Hey Genealogist - Are You Making Rookie Mistakes?

Rookies are poor note keepers

Rookie family group records have meager source citations, and are limited to births, marriages, and deaths. Their research logs often consist of small slips of paper tucked into the pages of a spiral notebook. They have a tendency to make handwritten copies of sources. Their copies of sources are scattered and poorly organized. Finding a particular document may take 5 minutes or more.
Consequences: Poor organization and note keeping often results in redundant searches, missed documents, overlooked clues, poor correlation and analysis, incorrect conclusions, dead ends, and false connections.

Experienced researchers document AS THEY GO, keeping up-to-date, well-source-footnoted family group records, and research logs. Veterans make photocopies of sources whenever allowed by the repository. They add all events including things like each census, military service, and family moves to their family group records. They are well organized. Thanks to their research log they can have any document copy about the family in their hand in moments. They use their records, especially the family group record, as their best source of ideas about where to search next because of all the clues they have packed onto it. They use their research logs to document their research strategies as well as the sources searched. Rookies assume an ancestor’s name has only one correct spelling
Rookies may reject sources that show the ancestor’s name spelled differently than expected. They often insist the family has always spelled the name just one way. They may be uncomfortable with variant spellings because they assume different spellings are a sign their ancestors were uneducated. They overlook the possibility that it was a clerk (not family) that spelled the name differently.

Consequences: Missed sources, missed opportunities, missed clues, incomplete and stunted genealogies.

Experienced researchers would find it unusual if they found only one spelling in all of the records for a particular person. They expect and actively seek out as many variant spellings of the name as possible. Experienced researchers look for names under middle names, initials, abbreviations, and nicknames. They use the International Genealogical Index to find alternate spellings to surnames. And they use spelling substitution tables to figure out even more possible alternates spellings of the surname.

Rookies often have vague research goals

Rookies often have little focus and act scatterbrained. When questioned about the person and event they seek, a rookie may not have anyone specific in mind. They just want to find ancestors and have no one in particular. Further, they are often without a family group when they ask questions.

Consequences: Lack of focus means a rookie is unlikely to stay on task. They often cannot figure out sources to search. Therefore their general focus often results in general lack of progress.

Experienced researchers work on one specific event in one person’s life at a time. They can name the person and event, such as, “I want to document Katie Beller’s birth.” The nature of the event suggests a variety of sources that might have information about that event. Further, veterans carry with them a well-documented family group record showing that individual ancestor so the researcher can review the clues. They tend to continue to research that one event in one person’s life until they find it.

There are more: Click here to see um

Rookie Mistakes

A list of rookie mistakes, their consequences, and what experienced genealogists DO BETTER. A self-improvement checklist. 

Contents: These are some of the great training tips on http://familysearch.org Click the links for more detail. 1 Rookies are poor note keepers. 2 Rookies assume an ancestor’s name has only one correct spelling. 3 Rookies often have vague research goals. 4 Rookie researchers jump between families too often. 5 Rookies start research on the farthest back ancestor with the least data. 6 Rookies assume no record of an event exists if they fail to find it on the first search. 7 Rookies overlook relatives and neighbors. 8 Rookies avoid discussing contradictory evidence. 9 Rookies don't think about sharing their research. 10 Rookies don't sharpen the saw enough. 11 Rookies expect too much and give up too early Each of these have details when you click the link.

Training The Rookie In Genealogy - Day 2

The rookie came prepared today. Our goal was to have her enter 5 generations of her ancestors in  PAF, the free software. I was excited to see she brought her thumb drive fully loaded with all 5 generations all done.

Now we have a rookie here, right! So how did she come so prepared? Answer, her daughter is active n genealogy and had loaded it and PAF on her laptop. The future is in collaboration and this is a fine example. Why should my trainee have to start over when it is already available. She shouldn't have to is the answer.

Where my rookie had rated her skill level as 0 or 1 on a 1 to 5 scale, she had under rated herself. I think that's a common problem. Folks, this genealogy game is not hard. The computer skills needed are basic. PAF is easy to learn. There are challenges, but they are the detective type challenges.

We had the assignment to print her 5 generation chart from PAF. It's done: Reports - select the type of chart - print. Done. The chart will be posted on the wall with our mission presidencies charts. I looked at the wall today only to notice not all of the presidency are able to go out 5 generations. They have work to do. They may have walls difficult to find.

Our next task was to start documenting what is in her PAF, verifying and proving what her daughter had provided her. Today we got part way through her fathers line.

The first site I took my trainee was to http://familysearch.org/ That should be your first place to search. Billions of names and files are on this site. Millions are being added each month. It's a serious initiative by the church and it's free. Here we found every person we worked on today in a census. She found some facts she was unaware of such as birth states of parents of those we were researching.

