Still having a hard time thinking it is 2015. Planning on have having many things continue from 2014 and start up some new things moving forward.
The first thing that I will be continuing is taking on new projects with clients. With some of my changes and the completion of the Wanzek project I will have more time to do this. Love helping others put the pieces of their family puzzles together.
I will continue to participate heavily in Social Media in the Genealogy world. It will continue to grow as time goes by and I plan on being a part of it. Would like to do some Webinars coming up this year. Will be doing one in May for the Florida Genealogical Society. Looking forward to it.
Continue to do speaking at various locations. Enjoy this a great deal and I learn a lot as well from the folks in the audience.
This year I am also going to be putting together some help guides on doing your research. It will cover a variety of subjects. The blogs will also be included more regularly in my daily work.
Continue to expand my work with the Social Workers to identify families. This has been very rewarding.
Finally I will start teaching again at some point here in the Toledo area. Have had three people respond to my post. If you would like to contact me directly on this I can be reached at daveyderek@gmail.com.
Look forward to hearing from you and again Happy New Year.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Thursday, January 1, 2015
New Year 2015
Happy New Year.
Well I have moved out of another past year and into a new one. Things were exciting in 2014 and I had many accomplishments.
The biggest one for me was finishing the Wanzek project. This was the complete family history that spanned from the 1700's in Germany, Holland and Poland to 2014. The family came to the United States in the latter half of the 1900's locating in Minnesota. Half the family shortly after arrival would move to North Dakota. Amazing the hardships and the challenges these families had to survive in a very under populated area of the United States. The project lasted for two years and will culminate in the publishing of a genealogy this year.
Secondly I was hired by Seneca Social Services to help in the location of family members for the possible connection to children that are in the process of going in to the foster system or have reached the age of eighteen. This has been a fascinating way to use my genealogy skills to help others. It has opened my eyes to the many problems in the Social Services System. The people that work in Social Services face many unique challenges on a daily basis. Not to mention what the children go through.
Thirdly, I continued to do my talks across the Tri State area. Lapeer was a highlight as usual. Enjoyed speaking on behalf of the Ohio Genealogical Society for their chapter training. Look forward to participating again this year. Teaching at the OGS library was also a highlight.
I also had some things that changed. The largest one was the discontinuation of my teaching at Lourdes. This was sad for me. I had been teaching there for four years. Hard to believe that people were not interested in learning more about their families history. Finally I discontinues administering the Indiana, Michigan and Ohio Genealogy research communities. Learned a lot from this experience and hope to use some of these skills moving forward.
Excited to see what lies ahead in 2015, but I will save that for tomorrow.
As always please share your thoughts and ideas.
Well I have moved out of another past year and into a new one. Things were exciting in 2014 and I had many accomplishments.
The biggest one for me was finishing the Wanzek project. This was the complete family history that spanned from the 1700's in Germany, Holland and Poland to 2014. The family came to the United States in the latter half of the 1900's locating in Minnesota. Half the family shortly after arrival would move to North Dakota. Amazing the hardships and the challenges these families had to survive in a very under populated area of the United States. The project lasted for two years and will culminate in the publishing of a genealogy this year.
Secondly I was hired by Seneca Social Services to help in the location of family members for the possible connection to children that are in the process of going in to the foster system or have reached the age of eighteen. This has been a fascinating way to use my genealogy skills to help others. It has opened my eyes to the many problems in the Social Services System. The people that work in Social Services face many unique challenges on a daily basis. Not to mention what the children go through.
Thirdly, I continued to do my talks across the Tri State area. Lapeer was a highlight as usual. Enjoyed speaking on behalf of the Ohio Genealogical Society for their chapter training. Look forward to participating again this year. Teaching at the OGS library was also a highlight.
I also had some things that changed. The largest one was the discontinuation of my teaching at Lourdes. This was sad for me. I had been teaching there for four years. Hard to believe that people were not interested in learning more about their families history. Finally I discontinues administering the Indiana, Michigan and Ohio Genealogy research communities. Learned a lot from this experience and hope to use some of these skills moving forward.
Excited to see what lies ahead in 2015, but I will save that for tomorrow.
As always please share your thoughts and ideas.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Have you done your homework?
When resolving those brick walls that we all get in our genealogy a big mistake by many genealogist is not doing their homework, coming up with a plan and then following it. Genealogist spend a great deal of wasted time of not looking at the full picture.
The first step in resolving your brickwall is to determine what you are actually looking for with your ancestor. Make sure you are specific on what you are attempting to learn. Broad goals although helpful do not normally help in resolving brick walls. Evaluate what you have already found and where you have looked to resolve this problem. Don't assume you have looked at everything. Don't think you are the expert. When we do this it closes are thoughts to new sources. One example of this is Family Search that adds almost five million new sources a week.
