SEO: Why It's Important for Your Blog

SEO.

If you cruise the internet, you may have come across this acronym. You may have thought it wasn't relevant to you, your blog, or your search for ancestors. It is, in fact, important. SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimization", and no, its not scary.

What is it, exactly?

If you want the technological jargon, you can read all about it on Wikipedia. This is my take, my version of that information, but into language I can understand.

Simply put, SEO is the way a search engine reacts to a website and lists it in your results page. For example, if you do a search for "genealogy blogging", you will see www.geneabloggers.com is almost always at the top of the list. How does that happen? Well, site creator Thomas MacEntee has done an amazing job of providing search engines with the proper search terms, so people find his site first and easily. (He may have other tricks up his sleeve, and probably does, but I know he is doing this, and doing it well.)

Chrome search results for "genealogy blogging"

Think of it this way. When you open your web browser and conduct a search - for anything - you use a certain set of terms to try to get the best results possible, right? For example:

"Brown + Nebraska genealogy"

This is essentially universal. Yes, there are other ways of conducting a search. But, think about when you are looking for a recipe. You might search for "spaghetti recipe" or "world's best spaghetti". You don't always use a complicated search pattern to find what you are looking for.

Applying these terms to your unique blog or website allows the search engine to identify what your site is about and related to. It makes it easier for the search engine to find topics on your site and match those topics with the search terms that people use in simple searches.

Why should I do this? 

Simple. You want people to find you. Don't you?  Are you writing your blog to find other relatives? Well, they search for surnames, locations, photos, etc. Lead them to you with the right terms. Are you writing about your business, or general methodology? Great! Use the applied terms to communicate that's what you are writing about!

Don't care if anybody reads your blog? Ok. You can still read the rest of this one, though.

• "Why does it matter if your site is at the top of the results page or on page 42?"

Wouldn't a dedicated searcher find it either way?  Well, yes and no. I recently read that the average user in the U.S. only looks through the first two pages of search results, then either adapts the search terms or stops all together.

• "So what? Genealogy is reportedly the second most popular hobby - they are still going to find it."

Eventually, yes, they could. No built in guarantee on that one. Imagine that this long lost cousin finds you today, or finds you in five years. What have you missed out on? What kind of relationship could you have developed with this new branch of the family in that time?  There is a whole series of "what if's" here, and my favorite one is this: "what if long lost cousin's grandmother is still alive today, but dies next year?" Think about that for just a minute.

Convinced yet? Ready to start? I hope so.

How do I do this? 


Caroline Pointer of BloggingGenealogy.com recently posted a great little piece entitled Want More Cousins to Visit Your Genealogy Blog? in which she introduced us to "Cousin Awesome Sauce", and using "alt text", which allows you to "'tell' the search engine what the image says..." (Read the full post, it's worth it, I promise.)  So, start with that. Create a way for your images to be identified with the text you are producing.

Once you've got your feet wet, take a look at Search Engine Optimization: Step By Step on the About.com Web Design / HTML page, by Jennifer Kyrnin. It's a visual - yes, visual - instructional post about how to do this, and gives a more technical look at why you should. She makes it pretty easy.

Do not overlook this! This little tidbit from the step by step guide I just told you about is priceless! Use Adwords from Google to identify the best, and most common, search terms for your blog. Ms. Kyrnin puts this in her tutorial, but I want to point it out specifically as a really useful tool for this process. Just putting my blog and my webpage through that one tool, I learned a great deal. It proved to be incredibly useful.

Have other ideas? Know something about SEO that I don't? Well, that's likely. I'm just starting to educate myself on this particular road to internet usage and success. If you have a great resource you have used to improve your site, I'd really like to see it. Please leave a comment.

In the meantime, here is a great graphic to explain the process just one more time. And one more tip: look on Pinterest. There are numerous "infographics" to help understand SEO.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6442/12-Amazing-SEO-Infographics.aspx

Which hashtag is right for me? #Twitter

Recently, Marian Pierre-Louis posed a question on Google+:

"Question for all you social media friends out there: Have any of you ever done a study to determine which Twitter keywords have strong, loyal followings and which keywords seem to remain rapid fire and random without a core group? Just wondering..."

