A 10 Step Plan: Getting Sources & Citations Under Control

Created by Lynn Palermo, used with her permission

Citing sources – we talk about this often.  Why?  Because it is so important!

Lynn Palermo (The Armchair Genealogist), recently wrote A 10 Step Plan: Getting Sources & Citations Under Control and created a really neat graphic to go with it!  She states ...

We all were pulled into the excitement of the research, the thrill of the hunt and discovery of our family history. Eventually we all come to realize the importance of knowing where our information came from, and what sources we have to support our history as fact. However, more often then you realize, this knowledge arrives after we've been researching for some time.

So true.  It is easy to want to only do the exciting part.  Ask any genealogist if they like to write reports or similar and that booming sound was probably most of them saying “NO!”  Well, citing sources ranks right there with report writing.

I like how Lynn views source citing as part of a bigger process and not an end unto itself.  It’s part of an organic process that we can use regularly as we do our research.  Whenever we can make some element of our research part of a bigger habit, the more likely we are to stick with it.  Putting my floss next to my daily medicines has sure helped my dental health!

Do you agree with her 10 steps? Would you want to add 1 or 2 more and if so, what?

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

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Black History Month -- Have you checked your local newspaper for neat & relevant news items?

Though many don’t get print newspapers anymore, most local newspapers nowadays have an online presence.

Images associated with article "From Slavery to White House"

Many of these newspapers do print articles about historical and genealogical topics of interest.  Many of these topics mirror themes such as Black History Month.

For example, my local newspaper the News & Observer (and yes, I still get a print copy – my morning cup of coffee is only good when I’m holding a newspaper in hand!) recently published these fascinating articles: 

• Commentary: Freed from slavery, Lewis Hayden became a leader in Boston (13 February 2013)
• Portraits Stir Mystery (11 February 2013) (originally published in The Charlotte Observer as Who are these turn-of-the century Charlotteans?) (follow-up article published Names emerge from 1880s ‘mystery album’)
• From Slavery to White House (8 February 2013)
• Black History Month: The remarkable life of Lewis Hayden (6 February 2013)

In the past, I have found series of articles about landmarks, families, bits of history and more in this and other NC newspapers.  You might find that someone writing for the newspaper in a community where your ancestors lived is a history buff and so is publishing articles like those above talking about history that might have relevance to your family history research.

If your local newspaper or a newspaper local to where you are researching has a neat history and/or genealogy-themed column or a tendency to publish articles about historical events, places and/or people, please do a shout out by posting a comment!

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

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Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

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NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog.

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Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Genealogy Readers' Choice Awards 2013 -- Nominations Open!

A chance for you to identify "excellence" in the genealogical community!  First you can nominate resources that you consider excellent for genealogical and family history research and then the voting will begin!

Kimberly Powell has just posted ...

Every week I share with you some of my favorite genealogy websites, tools, software, books, societies, and educational experiences. Now, I need your help! Genealogy is being added to the 2013 About.com Readers' Choice Awards this year, and I need your nominations/recommendations in 11 categories, each selected to highlight the wide variety of genealogical resources available to us. And yes, this contest is open to members and nominations from around the world.

Please tell me about your favorite genealogy software or app. Your favorite genealogical society. Your favorite educational experience. Your favorite free website. Your favorite book, magazine, or journal. I would love to learn about some new resources through this and get a great selection of nominations for the Readers' Choice awards that open next week. Thank you VERY much for taking the time to share YOUR favorites with me!

Please make your nominations in any (or all) of the following categories:

Genealogy Software & Tools

• Best Genealogy Software (Windows)
• Best Genealogy Software (Mac)
• Best Tool for Publishing Your Family Tree Online
• Best Online Genealogy Tool or Mobile App

Genealogy Education & Reference 

• Best Genealogy Education/Learning Experience
• Favorite Genealogy Reference Book
• Best Genealogical Journal or Magazine

Genealogy Research & Resources 

• Best Free Genealogy Website
• Best Subscription Genealogy Website
• Best Library or Archive Blog with a Genealogy Focus
• Best State/Provincial Genealogical Society

For more details on each category, check out this page.  And, click on a link (or the links) and enter your nominations for the listed categories!

