Ancestry Magazine

Have you considered making a list of your 2003 New Year’s resolutions for your family history projects?

This is the time of year when it seems everyone is telling us what resolutions we need to make in order to improve our lives for the next year. You’ve undoubtedly noticed the magazine racks at the grocery store stating clever new ways to determine your best New Years resolutions. We thought we could do the same with a slant for busy family historians.

You may want to adopt our goals, or alter them to fit your own needs. If nothing else, we hope these ideas will be the driving force to helping you think about your family history goals for 2003. To make it easier for you, we’ve provided a place to record your goals on the following page.

Resolution 1
If you are just becoming interested in genealogy, waste no more time. Now is the perfect time to get started on your research! If you’ve already begun, re-examine your current research project. If you’ve done some research in the past few years but let it slip, pick it up and get going again. We began our own research in 1968, but there have been several stretches of time when we have put the project aside. Regardless of the reason for tabling your research, dig it out of your desk, dust it off, fire up the computer, and get at it again. Resolution 2
Focus on a set of genealogical records that could prove useful in your research. The building blocks of genealogical research are vital records, census records, immigration and naturalization records, military records, land records, and probate records. If you have not tapped into one of these fundamental sources of data, make this the year to do so. If you are unfamiliar with the optimal use of these records, find a good book on the topic, get past articles from a genealogical magazine such as Ancestry that cover the topic, or take a course from your local genealogical society or adult education program.

Our own resolution is to turn to the 1930 census and locate data on each of our four sets of grandparents. Information we learn from this source will add depth to what we already know and will make for some interesting conversation with our family when we get together with them.

Resolution 3
Travel to an ancestral hometown. For many of us, the reality of our lives is that we live away from the home of our ancestors. While this is the case, that doesn’t mean we can’t return to any one of the cities or towns in which our ancestors lived. Home is a great place to rejuvenate your research project since it is where you can most easily pick up the ancestral trail.

In our case, it has been over thirty years since we visited several of our ancestral towns. With the increased interest in genealogy during that time, there is sure to be new data that could prove useful to our research. Primary source material can best be found where it is kept–at the town or county level. And only a trip to these locations can truly provide all the data they have to offer. In addition to valuable data, such a trip will add local flavor to our research project.

Resolution 4
Find the source for the undocumented material in your research project. One of the cardinal sins of genealogy research is failing to document the sources. It is essential that we re-examine any undocumented data and seek to correct the situation. Look carefully at every date, place, and anecdotal note in your research and document the source of that data.

We were very guilty of not listing our sources, especially in the early years of our research. Looking back on that data now, it seems suspect. Where did that birth date come from? How did we know this individual was buried where we have noted? Where did we learn that that mark was what he used to identify his sheep? Without accurate documentation, the information will remain suspect and virtually worthless to anyone who might lo ok at our material in the future. The genealogist’s worst nightmare is spending hours researching the wrong family. Solid documentation assures us that we are indeed “barking up the right tree.”

Resolution 5
Scan, identify, and archive the family photos. Some of our most valued treasures are the old family photos that are sitting in an album or box somewhere. They are more than just pictures; they are the proof that our older relatives and ancestors really did exist and that they lived full lives. These pictures often show our ancestors at important points in their lives–the weddings, the family reunions, the fun vacations, and the holidays.

Within the past five years, we have cataloged more than 400 family photos. But we have lost a little momentum for this project and we still have an equal or greater amount of pictures that remain unorganized. We want to continue this task.

Resolution 6
Attend a family reunion and make it a point to share your research at the event. There is nothing a genealogist enjoys more than a good family reunion. These gatherings provide an ideal opportunity to update the family record and gather new information (or at least a new lead).

Our reaction upon learning of a forthcoming family reunion is to pull out all the relevant family group sheets and grab a pencil. We have found most of our relatives to be more than willing to discuss the happenings in their families. So let’s make this the year we attend a family gathering and make sharing the family history a focal point.

Resolution 7
Spend more time doing genealogy research on the Internet. Nothing has changed the face of genealogy the way the Internet has. Now more than ever the information revolution has descended on our hobby and changed it forever. In some instances, people bemoan technology and the change that accompanies it. As a result, they dream of returning to a simpler time. But this should not be the case with the Internet, which has positively changed genealogy. Now, genealogical research and the information that feeds it are more accessible than ever. If there is a criticism, it is that there is too much information to weed through. Can you imagine that? Too much information for a genealogist?

There are some research caveats that must accompany Internet research. 1) Do not be misled into thinking that you will find everything you are searching for online. 2) Be careful accepting the validity of any information you may discover. You always need to go back to the original source and document it. As long as you keep these warnings in the back of your mind and heed them, you will find success from Internet research.

Resolution 8
Learn how to utilize the full potential of Ancestry.com. The real value of the Internet as a source of genealogical data lies in the subscription of premium websites available online. While it is true that we must pay a monthly or yearly fee to access the bulk of the family history information on these sites, the information we can find shares the same degree of reliability as we would expect to find in conventional library research.

As genealogists, we owe it to ourselves to explore as many avenues as possible to locate information. If you are uncertain about the usefulness of such websites, visit them and evaluate their potential for your own research. Most have some type of introductory offer that includes some free research time. This is the best way to determine if such a site will work for you. We recommend www.ancestry.com as an excellent premium genealogy website to start with.

Resolution 9
Access family history information from CDs to incorporate into your research project. Equally important to the Internet as a potential source of genealogical information is the explosio n of data on CD–much of which is not available on the Internet. CDs are cost-effective, especially if you have a number of ancestors about whom information might be available on a single CD or a set of CDs.

Such is the case for us on a CD titled The Tanguay Collection. Both of us have French-Canadian ancestors and The Tanguay Collection in book form has proven an invaluable resource in our research. Unfortunately, we do not own a hard copy of this series and we have to go to the library to utilize it. Responding to an ad, though, we purchased the series on CD from Global Heritage Press. Now it is available at our fingertips.

Resolution 10
Renew your membership to relevant societies. In spite of useful technological advances, there is no substitute for associating with other genealogists. The members of these organizations can supply a great deal of support and information that cannot be gathered elsewhere. Just listening to the experiences of other genealogists can save a researcher valuable time and effort.

We plan to renew our membership to the American-Canadian Genealogical Society. If, like us, you have let your memberships lapse, make this the year to renew your membership to a genealogy society (local or national), an ethnic genealogy society, or a local historical society. The rewards will be worth it.

Terry and Jim Willard hosted the ten-part PBS Ancestors series. They have researched their family history fifteen generations back on both sides.