Tuesday 4 February 2014

Has It Been A Month Already?

January went by in a flash and what a great time it was. This blog has taken flight and we have been introduced to genealogists and family historians from several states in the USA and several countries around the world. I don't know about you, but with the introductions now out of the way, I feel that we have made a number of new friends.

The reasons any of us started, the reasons we continue, the approaches we take, the families and countries we are researching, the programs and apps we use, the time (or lack of it) we have to devote to this passion we share - these individual threads we have all shared have been interesting to read and make a wonderful tapestry of what this is all about - Worldwide Genealogy.

This month I thought I would write a bit about how I spend my time with genealogy. Whether you have 2 hours or 20 hours a week to spend on genealogy, I do think it is important how you divide your time. We all know people who spend all their time learning but never doing anything with that knowledge. We also know people who spend all their time engaging others (social media can eat up the entire day if you let it!). We know people who spend all their time researching and keep their finds and their family stories to themselves. Others spend so much time volunteering or teaching, that they have little or no time to devote to their own genealogy. When I started (not that long ago) I spent the majority of my time researching my personal family tree and learning how to research - whether that was reading books and magazine articles on the subject, attending a seminar or conference, and trying to learn my genealogy database program. After the first few years, I offered to share what I had learned with others and became a bit more involved in the social media aspects of genealogy. I also decided it was time to "pay it forward" by volunteering my time to the genealogy community - many of us helped index the 1940 Census, some of us volunteer at local libraries or genealogy societies,and some volunteer with online societies and groups.

Last year I blogged about my genealogy pie - because I think it is important to approach genealogy from a number of avenues and not get stuck or too focused on one or two aspects. My genealogy pie has changed over time and each year I take a look at the pie and see about changing it up a bit. Last year, in addition to working on my personal genealogy -

  • I met with one of my sister's friends who wanted to learn more (and answer some questions) about her family. Since she had only a few pieces of information and was completely new to genealogy, it gave me the chance to start a family fresh and use what I had learned about methodology to do my research a bit more efficiently and certainly source it better from the outset!
  • I volunteered to work on a special project for the Guild of One-Name Studies - I ran the Guild competition to encourage members to submit entries for logos, taglines, stories, ideas, and photographs to use with social media and publicity. This is a project that was completely out of my skill-set and involved a variety of tasks. It proved interesting and educational.
  • I helped set up a Google+ Community for a new group, the Society for One-Place Studies. It is always an education to work with others, to edit a newsletter, to set up hangouts (and hope for the best when Google either changes things or the internet decides to mess with you).
  • I spent time working on my one-name study and my one-place study. I enjoy the methodology, the statistics, the figuring out how to acquire information and data, as well as what to do with it once I get it. With both of these studies I know that it will be a long-term commitment and that they will come together slowly over the years. I actually like that thought as sometimes we are in such a rush to complete something that we don't take the time to enjoy the process. 
  • I attended some one day seminars and learned that local genealogy societies still do a terrific job by their members and for their members (and they need our support!). While we enjoy online communities and groups, we cannot forget that in-person activities are a great way to get to know our fellow genealogists. 
What will be different this year? Well, I will be blogging at least once a month (thanks for the kick Julie). I plan to attend at least one national conference (I believe I see Southern California Genealogy Society's Jamboree in my future). I want to help spread the word and encourage genealogists to consider either a one-name study or a one-place study as I think learning more about those who share a surname or studying a community or place through time is a great story to tell. And I am hoping to get more information about my Murphy family this year. I find that I do have to focus on a few families at a time and I plan to pay attention to those Nebraska Murphys who have patiently waited for me to pick up their story.

