Hi, Folks! I thought this article covered so much of what so many of us do that I thought it would be nice to share it with you all. Some of you are not quite into the research as much as the rest of us, but it might help you understand us die hards a little better after reading this article. It also illustrates that a family historian or genealogist's work is NEVER done! :} Ancestry Weekly Digest, 7 June 2003 ==================================================================== "LOOKING AT OUR FAMILY HISTORY WITH NEW EYES," by Juliana Smith ===================================================================== When we become family historians, something seems to come over us--an urge to collect and gather as much information as we can find on our ancestors. While family members shake their heads in wonder, we save every scrap of information we can find. We keep old birthday cards, greeting cards, and letters for any clues they may contain. Photographs of unknown individuals from the past are preserved, because you never know--they might be related. Even envelopes are saved because they have addresses and date stamps to place our families in a particular place and time. We search databases until the wee hours and request records from faraway repositories. We collect books and photocopies of every scrap that we can find that may lead us on, amassing huge piles--oops, I mean FILES of paper. But all of this collecting is for naught if we don't take the time to put together what we've found and take a close look at it. I hesitate to use the word "analyze" because that makes it sound tedious and boring, but that's what we have to do--but for the family historian it's not at all tedious or boring. This is the fun part--taking the pieces we've collected and turning them into family history. I'm always on the lookout for quotes to include in the newsletter and when I saw today's quote on a poster at my daughter's school, it struck me as particularly applicable to this subject. "The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." --- Marcel Proust It's not that we physically need new eyeballs (although after long, late-night sessions looking at census enumerations written in the world's worst handwriting, trading mine in for a newer and clearer set has crossed my mind). Rather, by gathering our findings and giving our research a fresh look and a new perspective--a new set of eyes so to speak--we can better analyze our findings, ensure that we're on the right track, and clear the way for the next steps in our search. FIRST STEP--GET IT TOGETHER Looking at the mass of data we've accumulated can be an intimidating prospect, so it's best to focus. Working with one individual or family at a time will make the project more manageable. Gathering the pertinent records, it is helpful to put the information into some kind of form. Inputting it into our genealogy software or just taking the information from the records and writing it on forms like a pedigree chart or family group sheet can be helpful. >From there, we want to look at all the pieces of information and make sure they fit. After all, we don't need any strangers in our family tree. What we really need to do is play "devil's advocate" to our own findings; questioning what we have found to ensure that we have the correct pieces to our puzzle, and not someone else's puzzle. Here are some ways those different "eyes" can come in handy. EYES FOR DATES Are the dates we have found corresponding? For example, was the mother old enough to be bearing children or was she giving birth at age 9? Arranging events in a chronological format and including ages can help pinpoint this type of error. Did they move from place to place, and if so, would they have needed passage on the Concord to travel the distance they did in a particular time frame? Rates of travel can be found in history books and old newspapers and can be helpful for putting travel into perspective. Dates and places of birth should be looked at carefully. If one child was born in Ireland in May 1816, and another was born in the U.S. in June 1816, chances are there is a mix-up somewhere. Possibly the dates and places we have are wrong or maybe we have combined two families. EYES FOR GEOGRAPHY While we've all probably pinpointed an ancestral home on a map before, have we really taken a look at the topographical features of the location? What modes of transportation were available in that area at that time? Were there natural hazards such as lakes, mountains, or deserts that would have had to have been crossed or avoided in order to travel or migrate? Where was the closest bridge or ferry that would have taken an ancestor to worship, to his or her work, or to visit family? If a parent or sibling was ill, would the trip have required an overnight (or longer) stay? The answers to these types of questions can lead us to new records, to discover migration routes, and possibly even to locate those "disappearing" ancestors. It's also a good idea to get familiar with neighbors and the neighborhood. Did they live in a predominantly ethnic neighborhood or was there an ethnic neighborhood nearby where they may have gone to shop, work, or worship? Who were their neighbors? They may have been relatives or neighbors from the "old country." Were there any changes in civil jurisdictions? Border changes throughout the history of an area may dictate where the records for a particular time period can be found. EYES FOR HISTORY Historical events left an imprint on the lives of our ancestors, just as the events of today affect us. Wars, disasters, and economic factors all had an effect and may have caused our ancestors to make decisions that altered the course of their lives. Knowledge of the events that took place during our ancestors' lives add interest to our family histories, as well as giving us greater insight into the choices they made and leading us to more records. Was an ancestor of an age to serve during a military conflict? Were there battles fought nearby? Did an economic downturn or crop failure cause your ancestor to change professions or relocate? What disasters--natural or man- made--might have impacted your family? Did society dictate when or to whom someone should marry, or where someone could work or live? Did the women typically leave home only to marry, or were they allowed to work and be independent? While there are always exceptions to the rule, a look at local histories, newspapers, and social histories may provide some interesting answers when you are asking yourself, "Why did they do that?" WHAT ELSE? There are doubtless other "eyes" you'll want to don as you assess your findings, including relationships, ethnic customs, legalities, medical considerations, housing, etc. Where the questions we ask of ourselves turn up more questions, more research should be done until we are satisfied that we have answered them and reasonably explained any discrepancies. If we are to discover who these people were and what their lives were like, all of these factors should be considered. Not only will it enhance our family history with added interest, but it will also help ensure that we are indeed researching our family history and not someone else's. ____________________________________________________________________ Juliana Smith is the editor of the "Ancestry Daily News" and author of "The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book." She has written for "Ancestry" Magazine and "Genealogical Computing." Juliana can be reached by e-mail at: mailto:ADNeditor@ancestry.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist with personal research. 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