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Genealogy Goulash
More Homebound Research Tips
by Paula Stuart Warren
I struck an important cord with many readers in my January 12th column about homebound researchers. Here are just a few comments I heard from readers:
Before and After Computers
Here's one story that was shared: "My mother-in-law's address book provided several family members who I did not know, but who were part of the family I was then researching. I reached a woman in her 80s who was the last person in her family with the information I needed. She responded with a short, brusque note saying that everyone was gone, her children did not talk to her anymore and, "I don't know nothing about the family.' It was a depressing note. However, a couple of months later at Easter, I sent a card and said that I hoped she was doing well. I asked no more questions. She responded saying that it was good to hear from another Christian woman. We wrote for a couple of years until her death. I never asked questions, but she gave me many answers as she told me about her years growing up, her brothers and sisters, and even her children. Sometimes it takes a bit of kindness and a lot of patience to flesh out the family tree.
"Using the computer, I went to the web page of a local library in the town my cousin Bill was raised in. He was killed at age 18 in WWII and I could not find much information or any picture. I asked the research librarian if they had yearbooks for the high schools in the area. I received some clippings and a copy of a yearbook page. She could not find a picture of Bill but did send me the yearbook page with his sister's photo. She also sent a couple of newspaper clippings about Bill and his death in the Hawaiian Islands. One of the clippings had his picture!"
More Electronic Suggestions
Another reader "at home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest" wrote, "Computers are great for making contacts as well as finding databases. Leaving a message on a county genealogy web page in Iowa brought me death information and newspaper clippings that I might never have found on my own. The gentleman who responded actually went out and looked at the cemetery to see if my great-great-great-grandfather was buried there and then found supporting information about him. I had just asked if there were any cemetery indexes! I am not housebound or in a rural area but have a retired husband who has really limited my onsite research."
More Equipment
A fellow Minnesotan shared, "Something that I have found to be a "must" in my at-home research is a microfilm/fiche reader. I can borrow films of Norwegian parish records on microfilm from the Vesterheim Genealogical Center in Madison, Wisconsin but there are lots of other things available by rent or purchase on film -- church records, newspapers, and census records are the ones that quickly come to mind."
You may be able to find a business or school in your area that is getting rid of older film or fiche readers. Let your relatives know you are on the look-out for a reader.
Message Boards
Another tip: "I'm not particularly home bound, but don't get out much. I have found that my two most valuable research methods are using ALL the message boards I can find that may apply to my questions, and finding other libraries in the vicinity of my research. I contact those libraries and ask who is most experienced in doing genealogical research, and get an e-mail address if they have one. I've got a few people now that I can e-mail directly with questions or requests, and I've been astounded at how much help they can be and how willing they are to do what you need. Sometimes, they ask for a donation, which is totally agreeable to me! I've also found that if I keep asking questions on message boards, usually someone will answer. I even had one lady in New York that signed herself off as being from "friendly western New York.' And boy, was she a dear. She even traveled to local museums, genealogical societies, and a cemetery with her camera for me! She did more research than I would have even asked for, and sent me a picture of where my grandmother's last brother was buried. No stone, but she found the location anyway, and took a picture."
Kindness in Genealogy
Another reader wrote, "Speaking of random acts of genealogical kindness, a wonderful woman who happened to own the microfilmed archives of a newspaper from the 1890s in Gann Valley, South Dakota (her father had been the editor) transcribed all the MANY references to my grandfather and his family, who lived there during that time, and sent them to me, as well as copies of the ads from the paper mentioning my great-grandfather's store. She contacted me via a message board posting I had made. It still amazes me that she would go to all that trouble. It amounted to 27 pages of articles, covering eight years, and she typed all of it after reading through all of the issues to find it!"
I would be remiss if I didn't remind readers that it is OK to ask for source citations for material that others share with you or find on your behalf.
Use Regular Mail
Here is another good suggestion: "Write to libraries, city clerks, etc. I am pretty savvy with a computer, but I still write letters to libraries for copies of obits, to city clerks for copies of vital records, to the Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston for witnesses and sponsors at weddings and baptisms. You can write to historical societies and local genealogical societies with queries. People seem to think everything is online. It's not. Your suggestion to use the USGenWeb sites was great. The amount of info for a given county varies widely, but it is a great starting point to find out when the county was formed, what records exist, and usually a list of volunteers for lookups. Worst case you can e-mail the county or town coordinator and ask for help. Most of the sites have addresses for vital records, historical societies, etc."
Caretakers
Other homebound researchers care for a family member. As one reader wrote, "Most mornings I am able to sit down at our computer with a cup of coffee and read the Ancestry Daily newsletter. I am no longer able to get to the library or courthouses as I am caring for our son who has ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). I don't miss getting out to do genealogy because I have Ancestry.com and the net. I have been able to do so much research right from our home and the Daily News has given me so much new information and places to look--not to mention the therapeutic aspects of not feeling deprived."
Bottom Line
We can learn much from each other. We are not alone in our research. We must not forget to recheck indexes, websites, and books. We must be proactive in sharing family history. We must understand if someone is not able to assist in our research. We must respect the record keepers and the level of help they are able to provide. We must have patience. And we do have to spend a few dollars every so often to obtain some family details. All in all, we are part of a pretty neat community.
Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, 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 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, U.S. National Archives, and New England Historic Genealogical Society. Her roots include ancestors from seven different countries and researching them has given her broad experience and an occasional headache or two. Researching the families of the in-laws and out-laws her children and niece have added to the family has proven to be refreshing and exciting. Comments will reach her at PSWResearch@comcast.net; howver, Paula is unable to answer individual genealogical research inquiries due to the volume of requests received. From time to time comments from readers may be quoted in her columns. She will not use your name but may use your place of residence (i.e. St. Paul, MN).
Copyright 2006, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.
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