Although she was not referring to specifically genealogy related terms, her questions and further comments were intriguing to me, so I decided to do a little digging.

I found the site, www.HashTracking.com. You input a hashtag, and it tells you how many original tweets, retweets and mentions used that tag in the last twenty-four hours.

Here's a quick look at my results. I did this from 4:10pm - 4:15pm on 11 June 2012. For comparison purposes, I used common genealogy tags that I've seen used:

• #genealogy: 359 original tweets, 89 retweets, 21 mentions
• #familyhistory: 98 original tweets, 26 retweets, 7 mentions
• #ancestry: 28 original tweets, 2 retweets, 0 mentions
• #history: 829 original tweets, 552 retweets, 119 mentions
• #socialmedia: 1194 original tweets, 269 retweets, 37 mentions
• #archives: 187 original tweets, 81 retweets, 4 mentions

 I think, simply, an interesting look at the use of social media as our community continues to grow online. Personally, I try to use as many as possible in each post, within the confines of 140 characters.

The question posed is still one to be considered, and I thank Marian for putting it out there for us to spend a few minutes pondering. I would pass it forward to all of you: what hashtags do you use regularly, what do you use in passing?

Quick Review: Special Collections & Family History, BYU Idaho

Here's the basics you need to know:

The Special Collections & Family History site offered by BYU Idaho provides indexes and derivatives of genealogical resources, focusing on the western states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah.

You can contact them at: (208) 496 - 9536 or familyhistory@byui.edu.

_________________________________

The collection, housed on the Rexburg, Idaho campus, features several valuable and time saving resources for those researching in the west. Of particular interest is the Western States Marriage Record Index, Japanese Immigrants to the United States 1887-1924, and the Idaho, 1890: A Reconstructed Census from the Idaho State Historical Society.

You can follow updates and news from the archives on their blog, BYU-Idaho Family History Center, in which they cover everything from library hours to technology to conferences and regional events.

Quick Source Review: JSTOR

JSTOR presents a unique researching opportunity for genealogists and family historians. In the academic world, it is a commonly used and reliable source. From their own website, “…JSTOR is one of the world’s most trusted sources for academic content” (www.jstor.org). It is a part of ITHAKA, an academic preservation not-for-profit. So, what is it, exactly and how can it help me in my genealogy research?

Simply, it is a collection of articles. Journals covering a wide range of topics; publications on Law, Film Studies, Folklore, History, Music, Irish Studies and a vast collection of Scientific Journals… they have thousands of titles available in their database. Run a search, find an article of interest, and download in PDF format. Citation is made easy with their automated cover page for each article. A truly simple system.

The benefits to your research can be truly outstanding. A quick search for “Chicago” resulted in nearly 62,000 hits. An article dated 1867 came up within the first ten results. The historical perspective can add a wealth of knowledge and information to your family history.

The database has free content, and they have a relatively standard agreement policy. When you conduct a search, start by choosing the Advanced Search option. Enter your terms, and then select the “Include Only Content I Can Access” option. This will display only the free results.

It is most certainly a site worth exploring. 

Why an Index is Only A Starting Point

Indexes to available local records are becoming more and more common across the internet, and these resources can be incredibly helpful. It is important to remember though that these lists are a starting point for your research, not the end result.

Let's compare to make our point.

There are a few wonderful state or county sponsored sites that I have come across in researching my family. One of which is the Washington State Digital Archives and the other is the Madison County, Alabama Records Center.  Both have excellent resources for genealogists, and both are very supportive in the efforts of the research community. I have interacted with both organizations on the phone as well as via email, and have found them to be incredibly friendly and welcoming of questions and inquiries.

The most significant difference between the two is this: Washington State has started to digitize their records and make some of the images available on line, via the site. So when you conduct a search, you get not only the index of the record source, but you can download or purchase a copy of the actual record. That's about as good as its going to get.

The Records Center for Madison County has the advantage of offering indexes on a variety of record sources; some of which are rather unique to that area. Although they do not offer online images, their copying costs are extremely minimal, which is nice to see these days.

Many indexes provide as much information as the actual document, so what is the difference?  Can't I just take the info from the index and not bother to request (and commonly pay for) the actual record?

