journal week one

The Beginning

This is a new format for me. I have never written a blogg and do not subscribe to any on a regular basis, but as a requirement for my class...well, here I go!

I will attempt to relate the assignment to my life and hobbies. Genealogy has been a hobby of mine for over 20 years and I would love to make it a career. Technology has helped make my, and other genealogists', life much easier and more difficult. The invention of paper, books, radio, television, and the Internet the search for long lost relatives has been a blessing as well as a curse.

Paper, books, radio, television and the Internet helped to make the world a little smaller with each step into the era of a new technology. Yes, these were all wonderful achievements that brought us all a little closer and were a wonderful way to share information faster than the previous way, but technology also has a down side, where the search for accurate information is concerned. I am one who feels it is necessary to have documentation, proof in hand of lineage. Technology is now affordable to most of the world and I have found that in searching for my ancestors that everyone is not as conscientious as I am about accuracy.

When doing a search on an Internet site, subscription or free, you must be very careful of dates and names. The Internet allows us to search other family trees, but it is only as accurate as the person putting the information together. It is very easy to see a familiar name and assume that the person they have is the person you are looking for. Yes, I have done it too. I don't know anyone who hasn't. You have been up for days looking for the next name in your line, a parent, spouse or sibling, and you see a similar spelling with a similar date. Whether it be the excitement or weariness you must stop and check the accuracy. Sometimes names are spelled phonetically and don't look like the name you are looking for, especially in early census reports. The bad habit of copying someone elses' tree without checking and rechecking can lead you to not your own, but someone elses' ancestor. Remember, the information that you found is only as accurate as the person who posted the information.

Old family bibles can be of great importance. These were written before the Internet by those who cared about lineage and tend to be more true to dates and name spellings. Cemeteries, local churches and county offices can hold a wealth of information that tends to be more accurate that someones memories.

Please remember, as you venture into the past, that technology can be your friend or your foe. Use the advances in technology and the written accounts, but which ever you are looking at, please, check and recheck that you are on the right path and not in a neighbors back yard.