In 2017, I started my How They Do It series of interviews with prominent genealogists about how they organize their own genealogy research. It was a popular series and I really enjoyed doing it. In 2017, I ran the interviews monthly, but after that they became more infrequent, I’m sorry to say.
I’d like to rejuvenate the series in 2020 and would love to hear suggestions from you about people you’d like me to approach.
You can see a list of all the 2017 interviewees (with links to the interviews) in this post. And you can see the others by clicking on this link to the articles tagged with How They Do It. (They’re listed in reverse chronological order.) If there’s someone you think would be great for me to interview, I would love to hear about it! (Bonus points if you have contact info!)
Christine Rose (Christine4Rose.com) has thought through, solved, and explained some sticky problems, like the many Byzantine ways that counties index their land and probate records. So has Mary Kircher Roddy (mkrgenealogy.com). I bet they both have some clear thinking invested in the ways that they organize genealogy records, and I’d like to know how they do it.
Nikka Smith (http://whoisnickasmith.com/) prepares the written plans for GROUP research trips, with several cousins working at the same court house at the same time. How do they make sure that they don’t get in each other’s way or duplicate work? How do they make sure they don’t leave until they have all they planned to get? I’d love to know how she does it.
Thank you so much, Marian!
i’m nominating Julie Groucher who has vast experience in the area of one name studies (also known as surname studies). This is her bio https://anglersrest.net/about/
In the summer she wrote a very interesting post about how she organises her material – see here https://anglersrest.net/2019/05/29/notebooks-inbox-and-workflow-review/
Thank you so much! I hadn’t been aware of Julie and will check out the links you posted!
I think there are 3 that would be great interviews. Gordon Remington, FUGA, who is a recognized as being a Fellow of the American Genealogists. (there can only be 50 at any given time) His specialty is New York and has done some incredible work, including writing books. Kyle Betit, who is one of the founders of ProGenealogists, now an arm of Ancestry. Kyle is known for his deep knowledge and expertise in Irish genealogy. He now leads tours thoughout the world that are setup to help those searching their ancestors. The third is Angie Bush,MS, she has a degree in genetics, or microbiology and has the unique training to really do deep research in DNA studies. She teaches frequently at different professional level institutes. She is a really great gal and I know she would be fun to speak with. For their contact information, send me an email.
Thank you, Maria. I appreciate your taking the time to suggest three people!
How about Cyndi Ingle, founder of Cyndi’s List? Hers was the first comprehensive online genealogy resource I was ever aware of. She claims to have started it in March 1996. So I guess there were a few years before that where I did not have access to it, but it seems like it’s been around forever.
Cyndi is a great suggestion, Hazel. I’ve asked her in the past and didn’t get a response, but perhaps I’ll try again! Thanks for the suggestion.