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Is there a"right way" and a "wrong way" to Research your Family?

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  • Is there a"right way" and a "wrong way" to Research your Family?

    I'm from the school that likes to research for myself and ask for help when necessary, I find it more rewarding that way.
    On this Site, though less frequent, are the odd few who seem to ask others to do all the research and sit back for the results. On Genes the practice is more common and I dont offer what help I could on the assumption that one should first help themselves.
    Am I being unkind and uncharitable......I hope not.

  • #2
    Alan

    I like to do my own research - I've been doing it so long that the early days consisted entirely of my own efforts as there was no one to ask for help!

    However, when stuck, I have asked for - and received - help on many forums and I am eternally grateful for that help, particularly at times when I could not afford a subscription to the useful sites.

    I agree that some people do seem to want others to do their research for them and I probably personally wouldn't help them beyond pointing out where they could find the information (free) for themselves. Some people are bone idle, some are very impatient and a few others just find the whole research thing beyond their capabilities. It is usually fairly easy to spot which category they fall into and act accordingly!

    OC

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    • #3
      I think it all depends on the person Alan, I do help others when they ask (if I am about) sometimes I will point them in the right direction and let them work it out for themselves, sometimes I do find the info and them let them decide if its right or not.

      I guess it depends also on how 'seasoned' a person is too, if I have spent quite a while searching the census and then still can't find a particular person then I would ask for help (and usually the person has been badly mistranscribed!) and I can't see the wood for the trees.

      nothing beats getting stuck in and finding the snippits that make our trees more alive, I for one would like to find that info for myself.

      if a person is serious enough, then, they will get a sub to a site and begin to try and fathom it all out for themselves, I agonised for years wondering IF I should take the plunge and get an Ancestry sub, now.. I wouldn't be without it, especially with all the new records that have been appearing, it helps to dot i's and cross t's.

      so no, not unkind at all. :smilee:
      Julie
      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

      .......I find dead people

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      • #4
        Hi Alan
        I totally agree with everything that OC has said. Likewise, my early research was done by physically going to record offices etc. Spending my holidays poring over films & microfiche until I went cross eyed but it was a lot more rewarding when you found that essential piece of information than finding it on the internet.
        If you are stuck & have hit the proverbial brick wall then is the time to ask for help on a forum. Sometimes the glaringly obvious can be found by a "fresh pair of eyes".
        Some people do appear to want all their research done for them but where's the fun in that?
        Moggie

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        • #5
          I don't think I've ever asked for help until I've had a really good look for myself. I enjoy searching too much.

          BUT I have received a lot of help on here when I HAVE asked for it, from people who are better at searching than me and some who have access to other websites, and very grateful I am too.

          On the other hand I do offer help to people but am usually beaten to it but some of the above but certainly get a great kick out of it if I do help

          Linda
          Last edited by Loopy Linda in La La Land; 25-04-12, 11:39.

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          • #6
            haha i'm with linda, i'd help more but i get beat to it!

            in my case i don't ask for help unless i seriously need it. like if i've been at it for hours and still can't see it, a fresh pair of eyes like said up thread is all you need. sometimes you can't think out of the box, and others will think it's obvious!! elaine is brilliant with the census!!!

            a lot of the time i post queries on really difficult situations, like trying to figure out if a family has merged into another lol and even then a lot of the time no one can really help. sometimes i think it's too hard so most don't give it a go. a lot don't have the experience, but most of the time i'm told a county records office will help, and i have to put it on the back burner because i can't get to one, being in australia.

            i think some people post a lot of queries because a) they can't afford a sub or certs and b) they do not feel they have the experience they have is good enough to get it right. it really is difficult in this game, and it doesn't help when the sites change their formats often. i know what it's like not having money, when i started, i was 15, and couldn't earn my own money till around 16, a visa card comes at 18 lol. quite a few others are pensioners, and money is tight when the only income is a pension.

            sometimes you just get common names like smith lol and just can't make a dent!!

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            • #7
              What REALLY gets my goat are the queries which the poster could answer for themselves, such as "Where is Birmingham?" (Google will tell you if you don't have an atlas!) and "What does illegitimate mean?" (Google will tell you the answer if you don't have a dictionary).

              One which made me laugh on GR was "I would like all the census from 1841 to 1911 for Joe Bloggs". No please or thankyou, just the comment "Where is 1861?" after a lot of people had posted all except 1861!

              OC

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              • #8
                Interesting comments ladies. It seems you all agree on being helpful which is consistent on this Site.
                I can remember on another Site where I thought the 'enquirer' was taking the mick. Originally asked for a birth reg; found that then he wanted marriage detail; found that then Census detail at which point I suggested free trial on Ancestry.

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                • #9
                  All I can add is that the help I have received has been nothing less than fantastic. I hope I have always tried to do my best first before asking although when I do sometimes look at earlier threads I cringe at the lack of knowledge or information I had!!!!!

                  I would never ask can I have all the censuses from ...... That's just being too lazy

                  Steven

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                  • #10
                    do hope I am not in the catagory of asking for too much help ? sometimes when I get the answer I could hit myself for not thinking of that , I also agree about helping others do try but Elaine or Julie usually beats me to it .

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                    • #11
                      You can tell from my too few posts that I'm not quick off the mark either Val. By the time I find anything, quite a few others have beaten me to it leaving me with egg on my face.

