Researching “Outside the Box”

Sometimes when we are researching and are deep into county materials, we forget that looking outside the box at things that affected those ancestors can open pathways to other pieces of data. And if nothing else, make us aware of things which affected their daily lives.

For example, do any of you have family that lived here or in North Central Missouri between 1900-1909? My parents fit that period as well as my grandparents. So reading an Ancestry.com's Learning Center article [free], A Look At the Decade, 1900-1909 finds the following:

"... heavy rains in the last few weeks of May 1903 brought on historic flooding in the Missouri, Kansas, and lower Republican River Basins. In the aftermath, homes were washed away, along with many bridges, one of which held the water line that supplied Kansas City, Missouri with water."

Now I suspect Sullivan as well as the surrounding counties got hit by this heavy rain too! And what time of year is planting? I'm a farmer's daughter! Yes -- this HAD to impact our families. ~ Source: Lynda Peach, County Coordinator.

Things I Wish I Had Done from The Beginning

Research Log - actually it's LOGS. To me it seemed like an unnecessary Thing-To-Do. After all, I was entering the information into my database. Why log it? I felt I just did. I tried to use one a couple of times and still didn't feel it was useful. Even thought it was a waste of time. Oh, how wrong I was! There are lots of different forms of "research logs". I hate to think the number of research HOURS I wasted finding the same data over and over while doing searches. If I had a "research log" for that individual or family, I would have known I had found it and entered it in my database. I admit I am still not accustomed to using it. Try various ones until you find one that works for you. I eventually did and added a tweak to it.

Organizing digital files - There are numerous posts, articles, courses, etc. on different ways to accomplish this. You have to find a way that works for you! The way you think. The purpose is knowing where you put the death certificate for John Doe. This is another To-Do we tend to put off. Don't. It only takes MORE time if you do. Also, you will tweak this numerous times before you finally find the system that is right for you.

Finding the right genealogy software - I have used Family Tree Maker, Legacy, and RootsMagic. From any of those, print options are available for various reports, ascending or descending ancestorss, charts, etc. I realized a few years ago that my descendants were all computer savy. Some more than others. I now use Family Tree Maker on occasion but my main database is using TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding. There is a better chance of my TNG data being preserved and even go forward.

BSO's and Rabbit Holes - BSO is a "bright shiny object". Rabbit Holes are when you go chasing the BSOs. Every research should have a goal. What and/or Who are you looking for. It is even better if you have it written down ON your RESEARCH LOG. Otherwise, you see something that looks interesting ... it could be a name, a place, an activity, a hint of something else -- and off you fly -- going after your BSO. If I had a dollar for every time I've done this, I could hire the BEST genealogy researcher out there to chase my brick walls.

~ from Lynda Peach, County Coordinator.