Citing Sources....Lessons Learned

The other day, I watched several webinars that covered citing sources...

Citing Sources (Ancestry.com) with Anne Mitchell, and part two here.   I also watched "The 5c's for Success in Genealogy Today" with Barbara Renick.  Anne provided a great tip, which if I had remembered my secretarial days, I would have thought of myself.  Basically, use templates to help you cite your common sources, like census records.  Why constantly work to come up with the right format, when you can use a preformatted template, and just change a few key parts to fit the particular census you are citing (date, place, etc).  I HIGHLY recommend you watch the videos, especially if you are just starting out in genealogy, and documenting your family history.

While Barbara's webinar wasn't specifically about citing sources, the last part she did, covering this topic, hit home for me.  We all have things from our beginning days as family researchers, where we just went willy nilly, collecting information without noting where it came from.  I have a recent example.....

Not long ago, I read somewhere that the border between NY and CT, near where my great grandfather was born, was very fluid for a long time.  This would involve Westchester county in NY, and Fairfield county in CT.  I think I remember it saying that if someone was actually born in Rye or Poundridge NY, which is so close to the Fairfield county border, before 1870, that their records would be in Fairfield county.  I say "I think" because, I forgot to save the link, or even copy and paste the information for future use.  Now I can't remember where I read it.  Drats!!!

Barbara shared a "chant" that was taught to her in a course...I am adopting it as my mantra:

When looking at ANY information, follow these steps:

1. FIND the source of information
2. CITE the source (don't read it until you do this!!!  Even if there is no useable information that applies to your research.  You will have a record that you already looked at that particular source).
3. SEARCH the source
4. COPY the source....write down any information you find that is relevant to your research, or copy/paste into a digital research notebook (I prefer OneNote).
5. EVALUATE the source - is it a primary source or derivative?  How reliable is the source?
6. REPEAT all the above steps and collect more information.  Never rely on just one source in your research.
7. ANALYZE and ADD - analyze the information you have found, and when you are sure of your findings, then add it to your family tree information.  

Now, I will admit, that if I find something on Ancestry or Family Search, that is pretty clear cut, I automatically add it to that person in my online tree.  The reason for this is because my Ancestry tree is my "working" tree.  It is always in a state of being updated, changed, etc.  When I am pretty sure of a fact, I put the information, with sources to back it up, into my online tree (noting that it might need more research).  I don't transfer it to my tree in Roots Magic until I can verify it ...within reason. Sometimes you only have once source.  If I feel it is accurate (which is a complete judgement call), I will add it to my master tree in my program on the computer.  

And sometimes, I add things to my shoebox on Ancestry.  Things that look like they might be a help, but need more analysis.  By doing this I am still keeping the record handy.  I have had times where I have found something, took a mental note of it, but didn't save it, and then couldn't find it again.  This goes back to citing your sources....always find a way to save what you find, whether it's online or on your own computer.  Something as simple as a Word document can be invaluable.  Write out what you find, paste a link to where you found out, and save it for future reference.  It always amazes me, when I look at notes I took 10 years ago, what my thought process was.  And many times I see things right there in front of my face, that I didn't see back then.

Both Anne and Barbara mentioned using a tool called Snag-It.  This can be a bit pricey at $50 if you are on a budget.  But I like the concept....it will snag what is on a webpage.  All of it.  Unlike the normal screen capture (PrtScrn) on your computer, which will only grab what is visible in the screen.  I can't afford that $50 at the moment though, so I did a search for free options. The one that I will give a try is called ScreenHunter Free.  Cnet gives it extremely high ratings, and that is a bonus.  I will update you down the road as to how I think it works.

Getting Back In the Groove

My boys officially started back to school on Monday.  This is a bit early, even for us homeschoolers, but with my dad's illness back in the spring, we lost a lot of time, so I wanted to get a jumpstart on it.

So what does mom do while the boys are working on their schoolwork?  I am formulating a plan of attack....attacking my best options for setting up my files here in the apartment I am sharing with my aunt.  Attacking my education, which path I want to take.

As for the education side of things, I am currently getting caught up on some free webinars.  Today I just watched Thomas MacEntee's "The Genealogy Cloud - Which Online Storage Is For You", at Legacy Family Tree.  It said it was to expire on 8/6, but I was still able to access it.  Wow!  I took 6 pages of notes on the info he gave, and have some decisions to make after I check out all the options.

I haven't worked on my Research binder for awhile, so I need to update that as well.

I also found a great checklist, that I will be filling out for each person of my family tree, to make sure that I do not miss anything in collecting documents.  I tend to go willy-nilly sometimes, and need to reighn myself in, and be more methodical.  Step by step is much better than rabbit trails.

As for the file storage....I will use my file boxes for now, but am searching out Craigslist for at least a 2 drawer filing cabinet.  I would prefer a 4 drawer one, but might have to wait for that.  If I can't find one there, I will buy one next month.

What are you "attacking" at the moment?

And We Are Moved

The official move wasn't without a few hiccups, but it's done.  We are officially in NC! :)

My poor genealogy research has taken a hit, as I haven't really done anything on it since 2 months ago.  I need to get back to it.  I have a project I was working on, for a barter situation, that I need to finish up with.

I did just order the DNA kit for my father to take, for the Nichols Project. Maybe this will finally give us some answers, or at least direction, on this brick wall.  I will keep you updated, once we get the results.  We chose the Y-DNA37 test.

I will also keep you updated on some of my research for my friend, as well as my own.  I haven't set my filing system up here yet.  It's all kind of mish mash in the containers I chose for it.  Need to get that done for sure before I do anything else.  I have a "to do" list a mile long for this stuff, on top of starting a new school year for our homeschooling.  Should be interesting.

I did just sign up for two great free webinars though.  Need to start working on the education side of things.  One is "Neglected History" with Megan Smolenyak.  That one is August 1st.  The other is "Using Our Nation's Library" with Laura G. Prescott, on August 20th.  I have never done webinars for genealogy before, but definitely looking forward to them!

Hope you are all enjoying your research!