Where do I start?

This week was exciting and frustrating. I started using some of my new skills and knowledge to start building my tree in Ancestry.com. Much of my family history has been worked on by others and my tree in Family Search is full, but not done (is it ever done?) I am concerned however about what in my family search tree is correct and what is not correct and what do I do about it? So, I started building my tree in ancestry.com focusing on sources! I don't want to add someone to my tree if there are not good sources. I started with just one line and started adding to it, using family search, but paying attention to the sources to support the information. It didn't take me too long to find an ancestor (7th generation back). That is not verified by good sources and likely everything past him is incorrect. I was initially exciting about the public trees available, but then I realized many of them are not supported with good sources either. And, I don't think some of the information I found there was correct and therefor didn't want to add it to my tree. As I continued to look at this particular ancestor in family search and some of the collaborating notes to go with it, I found that there are diverse opinions on what is correct and what isn't. I found the wife of this individual that was added and deleted by more than a few people on different dates and the discussion as to why they think the information is correct or incorrect. I tend to agree with the incorrect crowd as the sources are not conclusive. From here, I started searching the 1700's in New York, particularly people arriving from England. I found names of ships, passenger lists and even some information about the passengers. Although I did not find anything on my particular ancestor in question. It was fascinating reading as why the came, how the came and the difficulties along the way. Learning the history of the time and place researching will certainly become helpful as I learn to do complete and exhaustive research. I still have much to learn to become a good researcher and genealogist but am exciting to keep learning as much as I can, which I assume will be a lifelong endeavor as there are so may different facets to family history work.

Researching Ancestors!

 This week was exciting. I learned about the multitude of methods of search. I learned about filters and the difficulty of using "exact" to find records as many times it could just be an initial for the first name or a surname that has an alternate spelling. I learned that I can filter places, dates, and the types of records I am searching for. I learned that even when I find a record, if I view the actual record, I can sometimes find more information about my ancestor that I can use in my research. The most exciting method of search though is through public member trees. Especially on my lines, so much work has already been done. When I go to public members trees, I can find many sources that have already been found, confirm they are correct to my ancestor and add them to my tree. I am feeling more confident in my ability to do exhaustive research on my ancestors and confirm the accuracy of my personal tree in Ancestry.com

Researching!

 This week was rather exciting. We learned a bit about researching in Family Search, My Heritage and Ancestry. I learned how to locate images that have not been indexed yet. I learned how to use the "collections" and "records" tabs. I am in absolute awe at the amount of records and microfilm that has been collected, digitized, and organized in such a simple way for me to research at home on my own computer. I am also in awe of how many records are yet to be indexed. I guess that is why the church is trying to get us all to Index! I had a few glitches with technology, the most annoying being when I am searching and I hit something and the whole screen goes away and I have to log in again and start all over. I am feeling a little more confident in my ability to learn enough that I can make some well planned research on my own family lines soon!

Reflections this week...

This week we continued our study of the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as well as some of the useful features in Roots Magic 7. Honesty, I did have a few thoughts of dropping the class when I got frustrated with the technology aspects of the class more than Roots Magic itself. But, I persevered, I contacted the teacher, contacted I-Learn, got the help I needed and successfully turned in the assignment. Turns out it was just the user (me) and not the technology. I appreciated this quote from Henry B. Eyring "You will be tempted to stop and leave the hard work of finding to others who are more expert or to another time in your life. But you will also feel a tug on your heart to go on in the work, hard as it will be." Even though I havn't even started any research, the preliminary work of learning the correct way to use the technology, organize and be efficient, and most important learn the steps of accurate research, sources and citations so that the work can be shared with others, is very important. I do feel the tug to do family history and my friend even asked if I could help her with her family when I told her I was taking a few classes. So, yes that would be fun to help someone that doesn't have their family history already have a lot of people working in it. We also listened to conference this week, and there were a few speakers on temple and family history, I probably would have not been interested in those talks had I not been feeling the push to do this work. I pray the Lord and His angels will attend me and help me exceed my own expectations as I continue learning the proper way to do this important work.