Nominations are accepted until midnight (EST) on February 17, 2013, and then the voting will begin! Winners in each category will be announced March 27, 2013.

Editor’s Note: Don’t forget your National Genealogical Society as you nominate for these genealogy reader’s choice awards!

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to learn more about interacting with the blog, please read Hyperlinks, Subscribing and Comments -- How to Interact with Upfront with NGS Blog posts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

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Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

Upfront Mini Bytes

Dear Upfront with NGS readers,

We frequently find there is more news of interest to publish than we can write a full blog post about. So we pondered how to convey all these great family history gems to you.   Yes, we could probably do a string of Facebook (FB) posts that become tweets, and we might still do that. But we also wanted all of our NGS members, friends and family to hear about the news items that catch our eye. 

Starting today, we are launching “Upfront Mini Bytes.” In Upfront Mini Bytes we will provide eight tasty bits of genealogy news that will help give you a deeper byte into your family history research. This type of blog post will appear on Fridays, biweekly to start and possibly weekly depending on the volume of neat genealogical and family history-related news items there are to report.  Our goal is to include a smattering of news and resources on a variety of topics of interest to genealogists and family historians, regardless of where and what time period you are researching!

Each item will be short and sweet.  We encourage you to check out the links to articles, blog posts, resources and anything genealogical!

Do you have questions, suggestions for future posts or comments?  Please post a comment!

Editor's Note:  Every item below contains one or more hyperlinks that you can click on. On the web, the hyperlinks are in a green versus grey font.  The easiest way to find them is to run your mouse over the text and they will show up in a burnt red color.  Then, just click!  If you are receiving these posts via an e-mail subscription, they are the bold text. Again, place your cursor over that text and just click.

[Added 02/02/2013] Editor's Note: Depending on your browser and other settings, hyperlinks may show up differently.  For Google Chrome I see them in dark green, whereas in Internet Explore I see them in burnt red.

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Are you curious to know if a NARA microfilm has been digitized, in whole or in part, by Ancestry.com or Fold3 (was Footnote).  Check out Microfilm Publications and Original Records Digitized by Our Digitization Partners.  Why take a trip to NARA when the records you seek might already be available (or available soon) from the comfort of your home!

Does your library provide access to Gale Genealogy Connect? This collection features a wide range of comprehensive references and is powered by authoritative information from Genealogical.com — the parent company of Genealogical Publishing and Clearfield Company, leading publishers of works on genealogy and family history.

Was your ancestor one of the Homestead Land-Entry Case File Records to be found for Nebraska? If so, read A million pieces of history (Beatrice Daily Sun, 1 September 2012) and learn more about the Homestead National Monument in Nebraska. From home, you can access these records if you are a Fold3 subscriber.

Graveyards and cemeteries just keep getting more technological!  We've posted before about the ability of information to be associated with a tombstone so that someone can easily access it via their smartphone.  Read about how a cemetery in Denmark is looking into using QR (Quick Response) codes Graveyard tech: QR codes to bring cemeteries alive.

Do you have a trade or occupation that your family has practiced for five or more generations?  If so, you might want to read Family butcher for 100 years about a New Zealand family where the 4^th and 5^th generations of the family are butchers. When you see ancestors who practiced a particular occupation or trade, especially one where an apprenticeship might be involved, it's always worth considering "who" they learned it from and was it a "family trade."

Are you on Facebook (FB) yet?  If not, you might want to read Sharon Tate Moody's take on the topic in Facebook is a friend to genealogists.  My college-age daughter has commented that from my FB page it appears that the genealogical community does more posting on FB than her friends ever have!  If you are on FB or when you leap into this massive social network, do check out the National Genealogical Society FB page.

Building a Personal Digital Genealogy Library, by Kimberly Powell (about.com), gives you some great tips on how she has been building her personal digital genealogy library.  She also mentions that her personal library includes "The National Genealogical Society Quarterly (current and back issues are available in digital format on the website for NGS members). NGS, by the way, also offers their Research in the States series for purchase in PDF format."

