Thankful Thursday: Seek and Ye Shall Find, Maybe

Ever remember playing hide and seek as a child?  It appears to me that genealogy and searching for our beloved of old are similar to that favorite childhood game. Yesterday, after writing the post on Uncle Charles, I found the name of one of his children online.  There wasn't much information given other than the name and approximate year of death.  Holding my breath, I emailed the owner of the private tree and asked if she was the one for whom I was searching.

The reply came back later, and she was.  After eagerly accepting the invitation to view the private tree, I saw no new documentation.  I added a few pictures and obits to the tree and asked for any documentation.

My newly found cousin has informed me he received the maiden name of a grandma from his grandma which led him to the family tree that I assisted in putting together with another cousin.  And then, I see information which also appears to have come from yet another cousin who I assisted with her research.

While I am sure this is my guy, I am also disappointed not to have unearthed any more documentation.

So, I am thankful to make another connection to my great grandmother through her brother, but strangely disappointed that the research used is my own.

This seems to be a recurrent issue in the world of genealogy.  Family seekers sniff out the information on the internet without going through the extra work of documenting it on their own.  Of course, my big irk is when I see blogs I have written placed as comments on other people's trees with no acknowledgement as to the origin of the data.

Be a great family seeker.  Look at the internet information and use that to begin your search.  Use the information to go back and document everything you can.  Help fill in the gaps.  Make the corrections.  Credit the folks who provide information by using their url and name.  Love knowing you have family members to discover.

Ahh, genealogy.  Got to wonder how many people just clone the information and just don't care.  As for me, I try to document everything and love making connections to family of the past.  Who knows when a favorite recipe or story of old will come to light?  I have been fortunate over the years to have heard stories from cousins about my direct bloodline that help bring them to life.  That is my goal and the willingness to share stories of the shared past makes me thankful everyday.

©AS Eldredge 2012

Tuesday Tip: Remember to Give Credit

I've been chatting with a distant (aren't they all?) cousin over the last few days. It's really gotten me energized to dig more into the family. From time to time, we must all go back and review the data and look around to see if anything new has been posted.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I found my hard long research from several years ago, along with photos that I think I'm the only one to have, copied word for word on Find a Grave.

Think, fellow genealogy researchers, of others' research when posting their information online. Be sure to give them the credit for their words and pictures!

I quickly emailed the contributor of the information taken from my site and asked her to correct the entry. I just want the credit, and of course, the way for other cousins to find me.

The contributor quickly emailed back and profusely apologized. I figured they just didn't think when they copied and pasted the information and pictures.

Use it. Just use it properly by giving credit where the credit is due. Or better yet-- contact the owner of the site to see how the work should be credited, or if you should just use one line with a link to the site of the original information.

Oh - the contributor was kind enough to go back and edit the entries showing the source of the information posted. One chore down for this really cold day!