5.27.2011

the Genealogist

As you all know, I am doing some top-secret research and writing for a book.
(Hopefully it won't be top-secret forever.)

This involves online research, which is almost turning into family history research, which, have I told you about that one Family History class I took?  The 400 level class I signed up for my last semester at BYU, thinking it was something entirely different?
Well.
Turns out, family history is not a piece of cake, especially when you've never done it before and you're in an upper division college class where the teachers expect you to know how to do it right.  Like a professional.
(You guys, there were employees of Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org in my class.  I was in WAY over my head.)
But I digress.

My latest three subjects have been somewhat difficult to find information on.  Sure, there are 50 websites about them, but they all repeat the same little bio, practically verbatim.  I need more.  I finally found a little family website with some genealogies and the same last name, and I emailed the webmaster asking if he had any information on my subject.

So far, he has sent me four emails back.  After telling me he really didn't have anything (he's "just a hobbyist"), he went and looked at censuses, military records, county records, and compiled all the information to send back to me.  The stuff just keeps coming!
I was tickled in the first place that he would even reply - but now he's practically doing my job for me.  I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of these things before, what with all my training.  Ha.

Anyway, how awesome is that?

2 comments:

  1. I by NO means know how to do geneology like a professional, but I DO love geneology and could easily get addicted if time permitted. I bet you're having so much fun!

    ReplyDelete

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