. In collaboration with visiting international students, they further recorded biographies of selected villagers and collected them in a booklet. First analyses of the collected data centered around community transformations and mobility patterns over the last one hundred years. Based on this information, a detailed kinship map and digitalized timeline of the community were produced.

Akha People
450,000 people, one of the largest hill tribes. They live in Southern China (Yunnan Province), Eastern Burma (Shan State), Northern Laos, Northern Thailand. They have a heavy emphasis on oral genealogy.


 * Ceremonial recitation of patrilineal genealogy
 * Committed to memory and taught parent to child
 * Back over 50 generations to Sm Mo O, the first Akha
 * All Akha males expected to recite their lineage
 * Recounting of lineage avoids incest (6 generations)
 * Ties of patrilineal kinship and marriage alliance bind the Akha within and between communities