Week 10 (June 5-11 2015)

This week's topics are:
1) Reviewing DNA Testing Options
2) Organizing Reserch Materials - Digital

I must confess that I haven't spent much time on the Do Over this week due as I'm fairly satistified with my status of both topics.

1) Reviewing DNA Testing Options

At this point in time, I still have no interest in pursuing DNA testing, the latest "craze" in the genealogy world. Maybe it's the cost or maybe it's the fear that I will discover my blood lines are not what I think they are.


I've been aware for a number of years about the existence of DNA testing and how people are often surprised as to their ethnicity.  I'm not concerned as to what percentage of each ethnic groups following through my veins.  On the other hand, maybe that would answer the question I had last year from my cousin Doug as to whether we have any Aboriginal blood in our Allen line.  As far as I've ever known, no.  However, I have been questioned various times if I am Native, so maybe there is something in that speculation.  I just don't know where it come in as my research accounts for mother and fathers descending from the British Isles.  If there is Aboriginal blood, then a legal spouse was not the blood parent of a baby somewhere in the tree.

Thomas MacEntee indicates he hopes that his DNA testing will be able to connect his branch of MacEntees to a more famous one in the same New York state county.  He wants to be able to prove one of his long-held theories and hopes DNA testing will accomplish that goal.  I don't have that same need.  I feel comfortable accepting family lore of parents, and I've been fairly successful in documenting this assumptions.  The benefits of close, large families keeping in touch over the generations.

Just this week, Ancestry Canada has announced they will are now offering DNA testing.  But I'm still not interested.  My trees are large enough now and I'm enjoying the hunt through official documents to verify and add branches.  I'm reluctant to graft branches to my tree as a result of DNA testing.  Even if I make contact with a cousin verified through DNA, I would still be reluctant to accept his/her research without checking documentation.  I would only use the matches in the same way I do now to the Public Member Trees I find on Ancestry.


2) Organizing Research Materials - Digital

As stated in previous posts, I have always tried to keep my computer records organized.  The benefits (or woes) of the old dos computer days.  File structure was very important, especially as one was limited to 8 characters for file names.  I feel that I have already developed a file naming convention that works for me, with can be easily tweaked if the need arises.  I will continue with that methodology.

If I experience a computer failure, I'll just have to do another Do Over and start fresh.  I have lost a thumb drive somewhere in my travels, as well as one getting damaged (while still plugged into the laptop), but most of the information on those drives were technically back ups.  If there was anything unique, I've yet to realize what it would be.

MacEntee also talks about metadata and suggests using the comment field as a way of linking relevant information, including the citation, to the file.  I guess I should get into the routine of doing that.  I have been trying to provide that information within Rootsmagic as I add media files to  individuals and tag relevant people to that media item.


Summary

I continue to be pleased that I decided to participate in the Genealogy Do Over.  I may not be fully participating in the topics each week, but I do feel that I am continuing to learn things or reinforce that I have, instinctively, been doing things in a proper manner.  

With making the commitment with the Do-Over, I started a fresh database and have proceeded to fill in the 'leaves' even though one is not to be doing that yet in the Do-Over.  But I have my brain trained to update my database as soon as new information is found.  If I set documents aside (either physically or digitally), it will be a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'.  As I procede with each family, I compare to my old file and it is amazing what additional information I have found in 2015.  Granted some of the families I've worked on the past 10 weeks were ones that I had not revisited for several years and more information is now available online.