Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Family history becomes basis for HBO comedy

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I was thrilled when I read in the January 18 edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine that Christopher Guest (director of such improvised comedic masterpieces as Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show) will be creating a similarly styled comedy for HBO called Family Tree. It’s the story of a 30-year-old unemployed man (played by Chris O’Dowd) who inherits a box of family mementos from a great aunt he never met. He decides to explore his family lineage, using the clues found in the treasures in the box, and starts meeting the odd people that are his family members.

According to the article, the series will be shot in Guest’s trademark faux documentary style. And, as in his movies, it will be improvised. While the show is unscripted (each episode has an eight-page outline), the writers created an extensive back history for each character and a family tree going back to the 1700s.

The show is set to premier in May. I gave up cable TV over a year ago, but this might be enough to bring me back so that I can subscribe to HBO!

Setting my genealogy goals

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One of my favorite things about December is goal setting. I take stock of the year and how did on the goals I set the prior December. And then I create new goals for the coming year. I do this for my organizing business every year, but this will be the first year I’ve set specific goals for my family history research.

I think having goals will help me get past the overwhelmed feeling I sometimes get when I think about my family history research. I think I’ll also create a running wish list, a place to capture research subjects or activities I’d like to do at some point. That will help with the “what should I work on today?” question that comes up from time to time.

I’m going to spend some time honing my genealogy goals over the course of the month, so these might change. But right now, the goals that occur to me are:

  • Take a research trip
  • Meet some of my new-found cousins
  • Attend at least one genealogy-related conference
  • Learn about and take advantage of local research opportunities
  • Do family history research at least twice a week
  • Post to this blog twice a week
  • Increase the readership of this blog

I’m noticing that none of these goals are related to actual research results or the research that I want to accomplish. And that’s okay with me. I’m a big believer in doing things a little at a time and rewarding effort, rather than results. I don’t know where my research is going to take me and I’m really enjoying the journey. So my goal for next year is continue with the research and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Documenting sources

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Properly documenting sources is really important to me as I explore my family history this time around. I want to be  confident about every fact I enter into my genealogy software.

I just read the article , “Genealogy GPS” in the current (October/November 2012) issue of Family Tree Magazine. I hadn’t realized that there’s a Genealogical Proof Standard (how great is that?). Reading the article added to my resolve about having high standards for the data I include in my family tree. In fact, I now think I want to go back and try to find a second source for any information I’ve already entered that has only one source.

I had a private conversation on Facebook with an old friend recently, who excitedly told me that he’d traced his roots back to the 12th century. He’d done so via clicking on family trees on Ancestry. When I mentioned that my own family history research involved using only confirmed data, he replied, “I resolved that sourced reference is terrific, but the speed and excitement of Ancestry.com is far more satisfying.”

Here’s the thing: My friend is having a great, satisfying time researching his family history this way and that’s perfectly okay. But I have to tell you, I get such a thrill when I track down a document that verifies the unconfirmed data I tracked down ten years ago during my own spate of that speedy and exciting Ancestry research. That’s what’s working for me.

The “Genealogy GPS” article is really terrific–chock full of resources. If you’re a subscriber, don’t overlook it. (And if you’re a newer family history researcher and not a reader of Family Tree Magazine, you really should consider subscribing. I love it.)

 

Excited to use Reunion 10

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I use Reunion software on my Mac and today upgraded to version 10. I usually am pretty cautious about updating software that I’m happy with, but one look at the video outlining the new features and I was in. (And that was before I learned I could get the upgrade at no cost, since I’d bought Reunion 9 in 2012.)

I’d had no complaints with Reunion 9. When I started doing genealogy research 10 years ago, I hand wrote everything. But when I got serious about it again this year, I knew I needed software and I decided on Reunion, which is native for the Mac. So I had nothing to compare it to, but I was very pleased.

But Reunion 10 is even more exciting. They’ve added many easy-to-use reporting and charting features. They’ve also expanded what you can see on one screen and increased the ease of navigation.

As I’ve mentioned in a post about my research plan, my strategy is to use Reunion to document my family history research and to add nothing to it that has not been verified and properly sourced. At first that felt like kind of a drag…Reunion felt like a necessary evil. As I add data to it and watch my family tree grown, fully confident that the information contained in it is solid, Reunion is feeling more like a friend. And now that I have Reunion 10 to play with, it’s become an even more interesting friend. (Like going home from college with a friend and discovering she has a cute brother!)

Click below to see the video that outlines the improvements to Reunion 10. If you haven’t already updated, you might consider it!

The Top Ten New Features in Reunion 10 (video)

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When you first join the list, I’ll send you a few emails to help you organize your family history. After that you’ll hear from me at the end of every month when I send an email with links to that month’s posts. And every now and then, I’ll let you know when I have something special to promote.