Well, yes, you can. But as an intentional researcher, by which I mean a person who is truly trying to compile and quality and well thought out family history, you have to ask yourself some questions when using an index as a "source."

1. How do you know the transcriber read all of the information correctly? 
2. How do you know there isn't more to learn by gaining access to the actual record? 
3. Can you be 100% positive that this is the correct individual? What if the records were transcribed over a period of time, and the person creating the index got them out of order? 
4. What if the original is damaged, and the transcriber made a "best guess"? 
5. Is the name of the person you are looking for a common one? How can you be sure that the index you have found belongs to your Chris Thompson, and not his cousin, Chris Thompson, who lives three doors down? 

Numerous what if's exist in this situation, too many to list here. 

All the talk recently has been centered around the 1940 Census, and the push to get it indexed. If you have volunteered in this effort, you know exactly what I'm referring to. Handwriting, abbreviations, wrinkles in the page, crossed out lines, small print... all of these things and more can get in the way of an accurate index. 

Take the time, put in the extra effort, even the cash if necessary, to get a copy of the record before you make any conclusions. I promise you, its worth it. 

Webinar Review: The Pursuit From Genealogy Hobbyist to Professional

Originally presented on 4 April 2012 by John Kitzmiller and Claire V. Brison-Banks, this webinar certainly caught my eye when it was listed on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website. I was immediately interested and registered right away. Among the excitement and energy surrounding the release of the 1940 US Census, there was this underlying anticipation for me. I could not wait for this webinar.

My first observation, and unfortunately, the thought that continued throughout the presentation, was this: these two folks do not know how to present a webinar. In their bio's, it stated that they speak regularly at conferences and other events. Although I have not seen them in person, I am sure that they are dynamic speakers (or they wouldn't be continually brought back into conferences). There is a difference, however, in my mind, between speaking live and speaking through a webinar format. There needs to be more to a webinar than just reading off the slides. I can see those, I can read them for myself. Your presentation needs to offer me more than just what is on the slides. So, I was initially disappointed. I let the presentation go and left the room to rotate my laundry. Not a good start.

Throughout the presentation, there were several long pauses with whispering in the background. Odd.

The topics covered were a brief review of what Mr. Kitzmiller and Mrs. Brison-Banks thought were the most important skills needed to be a professional genealogist; the "phases" from doing genealogy as a hobby to going pro; certification opportunities in the United States; business practice models, etc.

They described the following as important skills to have to become a professional genealogist:

1. Ability to analyze research details. 
2. Synthesize the analysis.
3. A specialty area(s) - generally a geographic area.
4. Experience
5. Credentials, either have or in the process of obtaining.
6. Education beyond High School
7. Be a life long learner.

As someone just beginning this process, I agree with all of this except #6. Certainly higher education in the form of college courses, internships, apprenticeships, etc. would be helpful, however I do not think that it is necessarily a requirement to be a good professional. I know several people that are extremely successful in their chosen fields that barely finished high school or obtained a GED later in life. That being said, #7, that of being a life long learner, is very important. Not everybody is successful in a traditional classroom setting, so for me, #6 should simply be eliminated and more emphasis should be placed on continued learning, in whatever form works best for the individual.

I was disappointed that so much time was spent on items like looking at the ICAPGen and BCG websites. It would seem to me that if someone is watching this webinar, they have probably already visited those sites; I know have, several times over. Are they worth mentioning? Absolutely. Do we need to spend several minutes of the presentation time highlighting what you can find on the main page?  No, not really.

One of the items I found helpful was the visual charts on the Business Work Flow and the Research Project. All though I have seen all of this written out, to see it in a diagram was useful.

Ultimately, I think I was hoping for something a bit more specific to the process of running a genealogy related business, versus just running a business in general. I was looking for topics such as industry specific marketing and advertising, gaining a professional reputation in the field, and obtaining an audience. Perhaps the presenters felt that generic was better for a broad audience, which generally I would agree with. The title of the webinar, however, makes it clear this is about being a professional genealogist, and there just was not that much information specific to that title. I can take a business class just about anywhere, anytime. 

