When I returned from the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Kansas Genealogical Society, held in Dodge City…\u00a0 And from my research trip to Wichita KS to photograph family sites for\u00a0 a Lebanese family history I am completing…\u00a0 And from my excursion into Oshkosh WI to update my research and photograph family sites on a second family history underway…<\/p>\n
I discovered that several of my many house plants were a little the worse for the wear–I start new plants all the time by putting cuttings into water to grow roots and into smaller pots to take root.<\/p>\n
These cuttings I water frequently during the week and talk to them every day.\u00a0 They flourish.<\/p>\n
When I am away,\u00a0 they wilt.\u00a0\u00a0 Leaves turn yellow.\u00a0\u00a0 Heads droop.\u00a0\u00a0 Water evaporates.\u00a0\u00a0 And if I place too many cuttings in the same bottle or pot,\u00a0 their roots intertwine and intermix and turn sour and decay.<\/p>\n
So I water them first.\u00a0 Cut the dead leaves away.\u00a0 Wash and clean the roots.\u00a0 And talk to each one.\u00a0 And they perk right up within an hour or two.<\/p>\n
I depend upon the well-being of my plants to show me that the air I breathe indoors is clean and safe.\u00a0 For I am an asthmatic.\u00a0 Dirty air filled with chemical fumes from household sprays and perfumes, and molds\u00a0 from extra moisture and garbage contents trigger an attack that could mean my life.<\/p>\n
Like your genealogy.\u00a0 Especially if I am the one doing the research.<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you ever talk to your pedigree?\u00a0 Examine a document and talk to the people mentioned or described?\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 And often, I get answers.\u00a0 Whether from the sound of my own voice in my ears.\u00a0 Or from the brain cells who hear the questions.\u00a0 Or from the insight and inspiration that comes from careful study of the details.<\/p>\n The review of these details often ensures that I match unknown evidence that I find in the records to your known information and data.\u00a0 Without a match, there is no concrete proof.<\/p>\n And I never push the “make it fit” button.<\/strong>\u00a0 If it doesn’t fit, I look again at the sources.\u00a0 Review the library catalogs.\u00a0 Seek more family histories.\u00a0 Look more diligently and closely for places that others have made it fit.\u00a0 When family genealogists work together, do you have any idea how many times they push the “make it fit” button?<\/p>\n One of the evidences I look for all the time–each and every research session on your family stuff–is the way to evidence does not fit–exactly.\u00a0 Peoples lives do not always fit.\u00a0 Discrepancies are human and normal and found in all genealogies.\u00a0 With skill and with experience, we account for these. We resolve them with additional evidence.<\/p>\n For example, have you searched the 1860 census and found only initials for the given names?\u00a0 Then when you search the 1850 census for the same family, you have to guess if the given names match the initials.\u00a0 Sometimes they do.\u00a0 Sometimes they don’t.\u00a0 Look for other sources that name the family members.\u00a0 Do they help to resolve the differences?\u00a0 Explain or describe the nicknames that the initials stand for?<\/p>\n I store my research files on your genealogy and on all the genealogies that I am currently working on in plastic bins with pendaflex hanging folders and acid-free plastic sleeves.\u00a0 Not in file cabinets.\u00a0 Too many dangers to file cabinets.\u00a0 Oh, I have lots of file cabinets where I store research guides and aids and locations of documents and sources and research trip brochures and family history information of all kinds.<\/p>\n If there is a problem of any kind–water, bugs and spiders, excess moisture, or no moisture at all–I can move those bins quickly.\u00a0 They store original research.\u00a0 And security copies of past reports.\u00a0 And negatives for the photos I have taken.\u00a0 And your instructions to me about what you are seeking on your ancestors.\u00a0 And sometimes your only copy of a record or document on your family–your family knowns.<\/p>\n I consider it a sacred trust to preserve these things.\u00a0 So I want to be able to move them quickly if necessary.\u00a0 I have a truck with a bed and a secure back seat.\u00a0 I could load the bins into my truck and move them to safety–quickly.<\/p>\n You can’t move file cabinets quickly.<\/p>\n So, as I clean and care for my plants, I think about the research reports I am working on and the safe storage I provide.\u00a0 And I want you to consider these factors too.\u00a0 Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/www.arleneeakle.com<\/a><\/p>\n PS\u00a0 Soon I will discuss the in-born and acquired philosophies that guide your research work and often determine your success.\u00a0 Or lack of it!\u00a0 Stay tuned in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I returned from the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Kansas Genealogical Society, held in Dodge City…\u00a0 And from my research trip to Wichita KS to photograph family sites for\u00a0 a Lebanese family history I am completing…\u00a0 And from my … Continue reading