Research – BACKTRACKING THE COMMON

November 28, 2015December 2, 2015

Genealogy Tip #8: Power Researching!

Here’s the situation. You’re researching multiple family lines. You have an opportunity to visit an excellent genealogical library or research facility miles or even days away from where you live. You’ll have limited time, a day or two, to be in the facility. How do you maximize your time and carry home the most amount of information? Try what I call power researching.

Here’s what you need:

A small camera or phone camera with plenty of photo file storage capability and/or scanning capability. It must be able to capture excellent images without a flash and have a removable battery that can be easily changed. I use a Cannon Power Shot A4000 IS. You’ll waste valuable time if you have to stop to charge your phone or tablet.
Photo software with editing capability on your computer, laptop or tablet.
An extra battery for your photo/scanning device
A charger to recharge your spent battery while you continue to work with your fresh battery.
You may want to use a tripod or other device for you photo work. They just slow me down.
Pen and paper
A flash drive.
The research guide you’ve prepared. (Explained below)

Here’s what you do before you go:

Prepare a simple research guide. What surnames are you researching, in which locations and for what date ranges. Know the counties’ histories and boundary changes and remember, your ancestors often registered documents in adjacent counties because it was more convenient. For example, my Horn or Horne relatives arrived in what I believe is current day Wilson County, Tennessee sometime after 1791 (Wilson county did not exist in 1791) and had, to my knowledge, moved on by about 1836. I would need to research no fewer than seven counties: Sumner, Davidson, Wilson, Smith, Rutherford, Warren and Cannon for those early date ranges! So I would write down the main target surnames, their known allied surnames, the county names in which I may find a record of their presence and the date range I may expect to find them there. Don’t forget alternate spellings.
Go online and search the target library or research center’s catalog. Prioritize the order of your search by the roadblock you are trying to remove or most coveted surnames. Put in the search query. For example, I would put in Wilson County, Tennessee and look for deed books, will books, histories, tax lists, etc. all in the appropriate date range. I would copy and paste the catalog information, especially the call numbers, into a document in my word processor. I would then repeat the process for each potential county. Remember to prioritize. You’re preparing the guide you will use when you visit the facility. You need your list to be progressing from most important in your research to least. Only you can determine this order. If I’m visiting a good facility for the first time, it’s not unusual for me to have eight to ten pages in my guide.
Print out the guide you’ve built. Then write the appropriate surnames beside each document title on your list. This will be critical in getting the most out of your time.
Charge your camera battery and your spare battery. Have an extra data storage disk. Pack your charger! When you change a battery out, put the used one in the charger.
Make certain you know the location and times the facility will be open. Don’t trust the times you find on a website! Call the week before you go and confirm with a person their times and policies concerning non-flash photography (By the way, if your camera has a “silent” mode, please use it.)
Take a flash drive with you. (sometimes called a thumb drive or memory stick). If you find data on a facility computer/microfilm reader, you may be able to simple plug in your flash drive and download the information to take home with you. This saves you the time and expense of copying.
Plan your meals. I usually pack a lunch (or dinner depending on the hours the facility is open). I want to control and limit my time away from gathering “gold”.

Here’s what you do when you arrive:

Be at the facility when it opens.
Proceed through any check-in process necessary for the facility, get oriented, select a research table nearest your work and head to the stacks with the research guide you prepared.
Find and collect the first five or six books and/or documents from the top of your list and return to your table.
On a sheet of paper, you brought with you, write down the title and author of the first book. Under this write the surnames appropriate to this book down the left side of your paper allowing room between each surname and alternate spelling. I try to do this in alphabetical order to hasten the later process.
Search the index of the first book. (If your document does not have an index, you’ll need to determine if you should take the time to research it the “old fashioned way”, photo or copy the entire document now or take time to search it or copy it later in the day.) Now, use the names you wrote on your paper. These will be your family surnames and allied families from the appropriate county and times. Beside each name found in the index, write the page numbers where these names appear in the book. You are preparing your “photo guide”. Do this for each name on your paper for this specific book.
Begin photographing. I do it in this sequence. Photograph the outside cover of the book, then the title and copyright pages. If you like, photograph the forward or introduction. Photograph any explanations of abbreviations, etc. which may later assist you. Photograph the hand written page you have just prepared. Now, begin photographing each page number beside the names you have written down. Save time and trouble by photographing both pages facing you. Don’t peak at the information. It’ll slow you down. (OK, I confess. If it’s a brick wall subject, I always peak.) Continue this process through each of the names and pages on your list. Photograph maps or diagrams you stumble across in the volume. Then repeat the process for each book on the table preparing and photographing a page for each one.
When you’re finished with the first five or six books, place them on the return carts (do not re-shelve them) and find the next five or six books on your list. Repeat the process as before until you finish your entire list or have to go home.

When you arrive home:

Download all of your images. Hopefully your photo editing software collects your download/upload dump into one file. (I believe the most I’ve collected from one facility is 996 over two full days.)
I name this one file with the name of the city, facility and date of the visit.
I create sub-folders within this one main folder. The sub-folders are named according to the titles of the books from which I gathered the images. These images should be numbered in sequential order by your camera and/or photo software. Keep those image designations. Do Not Change Them. Do not rename them. Now, simply collect the proper images for each titled folder (the title of a book or document) and deposit them in the folder. I now possess the images pertinent to my research in the proper folders for each book I photographed.
NOW the work begins! I must, at my own pace, go through each page and mine out the “gold” for my research while carefully documenting my sources. Then I can analyze the data and better tell my family’s story.
Backup! Backup! Backup! Backup all data using multiple resources.
Finally, I prepare a hard copy file folder for the trip and place the research guide and name pages I prepared for each book or document in this file.