Speaking skills were lacking to the end; and this is a direct quote from one of the presenters: "... has to do a lineage, um... thing..." (referring to the BCG Certification process). To be fair, perhaps the question caught them off guard, but it was formed around material they covered during the hour, so it should have been something they were able to address.

Overall, the webinar was disappointing. It even seemed that when the two individuals switched back and forth, that it was unorganized. They did not seem ready to pick up where the other left off. Although I have not given a webinar in some time (probably two years or more), that is certainly something I would have planned in advance, and been ready to pick up from a co-presenter.

Unfortunately, I have to give this webinar a rather low rating. I did not learn very much, and felt that the time could have been spent in a much more productive way.

Anybody else view this presentation and have thoughts to share? Please do so. 

Website Review: Colorado State Archives Historical Records Index Search

This post is an overview of the Historical Records Index Search system on the Colorado State Archives website. You can find this immensely helpful Colorado resource here:

Colorado State Archives: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/
Colorado Historical Records Index main page: http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/hrd/index.htm

If you are researching the State of Colorado, the Archives is a must hit resource. By indexing the available records, they have provided historians and genealogists with a easy to use and free resource, allowing researchers to identify possible records prior to visiting the Archives or making requests for copies.

There are numerous databases available, and you can see the list at the bottom of the Index main page (link above).  The last update was made 25 June 2012, and at that time, there were 2,243,831 entries. If you need information on a specific record type, you can peruse the Records Descriptions page, which lists each resource individually. Included in the site is everything from federal census', "Amache Japanese Internment Camp Teachers", "Prohibition Arrests", "Non-Fatal Mine Accidents", county records, and much more.

When you conduct a search, the system will display the first 200 matches, and no more. You cannot move to page two. If you are searching for "Bill Jones", all record types, in Denver, you will need to be more specific to find who and what you are looking for. However, if you are searching a rather unusual name, for example, "Widmeyer" you can be rather vague in your search terms. Please note, the system does not use Soundex, so you will have to search all the various spellings you can think of to find all of the resources available.

Searches can be conducted by last name only, first name only, or a combination. "Smith, John" or Smith, Jo" for example. You can also search by county, year range, and record type.

Although the site states that Internet Explorer works best, I have been solely using Chrome, and it has worked fine for me.

Images are not available through the site, only derivatives. You can order records through the site, however, which is a nice feature. When you have found a record you are interested in purchasing, simply click the box next to it in the results list, and hit the "Add/Remove to Inquiry" button at the top of the spreadsheet. When you are done searching, and have added all the records to your inquiry, click on the "Complete Email Request" button, and you will be led to an online form to complete. Their fee system is listed at the bottom of this post.

The State Archives also has several other resources and historically interesting links:
Digital Archives
Family History Site
Governor Ritter Historical Archives
Governor Owens Historical Archives
Listen to D-Day Radio Broadcasts
Digital Trademarks


The Colorado State Archives is managed by Terry Ketelsen.

Found at 1313 Sherman, Room 1B20, Denver, Colorado 80203, you can contact them via phone at: 303-866-2358. The public research room is open 9:00am - 4:30pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. They are closed on weekends and Wednesdays, and state holidays.

General Requests
Colorado Residents: $15.00 per search or name to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.
Out of State Requests: $25.00 per search or name to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.
Certified Copies: $10.00 and up per document.
Professional Assistance: $28.00 per hour charged in fifteen minute intervals ($7.00 for every fifteen minutes.)

Specific Requests
Corporation Searches: $25.00 per corporation to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.
Radon Searches: $25.00 per name to include 3 pages of copies with additional pages of copy work at $1.25 per page.

There Is A Line: The Difference Between Collaboration and Cheating

Recently, I had a message sent to me on my www.ancestry.com account. Here is a person asking for access to my private tree, so she can "use" my information. I have several concerns about this. Let me state now, before I get going on my rant, that I am in no way affiliated with Ancestry.com, except for the fact that I purchase access to their system.

