Tips & Opinions

  • Tips & Opinions

    Data Cleanup Tip #1

    One quick trick I discovered for repairing problem Genealogy data involves using an editor -I like geany and gedit… probably because I run on Linux. But truth be known, any editor with a global find & replace function should do just fine! Here’s the typical scenario.  You have a data corruption problem that occurs throughout your database.  I always encounter problems like foreign character corruption… you have probably seen words like A@$0n in your files, too.  To make matters worse, they appear in various fields and across numerous records.  What to do??? Well the obvious, but painful, answer is to sit and retype everything using characters that don’t get jumbled…

  • Ancestry.com Thoughts,  Tools

    Cleanup from Ancestry.com #2

    Ancestry files require a lot of clean-up before they are really useful or accurate.  As I noted earlier, the files themselves need to be scrubbed of duplicates, overlapping records and more. In order to accomplish these repairs, I use numerous tools to address the requisite tasks including: GRAMPS (a Linux Genealogical Toolset)- I like this tool a lot because it provides wonderful facilities for performing the following functions: Merging duplicate Sources Merging Duplicate Places Identifying and Merging duplicate People Database clean-up RootsMagic 4 provides nice facilities for: Pruning branches and limbs Problem analysis TNG (The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding): (Note: I no longer use TNG-  28 Jul 2010) Merging…

  • Ancestry.com Thoughts

    Cleanup from Ancestry.com #1

    I don’t know how many of you, like me, use Ancestry.com as their data collection and ‘easy analysis’ site.  I suspect quite a few. As you may be aware I have been pouring through a significant section of my father’s family- the Deyos.  This research effort has generated a set of over 500 people.  Also because the research is about 90% in Quebec, that means there is a lot of overlap in that portion of my family tree.  People are cross-related numerous times over; in my case there are about 5 junctions.  This brings me to my point… Ancestry.com does not deal with overlapping, repeating family lines very well at…

  • Tips & Opinions,  Tools

    Norwegian Research

    Norway offers exceptional internet research facilities for genealogy. Although we have not been working in the Sivertsen family line very long we have uncovered some very helpful web-tools. Thus far we have unearthed several excellent, dare I say indispensable,  tools: Norwegian Historical Data Centre (a wonderful repository) – The Norwegian Historical Data Centre (NHDC) is a national institution under the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Tromsø (UiTø). Our main aim is to computerize the Norwegian censuses 1865 onwards together with the parish registers and other sources from the 18th and 19th centuries. National Archives of Norway – Digitalarkivet (Digital Archives) is the Norwegian National Archives’ channel for…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Genealogy of Canada

    Genealogy of Canada is a great site for researching French Canadian ancestry.  I discovered the site two days ago when I was stumped trying to locate some relatives. The site is developed primarily for native French Canadian language speakers and offered in translated English.  I have had no major problems with the English variant; it is much better than my French! I have encountered a couple of minor problem issues that are worth noting: source references are difficult, if not impossible to view. it is difficult to send bulk data to the site for inclusion in their database These are small prices to pay for what is an excellent, albeit…

  • Ancestry.com Thoughts

    Ancestry Downloads

    Ancestry download issues?? Like the rest of you, I need to download my Ancestry work files.  Also like many of you, maybe all of you, I encounter problems. Here’s how things don’t work for me. To perform a download of a gedcom file is not difficult, although the function is pretty well hidden. To access the function you need to go to the Main page of a Family Tree (one of yours); select Tree Settings (in the nearly invisible tiny green font just on top of the Tree Settings Box- cleverly placed outside the Tree Settings box). Once you select that option, a new view will open and to the…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Pick wisely

    As you work on your genealogy be sure to work on branches and items in logical groups.  Do not scatter your efforts too much or you risk becoming confused, muddled and inaccurate. I find that my best and most productive work comes when I work in a single or focused area of my family either by picking a ‘branch’ or following a group or family history theme. Working in this manner I find I develop much better control by being attuned to the following: Local history, more precisely history of the time and place, is much easier to keep in mind. History can greatly affect the movements and choices your…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Be honest

    Honesty is one of the most important dimensions of good genealogy and family history.  We all have backgrounds that we would like to say were ours. However, sometimes we have to settle for the fact that we are who we are. If you truly want to provide and accurate family history and genealogy, you need to look at things as they are, not as you wish they would be.  Facts, information and knowledge form the basic building blocks of good genealogical research.  Your family history requires not only knowing who your people were but why they may have done what they did, chose what they chose. Like you, remember they…

  • Tips & Opinions

    No historical records?

