Revisiting Research

Photo by Dan Dimmock on Unsplash

Do you spend time laser-focused on a specific branch of your family?  An individual?  Or perhaps you hop from ancestor to another as the spirit takes you? All of these are fine if you are capturing the source information so that six months, ten years or more you or a descendant will know where you got your information.  Let’s look at revisiting our research.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from a “cousin” on Living DNA matches.  Neither of us have a tree published there but a quick comparison of surnames helped us identify our connections.  While I’ve been doing genealogy for over thirty years, the relative has just recently started on this branch.  I have many things to share and look forward to helping them fill in the missing pieces of their family tree.  As I gathered information to share, I was dismayed to discover that even twenty plus years ago I did not indicate where information about our common ancestors came from.  I know the information was from family stories shared by other relatives.  Much of it cannot be verified because the records don’t exist for that time in Ireland.  What is a genealogist to do?!!  First you need to be honest with yourself.  Twenty years ago, when I wrote a book about this branch, the internet was blossoming, but the plethora of online data was not available like it is today.  We relied on family, friends, precious records received via snail mail.  We still rely on these today but now we often can supplement this information with verifiable records.  As you know I’m on a mission to get everything scanned and digitized for safekeeping.  I’m not ready to throw away paper copies but I’ll feel better having key documents safeguarded with an external hard drive as well as online using programs like OneDrive.  With my cousin’s recent request, I’ve become more aware of the importance of revisiting my research.  A lot can change in twenty years!
 
Here are some things that I’ve learned and plan to do next.

1. Review my paper documentation.  Has it been scanned?  Is the digital copy clearly labeled?  Is the source information attached?
2. Source Information.  Have I documented the source information in Family Tree Maker (or whatever program I’m using to build my family tree)?  If the source information isn’t there, this becomes a priority.  I need to find the source of the information—whether it is a family member’s information or a well-documented resource such as census records—they all need to be noted.
3. Decide if and when I plan to share my research.  One of the reasons that I have not published a tree at one of the online big four sites is because I wanted to make sure that I have solid documentation noted on the tree.  We’ve all seen how quickly people use information from other trees without first validating the information for themselves.  This has led to misinformation as fact on many trees.  I have seen examples of relatives living in one state then twenty years later in another while at the same time having passed away in the first state ten years before.  Ok I’ll get off my soapbox about sloppy research. <smile>
4. Files and Folders.  Do you have both paper and digital files of your family but not a complete set of records for either?  I think that is the challenge for many of us who started before personal computers were popular.  The key is to catalog your information and sources.  It certainly isn’t as much fun as researching for new material but if you get in the habit of doing so with anything new you find, you’ll make your research more effective.  Why search for something that you found ten years ago?
5. Catalog your research.  By working on step #4, you will easily be able to see what gaps still exist in your research.  Depending on your country of origin, they may remain gaps, but you might have success with collateral material.  There is interesting data appearing every day.  For example, in Irish records, you can now search the dog licenses across Ireland.  It’s a fun way to see if your family did have a dog but also it is a record that puts them in a specific place and time.

 
Not only will reviewing your research help you identify what else you need to find, you will be amazed at what you’ve already discovered.  It’s good to pause and review and pat ourselves on the back for what we’ve accomplished.  And it will give you added incentive to fine-tune and improve your research in the future.  Happy researching!