I actually have several tree's on ancestry. All the projects I work on eventually end up there. I think of them as rough drafts, and that is the primary reason why I keep them private. I do not want anyone using me as a resource when the original is about as far from polished as you can get. The tree's are like a working theory; as I find clues or names that may (or may not) help me, I add them in to see what will happen. It allows me the creative freedom to prove or disprove a theory or assumption. Sometimes, I can delete that new idea immediately - it's obviously not a match to who I'm looking for. There are other times when an idea becomes its own tree, so I can continue to progress in my work at a later date and time. (See, I have this thing called a toddler. She's not exactly willing to let Mommy sit at the computer all day.) Life interrupts, so I have to save it all and come back to it again and again. Not everything on my tree's are correctly cited, not everything has been judged against the Genealogical Proof Standard. Therefore, it is private.

As much as I value the resources that Ancestry.com provides to me, it is not the end all and be all of genealogical research. There is so much more out there to investigate. The vast majority of that work goes into a much different database on my hard drive, and never gets posted to an individual's online profile.

When I send a message on ancestry, it goes something like this...

"Hello, I'm looking for information on So-And-So and his wife, Mrs. So-And-So. Here is what I know about them already: he was born... she was born... they married on this day, year... they lived here... they had these children... they are buried... Thank you so much for your time and consideration in sharing any new information you may have."


Etc., etc., etc.

I include as many details as I think I can without losing the interest of the reader. I do this to show that I am willing to share as much as I give, I am genuine, and I care about the ancestor in question. I care about the researcher's credibility and the ancestor's "online image" so to speak. I can recite that last line verbatim, because that is how I have been ending my messages and emails for collaboration requests for as long as I can remember. This is personal stuff. It doesn't get any more personal than your family. People out there in the genealogical community generally recognize this fact, and strive to ensure that the trust and respect from one researcher to another is displayed upon first contact; and continues to be present and obvious as long as the collaboration continues. It is displayed in comments and credits given to each researcher.

Please, don't be a cheater. Collaborate with the world, but don't cheat. Take credit for your individual work, and give credit where credit is due. It's very important, and unfortunately, its rampant in amateur and hobbyist genealogy.

The Adams Family

Buried together in a small corner of the Valley Brook Cemetery in Breckenridge, Colorado, sits the Adams Family: Josie, Marie Therese (mother), Paul G., and Philip P., (father). Little Josie caught my interest first, as early deaths are wont to do, and tucked on my maternal heart strings. Today I got the chance to take a look at her family in a more structured and intentional way. 

Adams Family Plot

Josie Adams did not survive for long in the sometimes extreme environment of Summit County, Colorado. Born in September, she lived just over a year.

According to the 1900 and 1910 census records for Summit County, Philip was born in Germany, and arrived in the United States in 1880. The State of Colorado Historical Records Index Search (http://www.colorado.gov) revealed nothing, neither did the Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records database (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx). Since both of these are initial search resources for me, I had to dig a little deeper. The 1920 census reveals that Philip became a Naturalized Citizen in 1894, but does not mention the still living Marie in the same household, though it does say that Philip is still married.

Census records tell me that Marie was born in Wisconsin. The 1900 Federal Census provides a marriage date of 1883, and I was able to locate a marriage record in the BYU Idaho Special Collections & Family History (http://abish.byui.edu) system for Philip Adams of Breckenridge and Threasa KLANKA of Breckenridge, 24 May 1884 (Western States Marriage Record Index, ID 349647, Vol. A, Page 21). The marriage took place in Breckenridge, so this is more than likely the correct Philip and Therese.  Using the spelling of her first name provided by the headstone, rather than the alternate on the marriage index, searching for Therese Klanka born in Wisconsin in 1859 on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) gives me the following result:
1870 Federal Census, Therese KLENKE, born 1859, Wisconsin. Daughter of Anton and Dore, sister to Herman and Carl. Residing in the Town of Herman, Sheboygan County, about 65 miles north of Wisconsin, just inland from the shore of Lake Michigan.

From what I have already collected, the Adams also had children Dora, Agnes and Clara, all born in Colorado. So what happened to them? Since they all survived at least long enough to be recorded in the 1900 Census, they probably married and moved on with their new families.

