I will likely only use the weekly asssignments as guidelines and probably not follow everything to the letter. I have to confess that the main goal is to stay focus and not get sidetracked with all the BSO that keep coming to light. I am happy to see that many of the suggestions for organizing material, both digital and physical, I already do in some manner.
The timing of the restart of the Genealogy Do-Over is perfect as I am also in the process of reorganizing my office space after the installation of upper shelving.
WEEK 1 ASSISGNMENT:
1)Setting Previous Research Aside
DONE!
That was easy as I've been tossing around the idea of combining my multiple Rootsmagic databases into one as it's becoming more and more cumbersome doing cross references between the databases. That's the problem of many branches living in the same geographic area - branches will intermingle.
I've been resisting doing it as I didn't just want to merge all the databases as it would duplicate records of the direct lines and would also require alot of editing to remove the see references. Let alone the inconsistencies of source citations among the different databases. When I first started, years ago, with Family TreeMaker, there were no citation templates (or at least I was unaware of them) and when transferring to RootsMagic, the citations were all imported as 'free-form' and lacks many pertinent details.
When I came across the references to Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over I decided to take the plunge and start with a new tree. With the goal of, ultimately, having only one database to check and consist citations.
Entering the names I know (myself, parents, grandparents, great grandparents) I will then research and enter what I find from legitmate sources. Fortunately for me, most of my ancestors were in Ontario during the time frame that BMD records are covered by Ancestry.
2) Preparing to Research
MacEntee suggests to no longer do research at 2:00am when tired or in short spurts of available time.
Don't think I'll be able to follow that advice. If I'm on a roll with research late at night, I won't be able to sleep with all the details running through my mind. I've always maintained that genealogy research is do-able during one's 15 minute work break. Granted it may be a case of documenting sources in some manner to be consulted and worked on later. But hey! That saves time for later when I can spend time evaluating the records already found.
As mentioned above, birth, marriage and death records of many of my ancestors are covered by databases available on Ancestry. And all of the Canadian censuses are now available on that site as well. So when I'm researching a specific individual, I will be able research major events during his/her life span. In the past, only some of the census images were available online so some information in the past was obtain via microfilm (very time consuming) or transcriptions on society's webpages or publications. Transcriptions do not usually include all the information from the actual census record.
I already have my digital files organized on my laptop in a logical (at least to me) manner and am able to locate files.
3) Establishing Base Practices and Guideline
- Start new database [I know, I know...that's not until several weeks into process...but I can't wait]
- create citations using appropiate template
- stay focused on one individual before moving on to another (Birth, marriage, death, relevant censuses, obit, headstone photo)
- recording pertinent info on an individual will necessitate recording info in other individual's records, but always return to the main person once I'm done with the record
- save image of the record and attach to appropriate people
- colour individual in database as indication I've gathered as much online information to me at this point in time
- plan on revisiting necessary individuals when I use specific print resources from my personal collection
- not sure if I'll be able to do Research logs. Have tried in the past but have yet to find a format that suits me. Every so often I revisit an individual to see what is missing. I have also used the Research Log feature of Rootsmagic when I'm unable to find a pertinent piece of information. But I don't mind revisiting a source at a later time as records are constantly being updated online. GenSmarts also helps with pointers.
- BACK UP on a regular schedule
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