For someone who’s often too literal a thinker, a book that’s all about abstract thinking may not seem like a natural fit.

And to be sure, it took me a little bit of re-reading of Darcie Hind Posz’s Ancestoring: Understanding Records, Family, and Ourselves (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2026; 179 pages) before I warmed to it.

Posz is an author and researcher with Hawaiian ancestry who has been a Certified Genealogist since 2013 and was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists — one of the genealogy world’s highest distinctions–in 2023.

She divides her book into three parts.

First, she tackles “Understanding Records,” in which she sets the scene for the abstract thinking she advocates by placing records, whether they are “things” such as photographs or documents, in their proper context. She also emphasizes “having a mind open to looking in places where we may not have believed our subject would be.”

Then Posz turns to “Understanding Families” and continues to advocate the need for an open mind, in this case to deal with “our own prejudices, biases, and presentism” that “can affect our evaluation of their evidence,” particularly regarding “behavior that was frowned upon by their contemporaries.”

Finally, the author turns inward in the third part of her book, titled “Understanding Ourselves,” in which Posz talks about how memories can be prone to error. She deems this part of the book to be the most abstract, and includes case studies that are used to test the readers’ memories.

Part of what Posz recommends is that genealogists should start with observation and only then actually research (one might quibble that observation is part of the research process, but her point is still well taken–genealogists need to slow down more often and spend time sitting with that observation process before embarking on a headlong rush into seeking information about specific ancestors).

I came away from Ancestoring believing that this might not be a book for most beginning genealogists to take on. But for serious family historians seeking to evolve their skills, this is the book to help them do that.

Posz is so well-read, and not just in genealogy but also history, philosophy and other fields. And I especially liked her references to the late Eugene Stratton’s Applied Genealogy, a book from several decades ago that was influential in my own growth into a professional genealogist.

All of that has made me into a fan of Posz’s techniques, but nothing gave me more of a smile than seeing Henry Z “Hank” Jones Jr., one of her fellow Fellows, in her book’s acknowledgements, crediting him as being an inspiration for years. I know that feeling, since the 85-year-old Jones has been an inspiration to me, too, as well as many others!

Beidler is a freelance writer and lecturer on genealogy. Contact him by e-mail to jamesmbeidler@gmail.com. Like him on Facebook (James M. Beidler).