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                      • #12
                        I am a relative 'newbie' (compared to many others on this site). I have only been researching for about 4 years. But once I got in to family history I was hooked and yes I did and still do ask for help and if in return I can help others I do if only to repay the help I have had from others. From experience, you have take it all on board. Sometimes I have not got the help I was looking for but that is probably because people can't help. The more information you find must result in the harder stuff being left - but sometimes when you get a break through on the harder stuff the buzz is much greater. And as I have found... there are still records and ancestors out there to be discovered. This morning a very distant relation by marriage has e-mailed me to say that she has sent me a copy of my 2x Great Grandmothers sister's marriage certificate.

                        Sandra
                        Last edited by Sherbertrose; 25-04-12, 13:27.

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                        • #13
                          Hi Steven
                          Your requests for help were complicated to say the least especially with Clara & it needed lots of people searching & bouncing ideas off each other to reach the final outcome. You weren't afraid to spend money on numerous certificates until the got the right one which some people shy away from doing. "when I do sometimes look at earlier threads I cringe at the lack of knowledge or information I had!!!!!" You gave us all the info you had at the time & kept us updated on any other snippets from your contacts which were sometimes a bit misleading but it was a good "chase" & I for one thoroughly enjoyed it.
                          Moggie

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                          • #14
                            I agree that there are posters who sometimes don't seem to want to pay for anything and expect it all on a plate but I take the view that helping with what I can gives me a lot of pleasure and passes away the odd hour or two when I have nothing else to do so I benefit and so do they - I don't get hung up about it as it's my choice to join in and as with lots of things in life there are always the takers but to balance that there are always the givers!
                            Margaret
                            Last edited by margaretmarch; 25-04-12, 13:45.

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                            • #15
                              For what it's worth, the once I asked for help on this forum I got excellent, knowledgeable help, and it came at me so fast I had trouble keeping up with it. In the end, there were no solutions but at least I felt much better knowing that I wasn't missing the obvious.

                              Which reminds me, months later, out of the blue, came a hard piece of evidence found in a family bible which went a long way to resolving that issue. I need to go back to that thread to offer an update to those who offered their help.

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                              • #16
                                I must admit I like helping people, and have received help in return. I pay subs to Ancestry, FMP and limited sub to GR, and love to do the research. But sometimes I just go in circles and can't see the wood for the trees (sorry for that mixed metaphor!). I am on a few different forums, and have had excellent advice. I wouldn't just ask for look ups if I could do it myself, but some people just can't afford the subs - they are very expensive. The only thing I would say is that people on this forum are too quick off the mark offering help! I can never get to do it... but that's a good thing, isn't it. I love that we are all in it together (sound like Cameron! - oh no!!).
                                Best wishes, Polly

                                Begley - St Helens & Liverpool & somewhere in Ireland; Foster - Liverpool & Yorkshire (Ripon & Leeds); Pendleton - Huyton & Liverpool; Milnes - Leeds & Ripon; Banister - Preston; Wales - Liverpool & Cumberland; Ireland - Prescot; McDonough - Liverpool; Quirk - Liverpool; Hunt - St Helens; Tickle - St Helens

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                                • #17
                                  Thanks moggie the help I have received has always been concise and so helpful and you get as big a buzz checking to see if anyone has helped or replied to a thread as you do from finding stuff. I don't how I would have got through some of my brick walls without all your help

                                  Steven

                                  PS whenever I go on the iPad or computer my wife says "is that you away to see if you have heard from or away to chat to your ladies"!!!!!!!! Lol
                                  Last edited by stevie2006; 25-04-12, 20:29.

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                                  • #18
                                    I agree with you, Alan.

                                    I enjoy looking for the alternative to the BMD and census look ups ...when i do manage to find something, i usually send them the link and let the poster find it for them selves.....i have been on the recieving end of links sent to me on other forums and i have been chuffed with myself at times when i "find" the info.....Lol

                                    Saying that, i am no where near "good" at researching.......but i love the chase........

                                    I also think some things stare us in the face but we just don't see it, this is where a 2nd pair of eyes come in handy.
                                    Jacky

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                                    • #19
                                      I've been a professional internet researcher for over 10 years as well as a genealogist. I enjoy the thrill of the chase and the reward of finding the record you were looking for, especially when some lateral thinking was required to find it. Not everyone has the same searching skills and I am quite happy to help out if they are stuck.

                                      What does annoy me is posting the same question across several forums at the exactly same time, and even worse, not then revealing what has already been found by someone else on one of those other forums. Talk about wasting my time.

                                      Finding someone else to do the research for you may just be as exciting depending on how it is presented. I've just sent off a package to a someone who will read all about fraud, bankruptcy, a suicide, as well as the normal life events. It may not be a 'journey' for them, more a sudden revelation.
                                      Phil
                                      historyhouse.co.uk
                                      Essex - family and local history.

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                                      • #20
                                        I do admit that when I am looking for something for someone I DO get carried away, (which is all too easy to do!) I think it all depends also on the way the person searches sites like Ancestry, I use the new search and try to be vague when adding search criteria, so i'll wildcard, Eli** Greenh** then y.o.b and area, hit search and refine from there, I do like the panel to the right though that also gives you any other census that they appear on (as well well as BMD entries etc).. makes life a whole lot easier for me.

                                        I think that anyone that isnt as fast as Elaine or myself in searching just needs to keep on at it, it does get easier and the old saying 'less is more' certainly helps when initially looking for anyone.

                                        I remember a few years ago when we used to run the WDYTWA game (here on research) that it really used to help people refine their searching skills.
                                        Julie
                                        They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                                        .......I find dead people

                                        Comment

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