Check to see what information is available to help you with your problem. Read on the subject on the Internet. Create a library of books that will help you in these situations. Attend local meetings and share with those in the group what you are dealing with. Watch videos or participate in online seminars. The chances for further learning are endless. It is also constantly changing. Don't assume you have looked everywhere. Educating yourself to new sources and methods is critical to your genealogy success.
Make a list of sources or records that you can consult to resolve your problem. Make sure you are able to find sources that help you. You won't find a vital record other than marriage in Michigan prior to 1850, because they just weren't kept. You are going to have to look in other sources. Cemetery markers, death notices, probate, guardianship and military records to name a few.
Put the problem away for a while a come back to it. In my own research fresh eyes looking at the problem allows me to look for new ways to resolve the problem.
Remember all the answers are not always on the Internet. Majority of records are still offline. Make a phone call write a letter. These methods still work and are often the only way to find new information.
Make sure to document what you have found and sources that you did not find the information. Many times records that don't make sense now will make more sense as we find more information.
More on this topic later. As always I look forward to your thoughts and ideas.
The first step in resolving your brickwall is to determine what you are actually looking for with your ancestor. Make sure you are specific on what you are attempting to learn. Broad goals although helpful do not normally help in resolving brick walls. Evaluate what you have already found and where you have looked to resolve this problem. Don't assume you have looked at everything. Don't think you are the expert. When we do this it closes are thoughts to new sources. One example of this is Family Search that adds almost five million new sources a week.
Check to see what information is available to help you with your problem. Read on the subject on the Internet. Create a library of books that will help you in these situations. Attend local meetings and share with those in the group what you are dealing with. Watch videos or participate in online seminars. The chances for further learning are endless. It is also constantly changing. Don't assume you have looked everywhere. Educating yourself to new sources and methods is critical to your genealogy success.
Make a list of sources or records that you can consult to resolve your problem. Make sure you are able to find sources that help you. You won't find a vital record other than marriage in Michigan prior to 1850, because they just weren't kept. You are going to have to look in other sources. Cemetery markers, death notices, probate, guardianship and military records to name a few.
Put the problem away for a while a come back to it. In my own research fresh eyes looking at the problem allows me to look for new ways to resolve the problem.
Remember all the answers are not always on the Internet. Majority of records are still offline. Make a phone call write a letter. These methods still work and are often the only way to find new information.
Make sure to document what you have found and sources that you did not find the information. Many times records that don't make sense now will make more sense as we find more information.
More on this topic later. As always I look forward to your thoughts and ideas.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Do you source your Genealogy? Why not?
A great problem in Genealogy is the inability by Genealogist of the present and the past to document their work. Without the ability to show on what you base your lineage you are failing others that may want to use your genealogy currently and in the future. Not to mention failing yourself.
In the past there has been a great deal of genealogy that has not been sourced. Just because it is in a book or magazine does not make it right. There are numerous examples of research that was wrong that was passed from one publication to the next. Eventually it was excepted as fact, because it appeared in so many different places. The saying use to go that a professional genealogist could have you related to anyone you want as long as you have the money. No George Washington did not have children.
The Daughters of the Revolution had this problem in their past and now face the challenge of correcting it. Many patriots were confirmed as such without documentation. Today to join you must document your lineage to the patriot. In many cases lineages that were accepted in the old days are now rejected due to lack of documentation and for being wrong.
Ancestry appears on the scene in the late 90's and has nothing to do with documentation. I am always struck by the number of lineages on Ancestry that have no sourcing what so ever. Then on top of it 100 people claim that lineage as correct based on what? Either we are to lazy to source or we don't know how. Not real sure which one it is or it may even be something else.
I run into people all the time asking me how do I get them to correct a record on the Internet. They become very angry and don't understand how this could be allowed to happen. Then they have no problem using a lineage that has no documentation as correct. What's wrong with that picture?
My advice for all of us is to document and source our research. Try to identify at least three records to prove each event and fact. Make sure the document you are using is the best available record to use as a source. Census records do not prove birth or locations. Bible entries do.
Today's computer technology allows us to do the sourcing. If you are on Ancestry or Family Search sites now allow you to source your material. It is even put in the proper format for you to enter in your genealogy program. Don't be lazy do it. Nothing is more frustrating than when you come back to line after not working on it for a while and you wonder, "how did I come up with that?". Imagine future genealogist trying to figure out the same thing. How did they come up with that.
As always I appreciate your ideas and input. Keep hunting.
In the past there has been a great deal of genealogy that has not been sourced. Just because it is in a book or magazine does not make it right. There are numerous examples of research that was wrong that was passed from one publication to the next. Eventually it was excepted as fact, because it appeared in so many different places. The saying use to go that a professional genealogist could have you related to anyone you want as long as you have the money. No George Washington did not have children.
