Elizabeth Shown Mills

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA has been recognized as "the genealogist who has had the greatest impact on American genealogy in the post-Roots era." Among her many notable accomplishments, she edited the National Genealogical Society Quarterly for 16 years.

In her instruction, Mills stresses the importance of the Genealogical Proof Standard. She has sought to establish conventions for citing genealogical sources. She has researched and published extensively about people on the margins of American society including slaves, women, free blacks, Indians, mixed-race settlers, and gypsies.

Mills has explored the oft-strained relationship between historians and genealogists in the United States. By raising standards in the genealogical community, she has helped professional genealogists gain respect in historical circles.

She points out the significance of not only searching records for an ancestor's surname, but also paying attention to documents about the ancestor's "FAN Club" (Friends, Associates, Neighbors), thereby expanding the scope of research beyond an individual to the community and nation where he or she lived. Learning more about an ancestor's FAN Club is a great way to discover new information about your direct ancestry, as these people are often listed together in deeds, wills, court cases, road orders, etc., and help you build a stronger case about relationships in your own family.

She has edited Catholic records from Louisiana and Mississippi created during the periods of French and Spanish rule, including Natchitoches Colonials, which draws together colonial censuses, military records, and tax lists to reconstruct a clearer picture of eighteenth-century frontier settlers.

A partial resume includes:


 * Editor, National Genealogical Society Quarterly (16 years)
 * President, The American Society of Genealogists
 * President, Board for Certification of Genealogists
 * Faculty, Samford University Library Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research
 * Faculty, National Institute on Genealogical Research

In 2011, Elizabeth Shown Mills released an academic website Historic Pathways that houses digitized versions of articles she has published. The site broadcasts her fascinating and important work to a worldwide audience.

Articles

 * "Academia vs. Genealogy: Prospects for Reconciliation and Progress," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 71 (1983):99-106. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * "Analyzing and Reviewing Published Sources," OnBoard, Vol. 3 (May 1997):16. Digital version at BCG website.
 * "Analyzing Deeds for Useful Clues," OnBoard, Vol. 1 (Jan. 1995):8. Digital version at BCG website.
 * "Analyzing Wills for Useful Clues," OnBoard, Vol. 1 (May 1995):16. Digital version at BCG website.
 * "Applying the Preponderance-of-the-Evidence Principle to a Southern Frontier Problem: William Medders of Alabama," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 82 (1994):32-49.
 * "Assimilation? Or Marginalization and Discrimination? Romani Settlers of the Colonial Gulf (Christophe Clan).” Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * “Bridging the Historic Divide: Family History and ‘Academic’ History.” History and Genealogy: Why Not Both? Papers from the Midwestern Roots Conference. Indiana University Department of History. Indiana Magazine of History: Online Resources. http://www.iub.edu/~imaghist/online_content/online_June_2007.html. PDF. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011.
 * "Censuses - Often-Overlooked Basics," OnBoard, Vol. 4 (Jan. 1998):8. Digital version at BCG website.
 * "Citing Your Sources," OnBoard, Vol. 1 (Sep. 1995):24. Digital version at BCG website.
 * “Ethnicity and the Southern Genealogist: Myths and Misconceptions, Resources and Opportunities.” Robert M. Taylor Jr. and Ralph J. Crandall, eds. Generations and Change: Genealogical Perspectives in Social History. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 1986. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * "The Genealogist's Assessment of Alex Haley's Roots," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 72 (1984):35-49. Digital version at Historic Pathways. (with Gary B. Mills)
 * “Genealogy in the Information Age: History’s New Frontier?” NGS Centennial: A Special Issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 91 (December 2003): 260–77. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * "Good Genealogical Writing," OnBoard, Vol. 4 (Jan. 1998):16. Digital version at BCG website.
 * "Guidelines for Responsible Editing in Genealogy," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 84 (1996):48-49. (with Gary B. Mills, Jane Fletcher Fiske, David L. Greene, Robert Charles Anderson, Henry B. Hoff, Harry Macy Jr., and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking)
 * "Producing Quality Research Notes," OnBoard, Vol. 3 (Jan. 1997):8. Digital version at BCG website.
 * "In Search for 'Mr. Ball': An Exercise in Finding Fathers," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 80 (1992):115-133. (with Sharon Sholars Brown)
 * “Isle of Canes and Issues of Conscience: Master-Slave Sexual Dynamics and Slaveholding by Free People of Color.” Between Two Worlds: A Special Issue of The Southern Quarterly: A Journal of the Arts in the South, Vol. 43 (Winter 2006): 158–75. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * “Missionaries Compromised: Early Evangelization of Slaves and Free People of Color in North Louisiana.” Glenn R. Conrad, ed. Cross, Crozier, and Crucible: A Volume Celebrating the Bicentennial of a Catholic Diocese in Louisiana. Lafayette, La.: Center for Louisiana Studies, 1993. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways. (with Gary B. Mills)
 * “Quintanilla’s Crusade, 1775–1803: ‘Moral Reform’ and Its Consequences on the Natchitoches Frontier.” Louisiana History 42 (Summer 2001): 277–302. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * “Roots and the New ‘Faction’: A Legitimate Tool for Clio?” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 1 (January 1981): 5–26. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways. (with Gary B. Mills)
 * "The Search for Margaret Ball: Building Steps Over a Brick-Wall Research Problem," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 77 (1989):43-65.
 * "Slaves and Masters: The Louisiana Metoyers," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 70 (1982):163-189. (with Gary B. Mills)
 * “Social and Family Patterns on the Colonial Louisiana Frontier,” Sociological Spectrum 2 (1982): 233–48. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.
 * "Spanish Records: Locating Anglo and Latin Ancestry in the Colonial Southwest," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 73 (1985):243-261.
 * "Transcribing Source Materials," OnBoard, Vol. 2 (Jan. 1996):8. Digital version at BCG website.
 * “Working with Historical Evidence: Genealogical Principles and Standards,” Evidence: A Special Issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 87 (September 1999): 165–84. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 November 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.

Theses

 * “Family and Social Patterns of the Colonial Louisiana Frontier: A Quantitative Analysis, 1714–1803.” New College Honors Thesis, University of Alabama, 1981. x, 231 pp. Digital image. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Historic Pathways. Accessed 27 December 2011. Digital version at Historic Pathways.

Books

 * Evidence!: Citation &amp; Analysis for the Family Historian. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997..
 * Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2009..
 * Natchitoches Colonials: Censuses, Military Rolls and Tax Lists, 1722–1803. Chicago: Adams Press, 1981.
 * Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2001. . (with Donn Devine, James L. Hansen, and Helen F.M. Leary)

Videos
The following videos are available in the members' section of the National Genealogical Society website:


 * Genealogy Is History, Up Close and Personal
 * The Importance of NGS (free)
 * Family Traditions: My Choctaw Princess
 * We Are All Cousins
 * The Search

Websites

 * Personal Website: Historic Pathways. Includes full-length articles published by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
 * Biography: "Mills, Elizabeth Shown -- IGHR," Samford University Library Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research.
 * Video Interview: "Elizabeth Shown Mills - 2008 Genealogy Conference/Cruise," Interview by Dick Eastman, Roots Television. (this video is currently unavailable)