Thursday, May 23, 2019
Advice #8: Societies
Returning to historical and genealogical societies: Join a local, regional or national society, or a combination of the three. Membership is generally reasonable and discounts are available on programs and products. Some of the societies will sponsor research trips to nearby research libraries, Salt Lake City or overseas venues. Most will offer speakers.
Advise #7: Software
Investigate the various family tree software programs that are available. Family Search [LDS], Ancestry, My Heritage, Find My Past, American Ancestors and other research sites have the capacity to host family trees. Using one of these can make your tree available for others to view.
You should have your data on a personal software program as well. There are several available to download for free, others are offered for a fee.
Among the highest rated are RootsMagic, Family Tree Builder, Family Tree Maker, Family Historian and Legacy.
Investigate the various software programs online.
You should have your data on a personal software program as well. There are several available to download for free, others are offered for a fee.
Among the highest rated are RootsMagic, Family Tree Builder, Family Tree Maker, Family Historian and Legacy.
Investigate the various software programs online.
Advice #6: Filing
Come up with a filing system for your research material.
Read articles or books on filing systems of others and then modify to suit your needs.
File folders work well. Some people digitize everything and keep it on their computer.
Read articles or books on filing systems of others and then modify to suit your needs.
File folders work well. Some people digitize everything and keep it on their computer.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Advice #5: Document! Document! Document!
Documentation of sources is key to successful research!
Document:
1] Write the date, location and source of each document you find, be it probate, deed, vital record or map. Write the info on the back of each document.
2] Identify photos! On the back or on a note card write who or what is in the photo, when it was taken, by whom it was taken [if possible], who provided the photo.
3] Family trees: identify the source of each birth, marriage and death date for each person on the tree.
4] Local histories, genealogies, etc.: Make a hard copy of each page, write the title, author, publisher, place and date of publication, and page number. Better yet, copy the title page!
5] Family lore and interviews: Write down who said, when they said it and who told it to them.
Document:
1] Write the date, location and source of each document you find, be it probate, deed, vital record or map. Write the info on the back of each document.
2] Identify photos! On the back or on a note card write who or what is in the photo, when it was taken, by whom it was taken [if possible], who provided the photo.
3] Family trees: identify the source of each birth, marriage and death date for each person on the tree.
4] Local histories, genealogies, etc.: Make a hard copy of each page, write the title, author, publisher, place and date of publication, and page number. Better yet, copy the title page!
5] Family lore and interviews: Write down who said, when they said it and who told it to them.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Advice #4: Check into local opportunities
Many cities and towns have a genealogical or historical society. They generally have a research library. You can volunteer to help man the library, answer research queries, or some other activity. Many local organizations have monthly meetings with speakers brought in on various topics.
Help out or attend the meetings.
Help out or attend the meetings.
Friday, May 17, 2019
Advice #3: Attend a conference
There are several state, regional and national conferences available for researchers of all skill level to attend.
At the national level there are two major conferences: National Genealogical Society and Federation of Genealogical Societies are the sponsors. These conferences are held in different locales each year to give attendees the opportunity to visit area research facilities before or after the conference. Salt Lake City [UT], Fort Wayne [IN], Orlando [FL], Pittsburgh [PA], Nashville [TN], Chicago [IL], San Antonio [TX] and St. Charles [MO] are among the cities that have hosted these conferences.
There are pre-conference activities held on Wednesday [workshops, research at local libraries, etc.] with sessions beginning on Thursday running through Saturday. Nationally known speakers head up the sessions. Special tracks focusing on regional topics are held as well. [Midwest research at Ft. Wayne, for example.] A banquet is held on Friday evening. A wide variety of vendors are available.
Regional and state conferences have a much narrower focus. The Ohio Genealogical Society Conference, for example, highlights Ohio Valley topics. Vendors tend to be fewer nd more localized.
The New England Historic and Genealogical Society sponsors week long and weekend conferences in Boston throughout the year. NEHGS also sponsors research trips to Salt Lake, Ireland, England and other places during the year. Occasionally, NEHGS sponsors a one or two day conference in other cities.
The Utah Gen. Society hosts the Salt Lake Institute in January each year offering as many as 12 tracks varying from Beginning Research, to German Research, Advanced Research, Writing Family Histories, etc. It is a 5 day conference with sessions scheduled throughout the day, special classes or research opportunities at the FHL in the evening.
Try attending a national or local conference at least once. Give NEHGS, SLIG or another "institute" format a try as well. All will give you a great learning opportunity and a chance to network with other researchers.
At the national level there are two major conferences: National Genealogical Society and Federation of Genealogical Societies are the sponsors. These conferences are held in different locales each year to give attendees the opportunity to visit area research facilities before or after the conference. Salt Lake City [UT], Fort Wayne [IN], Orlando [FL], Pittsburgh [PA], Nashville [TN], Chicago [IL], San Antonio [TX] and St. Charles [MO] are among the cities that have hosted these conferences.
There are pre-conference activities held on Wednesday [workshops, research at local libraries, etc.] with sessions beginning on Thursday running through Saturday. Nationally known speakers head up the sessions. Special tracks focusing on regional topics are held as well. [Midwest research at Ft. Wayne, for example.] A banquet is held on Friday evening. A wide variety of vendors are available.
Regional and state conferences have a much narrower focus. The Ohio Genealogical Society Conference, for example, highlights Ohio Valley topics. Vendors tend to be fewer nd more localized.
The New England Historic and Genealogical Society sponsors week long and weekend conferences in Boston throughout the year. NEHGS also sponsors research trips to Salt Lake, Ireland, England and other places during the year. Occasionally, NEHGS sponsors a one or two day conference in other cities.
The Utah Gen. Society hosts the Salt Lake Institute in January each year offering as many as 12 tracks varying from Beginning Research, to German Research, Advanced Research, Writing Family Histories, etc. It is a 5 day conference with sessions scheduled throughout the day, special classes or research opportunities at the FHL in the evening.
Try attending a national or local conference at least once. Give NEHGS, SLIG or another "institute" format a try as well. All will give you a great learning opportunity and a chance to network with other researchers.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Adivce 2: Collecting Ancestors vs. Collecting Ancestral Stories
Having all of the branches on the family tree filled with names is the goal of every family historian. However "collecting ancestors" should not be your goal. Some people are only interested in the begats, but wouldn't telling each person's story be more interesting?
Try to flesh out each person's story with as much detail as possible, even if it means including family lore. [Be sure to note that family lore is just that.] Include birth, death, marriage, occupation, residence and the like.
Write up a bio of each individual. It may be two sentences, it may be two pages. Try to bring the ancestors to life with their stories. Add pictures of the person, family, his/her home, map of the town[s] in which they lived, anything that adds to the story, if you can find them.
Try to flesh out each person's story with as much detail as possible, even if it means including family lore. [Be sure to note that family lore is just that.] Include birth, death, marriage, occupation, residence and the like.
Write up a bio of each individual. It may be two sentences, it may be two pages. Try to bring the ancestors to life with their stories. Add pictures of the person, family, his/her home, map of the town[s] in which they lived, anything that adds to the story, if you can find them.
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