Completely different? Not quite

I am feeling quite pleased with myself right now, as I have just finished putting together the second of my travel journal/albums. Also, the family home movies are safely digitized on an external hard drive, with a backup kept elsewhere. It has been good to get some distance, temporarily, from family history research, and it has made me realize that some tactics we genealogists employ can be quite useful in other situations.

But … has all this activity taught me anything I can use in genealogy? Absolutely!

For my travel albums I first had to make a list of the trips; second, I brought together the journals, photos, and other material from their various hiding places; third, a plan of attack was devised that would keep me on the straight and narrow (it’s SO easy to get distracted and/or confused); fourth, I am continuing to keep tabs on my progress.

For the beginner in genealogy, I would say: make a pedigree and family group sheets of your known ancestors and relatives, insofar as you know them (equivalent to the trip list above); collect whatever photos and/or documents you have relating to family members; decide what your long- and short-term aims are; plan your strategy and keep it updated.

My goal in the travel matter was to eventually create a modest set of scrapbooks for all my trips. (Nice finite project, unlike you-know-what). You must decide YOUR goal as a genealogist. What do you have to work with? Which line will you work on? Where will you start?

As for the travel albums, now that the materials are sorted and neatly stowed, and a couple of the volumes completed, I will not take on the rest of the compilations all in one gulp, which would turn it into into a joyless chore. Much better to attend to them individually, over time. Besides, having some breaks in between will mean returning with a fresh outlook and some new ideas.

Here again is something applicable to genealogy. Even if it were possible to devote all one's time to research, it is far better, in my experience, to back away now and then. New insights and approaches become apparent, and we go back the project with renewed enthusiasm and a sharper focus.

And is my workspace less cluttered now? Well … sort of.

PS The photograph is of the entrance to the Egyptian Avenue, Highgate Cemetery, London, from one my trips, naturally.

Value-added

How many items of household equipment do you have? Every tool, every appliance has its own set of features / settings / possible uses. When people bemoan the fact that they don’t utilize nearly all the elements of a particular computer program, I think of my old non-electronic sewing machine. Came with a box of attachments which looked interesting but … I never used more than a couple of them -- the good old zipper foot, and, on occasion, the button-holer. The quilters and tailors among us probably got a lot of use out of some of the other gadgets, but did you?

The same goes for software. I have been playing around with Pages, my Mac word processing program, and am still discovering new features (it helps to get together with other users and trade tips). You can create tables with simple sorting capabilities, without resorting to elaborate spreadsheet programs. I enjoy importing scanned graphics and digital photos into text with simple “copy and paste” commands. AND those graphics can be enhanced with shadows or frames. Then, too, I just started using the “comment” feature, which allows me to insert temporary notes to myself as I work on a document.

In Reunion, the Mac genealogy program, I find new things all the time. There is a Log which allows for quick notes to oneself about future research; there is the Multimedia button, for importing illustrations; also there are many ways to customise displays and printouts to suit specific needs. Every such genealogy program has special applications -- we only need to discover them!

One thing I have learned is this: don’t be misled by the labels. My printer driver, for instance, has a button for “Layout.” Inside this is a menu which includes choices of print quality.
Doesn’t seem intuitive to me. So try everything, even when it doesn’t seem logical.

*********

A thought for the day: starting in on a new project, genealogical or otherwise, I sometimes discover an earlier attempt: a printed outline, memo to myself, or serious plan of attack. (Totally forgotten, of course) From now on I am going to DATE every such piece of writing! It would be so helpful to know when a particular idea first came to mind -- and how far I got with it. It might even save some needless duplication.

*********

Don’t forget the new NBC series, “Who Do You Think You Are?” The first program airs March 5.

Back to basics

It is so heartening to see a friend or relative develop an interest in family history. Even a mild exposure to matters genealogical can inspire him or her to take the plunge.

Have you seen this happen? If so, you surely understand the importance of getting the eager beginner started on the right track, with a few basic ground rules. We see in these newcomers what happened to us, and we’d like to keep them from making the same old mistakes. So, today, I’d like to bring out some starting-gate guidelines and discuss them a bit. They were hard won, after all, from the experiences of a lot of old-timers.

First, to start out right, it is really best to work from the current generation back in time (“from the known to the unknown”). Trying to prove direct descent from some long-ago individual by starting with her or him is simply going to get the researcher bogged down. (Although it might be wise to confirm that this person of interest actually had descendants.)

Second, it is vital NOT to accept other people's family trees as uncontestably valid just because they are in print, or posted online! I cringe to hear people say “I got my information from this huge family chart on a great-looking website.” Or, “Oh, I don’t need work on that line -- my aunt already did that side of our family.” OK, even if her surmises were basically correct, how much of the family did she cover, on what did she base her conclusions, and what has happened since she wrote her final words?

As for “finding it on the Internet,” don’t get me started. Digging into the past has certainly been simplified by the advent of computer communication, digitization of public records, and access to other researchers via email, but the same ease of use has enabled a whole host of hearsay, honest errors, wishful thinking and just plain fakery to be put out there for the unwary.

Whenever one retrieves any published or unpublished genealogy, it is important consider whether its statements are supported by references, or even a hint about sources. And if an “expert” claims to trace his ancestry back to Adam, we need to plug our ears! Along the same lines, newbies must be warned not to fall for the mail-order scams that claim to have their ancestry already neatly written up, complete with coats of arms. In a word, baloney.

Third, it is helpful for the would-be family historian to decide right at the start what it is she really wants to achieve. Even if the overall goal is to find out as much as possible about all one’s ancestors (a tall order), the project is best looked at as a series of much smaller steps. Filling out a pedigree chart -- starting with the researcher -- with as much information as one has (even hearsay -- this is just the beginning, not for publication!) helps expose the gaps, and shows some good starting points. Where did Grandma die? When? Where is she buried? For that matter, where was she born?

Then, a family group sheet can be filled out for each ancestral couple, which will bring in the aunts and uncles and cousins. Again, the gaps will make themselves known.

These two basic charts will form the underlying structure for the beginner’s project, allowing for the entry of names, places, and dates. All the facts. But an interesting thing happens when the research begins -- stories emerge. A relative’s birthplace, different from that of his younger siblings, tells of a likely family migration. A cousin’s death in 1918 puts a human face on the great flu epidemic.

These are the absolute basics for getting off to a good start. Don’t we wish we had made our first moves into this amazing hobby in such an orderly fashion!