Paul G. Adams, born Sept. 13, 1885, is also buried in Valley Brook next to his parents and baby sister. The General Land Office Records database (see above link) tells us that he obtained property in Baca County, Colorado in 1920; but the 1930 census has him back in Breckenridge. Where will he be in 1940, I wonder? Guess I still have a few days before that information becomes available... (see the 1940 U.S. Census Project for more information!)

If I had the inclination and time, I would order Philip's naturalization papers to see what else I could learn. However, for the purpose of this summary, I believe I have said enough. Please note all of the above resources were accessed on 25 Mar 2012, and a FindAGrave memorial has been created for Philip Adams (www.findagrave.com, memorial # 87354918); I would imagine the rest of the headstones will be added to the site before the end of the day. The research done for the purpose of this blog was also conducted and completed on 25 Mar 2012, and is stored in the personal files of Jen Baldwin, Ancestral Journeys, author. A full genealogical report will be posted on the Summit County Trails to the Past website in the near future (http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cosummtp/).

BCG Mentor

As I continue to develop my skills and prepare myself for going through the certification process with the Board for Certified Genealogists, or BCG, I have decided to look for a mentor to assist me. This is recommended by the Board, and is something I would very much like to have. I have contacted a couple local folks from the web site, but none of them seem very open to the idea, with time consuming projects of their own.

I am looking for someone to proof read my material, critique my processes and summaries and just provide general morale support. The BCG process is long and, I've heard, can be overwhelming. Locally or digitally, it would sure be nice to have someone "hold my hand."

Please pass this on if you know of anybody that might be interested. Thank you.

http://www.bcgcertification.org/

Trails to the Past - Summit County, CO

Happy to announce that great progress is being made on the Summit County, Colorado Trails to the Past project. Recently I have added more content to the Mining History and Ghost Town sites, and have loaded over 200 photos from Valley Brook Cemetery to the Colorado Gravestones project. My goal for next summer is to completely map Valley Brook and make that available online. 

Future updates will include information on the 10th Mountain Division, information from several "new to me" sources, including The Colorado Cemetery Directory, produced by the Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies. 

You can see the project at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cosummtp/.
The Colorado Gravestones project is here: http://coloradogravestones.org/

RootsTech 2012

Oh, how I wish I was in Salt Lake City right now. There it is, I said it.

Following the conference via live feeds and social media has been the next best thing. Picked up several things today, and can't wait to get started on them. Here's a few of the highlights, and some items I definitely need to learn more about.

1. Metadata. Whoa.
2. historical-data.org
3. "Data doesn't sit." If you took 400 disks and copied the data onto 400 duplicated discs... 1 would fail every day, and at least 1 identical set would fail every week. How are you storing your data? 
4. Solid state drives... the future of data storage, with no moving parts? 
5. For now, we have cloud computing. 
6. Using the Google toolbar... I will certainly have to use this schematic more.  http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/best-google-search-tips-pdf
7. Did you know you can upload a picture into Google search, and it will find similar images? Try it. Go to Google Images, and in the search bar, there is a small icon of a camera. Use it to upload an image and search. See what happens. 
8. Use the "terrain view" in Google Maps to see the geographical area of where you are researching... may have been easier for them to go one county over to get married, etc., if there were major obstacles in the way.
9. Evernote downloaded today. 
10. Mozy installed today.
11. Looking for an app that will work with my laptop to record interviews then transcribe them for me. Unless of course, I can get a smart phone that will do it for me... 
12. Josh Coates, keynote speaker this morning, was very fun. Best presentation so far for me. Frantically scribbling notes and "tweeting" and trying to stay in my chair from laughing so hard at the same time. Tricky stuff. (You can see the details of the conference at www.rootstech.org.)
13. Can't wait to register for 2013. 
14. Four sessions streamed tomorrow, two of which (at least) I will miss due to other commitments. Certainly going to go back and watch those later in the day. 

A long day, immersed in genealogy, learning, networking and a great deal of mental processing. Ideas were popping in my head so fast, I could barely keep up. The list of bullet points to work on is long, but I'm very much looking forward to it. This is one of the most exciting avenues of our industry, and I'm looking forward to learning more. 

Oh, and "Who Do You Think You Are?" episode 1, season 3, was pretty good tonight, too. 

February Goals

Deciding to document my genealogical goals on this blog is no small deal. This means I have to actually commit! Argh! Scary!

