This is “Some Day We’ll Laugh About This…” Week–from 2 January through 6 January:
- Because…many of our Resolutions are funny in and of themselves
- Because…once made, Resolutions are easily broken
- Because…even if written down, Resolutions are forgotten almost before the ink is dry
- Because…Resolutions are more fun broken than kept
- Because…when we laugh at ourselves, the world laughs with us
- Because…ancestors seem less formidable than living relatives
- Because…genealogy Resolutions take a lot of focused willpower and commitment
My Genealogy Resolutions include increasing my computer skills and activity without sacrificing my commitment to scholarly integrity in the research I do. Even though we have digital images far beyond our wildest dreams–they represent a minute coverage in the documentation we require to prove a pedigree.
Much of the data available on the internet is transcribed from transcribed, printed information–at least 2-5 generations from the original documents. And the records thus transcribed are usually selected–that is chosen from the total number of documents available for any given event.
Readers of this blog often share with me the research they are doing on individual people and specific localities. And the total number of records they examine, is a revelation in and of itself, of the total number of records for any given event. When I read through such research, I have a keen desire to prepare a checklist of the specific items they reference.
Through 2013, watch this blog carefully for such checklists–these checklists of records guide me in the research that I do so I don’t miss the very document(s) that contain the proof of relationship that I seek.
What an exciting year we shall have exploring the documentation available for your ancestors–remember that I trace your family tree for you or teach you how to do it yourself. That’s my 2013 commitment to you, gentle readers. Stay tuned! Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://arleneeakle.com
PS And if I fail in my Resolutions, join me in laughing at the sensitive, human qualities that make a good genealogy researcher.