Gustav Anjou

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Gustav Anjou, (1863-1942), born Gustave Ludwig Ljungberg, was a self-professed genealogist who has been accused of fakery.

Few if any names in genealogical circles draw the outrage that Anjou enjoys. A resident of Staten Island, New York, Anjou presented himself as a professional genealogist, and his services were employed by many East Coast families in the late 19th and early 20 centuries.

Anjou initially earned a reputation for providing copious amounts of research to back up his findings, much to the delight of his clients. For his "findings", Anjou's services were expensive for the day and he became quite well off.

However scholastic research of Anjou’s findings have found flawed research with the intent to defraud. In a 1976 article in The American Genealogist, George E. McCracken* wrote:

"A typical Anjou pedigree displays four recognizable features:

1. A dazzling range of connections between dozens of immigrants to New England; for example, connections far beyond what may be seen in pedigrees produced by anyone else.

2. Many wild geographical leaps, outside the normal range of migration patterns.

3. An overwhelming number of citations to documents that actually exist, and actually include what Anjou says they include and

4. Here and there an invented document, without citation, which appears to support the many connections noted under item 1 above."

In professional genealogical circles, Anjou’s findings are not honored.

Anjou's fakery has been well documented by the late Donald Lines Jacobus founder of the American Genealogist Magazine.

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[edit] Endnotes

*McCracken's 1976 article in the American Genealogist, (July, 1976) is one of the most widely quoted sources on Anjou's fraudulent works on the Internet on this topic, although attribution to McCracken is not always made. McCracken's article also names other authors of suspect genealogies in the article as well, although none come close to Anjou and is activities.