{"id":1213,"date":"2014-01-06T08:01:06","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T15:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/?p=1213"},"modified":"2014-01-06T08:01:06","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T15:01:06","slug":"indexes-and-printed-records-are-genealogy-research-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/06\/indexes-and-printed-records-are-genealogy-research-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Indexes and Printed Records are Genealogy Research Tools\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indexes and Printed Records are Genealogy Research Tools–<\/b>searching them first is a genealogy research strategy that will work well for you.\u00a0 It is a first step<\/em> only.<\/p>\n

Search the indexed, printed records first.<\/b>\u00a0 This strategy is a first step<\/span>!<\/i> You can check in those libraries where you research frequently.\u00a0 You can check online–where you will find many abstracted and printed sources–with indexes.\u00a0 You can check for books that are available for loan.\u00a0 Or already posted on blogs.<\/p>\n

Chart the genealogical data you find–as you go along in your searches.\u00a0 You can do it manually on family group sheets, maps, excel files, pedigrees or on your computer.\u00a0 All genealogy programs have the capacity to create charts that are not linked–they can be sorted by name, by date, by place, by other categories.<\/p>\n

Next, read the original documents<\/strong>. Use volumes and page numbers from your printed stuff to gain quick access to the documents themselves.\u00a0 And keep their data separate from the printed versions.\u00a0 Do not mix them together, nor link them in your files as you go along in your research.\u00a0 Whether you make\u00a0 full copies of the documents themselves–and there are many reasons to copy them in full–or if you extract the information by hand or by computer, read<\/strong> the documents.<\/p>\n

Chart this new\u00a0 genealogical data\u00a0 in the same way.<\/p>\n

Evaluate your evidence.\u00a0 Carefully.\u00a0 What fits?\u00a0 What doesn\u2019t fit?\u00a0 What internal clues lie in the documents that you can follow up?\u00a0 References to original records that were used by the author of the printed version or history?\u00a0 Follow these up–there will be references to tax rolls you haven’t yet seen.\u00a0 Locations for early census records that other genealogists and how-to-guides do not know about.\u00a0 You will be the first to add these details to your database.<\/p>\n

The index, the printed record, the compiled genealogy\u2013is\u00a0a research tool<\/strong>.\u00a0 You will never live long enough to work your way through hundreds of rolls of microfilm\u2013and neither will I, if you hire me to do the searching.<\/p>\n

Use all the tools available to you.\u00a0 But check the original documents.\u00a0 Also read the preface<\/strong> and introduction<\/strong> in each printed book or index.\u00a0 Is it a work in progress?\u00a0 Were the index entries computer-input or digitized and edited by someone who speaks the language of the records?\u00a0\u00a0Or who has been trained to read old handwritings?\u00a0 [Recall that today, your children and grandchildren do not learn cursive writing in school.\u00a0 And the jump from hand-printed text to digitized (and abbreviated) text has already taken place!]<\/p>\n

Documents require research<\/b> just as your ancestors named in them do.\u00a0 I personally like to make a physical copy, on paper,<\/i> of each document so I can study and compare\u00a0each against other records.\u00a0 I can write on the document.\u00a0 I can do the math right on the document.\u00a0 I can pose questions right on the document.\u00a0 That is my preference and I create paper files.<\/p>\n

I do no<\/b>t<\/strong> merge the documents nor the data as research continues\u2014I keep them separate until all relevant records and their evidence have been examined.\u00a0 And I recommend this strategy to you as well.\u00a0 <\/b>When you separate your evidence for study you get these immediate benefits:
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  1. You can spot those persons with the same name who have been combined as if they were one ancestor.\u00a0 Men can own land in more than one place at the same time, they just can’t be present in more than one place.\u00a0 And your women can’t have children at the same time in more than one place.<\/li>\n
  2. Your genealogy evidence becomes standardized for easy comparison. You can match the evidence from several entries that apply to the same ancestor quickly.\u00a0 And set aside those that don’t match for additional work.<\/li>\n
  3. You can plan the additional searches you need to complete.\u00a0 When you go to the library or sit at your computer, you will have a research plan to guide your efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can digitize or scan\u00a0your printed evidence and original documents onto a disc, or computer hard drive, or flash drive.\u00a0 Then study them on your computer screen.\u00a0 Your notes are more efficient when they are attached to the document.\u00a0 \u00a0So I recommend that you enter each into your genealogy program separately\u2013do not merge. Yet.\u00a0 This documentation can be produced when you have a question or when others dispute your conclusions.\u00a0 <\/b>Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/arleneeakle.com <\/a><\/p>\n

    PS\u00a0 The case for using digital, scanned documents is the computer behind them.\u00a0 Your computer or other digital device can help you sort, index, match for fit–a faster and easier approach–to accurate and complete pedigrees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Indexes and Printed Records are Genealogy Research Tools–searching them first is a genealogy research strategy that will work well for you.\u00a0 It is a first step only. Search the indexed, printed records first.\u00a0 This strategy is a first step! You … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1213"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1291,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions\/1291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}