Then and now statements

A "then and now" statement is a description of how things were at x time and the present time. This is often seen in legal terms of describing land such as in title searches. In genealogy it is critical to understand that the names used today often were not the names used in history. Many places over time could have many names for the same locations in different languages.

Genealogical "then and now"
How do we handle place name changes over time? Some suggest that we should only use the modern terms for the places described. This is simply naive and a non-genealogist solution. Many genealogy programs encourage the use of city, county, state, country or the equivalent. Anything less than a city should be described like hospital, cemetery or church.

One example: The State of Massachusetts is officially "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts." Why do we use the common name (I.E. Massachusetts) instead of the legal description or formal name in genealogy? This is because of the common usage within the language and by description makes the two terms essentially the same. It is like the United States of America being shortened to just the United States or USA.

The best solution is to describe the old/new place name in a two fold manner. One must describe the historic name and the modern name in a brief description. The historic name is to indicate one has done the research or has the knowledge of what the place was called when the event happened and where that information came be found at. Then add the modern or current name used to indicate what we call the common name of the current location. We call this a "then and now" place statement.

Genealogical "then and now" example
Here is a more formal example of a "then and now" place statement that is accurately descriptive. This is actually used.

"Thomasin/Tam(a)sin/Tamsen Carpenter was born about 1659 to 1663 probably in Pawtuxet (Warwick), Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (that part now in Kent Co. RI). She died after 30 Jan 1710/11 (living that date in Madnan’s Neck, Hempstead [now Great Neck, North Hempstead]), Queens (that part now Nassau) Co., Long Island."

This formal statement was written by a Master Genealogist Eugene Cole "Gene" Zubrinsky and a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in a genealogical descendant report.

One can become so fixated of specific places or terms by using a series of rigid formal names that the place names become cumbersome and confusing. Or one can summarize with the more common terms used then and now.

Whether you use formal or informal name placement statements, please use terms like "then and now" and try to avoid general area descriptions whenever possible.

Genealogical detailed example
Timothy Carpenter was born about 1646/1648 in Pawtuxet, now, Cranston, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. He died there on 19 Aug 1726. - This statement is a simple "then and now" example.

For details about this "then and now" statement, let us examine elements in the history of those places mentioned.

For a brief on the 1754 change of name of Pawtuxet to Cranston (formally the City of Cranston), please see: here.

Pawtuxet was technically Pawtuxet Village, a seaport hamlet around Pawtuxet Cove on the west side of Narragansett Bay about four miles southeast of Providence from 1636 to 1754. See Part Three – Settlement here.

Providence Plantations was the first permanent European American settlement in Rhode Island. It was (in 1636) established by a group of colonists led by Roger Williams who left Massachusetts Bay Colony in order to establish a colony with greater religious freedom. Providence Plantations became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (in 1663), which became the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations after the American Revolution.

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was an English colony from 1636 until 1707, and then a colony of Great Britain until the American Revolution in 1776, when it became the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (commonly known as Rhode Island).

Please note the discrepancy of names and dates in these two Wikipedia lead paragraphs. I put in brackets the years not given. Providence Plantation(s) existed from 1636 to 1663. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became such in 1663 until 1776 when it became a State of the new USA.

The difference between an English and Great Britain colony is pretty much incidental. The common government was then in England and that is far better than dozen incarnations of formal names that England had officially had over the centuries.

So technically and officially, Timothy Carpenter was born about 1646/1648 in Pawtuxet, Providence Plantation (or Plantations). And he died 19 Aug 1726 in Pawtuxet, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Please note there is no mention of political power possession or name used. They did not use that format then nor was it ever part of the formal or historical place name.

Some people can not seem to handle this technical and formal statement because they are not understanding of the history or the need to properly define the "then and now" in descriptions.

Most people are trained in the USA to use the standard place format as city, county, state, country format. Anything less than a city needs to be defined such as Church, Cemetery, Hospital or Township or village. And on the end, this means they want to stick on a country name like England, Great Britain, United Kingdom, British Overseas Colonies or similar. Even if it is not proper or correct.

A standard New England Historical and Genealogical Foundation cites the standard place format (city, county, state, country) and encourages name place changes of then and now by using the word “now” as the separator using comas. And it encourages commonly used names for things like states and countries instead of the longer formal names.

Thus we get a brief then/now entry such as: Pawtuxet, now, Cranston, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

I have NO PROBLEM with using the technical and official terms of locations. But it can get out of hand quickly. For example, using the technically official and formal names creates the following …

Timothy Carpenter was born circa 1646/1648 in Pawtuxet, Providence Plantation, now, City of Cranston, Providence County, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, United States of America.

And he died 19 Aug 1726 in Pawtuxet, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, now, City of Cranston, Providence County, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, United States of America.

Just to make things more interesting, as of 3 November 2020, the voters of "Rhode Island" decided to remove "and Providence Plantations" from their formal name.

That is why the brief place format using a "then and now" statement works so well for so many like: Pawtuxet, now, Cranston, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.