    Yesterday while working on my genealogy, I accidently got carried away.  Hard to believe but true.  Here is what I found myself doing, then questioning and finally fixing. I was conducting initial research on Ancestry, seeking the basics about who was born of whom and where.  As is typically the case, I was using the Ancestry hints as pointers on where to look and attempting to ascertain what was real versus imaginary, in terms of facts, individuals and data. You may or may not be aware, but when you research this way on Ancestry, Family Tree hints indicate whether or not a “user family tree” contains sources, stories, images, etc. …

  • Ancestry.com Thoughts,  Thoughts

    Ancestry Hints!

    Beware the hints! I know, I have said that before but the entire prospect of using poorly proofed Ancestry materials conerns me. As many of you may have noticed.  I just broke through a block in my family genealogy (the block of Joseph and Julia Deyo’s parentage and life before entering the US). Once my breakthrough occurred, a wealth of new resources became available for me to use and research. Naturally, I was pleased to begin my foray into new areas.  As names became available to my family tree, Ancestry began providing me with the hints.  You almost have to squint your eyes because some of the hints are that…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Say it ain’t so…

    Family stories are not always true. If you have been doing any amount of genealogy perhaps you have discovered that out. If not, you may be in for a rude awakening. My family, like most, comes with it’s fair share of myths and fables. Certain family members are seen as being larger than life, other are viewed as being evil villains. The truth, as it turns out, is both more exciting and at the same time mundane. In all the literature you are told to gather oral traditions regarding your family, as the start of establishing your family history and genealogy. Although that is a good idea it also a…

  • German Genealogy Pointers,  Tips & Opinions

    Source Materials- It’s almost magic!

    I don’t know how it happens but it does, at least for me. As I noted in an earlier post, not all source documents are easy to read. Often they are muddled, smudged, faded, and torn. Sometimes the authors had been quills, bad penmanship or unsteady hands. Yet somehow this stuff is readable. Even when it’s not. I know that sounds strange but I can assure you it is true. I don’t know how many times I have been pouring over documents looking for threads of information when suddenly in the midst of an illegible mass there appears a relative. One particular case comes to mind. I was searching for…

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  • Tips & Opinions

    Source Materials- Microfilm Tips & Warnings

    For those of you who have not used genealogical source data before, I can assure you this is an adventure. In most ways, my experiences have been very positive as well as curious. I should also admit that almost all source material I have used has been either German or French Canadian. I have never either needed or used US English materials beyond that which is available in an online, computer accessible format for my research. Whether your source materials are online or microfilmed they often provide many of the same challenges: Script is often old and presented in unfamiliar styles ie. Fracteur or Gothic for German, Latin or Latinate…

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  • Tips & Opinions

    Source Materials- Familysearch & Family History

    Probably one of the most valuable primary sources of genealogical information today is provided by the LDS (Latter Day Saints- Mormon) Church- FamilySearch.org. The website itself is not really the most useful aspect of their service. In truth, I personally find the online components to their site to be less valuable then that of their primary competitor- Ancestry.com. So what is good about the site you might ask. The best part of FamilySearch is their ability to find microfiche/film within the LDS archives and make it available to you! Squirreled away in a very hard find, dark corner are two crucial search functions: one finds allows you enter an area…

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  • Tips & Opinions

    Before you start

    A very important dimension of genealogy involves history and context. You may already know that and if so, perhaps this posting is not for you. However for those of you who do NOT remember your geography and history, here are some recommendations. These recommendations are based on the assumptions that: our ancestors lived in a time and place where governments existed, boundaries and regions were known, customs and mores prevailed, and languages were spoken, written, and read. (Note: Please be attuned to the fact that any one of the above can and will impact your ability to understand and interpret the data you “dig up.”) Having set this simple stage…

  • Ancestry.com Thoughts,  Tips & Opinions

    Are you serious?

