Do you always jump between ancestors when researching? You start with one and end up looking at 4 or more before you're finished and feel like all you did was jump around. I have a possible solution for you.
I call them Birthday Biographies. I always start with good intentions, but then another ancestor draws my attention and off I go..... So one day, I was trying to stay focused and an idea hit me. Or maybe an ancestor hit me upside the head with a census clipboard! Anyway, I decided that in order to research the lesser known ancestors and to stay focused on them, I needed to write a mini biography and what better way to dedicate said biography than on that ancestor's birthday!
So now I look at all the upcoming birthdays for the next month. I pick an unsuspecting candidate. I look through their file and program info and make sure it all matches and is up to date with each other. I then go about researching them online and offline. I check all the major and minor sites, even if I did before. You never know what new records could be newly available. When I have completed researching and have all the currently available information, I set about making a timeline type outline of their life. Then I will make a biography based on that timeline, and adding any extra information to make it very easy to follow.
Now this may seem daunting, but with the internet you can whip a few of these out in no time, especially if you have most of the information already.
One of the great things about these is you can work at your own pace. Once a month, bi-weekly, or even weekly. Next year the ones you missed this year, will still have a birthday to celebrate. And what better way to celebrate an ancestor's birthday than to share the life of an ancestor with your current family.
Let's work together to make your family history come alive!
Monday, July 15, 2013
An introduction to the addiction of Genealogy!
Hello, My name is Tina Burkart Gibson and I am addicted to genealogy. You know, tracing family trees, researching family history, and digging up ny ancestor's stories. I have been researching my own family since I was about 14. The movie "Roots" may have helped plant the idea, but my family history is what keeps me going now.
I haven't quite figured out what keeps me interested in genealogy, but maybe because I get bored easily. If I get tired of researching my 3rd great grandfather who was in the Civil War , I can switch to a great grandmother who raised 5 children all by herself. Maybe it is the 2nd great grandfather who had a past but was hiding his past and his first wife from the rest of his new family! There is always someone new to learn about and they all have personalities and stories which are very interesting to research.
I also like the history part of researching too. There is the Civil War, The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812 and unfortunately many other wars. There are also State, County, and Town histories, and some of my ancestors are a part of that history. How about the people that made Wagons or worked on the railroad to make traveling easier. I particularly like to hear about the personal side of things, when someone was married, how they moved from place to place or something as 'simple' as washing clothes. These simple stories actually come alive when you put your family in the time frame of "Little House on the Prairie" and you imagine how your family lived through the 1874 locust invasion. There is such a wide variety of things to learn about each individual, and so much to learn about history.
Another thing that is not always thought about is the detective side of things. Do you like puzzles and games with clues in which you have to figure out what is going on? Well, genealogy may be the hobby for you! Lot's of times we have to take the existing clues and figure out what the heck happened back in 1857!
There is always something new to study, learn, and share in genealogy. That is what I hope to do here, Show you some basics, help with research ideas , and hopefully help you dig up a few of your own ancestor's stories!
Let's make your family history come alive!
I haven't quite figured out what keeps me interested in genealogy, but maybe because I get bored easily. If I get tired of researching my 3rd great grandfather who was in the Civil War , I can switch to a great grandmother who raised 5 children all by herself. Maybe it is the 2nd great grandfather who had a past but was hiding his past and his first wife from the rest of his new family! There is always someone new to learn about and they all have personalities and stories which are very interesting to research.
I also like the history part of researching too. There is the Civil War, The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812 and unfortunately many other wars. There are also State, County, and Town histories, and some of my ancestors are a part of that history. How about the people that made Wagons or worked on the railroad to make traveling easier. I particularly like to hear about the personal side of things, when someone was married, how they moved from place to place or something as 'simple' as washing clothes. These simple stories actually come alive when you put your family in the time frame of "Little House on the Prairie" and you imagine how your family lived through the 1874 locust invasion. There is such a wide variety of things to learn about each individual, and so much to learn about history.
Another thing that is not always thought about is the detective side of things. Do you like puzzles and games with clues in which you have to figure out what is going on? Well, genealogy may be the hobby for you! Lot's of times we have to take the existing clues and figure out what the heck happened back in 1857!
There is always something new to study, learn, and share in genealogy. That is what I hope to do here, Show you some basics, help with research ideas , and hopefully help you dig up a few of your own ancestor's stories!
Let's make your family history come alive!
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