Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about creating layered citations for images found on the four major genealogy websites: Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, and Findmypast. We discuss how to separate the digital layer from the physical layer, and the five elements of a source citation. We discuss what element to lead with and how to find the details you need to include. Links Peeling Back the Layers: Online Source Citations Part 1 - by Diana about Ancestry.com Peeling Back the Layers: Online Source Citations Part 2 - by Diana about FamilySearch.org Peeling Back the Layers: Online Source Citations Part...
What do you do when your research hypothesis is disproved? Perhaps the discovery of a new record, lack of DNA evidence, or even discovering another person of a similar name could lead to your proposed ancestor turning out to be incorrect. Do you give up or use the findings as an opportunity to move forward with a new avenue of research? The silver lining in this scenario can emerge with a reexamination of the research question, record analysis, and a new research plan. I recently let go of the hypothesis that George W. Dillard was the father of my ancestor,...
Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about a case study Diana wrote about the father of Mary French. Determining the maiden name and parents of a woman born in the late 1700s is one of the most difficult genealogical undertakings. Because women were not mentioned in many of the records of the era, few sources exist to prove their parentage. Combine that with record loss and the task becomes even more difficult. Descendants of Ignatius Bryan, born about 1775 in Maryland and died 1803 in Hardin County, Kentucky have long wondered about the origins of his wife Mary....
Have you ever seen a complete date and place for an ancestor's birth, death, or marriage, but no source is attached as proof? Have you wondered where that information originated? With the proliferation of online trees and copying of data, tracing a genealogy fact back to an original posting can help verify or disprove it. Two websites can be explored to find complete family tree submissions: Rootsweb and FamilySearch Genealogies. Rootsweb When Nicole and I first began our research journey in 2003, we built our family tree in Personal Ancestral File (PAF), a computer database that let us add source...
Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about proof arguments. We discuss different types of proofs, including proof statements, proof summaries, and proof arguments. Then we discuss the requirements for the case study element of the portfolio for certification and go over the rubric indicators that show if a case study has met the standards. We talk about resources for helping you with proofs and logical arguments. We also discuss various methods for organizing proof arguments. Links BCG Application Guide – at BCG’s website RLP #99: Writing a Narrative Family History – Certification Preparation RLP 86: Mining Records...
Do you use MyHeritage or Findmypast in your research? Have you wondered how to create a layered source citation from one of these websites? In this final article of this series, I'll once again give you examples of using the basic citation elements of who, what, when, where, and wherein to create citations that reflect both the digital and physical source information. Links to the first two articles about creating citations for FamilySearch and Ancestry sources are included at the end. Citation for MyHeritage My 2nd great-grandfather, William Henry Kelsey, Sr., lived in the southeast corner of England from the...
Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is a celebration of our 100th episode! We are excited to share our top ten tips about how to research like a pro. We put the list together based on the questions we are most commonly asked in study groups and in our Facebook group. Listen in to find out more about objectives, timelines, locality guides, hypotheses, researching in phases, layered citations, multiple pages in a research log, and getting your report done. Links NGS Virtual Conference Family Locket NGS Sale - Coupon code NGS2020 Peeling Back the Layers: Online Source Citations Part...
Creating source citations from online materials can be confusing and vary from website to website. In Part 1 of this series, we looked at a source document hosted on Ancestry. I showed the process I use to create a citation that includes the basic citation elements of who, what, when, where, and wherein. This article will focus on citing sources found on FamilySearch - those indexed and not indexed. Citation for a Record Indexed on FamilySearch The marriage record for my great, great-grandparents has been digitized and indexed on FamilySearch. I've attached it to the source list for William Henderson...
Today's episode of Research Like a Pro is about the Kinship Determination Project (KDP), the narrative family history work sample portfolio element submitted to the Board for Certification of Genealogists. The KDP element shows your ability to prove parent-child links as well as tell the story of a family in their unique place and time. There are three formats of narrative family histories - narrative genealogy, narrative lineage, and narrative pedigree. We discuss these terms and the numbering systems that go with them. We also discuss proof statements, summaries, and arguments, and what these look like. Links Kinship Determination: From...
Have you wondered how to create a source citation for a record found on a website like FamilySearch or Ancestry? With the majority of our research now done online, understanding the basics of citation can help us accurately cite our sources and create a path back to the original source. In this three-part series we'll look at different examples that illustrate the principles needed to construct a citation for a source from any website. First up, an example from Ancestry. Citation Elements Genealogy Standards defines five elements any source citation should include. (1) Who: the creator of the source What:...