It's always neat to see an online newspaper that contains a regularly running column on history topics.  History is so important to genealogical and family history research.  After all, people created history and history impacted the people we research.  Our genealogy research can make learning history so much fun – our ancestors make “history come alive.”  Check out two examples of this genre: Sampling our History (Mississippi) and Past Times (Raleigh, NC)

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We hope you found the contents of this first edition of Upfront Mini Bytes helpful.  If you have news items to share with readers, please send an e-mail to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

Upfront with NGS, including the “new” Upfront Mini Bytes feature, can be read by and/or subscribed to by anyone.  You do not have to be an NGS member to take advantage of the news posted in this blog. 

If you, your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would like to receive Upfront with NGS blog posts as an e-mail, please subscribe.  To do so, go to this page, http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/, find the box below in the left-hand column and enter your e-mail address.  It’s as easy as that to get a daily (Monday-Friday) e-mail with helpful information for genealogy and family researchers.

Drive-by genealogists should learn a few rules

Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clermontcountyohio/genwwork.gif  

Sharon Tate Moody posted an article with this provocative title in the Tampa Tribune recently ...

She states ...

The genealogy world is cluttered with materials that purport to be the writers' family histories. Too many of them are nothing more than lists of people with unproven dates of birth, death and marriage, and in many cases the people on the list aren't even related.

The individuals who created those lists are the same ones who believe the television ads about how easy it is to click on a few links and find your entire family. People who believe those ads are sort of the joy riders of genealogy: They steal the family car and have a grand old time for the weekend, racing around the Internet and leaving a mess for someone else to clean up on Monday morning...

Read the full article.  And, as always, read the comments!  A really neat feature of the blog format are the comments posted by others, whether they agree or disagree they are often entertaining and frequently enlightening.

And, since this post, there has been a “response” post from another genealogist, Amy Coffin, titled Time to Pop a Cap in the Term "Drive-by Genealogist"

Today I read an article about “drive-by genealogists.” Apparently this is a label now.

My issue isn’t necessarily with this article in particular; it’s the message in it that I keep seeing. This piece just happened to be the last place I saw it.

There’s a baffling backlash toward those just discovering their interest in family history. I don’t believe anyone is anti-newbie, but there’s this bizarre assumption that their first efforts are automatically flawed.

Beginners are barely in the door of the Church of Genealogy and we have people telling them they’re not good enough to be here...

Again, do read the full article.

What are your thoughts?  I think it’s a really tough situation.  We were all newbies once and we did get better with time and guidance.  On the other hand, it is frustrating to have a lot of not-documented information out there that then gets repeated ad nauseum!  Though, it is typically easy-enough to quickly tell if some online information is substantive or not and move on ...

Dare you weigh in on this?  Happy to hear your thoughts!

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Follow NGS via Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com

Today is Election Day! What About Our Ancestors, Their Party Affiliations and Voting?

Today is election day!  Many of us have and will voted in this elections!  Have you researched your ancestors and their participation in elections?

Here are some resources on how we might research our ancestors and their involvement in elections.

1. How Did Great-Grandfather Vote? [article in PDF]
2. The Daily Genealogist: Ancestral Political Affiliations [blog post]
3. Examining Ancestors With A Political Eye [blog post]
4. Did My Ancestors Vote [Genealogy About.com]

Some other thoughts on determining your ancestor’s political affiliation ...

·    Children's names may provide an answer.

·    Look in the newspaper. Some newspapers clearly had a political-affiliation and a mention of your ancestor in it or his subscription to it may tell you a lot about him!

·    What clubs did your ancestor belong to?

Don’t forget to check out the laws on “who” could vote!  Though emancipation freed the slaves, it didn’t guarantee them the vote?  When did women become eligible? How about your immigrant ancestor?

Also consider whether you ancestor ran for office.  I had a great uncle who did and it was fun to learn more about what office he ran for, the election results and much more!

What resources have helped you learn more about your ancestor, elections and voting?

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copyright © National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, Virginia 22204-4370. http://www.ngsgenealogy.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NGS does not imply endorsement of any outside advertiser or other vendors appearing in this blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to UpFront@ngsgenealogy.org. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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Follow NGS via Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter

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Think your friends, colleagues, or fellow genealogy researchers would find this blog post interesting? If so, please let them know that anyone can read past UpFront with NGS posts or subscribe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suggestions for topics for future UpFront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to UpfrontNGS@mosaicrpm.com