A Genealogy Attitude ~ Getting the Right Mindset
HostGFSDarlaJo
June 17, 2002

As Dae and I began this journey down the GENTREK path, we expected to help many newbies learn about genealogy. We discussed at great length how to best present "lessons" for researchers to learn more about resources to help them along their GENealogy TREK. One thing we did not consider was just how much WE would learn from this great adventure. And learn we have!!

One of the things "I" have personally learned is about having the right genealogy attitude.

ATTITUDE is defined as: an opinion or way of thinking.

This attitude, or way of thinking, affects not only my personal research, but my ability to help others learn more about researching. I am often suggesting "other" records to folks in the chat rooms, resources they haven't tried yet. It is this "way of thinking" that I would like to discuss in this presentation. I will present this information by using some statements that I sometimes see in chats. No names, of course, just the attitude.

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Attitude:
~ ~ I have looked EVERYWHERE and there is NO RECORD of my ancestor ANYWHERE.

I want to talk about this attitude first, because I have been guilty of it myself.

For a long time, I really believed that I had researched every possible record for my HARTLEY line in Missouri. Because I can't prove the parentage of my furthest back ancestor, and the time frame is during the Missouri Territory era, I thought I had exhausted all resources. I WAS WRONG!!

Sure, I have researched vital records, land records, taxes, census, church records, probate files, cemeteries, and military records. I have read the county history books, the city directories, territory records, and plat maps. I have scoured all the libraries in my area, and the area that my ancestors lived for additional information. I had it all covered ... or so I thought!

I now know that there are some records that I was not aware of, and thus have not researched. I can't say for sure that I will find my space aliens in these records, but I am sure learning not to be so narrow minded about additional places to research. I have researched in Missouri for over 20 years, and I thought I had covered all the bases. I have asked many other researchers about possible records, and even read a "few" books on Missouri research. I have gone to the FHCs and researched. I have been to regional and local libraries. The staff at the state archives knows me by first name. But still, I have recently discovered MORE resources.

My recent discovery came quite by accident. I attended the NGS (National Genealogy Society) conference in Milwaukee, and of course spent a "little" time in the vendor area. I purchased a couple of books about Missouri research for the sake of having more information to help fellow Missouri researchers online. I can't tell you how surprised and excited I was to read about some records that I didn't know existed!! After the excitement wore off, I became disappointed in myself for being so sure of myself before this discovery.

Don't repeat my mistake!! Keep an open mind, and keep digging ... there really might be more records to research!

The new attitude:
I haven't found the records of my ancestor yet, but I am still looking for NEW resources!

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Attitude:
~ ~ I have looked at EVERY record in the county my ancestor is from, there is NO information there.

I hear this attitude a lot in my online chats. I like to use an example of a particular town in Missouri to illustrate the problem with this attitude. Town XYZ is in present day Moniteau County. Many of my ancestors settled in and around this area as early as 1820. Note that Missouri became a state in 1821.

Before 1820 this "settlement" was part of the Missouri Territory. In 1820 Cooper County was the parent county. Changes in 1833 made that town part of Morgan County. Moniteau was formed in 1845 from parts of Cole and Morgan Counties.

As you can see, the same little town was actually part of several different counties because it is located right where all the changes took place. I have documents from the late 1800s and early 1900s that state that some of my ancestors were born or married or died in Moniteau County during the years before Moniteau County even existed! In order to find the TRUE documentation, I had to research the territory records, and the records of those "other" counties.

I have even had folks "argue" with me about county or state boundary changes. Remember that very few borders have stayed the same since they were first set. Research the area that you are interested in to find out the previous county, state, or territory names that you might need to look into.

The new attitude:
I haven't found the records of my ancestor yet, but I am still looking for NEW resources in NEW places!

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Attitude:
~ ~ My family legend says that we are from XYZ country, but I can't find our family in that country's records.

One of the first things to remember in genealogy is to start with your OWN information and work backwards one generation at a time. If you are in the US, then you need all the documentation for each and every generation in this country before you try to research another country. Finding the immigration / naturalization records will be a great benefit to your later research in other countries.

I have talked with one particular researcher for several years that just "knew" her family was from England. She tried and tried to find records in England on her ancestors. She never did find them, and finally decided to follow my advice and start with herself and work back to those ancestors. Imagine her surprise when she finally found out that her family is NOT from England!! She now has some wonderful records from Pommern and Poland and Germany.

There are some tried and true "rules" to follow in genealogy research. Take advantage of many years of experience from the world's researchers ... document your family history step by step, and you will find that correct native nation eventually.

The new attitude:
I haven't found the records of my ancestor yet, but I am still looking for NEW resources in NEW places, working backwards one generation at a time!

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Attitude:
~ ~ I don't care about documentation or copies, I only want the names and dates of my ancestors.

This attitude is probably the one that makes me the saddest. I have trouble understanding why someone would waste their time researching at all if they are not really proving and documenting the facts. There are a lot of people who believe every family legend and will even fight with someone who can prove the stories wrong. Folks who only want names and dates could just as well make something up and plug the info to a genealogy program ... without documentation, who would know the difference?

I have heard "family historians" tell about their Cherokee Princess ancestor. I can never resist asking them if they have researched the Cherokee "royalty" or governing system. They always reply that they have not done so, and I then recommend that they do so, as the Cherokees did not have princesses.

I have heard others say that they just want to find their family crest or coat of arms. It seems to upset them to learn that crests were presented to a particular family ... not to an eternity of people with the same surname.

I have also heard many online chatters tell how they found a wonderful website with their whole family going back many generations. When I ask those folks what documentation they have about this information, they tell me that they read it on that website. If it's on the web it must be true, right?? I hate to burst bubbles, but even "I" could create a believable website and tell all kinds of stories about my family. I could claim to be related to presidents, royalty, biblical figures, or anyone that I can dream up. Just because I type it up and post it to a webpage doesn't make it true!!

Another important error I often see is about the spelling of the name being researched. I often hear people say, “my surname was never spelled that way, we spell it THIS way only”. This attitude can easily be proved wrong if the researcher is truly documenting the research. My HARTLEY line has been spelled as:

HARTLEY, HARTLY, HEARTLEY, HEARTLY, HARTLIE, HARTELIE, HEARTLIE, HEARTELIE, HARTLEE, HEARTLEE, and many others. I have proof of these spelling, but one of my distant cousins will SWEAR that it has always only been HARTLEY.

By gathering REAL documentation, you will make your family history meaningful. Names and dates without proof are nothing more than hearsay and rumor. Remember that if your documentation is good, ANY researcher should be able to recreate your family history from your documentation.

The new attitude:
I haven't found the records of my ancestor yet, but I am still looking for NEW resources in NEW places, working backwards one generation at a time in order to DOCUMENT my family history!

 

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