I took her through a tour of FamilyTree. She won't have access yet but the reason I did this was to have her decide how she will document her ancestors. When FamilyTree goes live it will be all about documenting mankind. You will hear that often I am sure. As a result of today my trainee will collaborate with her daughter on what documents they have, and how they will link them to FamilyTree. Eventually I expect the church will allow us to upload our documents, but it appears we will open being able to place a link. In my case I am posting documents on this blog. We could use Flickr as does my sister. In both cases there is a unique Internet address for the document which can link to FamilyTree.

I want to interject here my trainee is excited to learn. She is absorbing because of this. You too can go from Rookie to success with an attitude like this. Do it!

I introduced her to SharingTime. The reasons are on this blog in another article. You only use it in New Family Search or will in FamilyTree. If you aren't in these yet, take a note, you will want to have it in FamilyTree. The search bar will pull the article up if you want to find the old article.

We spent some time in Ancestry.com. I think you will want to either pay the price for it, 25.00 per month and more or go to a library or LDS Family History Library to use their licensed copies. The two main reasons I like Ancestry is to see other subscribers trees and what they have on our lines and to get to some census's Family Search doesn't have on line yet. There are other good features.

Tomorrow is day 3, I;ll be back.

Training The Rookie In Genealogy

The mission has changed my assignment. I am supposedly a rent a trainer, loaned to the training zone for two weeks.

LDS Conference Center

When a person enters our mission they go through two straight weeks of training. The training is to provide the missionary the basics on genealogy research. Many are assigned to zones that do not involve research. For example, there are missionaries that serve in the language translation zone. Every General Conference and many events at the Conference Center are translated into dozens of languages. The implementation of that is complex and takes many professionals and missionaries. Those assigned here will be doing their learning in these two weeks and outside their assignment.

Members are often called to this mission with minimal computer and genealogy skills. Such is the lady I am assigned to teach. It is my commitment to take her through our 1 on 1 training and prepare her to make her mission here a joyful experience in learning how to do her own research.

Of course each missionary comes to this mission with various levels of experience. Prior to arriving we fill out various forms, one of them being a personal assessment of our skill level, including skill levels in using a computer.

My trainee, rated herself either 0 or 1 on a scale of 0 to 5 in all categories. So I truly have a Rookie in Genealogy to train. What is exciting to me, on each category she added, "I am anxious to learn."

We met for a few hours Friday, and truly she shows enthusiasm and an excitement to learn.

What is your level of experience? Are you also a Rookie in Genealogy? If so, join with me for the next two weeks as I share with you what I share with my trainee.

I have already posted a few articles about getting started, but I now realize that they might not be what the rookie in genealogy needs to start with.

So here we go: Join in.

Take note, you cannot get fully trained in two weeks. I do believe, however, that I can provide the basics and that the curriculum that has been developed by our training zone will take you or anyone anxious to learn to a place they are launched successfully into many exciting experiences with their ancestors.

1- You must have basic computer skills. The web is a most powerful source of information. It has changed research immensely. You must know how to turn on a computer and use it beyond email. Monday, I will post the basic skills you will need. If you don't have them, persuade your nearest connection to a 10 year old and have them teach these to you.

2- Don't go buying a fancy software that does all sorts of cool things. Wait for that.

3- Download free software called PAF. Understand, you friend or relative that is into genealogy is going to argue with me on this point. I am your teacher. Do as I say. Get PAF, its simpler. Click here to go and download PAF:

Here is a video that gives you an overview of PAF.


4- Find out what conferences are within your access. Here in Salt Lake the biggy is RootsTech. The next one is in March 2013. RootsTech offers classes for all levels of interest and experience. If you can go - do so. If you cannot, find a local one. There is at least one a month somewhere. In my home area, there is an annual conference that moves back and forth between Bellevue and Redmond. You go to conferences because they are awesome. The handouts alone are often worth going.

Click Here for the Rootstech Site.

You can already tell I am offering things that are outside of a two week one on one training. That's what it takes, baby! The good news, it's a blast. More good news, you will learn a lot, very fast.

5- If you haven't figured it out yet, you must return to this blog periodically. Even after the two weeks of training there will be lots of tips and sites I will expose you to. Of course I mix in some stories of ancestors.

6- Our next assignment will be to organize the names of 5 generations of ancestors. This is Sunday. You have all day to do that and part of tomorrow. Go get em. Don't worry about names you can't find, do what you can. Gather with the names, birth dates, death dates, and marriage dates. That's a good start. Make sure you download PAF.

If you want, see if you can input some of the information you gather into PAF.

The pressure is on - the fun begins.