Genealogy Do-Over or Source-Based Incremental Fix?

Image by Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the 'Genealogy Do-Over' or 'Go-Over' proposed by Thomas MacEntee. I am taking a different approach. I'm doing a 'source-based incremental fix'.

Starting again from scratch is not an option for me because...

• Some archival records that I used are no longer open to the public. The Government has since changed the access restrictions.


• Talking to relatives in the 1970s gave me vital details that I have never found in documents - and those relatives are now in Heaven.


• Many records that I used are on the other side of the world. They are not indexed and not digitised.


• I have never copied details from online trees, and I never will. I might treat them as clues for further research, but that's all. About 90% of my research was done in the 1970s and 1980s, long before I had Internet access, and I used original records in State and national archives. I have since used a wide range of online resources, but I have not found any mistakes in my original research.

Louis Kessler has suggested a source-based incremental fix, which will suit me perfectly. Taking one document at a time, I will analyse it carefully and check that every bit of information has been extracted and entered into my family tree programme, with the source reference. Then I'll file the source in a new and separate location. As I work, I'll note gaps in my knowledge and list my ideas for further research.

First, though, I need to decide how to organise my records. This is what I've done so far (and no.5 is actually the most important).

1. I've gathered together all my paper documents and research notes.  There are fifteen ring binders and one archival quality photo album from which data has already been added to my genealogy programme (The Master Genealogist). There are also two 52 litre storage boxes with countless unscanned photos and unprocessed photocopies and research notebooks. Eeek!  (Note to self:  Don't panic.)


2. I've read Nancy Loe's guides.  These three e-books are very practical: Organizing Genealogy Research Using Archival Principles;  Cataloging Digital Family Photographs and Records; and Simplifying Genealogy Sources and Citations.


3. I've read those guides again, this time making notes about how I'll modify Nancy's method so that it fits the way I think when I look for records in my files.


4. I've downloaded source checklists for Evernote, via CyndisList. (Thanks to Michelle Patient for bringing these to my attention.)


5. I've started creating a 'style guide' to ensure that I name and store files (especially digital files) consistently. (Nancy Loe says, 'Using controlled vocabulary is the single most important thing you can do to keep your research organized.')

(This post first appeared on http://genie-leftovers.blogspot.com/2015/01/genealogy-do-over-or-source-based.html.)

National Family History Month 2014 Geneameme

This geneameme was created by Pauleen (Family History Across the Seas) to celebrate National Family History Month in Australia.

1. What are you doing for NFHM?   I've created a Web page that lists some genealogy discounts and freebies - and (when I need a break from packing up and moving the contents of my house - sigh) I'll index more Queensland State Archives records.


2. What do you hope to learn in NFHM?   Whatever I can. My favourite way to learn is to go to the Archives and delve into a record series that I've never used before.


3. Do you research at a family or local history library?   Not as often as I used to, but I am still a member of the Queensland Family History Society and the Society of Australian Genealogists.


4. Do you do all your research online?   NO!  Perish the thought!  Many of the best records are not (and never will be) online. (But until I can visit the UK again, I have to use online resources to continue my British research.)


5. What's your favourite place to store your family tree?   With SecondSite and The Master Genealogist I can convert all of my data into HTML format so that I can store and view it as an interactive 'Website' on a CD, USB thumb drive or external hard drive. Irreplaceable or expensive documents are copied onto acid-free paper and stored off-site. I use Dropbox for electronic backups. Part of my family tree (minus living people) is on my own Web site and on Rootsweb's WorldConnect.


6. If offline, which genealogy program do you use?   The Master Genealogist (incredibly powerful for keeping track of exactly where each tiny detail came from, and how much I trust the source).


7. How do you preserve your family stories for future generations?   (1) I self-published a small book and gave 'legal deposit' copies to the National Library of Australia, State Library of Queensland and Queensland Parliamentary Library;  (2) My Web site (which includes a family tree) was selected for inclusion in PANDORA (Australia's Web archive);  (3) Some stories go into my genealogy blogs, which will presumably be available to the public as long as Google exists; (4) My will has instructions about donating some of my material to the Society of Australian Genealogist's primary records collection.