The Daughters of the Revolution had this problem in their past and now face the challenge of correcting it. Many patriots were confirmed as such without documentation. Today to join you must document your lineage to the patriot. In many cases lineages that were accepted in the old days are now rejected due to lack of documentation and for being wrong.
Ancestry appears on the scene in the late 90's and has nothing to do with documentation. I am always struck by the number of lineages on Ancestry that have no sourcing what so ever. Then on top of it 100 people claim that lineage as correct based on what? Either we are to lazy to source or we don't know how. Not real sure which one it is or it may even be something else.
I run into people all the time asking me how do I get them to correct a record on the Internet. They become very angry and don't understand how this could be allowed to happen. Then they have no problem using a lineage that has no documentation as correct. What's wrong with that picture?
My advice for all of us is to document and source our research. Try to identify at least three records to prove each event and fact. Make sure the document you are using is the best available record to use as a source. Census records do not prove birth or locations. Bible entries do.
Today's computer technology allows us to do the sourcing. If you are on Ancestry or Family Search sites now allow you to source your material. It is even put in the proper format for you to enter in your genealogy program. Don't be lazy do it. Nothing is more frustrating than when you come back to line after not working on it for a while and you wonder, "how did I come up with that?". Imagine future genealogist trying to figure out the same thing. How did they come up with that.
As always I appreciate your ideas and input. Keep hunting.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Why is genealogy sometimes so hard to share?
I am always struck by in the process of researching your family it is often so hard to share information with other researchers. Numerous times in my thirty plus years of doing research I have come across other researchers that have information I would like to have and I am willing to share what I have. Then when I go to do it many factors come into play.
The first one that frustrates me the most is the large amount of dead emails. Don't know what we are going to do when the researchers are gone. Collaboration comes to a end. The ability to share records and compare notes is not longer possible. There are lot's of situations like this. Couple of examples would be on Rootsweb and Ancestry. Many have lineages that make sense and are something that I want to learn more about, but you get no response or the dreaded mailer demon. So very frustrating.
The second one is when you do get a response and you find they have based their family line on thin air. Beware the shaking leaf. Just because 100 people have confirmed a lineage without any sources does not make that family line right. It is sad to think the quality of the research is very low when you don't have sources. Some people have very good genealogies, but when you do not source it how are we suppose to trust it. Simple lesson here is don't trust unsourced work. Do your work and use sources.
The third problem is when you contact someone and they have lots of information and they do not want to share at all. I have an example of this in my own family. Cousins have inherited the family history items over the years, but do not share the same surname. My father and I have tried several times to set up a meeting with them. In one instance they canceled at the last minute when we were driving to their home which is over three hours away. Don't understand what they feel they have to protect. My fear one day is that it's going to run into people that don't know what it is and it ends up in the dumpster.
The fourth problem is when someone is out purposely changing genealogy or copying other's work. I heard of a incident recently where a person not even related to the people was copying their pictures on Find A Grave and then changing the names. Then the person would repost it so they had control. The ramifications long term make my head spin. What are future researchers going to do? Does this happen on Ancestry and other genealogy sites?
Would love to hear your stories on this subject. As always thank you for visiting.
The first one that frustrates me the most is the large amount of dead emails. Don't know what we are going to do when the researchers are gone. Collaboration comes to a end. The ability to share records and compare notes is not longer possible. There are lot's of situations like this. Couple of examples would be on Rootsweb and Ancestry. Many have lineages that make sense and are something that I want to learn more about, but you get no response or the dreaded mailer demon. So very frustrating.
The second one is when you do get a response and you find they have based their family line on thin air. Beware the shaking leaf. Just because 100 people have confirmed a lineage without any sources does not make that family line right. It is sad to think the quality of the research is very low when you don't have sources. Some people have very good genealogies, but when you do not source it how are we suppose to trust it. Simple lesson here is don't trust unsourced work. Do your work and use sources.
The third problem is when you contact someone and they have lots of information and they do not want to share at all. I have an example of this in my own family. Cousins have inherited the family history items over the years, but do not share the same surname. My father and I have tried several times to set up a meeting with them. In one instance they canceled at the last minute when we were driving to their home which is over three hours away. Don't understand what they feel they have to protect. My fear one day is that it's going to run into people that don't know what it is and it ends up in the dumpster.
The fourth problem is when someone is out purposely changing genealogy or copying other's work. I heard of a incident recently where a person not even related to the people was copying their pictures on Find A Grave and then changing the names. Then the person would repost it so they had control. The ramifications long term make my head spin. What are future researchers going to do? Does this happen on Ancestry and other genealogy sites?
Would love to hear your stories on this subject. As always thank you for visiting.
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