Genealogy Goulash
Lessons Learned
by Paula Stuart-Warren, CGRS
I recently returned
from Nashville, Tennessee, where I attended the National Genealogical
Society Conference. It was a great conference on both a personal and educational
level. It was also a great conference in terms of this column. Many readers
did introduce themselves to me. It is so nice to hear that you enjoy reading
Ancestry Daily News columns.
Listening to questions presented at the end of my lectures and in-between sessions generated some thought processes for me. People often ask where I get my ideas for this column. They pop up anywhere, anytime, and from many people. I have been known to pull off the road into a parking lot and jot down column thoughts that are running through my mind. Here are some of the thoughts generated at the conference.
No Matter Where You Are
One of the great things about wearing name tags at this event was that your city and state were on it. Several people noted that I was from the Midwest and had Midwestern genealogy questions for me. I also saw the localities that others were from and asked them some questions. I learned about some research repositories that I wanted to visit and will now follow up by checking their websites.
Reinforcing Basics
I was reminded about such things as spelling and pronunciation variations. Have a youngster spell a name that you pronounce for them. Have someone who speaks a language related to your ancestor pronounce the surname for which you are trying to figure out spelling variations. I am going to re-evaluate some of the surnames in my family and my oldest granddaughter will soon be spelling for me!
Another speaker reminded me that the route we take to locate information is as important as what we end up finding.
Maps
Several
speakers stressed the importance of consulting maps in our research process.
I keep maps and atlases handy in my genealogy work area, and also have
reduced size maps of ancestral localities with me when I research on-site.
I appreciate the historical maps I find at Ancestry.com and at the Library
of Congress website (www.loc.gov). I
scour used bookstores and garage sales for old atlases.
Religion
At
one of the luncheons, I overheard one woman say that her family has always
been Lutheran. It could be true, at least as far back as the early 1500s,
the time of Martin Luther. I shudder to think that if the woman's family
really wasn't Lutheran for all the time since then, she is likely missing
some research resources. It could be that when her family moved to a new
area, there wasn't yet a Lutheran church or even a minister. Until the
minister arrived, might they have had their first two children christened
by the clergy member of another religious denomination? Reading county
histories, older newspapers, and church histories can often give us clues
to the first dates of establishment for specific religious denomination
in an area.
Locality Histories
Several speakers mentioned the importance of reading town, city, county, state, provincial, and other locality based histories. Too often we check the table of contents and the main names index, and skip the text if we don't find a surname of interest. Check for a history online or in a library, and skim through the books. Learn more about the area, the events, the movers and shakers, and the disasters. You might find discussion of organizations to which an ancestor belonged, the names of early cemeteries, or a list of area military personnel for a specific war. These names do not always appear in the index.
Review Process
You have likely read Ancestry Daily News columns that stress the importance of reviewing the family history materials you have already gathered. In several lectures I heard about the results following that advice. For one person, it turned out that the answer to a puzzling question was lurking in materials she had not reviewed in over three years. Another lecturer showed how a step-by-step research plan was easily developed as the review occurred.
The MyFamily.com Booth
I have a secret to tell. Several times during the conference, I stood back a bit and watched attendees walk up to the MyFamily.com exhibit area. There they learned more about the databases at Ancestry.com and other products. Those staffing the booth were right there to help people. I overheard one of these helpful folks reminding someone to go back and check their surnames at Ancestry.com to see what new “hits” appear. This is a good lesson for all of us. When my Ancestry Daily News arrives, I always look at the “New Records at Ancestry.com” in the upper right hand corner of the opening screen. Even if I think the new records may not pertain to my family, I should still be checking for some of my more unusual family surnames. Additionally, I think I need to schedule some time each month to re-check names in the databases.
One more thing I observed was staff from other vendor booths occasionally bringing their customers over to the MyFamily.com booth to show them something online at Ancestry.com--a testament to the value of the information.
Tools
Several lecturers talked about using the wonderful tools we have for family history research. These included printed and online family histories and record indexes. They reminded us that we still need to check actual records or microfilms to verify details, spelling, and to be sure that all important information has been extracted. These same instructors emphasized the positive value of the printed and online works and how we definitely need to use them, but we also need to understand their limitations.
Our Next Tasks
These apply to both you and me:
- Re-check names in online databases and do this regularly.
- Ask someone else to spell a name we pronounce.
- Ask someone who speaks another language to pronounce surnames.
- Review what we already have and develop a list of next research steps.
- Go online to learn more about what different libraries, historical societies, and archives may have for our family history search.
- Study maps and make copies of pertinent maps for quick reference.
- Learn about other religions in ancestral areas.
- Continue to educate ourselves.
Paula Stuart-Warren, CGRS, is a professional genealogist, consultant, writer, and lecturer. She has lectured all across the U.S. and coordinates the Intermediate Course, American Records & Research at the annual Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. She is co-author of Your Guide to the Family History Library and an author for genealogical periodicals including Ancestry Magazine. She is a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota and spends many weeks each year at the Family History Library and the U.S. National Archives. Her roots include ancestors from seven different countries and researching them has given her broad experience and an occasional headache or two. Comments will reach her at PSWResearch@comcast.net Paula is unable to answer individual genealogical research inquiries due to the volume of requests received.
Upcoming Appearances by Paula Stuart-Warren
(I enjoy meeting readers at these events.)
- September 7, 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah
Association of Professional Genealogists Professional Management Conference
(www.apgen.org)
- September 7-11, 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah
Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference
(www.fgs.org)
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