I’m fortunate to live “down the street” from some excellent genealogical research resources. But, they don’t have everything I need and I can’t get everything I need online – not even barely. If I’m going to go through the time and expense to travel to a research facility, I want to gather as much “gold” as I can. I’m sure you feel the same way. This is just one idea how you might do it.

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Happy backtracking!

November 26, 2015

A Genealogical Thanksgiving

I’m thinking of a Genealogical Thanksgiving and wondering why I’m only now, today, thinking of it.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17 NIV Bible

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—

1 Timothy 2:1 NIV Bible

…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV Bible

Sarah Hale wrote to five presidents seeking to have a day of Thanksgiving recognized by all citizens of all states of the United States on the same day. Here is part of her letter.

“You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.”[i]

Abraham Lincoln received her letter in the middle of a war threatening to tear the union apart. He established our tradition of a national holiday for giving thanks in 1863. (The Confederate States waited until 1870 to join the fun!) We’ve been, since then, celebrating the fourth Thursday of November as this singular national day of giving thanks in America.

I wonder why we feel the need to choose one day or why we feel we have to “order” proper behavior. But, that’s another discussion for another day.

The fact is, it is more consistent with the teachings of the Bible and healthier to be thankful every day. And genealogists and family historians have much to be thankful for every day. Here are a few reminders, some things for which I am thankful as a family historian.

A rich and varied family history with which I never bore. I’m about to begin my 4^th year of research in my family history. (I know; it seems like forever for some of my poor living family members.) I’ve discovered the men and women in both of our family lines were all here before the Revolution. All of my ancestral lines where in America 100 years before Lincoln “ordered” thankfulness — and some earlier. Their stories illustrate the very fiber of this nation and are revealed one fact at a time. Simple, common things fire my imagination. I found my great-great-grandfather Riggs in the 1860 Federal Census from Denton County, Texas. His occupation is “Master Cabinet Maker”. His immediate neighbor’s occupation is given as “Cabinet Maker” and no doubt was my relative’s apprentice. Stephen Riggs’ name appears in a recent book on early influential Texas furniture makers. I know it’s crazy but uncovering these simple details still excites me and for such a rich family history, I am thankful.
Family research facilities. There are sections of libraries and a growing number of stand-alone facilities for researching family history. These include national, state and local centers. Billions of clues and facts about families can’t be found online. They are more available and accessible now than ever. I am thankful.
Friendly staff in county courthouses. If you’re going to research your family, you’ll need to be in county courthouses. I always appreciate it when I meet courteous and helpful clerks. I’ve met a bunch of them over the past three years, but the best example so for are the ladies in the county clerks’ office in Lamar County, Texas. When I meet people like these folks, I am thankful.
The Internet. You can’t do all of your research online but you can do more now than ever. And you can do it in your pajamas! (Only if you’re at home. Don’t do it when you’re using the computers in a library or research facility.) Family Search, Ancestry and a growing number of business minded companies are offering services to family researchers that can be accessed from home. Add to this the Internet Archives and the millions of pages of others’ research now available online and you see why I’m thankful.
Genealogical Proof Standards. The practice of these standards by family researchers is what keeps the sanity in the genealogical universe. It also helps me know I’m on the right “trail” as I backtrack the common. I am thankful.
Helpful fellow researchers. They’re everywhere in the genealogical community. Their clues are invaluable and their information is sometimes right! I am thankful.
DNA testing is available and cheap. The use of DNA for genealogical purposes is exploding. The testing is simple. The results and the software to help you understand and keep track of your results are improving. You can now find cousins without doing the hard work of building an accurate family tree. I don’t recommend it. You’ll get much more out of your DNA results if you’ll build a five generation deep pedigree chart and then have your DNA tested. I am thankful.
I am thankful for all of the new cousins I’ve found through research and DNA. If you’re one of them, I want you to know I’m thankful!
I’m thankful for my wife Dee who supports and assists me in my research. We’ve been traveling together now for over 40 years and I am thankful.

Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!

[i] Sarah Hale’s original letter to President Lincoln is in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

March 31, 2015

Tip #4 Interview your family

We think we know them. We think we know them well. That is, until we go to write their story. Our families are often mysteries to us. This is why we must ask questions…lots of questions.

The beginning genealogist/family historian begins with the interview. I want the oldest family member to answer my questions as soon as possible, but I’ll begin with whomever I have at hand.

I need FACTS to fuel my research.

When and where were you born?
Who were your parents? When and where were they born?
Who were your grandparents? When and where were they born?
When did you marry? Where? What county?
In what states and counties have your lived?
Did you or anyone in our family serve in the military? When? What branch? Where?
What are your siblings’ names and approximate ages?
If their parents, grandparents, siblings are deceased, when did they die? (Approximate dates are better than no dates.)

I need STORIES to flesh out our history.

What was your best childhood memory?
What was your favorite holiday?
Who was your favorite relative, teacher, neighbor, etc.?
Tell me about your best friend growing up.
What were your mom and dad like?
What were your grandparents like?
What is the best place you ever lived and why?
Where was the best place you ever visited?

Capture the facts and their stories.

When possible, send your questions in advance of your visit and interview.
If possible, record the interview.
Take extensive notes and “flesh” them out while they’re fresh on your mind.

I cannot overstate the importance of family interviews. You need this information to backtrack your family. You need this information to tell their story. You need it first. When you begin their story, be prepared to reconnect and ask more questions. And you will have questions. Every good historian has more questions.

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