Do's and Don'ts
Firstly, I am a big believer that there is no "incorrect" way (other than Illegal or Unlawful methods, of course) to find information about your Family or your Family History (Please forgive the use of the Double Negative). Some ways are clearly more efficient and effective than others, but the Research path, less travelled, can often uncover hidden gems. However, when it comes to recording, communicating or displaying your information, there are certainly a few basic rules, to which everyone would be wise to adhere. The security and safety of the "Living" is of paramount importance. In other words, DO NOT display or forward information about a Living person without their permission first. Even with their permission, it still may not be appropriate to do so. When displaying or forwarding information, DO NOT display or copy other people's work (e.g. Family Trees, documents or photographs, etc.) without the Owner's permission or approval. Some work may be subject to Copyright Laws. You want to ensure that your work has authenticity, originality and credibility, so there are at least two things you should always DO - 1) VERIFY your information, preferably through more than one Source, and 2) LIST all relevant SOURCES. They must be credible. DO NOT Guess or assume information, put it in the "INFORMATION TO BE VERIFIED OR REFUTED" Folder for further investigation
As boring and time consuming as all of this sounds, I can tell you that it will always save you time and money next time around, and in the Long run, every time thereafter. |
Who am I
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I am an Amateur Genealogist with over 28 years experience in both Australian and Overseas Genealogical research, tracing Family Trees. Well before the Internet came into our homes, I spent many an hour scrolling through microfiche records in a Library or State archive, and sending many a letter overseas (often with a 6-10 week turnaround time) for a certificate or request, in the often elusive hope of obtaining that one or two missing pieces of the Family Jigsaw Puzzle.
This traditional research process was my grounding, in developing certain traits that hold all Amateur Genealogists in good stead. It taught me the value of being prepared, organised, thorough, patient and flexible in order to make the best use of my time and money when researching. You should be aware that not all searches are productive in their outcome or result, and my hip pocket has been stung more than once, when a certificate acquired was found to be not my relative, after all. This is simply part of the elimination process and the nature of the beast that is Rediscovering your Roots. Things are infinitely easier with the advent of the Internet. However, whatever your Research method, it will always remain true that the more accurate the information can be given, the more likely a positive outcome will ensue. |
My History |
Over 30 years ago, one of my sisters sought to start tracing the Family tree, with the intention of trying to find My Mother's Biological Mum. Both my parents were only surviving children. My Mother had been unofficially adopted out at birth, and sadly, never got to meet her birth Mother. Slowly, as the information trickled in and the tree grew, a few of us started to help, and interest grew to expand the search to other lines.
There were simply questions that we needed to be answered. My Father's Father's family in the USA, there was only ever anecdotal evidence of their existence, prior to him coming to Australia from the USA, in 1930. Our attempts at researching our USA line, was heavily and predominantly reliant on my Dad's memory of conversations with his Father, as the paper trail ended abruptly at the 1930 US Merchant Seaman Census. This was always our Long-term stumbling block, attempting to trace back from this point. It certainly didn't help that his Father had changed his name, unofficially, without anyone knowing this, until further Sleuthing uncovered this discovery recently. Being the youngest of my parent's six children, all of my Grandparents were gone by the time I started Pre-school at the local Catholic Primary school. We had no Uncles, Aunties or cousins by blood (of which we knew), so there was no one left to pass on any of the generational stories by the time I was even slightly interested in My Family's origins. Other than Dad, and some of his geographically distant cousins in Victoria or Western Australia, there was no one to ask. The wonderful Uncle, Aunt and cousins of my Mum's adopted family were the only extended family with which we had regular contact, and our families still have a strong bond with them and regularly keep in contact, many years later. With the passing of both of my parents in the last 10 years, most of our original questions have now been answered. Many of them were answered a little too late for my parents. Other questions will simply never be answered. The positives we can take out of all of this is that we have at least answered so many of them for the current generation so that the next generation, oblivious to our efforts, can know their roots when the time comes that they're interested enough to ask. If there's one piece of advice I could give to anyone thinking about tracing their Family History, it is "Just start doing it!" It is amazing to be able to piece together past lives and discover what your ancestors have done, just from a few hours of research and a handful of certificates. I have an Irish Potato famine Orphan immigrant (Ellen Hurley) who married her Employer in 1850; a Royal Humane Society Gold medal recipient (Dr Richard Sumner) for a Shipwreck rescue in Formby in 1833; an American Civil War veteran (William S Nicholson), who was a Wisconsin volunteer and part of the "Iron Brigade"; wounded at Antietam (Sharpsburg), and pensioned off, he was silly enough to re-enlist with Illinois volunteers over 12 months later. Three Grandfathers (My mum was adopted) who served in WW1 and WW2 and My Dad, a Korean War veteran. None of them are famous. All of them survived. It would be a travesty for Family to make little or no effort to keep their stories alive. |