Ok, really. Here they are.

1. Blog more. There were many reasons I began this project, but the two that are most important to me were to improve my writing skills and to maintain a routine examination of my own research projects. During the past several months my blogging has been inconsistent at best, especially in terms of frequency. My goal for February is to blog about something twice a week. I have started a list of possible topics, and of course, I am open to suggestions. If there is something you are interested in learning more about, let me know. 
2. Create two new pages for both of my TTTP sites: Summit County, Colorado and Colfax County, Nebraska.  I have very much enjoyed the Trails to the Past project that began this past fall for me. Certainly it has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal more about both areas of the country. It has also forced me to be creative when it comes to finding new resources. My local library has been wonderful for the Summit County page, but being distant from Nebraska requires that I work harder to find new information for that area. Because of this, I do feel that the Nebraska page has suffered some, so to define my goal even further, I will create the Colfax County pages first. 
3. Girl Scout Project. This particular venture has truly given me a chance to go back to the basics in my own work and reevaluate some of the technical sides of the process that I have developed bad habits for or taken short cuts with. So, I'm grateful for it. February's meeting topic is yet to be determined, so I will need to develop my lesson for the girls for the month, prepare examples, and provide them with their homework. 
4. Continue the Social Media campaign.  My current efforts with creating an online presence and developing a reputation in the genealogical community appears to be making an impact. So, that focus will continue until my "audience" has grown and I feel confident that the name of "Ancestral Journeys" is out there, and known. Of course, this may take years. I think I can handle that.
5. Continue to develop standardized forms/information for Ancestral Breezes.  The necessary communication tools for new clients should be in place before I take on clients, yes?  I've been working on this as I am able, and have developed two to three very solid documents, all with the objective of providing the client with information.  February should see two to three more, including a tracking log (time and research), standardized invoice form, copyright information, and a release for publication purposes (so I can use other people's families to write about). 
6. Historical Document Preservation. Being the proud owner of a rather extensive library of photographs, letters, newspapers, certificates and other documents is a task I will gladly accept. It does, however, come with some responsibility. There is quite a bit more to digitally preserve in my collection, and they deserve some quality time with me. I now have the tools necessary to do this, and do it right, so there are no more excuses. My goal is to scan and save at least 200 new items this month. Storage is a whole different beast. Maybe next month... 

Six is a good number, right? 

Guess I'll be checking back around 1 March 2012 to see how I did.... and sadly, I don't think this counts as one of this week's blog posts, since it's not technically February yet. 

Ancestral Journeys... The Story of the Rockies One Person At A Time

I am pleased to announce today the launch of:

Ancestral Journeys

... The Story of the Rockies One Person At A Time

As Summit County's only genealogical research service, and one of very few in the Rocky Mountain region of Wyoming, Colorado and northern New Mexico, (including Colorado's "western slope"), we are proud to represent professional genealogy in this region. Our services include research assistance, genealogical reports, internet and software training/education, and service oriented programs; educating the next generation about how to find their own ancestral trail. Located in Breckenridge, Colorado, we can offer you professional and respectful research at a reasonable cost. 

Member, National Genealogical Society

You can contact us via email and social media: 

ancestralbreezes@gmail.com

Twitter @ancestryjourney

Facebook Ancestral Journey

Or via this blog... 

The Key Elements

Someone recently asked me how I do what I do. I wasn't able to answer that question succinctly on the spot, but I think I've got it now.


There are three elements that are vital to anyone interested in taking on a genealogical research project.

1. Patience
2. Commitment
3. Time

Perhaps not what you were expecting? I believe, without those three, you have nothing. Allow me to elaborate some...

Patience is number one on my list, and yes, that matters here. I do searches on the same top 5 individuals I am looking for every week. I sit down every Sunday morning and run through the exact same series on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Sometimes I find something new, most of the time the results are identical to the week before, which are identical to five years ago. The rewards, however, when something new does pop up are remarkable. 

