Collaboration on Every Level

Courtesy of Pixabay

After a bit of literature review, the natural name of this post had to be Collaboration on Every Level, because we humans live complicated lives. Our physical existence starts with a collaboration between parents and between a sperm and egg. As we move through life, we rely on family, friends, and institutions such as schools, churches, libraries, clubs, teams, and the larger culture, legal system and governments. 

As the out-going president of South King County Genealogical Society, I see how much non-profits rely on others such as genealogy organizations, libraries, archives, historical, cultural, lineage, ethnic groups, as well as state, national and even international groups. When reading the Washington State Genealogical Society Blog, it's easy to see how we all depend on one another. The Washington Presidents Council, for instance, was formed for mutual support as Covid-19 changed our social landscape forever. It has been an important part of keeping the faith, as we continue to work together. Organizations Collaborate Too! gives yet more examples.

Literature Review

Research generally begins with literature review. Why? I think it is the beginning of collaboration with those who have gone before us, whether in the form of articles, videos, books, maps, or research reports, online trees, locality guides, surveys of available records, and lists of repositories, local and regional resource groups. The more thorough the review, the easier it is to chart a path to success, no matter the project. Even pioneers don't set off without a plan based on as much solid information as possible. 

In some ways, we genealogy researchers ARE pioneers. These days, we have multiple choices of platforms on which to research, and an important data source not available even a decade ago - DNA. And tools we never dreamed of, such as Artificial Intelligence, AI. Most of us are beginners in these realms, and all of us rely on others both to help us learn to use the tools better, and to test and create new tools. More about DNA here: Targeted DNA Testing. Our DNA matches can be a new source of "cousin bait." cousins with whom we can collaborate. Not all are helpful or even interested, of course, but that's nothing new. Research is often a game of persistence, trying multiple paths to get to solid evidence for the stories of our ancestor's lives. 

Challenges

Some histories are challenging. Confronting tragedy, war, crime and even evil, no matter which part our families played. And we all must sometimes confront stories which should not be told when it could injure living people. But doing genealogy is good for us, in spite of the challenges. We can grow stronger as we confront complicated issues. 

Wikitee.com logo

Many of the linked posts above refer to Wikitree. If you are interested in joining our Wikitree User Group, subscribe here. We'll be meeting for the first time this summer. Meanwhile, jump into the tree, add yourself and your family line, carefully sourcing each fact you add, until you connect to the tree. 

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Further Thoughts on Collaboration

Valorie Zimmerman

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Send your stories to m.strickland@skcgs.org

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