Anyone who tries to tell me that genealogy isn’t cool gets referred to the 1969 James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, staring George Lazenby. In the film, James Bond goes undercover as a genealogist to research a lineage question surrounding a Bond villain’s claims to a noble title.
There are a number of things James Bond, the genealogist, does right and at least one thing that’s definitely wrong. Here are a few examples of Bond’s excellent genealogical handiwork:
- Bond discusses conducting what professional genealogists may refer to as a “reasonably exhaustive search” using original Church records in Switzerland and other resources.
- Bond consults heraldry books referencing the noble family in question.
- He interviews his villain client about his alleged noble lineage and family.
- It’s clear that Bond had done some advanced preparation before the client meeting. He is already familiar with the noble family the client would like to be connect to – right down to the shape of family’s earlobes!
- Bond makes it clear that thorough evaluation of all the sources and information is recommended before arriving at a conclusion about ancestral ties. Something we all should live by (or live twice by in James Bond’s case).
As far as genealogy no-nos, I suppose he wouldn’t be James Bond if he didn’t break a few rules. It can safely be said that no genealogist worth their salt would recommend “fraternizing” with ladies (or gentlemen) while conducting onsite genealogical research, especially at a client’s place of residence. But since this is clearly the norm for Bond, maybe we can grant him a little artistic license.
The bottom line is: if genealogy is cool enough for James Bond, it’s certainly cool enough for me!
-Mary M. Tedesco, ORIGINS ITALY.
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