8. Have you any special research projects on the go?   Lots of research jobs for clients, and an endless list of indexing projects (mental asylum patients, hospital records, illegitimate children, maintenance registers, prison records etc).


9. What is your favourite family history research activity?   (1) Doing research in original records at Queensland State Archives;  (2) Exploring cemeteries.


10. What is your favourite family history research place/library etc?   Queensland State Archives. Also the London Metropolitan Archives and North Yorkshire County Record Office.


11. What is your favourite website for genealogy research?   FindMyPast, for reasons explained here.


12. Are you part of a Facebook genealogy group? If so which one?   A private group for members of the Genealogists for Families team.


13. Do you use webinars or podcasts for genealogy?   Yes - The National Archives (UK), the Society of Australian Genealogists, and some from Legacy Family Tree.


14. Do you use social media?   Intermittently (Facebook).


15. What genealogy topic/class have you learnt the most from this year at a webinar/conference/seminar?   I guess I can't count Kerry Farmer's excellent seminar, Immigration: Why, When and Where, because it was in late 2013. This year I actually learned the most from the research I did while preparing for my own seminar, 'Look Beyond the Border'.


16. Do you have a favourite research strategy to knock down your brick walls?   Yes!  Research the subject's siblings and other relatives!


17. Have you used DNA testing for your genealogy?   Yes.


18. Have you made cousin connections through your DNA tests?   Yes.


19. Do you have a wish list of topics for NFHM 2015?   Hmmm (still thinking...)


20. What do you most love about your family history research?   Finding 'flesh on the bones' information, photographs, physical descriptions and documents written by my ancestors.

10 Things I Can't Live Without

In the discussion ('meme') 10 Things I Can't Live Without (related to genealogy), nine of Elyse's ten things require a computer. My list is very different - possibly because I did most of my research in the 1970s/80s! Genealogy is certainly easier and more fun if you have a computer, email, the Internet, and the ability to visit local libraries or LDS Family History Centres - but a lot can be accomplished without them. Just ask any genealogist who is a full-time carer or physically unable to get out and about.

I am often without a computer for a week or so, but I can still work on my family tree if I have:

1. The family history 'book' that I wrote on a typewriter in the 1980s. It has a lot of my data, detailed source references and a bibliography.
2. Address book and Correspondence log (I can write letters on paper to relatives or repositories); 'Style sheet' to remind me how my filing system works; 'Where Is It?' index book.
3. Small magnifier; 2B pencils; enclosed pencil sharpener (so I can put it in my pocket at repositories); good quality coil-bound notebook (A5 or A4); 4-ring binders and copysafe page protectors.
4. Camera. Preferably digital, but an old SLR and a roll of film will do.
5. Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets. With these I take a summary of names, dates, places etc to repositories where I cannot take a computer.
6. Maps, including the Ordnance Survey Motoring Atlas of Great Britain. It shows rivers, hills etc that may influence where people went to market, church etc, and has a good place name index.
7. The Macquarie Book of Events (Bryce Fraser). I can put my ancestors' lives in context if I know what was happening in Australia. The book covers Discovery, Settlement, People, Transport, Communications, Industries, Trade, Taxes, the Economy, Work Force, Regal/Vice-Regal, Politics, Law, Defence, Education, Religion, Health, Social Welfare, Science, the Environment, Arts, Disasters, Sport.
8. Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History (Mark D. Herber).
9. The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers. Parish maps, topographical maps, location of parish registers/indexes (England, Scotland, Wales).
10. Newspapers in Australian Libraries: a union list. Part 2: Australian newspapers. Often quicker than the Internet if you want to know what newspapers were published when/where and the location of copies.

Before I go travelling without a computer, I use my genealogy software (The Master Genealogist + SecondSite) to create (on a USB flash drive) a family tree in HTML format. I omit living people for privacy reasons. If I am visiting friends or a public library, I can usually look at my tree (which is just a series of Web pages) on their computer.

What would you put on a 'Top Ten' list of things you need for genealogy?