I am grateful for those on-line family trees, too.  I have found some to be incorrect, but they have yielded valuable clues that I was able to follow to a treasure trove in some cases.   I followed some information on one of those trees on-line and saw some very gross errors. But because Ancestry.com also suggests other records to look at I was able to find the correct information on one person in particular.  She did not die as an old woman in California or whatever state out west.  She died near Louisville, Kentucky at a TB sanitorium [forgive my spelling] while she was age 21!  I found her death record on-line and eventually found her grave.  And yes, she was buried in a grave shared by two other people, one buried on top of the other - three deep.  She was the second burial in that same grave!  That city cemetery is also known for a few burials six deep.   I have made mistakes as a beginner and strive to correct them.  But I have to feel very blessed that I had a "mentor" of sorts in my early days of research, who drove it into my head CITE THOSE SOURCES!  My citations were never like those shown in EE but they would lead anyone back to where I found my information without trouble.   My problem is going back into my genealogy software and correcting the way I originally entered those sources.  On that, I suffer from the "someday I will" syndrome.   Just my 2¢ worth. Cheryl Proctor Southern Indiana ________________________________ From: Jannean James <janneanjames1958@gmail.com> To: Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com> Cc: Transitional Genealogists <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2012 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [TGF] Dealing with our substandard pasts Harold, My grandmother considered herself a genealogist and she was to an extent. As she found information on family members she would dutifully copy each document, family group sheet, newspaper clipping, and so on and send them on to other family members. NO citations whatsoever. When I received them I would stack them in a pile, respectful of the time grandmother spent, but never thinking I would ever be interested in pursuing this passion of family history. I was wrong. I love it. When I began my own family many years ago, I got the genealogy bug and have had it ever since. It has been 25 years and I am still redoing some early work following some of grandmother's footsteps  I, for one, am grateful for on line family trees and to those who have placed them there. I, too, have contacted potential relatives, some recently even on this list, some on internet forums, and so forth. Two I found at ancestry.com because of their posted trees and we have been in constant contact since then and have met to collaborate our work cranking microfilm reels in Salt Lake. My early work is very inadequate to say the least. I now own a handful of books to aid my research and they are well-marked and flagged. More resource books are on my wish list. I, too, will probably never get through correcting earlier work. BUT I am trying, citing and writng as I go, using a combination of genealogical software programs and word documents. I attempt to work on one family at a time, but that usually doesn't work. Time consuming, thought provoking, AND educational. My friends know what I am up to and have asked for help with their histories. I have conducted a handful of informal small group workshops to this end. It is their questions, along with my own desire, to <do it the right way> that has led me to thinking about certifcation. I may eventually make an attempt, but I know I need more education before doing so. I do not consider myself a professional. I do consider myself a genealogist. It is more than a hobby, it has become a passion and one I want to share. I do stress citations, writing, and proof--not just collecting names and data. Again, Harold, I am grateful for all those on line family trees--with or without citations. They make me ask questions and potentially place me in contact with cousins I may have never known about otherwise. So leave the trees up--you never know who may contact you. Jannean James Daniel, Wyoming On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 6:28 AM, Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com > wrote: > Kim's post provoked me to ask for advice, even though this is a topic I > know has been discussed before: how do you deal with the work you did > before you knew what you were doing? > > I have a good-sized tree on line, some of which I'm sure is accurate, and > some not so much. I'll never live long enough to fix it even if that was > all I ever did. But I have met many interesting potential relatives and > research projects by having it on line. > > I have compromised by leaving it up but by leaving out the (usually very > inadequate) citations, so that those who want to know more have to get in > touch. But I've never been quite sure whether that is the best approach. > Thoughts? > > Harold > > -- > Harold Henderson            midwestroots.net > Research, Writing, and Brickwall Dismantling from Northwest Indiana > Regularly Researching at the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center > > Certified Genealogist (SM) No. 1029 > Certified Genealogist and CG are proprietary service marks > of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® used by the > Board to identify its program of genealogical competency evaluation > and used under license by the Board’s associates. > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive > environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to > professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message