� Ancestry Daily News, 29 December 2004
� Things to do in 2005
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Things to do in 2005
� Michael John Neill
The end of a year means another one is headed in. With
that in mind, our last �Beyond the Index� column in
2004 contains a list of things to do in 2005.
Contact Offline Relatives
Recent work on two of my families has reminded me that
a significant number of my relatives do not have
e-mail or cannot be initially be contacted
electronically. As several of these individuals may
hold the key to additional generations of ancestry,
they will have to be contacted. One of my goals in
2005 is to write letters to these individuals in an
attempt to gain family history information. Are there
relatives you have not contacted in your search for
family history information? Are any of these relatives
�offline?� Hesitating to contact them may result in
them being permanently unavailable when you �get
around to it.�
Identify People in Pictures
This is something I almost always mention when giving
a lecture or a workshop, because I believe it is one
thing that almost every genealogist probably needs to
do. Even though I have gone through my pictures many
times, I still have a few pictures that include people
who cannot be identified. My first priority in 2005 is
to talk to those individuals who are most likely to
know the people in the pictures. And of course, I will
write on the cardboard backing of these photographs
with a media that is archive safe, not a ball-point
pen.
Tie up Loose Ends
I have several files, ancestors, and e-mails where a
lead or a loose end has been left dangling. Life does
get in the way. Before I forget completely or start
work on additional projects, I will follow these
leads. Who knows, perhaps the answers to my questions
will lead to even more information than I expected?
Enter Data
There are stacks of copies and documents in my files
that have yet to be entered into my computer database.
I know there are few people in this situation (grin!).
Before I spend hours or days accumulating new
information it would be a good idea to incorporate
this un-entered data into my computer files. In the
case of some of the non-English speaking families I
was working on, I have actually wasted time by not
entering the data shortly after I obtained it. While
working with the Swedish and Belgian records discussed
in some of this year's earlier columns, I became
reasonably adept at translating simple church records.
I have lost that skill in the interim and will have to
re-learn before entering the information into my
database. Wasted time is lost time and we never get it
back.
Write a Biography
While I have long known that this is an excellent
organizational tool and a great way to share and
preserve information, I have been lax in composing
biographical information on my ancestors. To create
less work and less confusion, the first biography will
be for an ancestor I'm already working on. Starting an
additional project will only mean one more thing that
does not get finished!
Learn about the Language
Incorrect spellings of names and locations present a
significant hindrance to the researcher. This problem
is exacerbated when the ancestral family does not
speak the language in which the records are written. I
think there may be a few cases where I would have
better chance of success if I were more familiar with
how words were pronounced in the native language of my
ancestors, particularly their names and the village or
town in which they were born. Foreign language
dictionaries and texts are one place to learn this
information.
Read More Local and Regional History
Learning about the area where an ancestral family
lives always offers the researcher insight into the
day-to-day lives of our family members. This knowledge
also can help to solve difficult research problems.
One goal in 2005 is to read and learn more about some
of the eras and locations in which my various families
lived.
Review Old Problems
Regular readers of the Ancestry Daily News know that I
have a few old problems that have plagued me for
years. As 2005 begins, I will look some of these
problems. In certain cases it may be a good idea for
me to �restart� my work on these lines, beginning from
scratch as much as possible. If I have not already
done so, I should consider creating chronologies,
maps, and timelines for the people and families
involved in these problems. I should reread research
guides to the locations where these people lived and
see if any new materials have been published or
developed that might be applicable to the problem.
Stay Focused
Working on too many lines at one time will only
confuse me. A better approach is to work on one
location or ethnic group at a time. If I decide to
focus on my wife's Swedish lineage, I would be better
served by doing the Swedish data entry, the Swedish
research, the reading about Swedish culture and
history, and the learning about Swedish pronunciations
at the same time. It can be terribly confusing working
on several lines at the same time and the problem is
only compounded when the families under study were
living in different times in different places and
speaking different languages.
Do Something Non-Genealogical
There is a world outside of genealogy. Sometimes this
world includes our living family members. Reading a
non-genealogy book, keeping in touch with other family
members, and pursuing non-genealogical activities will
make your family history search seem like less of a
job and reduce your �genealogy stress level.� And the
less stressed we are while researching, the more
effective and the happier we are. And isn't that what
it is all about!
Happy Hunting in 2005!
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Michael John Neill is the Course I Coordinator at the
Genealogical Institute of Mid America (GIMA) held
annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also on the
faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg,
Illinois. Michael is the Web columnist for the FGS
FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois
State Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts
seminars and lectures on a wide variety of
genealogical and computer topics and contributes to
several genealogical publications, including Ancestry
Magazine and Genealogical Computing. You can e-mail
him at mjnrootdig(a)myfamily.com or visit his website at
www.rootdig.com, but he regrets that he is unable to
assist with personal research.
Copyright 2004,
MyFamily.com.
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