tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post8383842049759234692..comments2024-03-26T11:22:41.940-07:00Comments on Genea-Musings: Best of the Genea-Blogs - 22 to 28 May 2016Randy Seaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17477703429102065294noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-45462486833726510822016-05-29T17:05:44.864-07:002016-05-29T17:05:44.864-07:00I never would have expected my new notation writeu...I never would have expected my new notation writeup to make a "best reads" list, so thank you, Randy.Louis Kesslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11704667321407909489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26204193.post-9290846035493700442016-05-29T14:54:43.728-07:002016-05-29T14:54:43.728-07:00How to Research Your Family Only Using Online Sour...How to Research Your Family Only Using Online Sources:<br /><br />Today’s “on-line only” family researchers are not going to change and there are exponentially more of them than there are of those trained and practicing genealogist who improve us all by following GPS principles.<br /><br />I am a careful researcher and I have still not run out of online sources after 8 years of inquiry. My goals are to verify that the person exists and then start to get the documents that put the person in the family I’ve tentatively placed them in.<br /><br />One of the back bones of my primarily on line research success, is unsourced trees often with no documentation. They have been my most helpful resource in adding a new branch to my working family tree. <br /><br />What I do is create a brand new on-line tree compiled from the sourced and the unsourced trees, then find many additional online documents just by creating that tree. I prune and I edit making note of what vital records, census and obituaries still need to be found. I keep it private because it’s a roadmap only and full of pot holes. I am grateful that so many others make their trees public. Thank you! <br /><br />What I always have, 100% of the time, is a tree with errors that has saved me years of trying to piece things together. I have the equivalent of a family tree sent to me by a distant relative. I have a tree to research, prune, document (found mostly on line) and then analysis to go with it. Not GPS but in-depth notes about my concerns and issues same names, same places etc. <br /><br />I start with the most recent relative on this compiled tree and connect how they may be related to me. Carefully working back in time. I make notes right on that online tree of conflicting or unsourced dates and places. I look for sources back up the vital dates and families. I graft this sucker right on to my tree when I have a reasonable amount of records to believe I’m on the right track. It gets grafted with on with blemishes and all. Because I’ve noted what basic documents I missing, it makes my online research more effective. Everything is one place.<br /><br />Even with my attention to detail I know I haven’t met the GPS standards but boy do I have a tree, with online documents and sources that any practicing genealogist would love to research, complete with notes about where I’m unsure, and what I think might be true.<br /><br />Will online researchers be converted to GPS standards? Nope. Can we help them see what they really have and how to improve on it with on line sources only? Yes.<br />mbm1311https://www.blogger.com/profile/00259363925596797806noreply@blogger.com