How about you - what does you pie look like this year? How are you going to slice up your time?
Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net ID-100211794


16 comments:

  1. Tessa, I never thought about the time I spend on genealogy (too much) as a pie and how it is "sliced." I my first year I was 100% research and learning about sourcing and research processes and methodologies. Then I added blogging. Then I added visiting offline archives. Then I started photographing headstones. This year I plan to get involved with my local genealogy society and start writing about what I've learned. I still don't know if I'm experienced enough to teach, but when I figure something out that works for me, I do write about it on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I need to find the post I wrote where I divided up my genealogy pie - it helps to put it in perspective and think about how you spend your time. We need to remember our own research and volunteering. Thanks for the comment - looking forward to all of the February posts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, Tessa, for such an interesting post. It has prompted me to consider how I spend my family history time. I am aware that in the past year I have spent more time writing (blog & narratives) than researching and am not as focused as I should be. I am also at risk of over-committing myself to blog challenges. On the other hand, I feel that FH magazines give a lot of space to research and resources, but little on what to do with the information gathered. Your "pie" is an excellent idea. .I am envious that you already have access to the 1940 census, when here in Britain we have to wait until 2021 for the release of our next census (1921).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for not responding earlier and thanks for commenting. I find it always helps to have one day a month when I just let my genealogy research ramble wherever it wants to go. I might start out reading a blog and then googling a term or place or family name, follow that up with a bit of FamilySearch or Ancestry or PublicProfiler to find out more and then read more about it with Wikipedia or check out places with Google Earth and Rumsey Collection Maps. It is like taking a trip without leaving all that packing and traveling costs - and I always end up learning something! Try it - I find it helps me refocus.

      Delete
  4. A great concept and an exercise I need to do more, review where I am spending my time. I believe in balance, not that I achieve same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Carol - it is about striving not always achieving.

      Delete
  5. Oh boy, do I need to work on slicing my pie! Usually it ends up in a big smooshed pile on my plate. I need some order - how many times have I said that? - and some prioritization. Looking forward to the Jamboree, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Jamboree could be terrific. I am trying to pull my schedule together so I can attend since I hear it is "the fun one." To all those (including Kathleen) who think their pie is oftentimes smooshed, remember it might be a bit messy but it still is great.

      Delete
  6. Great post Tessa - please find time for more "Twenty with Tessa" videos in this year's pie!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great post Tessa - please find time for more "Twenty with Tessa" you tube videos in this years genealogy pie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am definitely planning to do more "Twenty with Tessa" and will be starting up again in March. Do you have any suggestions for particular videos? I am always happy to add to my list Jo.

      Delete
  8. Great Post! I am looking at my pie now! I would love to do a place study within the African American Community is Worcester, MA. Maybe before and after reconstruction up to 1930's. We will see. Now that I would like to develop my business, I see that I need to balance the whole pie and work on various aspects of it weekly. Thanks for the nudge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds really interesting Yvette. Be sure to contact the historical society, the genealogical society, and any African American churches in the area (also look for the regional or national archives for these churches). So many kept great records and made up anniversary booklets that might help you find the families. It also sounds like a great history project that you might encourage some interested middle or high school students to get involved with.

      Delete
  9. There are probably too many small slices in my large pie. Tessa you have reminded me that I need to prioritise what I do and try to aim for excellence in a few areas rather than mediocrity all round.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Always a good idea for all of us to take a look at what we are doing and make decisions based on whether we feel we are learning, growing and having fun - it makes it so much easier to work hard when you enjoy it!

      Delete
  10. I did volunteer on the 1940 Census on on indexing SC probate records looking for names of slaves and owners. Right now I informally divide my time between blogging and researching. Often the blogging takes me deeper into my research and vice versa. I don't see any conferences in my near future. I do some volunteering online with a group I belong to, African American Genealogy & Slave Ancestry Research. If asked I help people with their research as I can never pass the search by. I don't know if I could describe what I'm doing as a pie, it seems too messy right now :)

    ReplyDelete

Hello, thanks for leaving a comment on the World Wide Genealogy Blog. All comments are moderated because of pesky spammers!

Best wishes
World Wide Genealogy Team