I'm at a strange place with my genealogy research. I've reached pretty far back in time on all of my lines and have found fantastic things. However, I can't reach any further back with just my friend the Internet. I'll have to hit ground to learn more about each line. But that means a road trip out east...not going to happen right now.
So, I'm left to delve deeper into the more recent lines. Those that I can track down holes in my research utilizing the Internet or, gasp, snail mail. It feels like I've covered the ground on my great and great-great grandparents pretty thoroughly, but I'm sure there are gaps. I have found that if I pick an ancestor and outline their life from birth to death in writing, I can easily pinpoint what I'm missing or, what I can add to better round out my research.
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| Minnie Lee White and Elizabeth Dudgeon |
To that end I have decided to begin a new series on my blog entitled Cradle to Grave. I will choose an ancestor and follow my document trail of their life from birth to death. Through forcing myself to write this information I will find the documentary gaps I have for each ancestor and narrow my research focus. It may not be tantalizing reading, but it could help fellow researchers and it will definitely help me!
I'll post the first iteration in the series on October 11 focusing on William T. Burnett my dead, not dead again, second-great grandfather.
3 comments:
Sounds like a good idea to me. I must try this. As I've been gathering documentation for my DAR application, I've become aware that I have "facts," but I don't know WHY or HOW I know it. Your plan would work in this way too.
Agree - great plan! I need to get back to work on my DAR application so like Wendy said, this would work for that, too. Can't wait to hear how it goes.
Exactly, Wendy and Debi. I'm hoping that I'll not only find gaps in my research but also add some "meat" to the bones. I have already written one Cradle to Grave post and I was able to highlight some things I was missing on the person and that has given me renewed energy to track down the loose ends. If you try it, let me know how it works for you!
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