Crack the Nut

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Free public domain CC0 image, courtesy RawPixel

Crack the Nut, or First Things First

What is your greatest challenge when writing up your research work? For me, it was always writing citations. Key step for me to resolving this was to change my habits and make writing the citation the first thing I do, right in the planning stage.

Lead with a Citation

How does that make sense, when I've not even found the source I'm looking for? One of the first steps in a research project is planning; narrowing the topic (research question), gathering the context (history and locality), then ranking the possible sources of the needed information by ease of access, reliability, accessibility, cost, and chance of success in answering the question.

In the planning stage, we have identified the databases or record groups we want to consult, so this is the right time to craft a citation. All the information we need, except for the specific records you will find is available, so Just Do It Now.

As Elizabeth Shown Mills says on her website, “Citations are all about information, not just formatting.” The planning stage is where analysis begins. If I want a birth date, what sort of source to search depends on the time and place. 

In American research, we are unlikely to find birth certificates before 1900 in most of the US, and government birth records of any sort become more rare the further back in time and the further west the birthplace. This is where historical context and a good locality guide comes in handy. Knowledge of the religious affiliation and local church records could also be critical. Most churches did not note birth dates, but often kept track of christening or baptisms, including sponsors or godparents. These people will be the FAN club of the family (Friends & Family, Associates, Neighbors).

If such a direct record is not available, what to do? Consult local laws of the time; taxes are almost universal and many tax records survive. The law stipulates who is liable to pay, and thus legal age can be calculated when a person appears and disappears from tax lists. The FamilySearch Wiki and many other websites suggest multiple strategies for finding evidence of the information we seek. The Family History Guide even has short lessons about learning these skills. 


Courtesy of Transparent People Network Png

Following all the members of the family is not distraction, or "going down a rabbit hole"! It is wholistic research, where you see each person as part of a family and a community. Humans are social, and rely on a network of relationships for everything from birth to death. The more you know about these networks, the richer the story becomes. 


Log the Research

Another practice which I find difficult is keeping a research log. Creating it as preliminary analysis is done in the planning stage helps a lot. Again, all the information is at my fingertips, so I just paste it into the spreadsheet or Airtable base along with the citation. I may not find the ancestor in the research focus, but may locate family members or FANs along the way, and can add this information to the research notes and log. This is a great way to stay focused while still noting those "bright shiny objects" which often distract.


Write As You Go

A sentence or phrase in your research plan/notes or a separate document is the beginning of a research report, which is the ultimate part of fulfilling the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). 

Most researchers find "writing it up" to be very challenging, and many say, "I'm not a writer." You don't have to be a natural writer, you just have to write! And notes are the starting place. As your notes progress, and you re-read them, the information will begin to take shape in your mind. Humans want stories; and we form seemingly disconnected facts into patterns, which are the beginning of a story.

You begin to know the ancestor or family at the center of your search, and get a sense of their life as a whole. Write while inspired, or just note the facts. It all counts, it's all useful when it's time to publish, whether you are writing a short biography to include in an online profile, such as in Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage or Wikitree, or to send here to the blog! 

Or maybe you want to write for your family, either in a book, individual social media posts or even emails. 

We are interested in our ancestors' lives, and I often feel a corresponding interest from those who are gone. They want their stories told. It is up to us to do that work, so let's get to it.


Thanks to all who have recently shared your stories. Keep them coming to m.strickland@skcgs.org





Valorie Zimmerman


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