As 2015 begins, I have decided to participate in Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over. It will be like spring cleaning in January.
I inherited research done by a second cousin. Her research, done in the 1950's and 1960's, using courthouse records was very good. Her interviews with elderly relatives contain some discrepancies which I have found since records have been available online. Since her research is being relied on by other family members, I want to prove my findings that are in contrast to family stories.
Having done my DNA, my research took off in many different directions. I hastily added some branches to my tree as a way to prove a relationship. I always thought that I would just go back and add sources later. Of course, that "later" never happened.
There are now over 1,000 people signed up on the Facebook group. With so many ideas for software, filing schemes, organizing tricks and much more from other participants, it is almost overwhelming. It is a great resource to see others ideas and find some that will work for me.
As Thomas mentioned, slowing down will be important. It is hard not to follow every little breadcrumb as it appears. The smart thing is to put that crumb of information in a list and tackle it in an organized fashion. I have a very basic to-do list ahead of the project. This list will clear the way for a fresh start.
My to-do list includes:
- Cleaning out all the sticky notes and scraps of paper that accumulated as I chased information down the rabbit hole.
- I will start using Evernote instead of OneNote. I like OneNote but I need access across several devices.
- Using research logs. This will save time and prevent me from "finding" the same information several times over
