All this may be true. In my experience, I've learned more facts about how to research, via the net, than answers to my research. Participants postings have provided abundant reference info. Keep up the good work, gang. Paul -----Original Message----- From: Paul Gorry [mailto:gorry@indigo.ie] Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 11:04 To: IRL-WICKLOW-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Wicklow] Read A Book! Seeing the various postings about Griffith's Valuation makes me wonder yet again if anyone who lives in cyberspace over reads a book. I know that the entire world thinks that the internet is where you find answers to everything these days. But you won't find answers to everything about Irish genealogy, that's for sure. Dare I accuse people in general who inhabit cyberspace of being LAZY!?! Well, I've said it. I'm not having a go at anyone who's asked a question on this list (or anyone who's been helpful enough to answer them). I'm just concerned that people seem to think that all their research can be done by proxy by using this list or other sites on the internet. It can't! If you want to trace your ancestry back to Adam and Eve by sitting at a computer, you'll probably find a ready-made family tree somewhere that you can graft your people on to. It may look nice, but it won't be correct. There is some wonderful (and FREE) information on the internet, but there's also a lot of rubbish. Knowing how to distinguish between the two takes experience. In the Genealogy Advisory Service (GAS) at the National Library and National Archives in Dublin we get a lot of people these days coming in with information they got about their "ancestors" from someone they met in cyperspace or that their long-dead grandaunt accumulated God-knows-where. Instead of getting out of their house and going to the record office that holds their grandparents' marriage record or the relevant census return or whatever, they asked someone out there in the dark if they know anything about Joe Bloggs who married Jane Doe. Based on the replies they start gathering information on a Joe and Jane couple who may or may not be their ancestors and turn up in Dublin with a lot of relevant and irrelevant stuff nicely blended together. You can take the wrong turn at any point along the path of your search unless you do your research carefully. At the GAS I often find myself stripping away the layers of internet-provided stuff people have accumulated till there is nothing left. The disappointed people had thought they knew their ancestor was Patrick Murphy born in Ballygobackwards in 1840 because someone told them they found him on the IGI but in reality they themselves had not even obtained their grandparents' marriage record and didn't know their great-grandparents' names for sure. Genealogy is a hobby but it's one that leaves being documentation for future generations. If your research is faulty your grandnephew won't think to question it when he picks up the documents long after you're gone. As genealogy is a hobby people don't take it as seriously as other things they might do. I wonder how many of you take medical or legal advice from strangers over the internet. If you don't take medical or legal advice over the internet, why not???? I generally warn beginners off using the internet until they have some experience of REAL research. So, my advice for all beginners is READ A BOOK. There are several good books on genealogical research out there. Get one about research in your home country first, as that's where you need to start. Then, before trying to go beyond the Irish born ancestor, get one on Irish research. By far the most widely read book on the subject is John Grenham's "Tracing Your Irish Ancestors" (second edition) which is available just about anywhere for purchase or for reference. A third edition is due out soonish, but don't wait for that. Get out and get yourself a guide book. Then when you've read it you'll be in a better position to ask questions and judge the quality of the answers. Paul Gorry ==== IRL-WICKLOW Mailing List ==== If you have a problem, question, need direction or to report a virus, please contact IRL-WICKLOW-admin@rootsweb.com. off-list at Admin Thanks ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx