Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Not Everyone Is Hip

Concerts on the Green
Some People Rock
One thing that I have learned by being in the training zone is that not everyone interested in family history/Genealogy are computer literate and endowed with good typing skills.

So what about them?

My first answer is if they want to learn there are some very simple steps to becoming pretty good. They (or you) can learn the basic computer and typing skills. There are links to two sites in the upper right corner of this blog. The better you are at these skills the better researcher you will be.

Second: Learn to search on FamilySearch, https://familysearch.org/ - this site is a gold mine of records relating to your genealogy research: birth info, censuses, and many other resources.

Third: Sign up for and learn how to use FamilySearch Family Tree. If you study this blog you will find all kinds of information on Family Tree.

Keeping it simple for the beginner boils down to these few steps.

So what if you are unwilling or unable to master this much? What role can you play? I would then move to start gathering histories: of yourself, your family, or others you can relate to. This is an important part of family history. After people spend time researching they start to yearn to know more about these people. "I want to know these people, know about them, when I meet them on the other side" was a quote recently shared with me by a new found relative who is passionate about her genealogy career.

The most important thing my mother did was gather stories. Anyone can do that.

So I encourage you, family history is an endeavor that catches hold of you. Give it a go, OK?

If  you feel  you can't do all of the 10 day plan, just do what you can and record it for or share it with others.
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6 comments:

  1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 12, 2012 at 11:06 AM

    Great points! No matter the skillset, everyone can participate in the joy that is Family History.

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  2. UnknownDecember 12, 2012 at 12:44 PM

    Thanks Jana

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    Replies
    1. Jana Iverson LastDecember 14, 2012 at 9:49 AM

      Larry, I wanted to let you know that this blog post is listed in my Fab Finds post today at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2012/12/follow-fridayfab-finds-for-december-14.html

      Delete
  3. UnknownDecember 17, 2012 at 6:32 AM

    Cool, glad you found me.

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  4. Devon Noel LeeDecember 23, 2012 at 4:01 PM

    I love this post. I tell people all the time, you can do something for family history. Photograph the artifacts that make a person. Record (voice or type) the stories about the artifacts or the great legends. Scan the photos into a computer before they're destroyed. Family History is more than micro film and anthologies. Thanks for posting.

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  5. UnknownDecember 24, 2012 at 9:47 AM

    Thanks Devon, You are correct.

    ReplyDelete