Two weeks ago, when I ran through my list, I was stopped in my tracks by the very first name. Captain Oscar F. Brown, the person I most want to find that missing piece to, suddenly appeared in an index in Shelby County, Missouri. We knew he lived there with his sister before the war, but the years after his service ended and when he arrived in Nebraska were empty. No information, no leads. Just a big ten year gap in his life. For the first time, there he was, listed along with two members of his sister's family, as having signed the "Oath of Loyalty" in 1865 so he could serve as Deputy Sheriff in that area.  Thanks to volunteers in that area running a free genealogy resource website, the list was made available via the internet, and became an extremely valuable piece of his personal timeline in our research. 


Commitment. The above example should show this for you. If you are not solid on your decision to engage in this work, and repeatedly search for those names week after week, you probably won't ever scratch the surface. You won't get past that first year of success (which most people have, especially with online research.)  You must take the 60 seconds out of an exciting new source find to document that source correctly, or you will lose it tomorrow. All the old photos should be scanned, all the records requested via the mail which feels like it takes forever these days, the time spent digging through your libraries' card catalog to find that one forgotten book that might someone's name in it. Genealogy consumes your life when you are really making progress: everything else stops. A bomb could go off in my kitchen, but if I am on a new idea or realizing that a possible source just turned into an actual source, I would never know about that ridiculous, annoying, "getting in the way of my research" bomb.


Of course, time. It takes hours to digitally record a cemetery. Not just finding the headstones, cleaning them so they are readable, taking the right picture with not too much shadow or other interfering light... but then getting them home, editing the file, uploading to whatever website or creating a album for preservation purposes. All of that is, usually, beyond the scope of your own family research. 


For me, genealogy is a passion. I would not be willing to do all of this, and more, without the emotional rewards I receive in the end. I have been known to do a little jig around my house when I find something good. Preserving the past matters to me, realizing the people I came from, not just their names, but who they were and what made them that way, matters to me. Without it, everything else is just data. My 2x great grandfather Oscar was not made up of data - he was a person, and he was unique. He created a family, that family grew with grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Those folks were a part of my childhood, they were a part of influencing who I became. They are where I came from.

Who I Came From...

Missouri's Oath of Loyalty... if you haven't heard of it, its worth reading about.
http://www.civilwarstlouis.com/history/oathofloyalty.htm

Summit County, Colorado Trails to the Past!

A month or two ago, I decided to join the Trails to the Past community, and volunteered to host two sites: Summit County, Colorado and Colfax County, Nebraska. I am pleased to announce that Summit County is now up and running... my first website!  A great project, and one I am proud to be a part of. Check it out!

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cosummtp/

So many sites, so little time...

Genealogy is the (last I checked) second most popular search on the internet, right behind porn. That being the case, there are literally thousands of websites that could be of assistance in any one person's search.

Sites commonly used that are not designed for genealogy research include Wikipedia, Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google +.

During the school year of 2011-2012, I will be leading a family history related project with a group of local Girl Scouts, and we recently held an informational meeting for their parents. I titled our project "The Puzzle of Your Past".  Genealogy is just that - a gigantic jigsaw puzzle, and every piece has to fit just right. The same could be said for the numerous websites that exist today. You have to find the right piece at the right time, in order to make the information fit. Some sites, like http://www.ancestry.com/ or http://www.familysearch.org/, you can find a use for just about any time. Others, like a site describing the history of Chaffee County in Colorado, may be so unique it will be used very little in your own research.

That being said, I have volunteered to host two sites on the Trails To The Past network. This is a new genealogy based tree of pages, in which each county in each state has its own site. It's make up is similiar to that of Rootsweb, but only about two years old. I will be hosting Colfax County, Nebraska and Summit County, Colorado. Why did I decide to take on this project?  I have so many other things happening in my own research right now, not to mention a two year old running around the house.

The simple answer is I want to share. I want to spread what I have learned about those areas and the people in them, and I want to make it easier for other researchers to find new and diverse information. The student in me says I am doing this for the experience; it will be great for my knowledge base of using the internet, composing pages, and design; as well as a boost in my writing skills and resume.  It will definately look good on my BCG application.

Check back in the days to come... these two county sites will be going live, and of course, I will post that to my blog. Also, if you are interested in your own family history, please take a look at Trails To The Past and its family. We're a great bunch of folks!
http://trailstothepast.org/