    Genealogical research always presents dilemmas. These dilemmas almost always have significant impact and represent important family history decisions. I will try to provide some examples. First every family historian or genealogist needs to decide their role and its potential impact: Are you simply trying to gather bunches of names and places -or- are you doing your best to identify the path of your family through history? Do you expect that others might wish to leverage off of your work -or- are you planning on keeping everything closely held and secret? Is this a serious effort -or- are you involved in a ‘flight of fancy’. Obviously I can’t answer these questions…

  • Tips & Opinions

    Data, Friends, and Reviews – part 3

    Where does one get good genealogy data? Unfortunately, there is no single correct answer to this question. The answer depends in large part on where you are researching and what you need.

  • Tips & Opinions

    Data, Friends, and Reviews – part 1

    Beware of the free hints at Ancestry.com. One of the biggest problems with Ancestry.com hints is in the poor quality of the research that backs up the actual hint recommendations. Couple that with poor heuristics used by Ancestry for ‘hint’ data validation and you can some real genealogical data disasters. As I noted in an earlier post, beware the quality of ‘other peoples’ work’ and ‘information’. Rely on source information if at all possible. There are plenty of risks in doing genealogy work without taking on another’s mistakes. There are also a number of ‘easy’ ways to mitigate the risk of assuming bad data, no matter the source. Included among…

  • Tips & Opinions,  Tools

    “Photo” Enhancements

    Getting a good picture from an aged image is crucial to developing and maintaining a good family history.  Unfortunately as you look around ManyRoads, you’ll notice countless images that ought to be fixed.  Aside from being a tad lazy, the skills required to accomplish this effort are significant and confusing. Much like the Document Enhancement posting of several days ago. We need to find a good image processing environment.  I use the Gimp (an open source toolset that runs under Linux among other operating systems).  Many Windows users employ Adobe Photoshop, the pre-eminent tool kit (but pricey).  Numerous additional options are listed on About.com. Because I do things by hunt…

  • Thoughts,  Tips & Opinions,  Tools

    “Document” Enhancement

    Image & document restoration is key to successfully reading many genealogical documents. The source documents we have available to us today are often simply scanned or photographic images of original handwritten documents.  Many of the originals are themselves are in poor or suspect condition even before they are digitally captured. Given that is the case, we can’t be ‘flummoxed’ because we  still have to find a way to read these documents in order to decipher clues about our family’s’ past.

  • Tips & Opinions

    Recent relatives

    One of the great genealogical research problems, for me, is my recent relatives. The folks I am refering to are either still alive or recently deceased.  In either case, they are near enough that their data is most difficult to ferret out.  Most marriages, births, etc that have occurred in the last 50 years and are hard or REALLY expensive to get. I guess that’s because of identify theft, etc.  In any event, there are times when you (or at least I) need some of this information in order to get accurate genealogical data for select branches of the family.  So are there any tricks?  Well I have come up…

  • Research
    Tips & Opinions,  Tools

    Genealogy, Data Quality

    Data Quality is the first in a series of posts on “Genealogy Gotchas”. (I thought this might present useful tips & pointers to our readers while I await your votes on my little poll.) One of the biggest problems I encounter when using tools like Ancestry, RootsWeb, HeritageQuest, or FamilySearch is that much of the available data is of extremely poor or questionable quality.  Before I proceed any further let me clarify: I do NOT mean the original source data presented by any of the aforementioned sites is of poor quality. Source data from them forms very the background of our on-line life-blood.  We really can’t do without the source…