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FOCUSING ON RESEARCH GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR


HOW TO SET RESEARCH GOALS AND EMPLOY GOOD RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

by Karen Clifford, AG

Doing meaningful genealogy requires forethought and planning. Without a plan,
the purposes you have set out to accomplish may not be achieved. What is it you
specifically hope to find? In genealogy research, the majority of goals focus
upon:

 * Finding the parent's names
 * Finding an individual's birth date or place
 * Finding a marriage date or place
 * Finding a death date or place
 * Finding a spouse's name, or maiden name
 * Finding the names of siblings
 * Finding background information on the family


ANALYZE WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW

One of the easiest ways to determine which goals to pursue is to look at your
existing family pedigree or ancestral chart, family group records, or individual
data fields on your computer program. Is anything missing or questionable? Could
those missing items fall under one of the goal categories mentioned above?


TECHNIQUES TO KEEP IN MIND

Now a word of caution! As you begin to select a goal, the following research
techniques should be adhered to in order to prevent researching the wrong family
line:

 * Go from known information to unknown information. You cannot set a goal if
   you have not separated fact from tradition, hypothesis from actuality. If
   someone on the Internet or in a published genealogy has extended your family
   line three generations, don't just accept it as fact and start going backward
   at the end of the proposed new third generation. First, verify the
   relationships between your known ancestors and the additional information,
   then move into the "unknown" once again.You cannot comprehend what you know
   about an individual until you have somehow, systematically, organized your
   facts, as well. For example, ask yourself certain questions:
   
   "What do you really know about this person?"
   
   "I was told he was born in Virginia."
   
   "But how did I come to know that information?"
   
   "Oh, I remember, I found that on the 1880 census record."
   
   "Since records are kept on a county level in Virginia, what county was the
   person living in?"
   
   "I don't know! Wait! Yes, it was written on that 1880 census. It was Franklin
   county. But this only tells me where he was living in 1880 and that he was
   born in Virginia. I will need to go back in time starting with 1880 and see
   if he remains in this same county."
   
   "Correct! So what will your goal be?"
   
   "My goal is to find the birth place of this person."
   
   "You've got the idea."
   
   "But I really want to find out who this person's parent are too."
   
   "That is another goal. There are now two goals for this person."
 * Don't skip generations or sources. In the above example, it is very tempting
   to skip the present generation where you know a person's name, year of birth
   and state, and just jump back to the person's parent's names. Resist that
   temptation. Don't skip generations or sources. By finding the birth place of
   the individual, you may also find his parent's names.
   
   In the above example, you might already have the individual's marriage date
   and place, as well. You may be tempted not to look it up because you think
   you already "know" it. You do not, however, have a primary source for the
   information. You only have "hearsay" evidence from a published family
   history. So you select as another goal to find the marriage record or
   marriage application for the person. (For more information on finding vital
   records, go to the free online beginning genealogy lessons .)
   
   As you find the original marriage place, you may find in the marriage
   application the names of the parents. Had you not sought the sources, the
   information would have been lost to you. Therefore your third goal would be
   to find documentation for the marriage date for an individual because it
   might contain information on the person's parents.
 * WITHIN REASON, get them all. You need to record all individuals of the same
   surname in the same locality (even the common surnames such as Smith, if in a
   small town or township), neighbors who may travel with them for several
   generations, and relatives who appear on one record or another. You obviously
   wouldn't want to get all the Smiths in New York City, however, but would want
   to get all Smith individuals in the same block or building. You are doing
   this because even though your 3rd great grandfather may not have stated on
   his marriage record the name of his parents, his sister, who lived in the
   same county, may have stated the name of her parents, which was just what you
   were looking for.
 * Find the county jurisdiction today. Look at a current atlas or map and
   determine where the location would be today. Make a copy of that area in case
   you will want to contact genealogy societies, historical societies, or local
   libraries in the present location to see if they have recorded information on
   the individual for whom you are searching.
 * Locality analysis. Now you must determine the name of the location at the
   time of the event. The reason for this is that records are catalogued and
   retained in their original jurisdiction. Use gazetteers of the time period,
   geographical dictionaries, maps, and books to guide you to the name of the
   county in which a town might have existed during the years your relatives
   lived there. Counties were constantly changing in the United States.
 * List all sources searched, both negative and positive. Because we must list
   our negative searches (so we don't repeat them), as well as our positive
   searches, it is a good idea to put all of this information onto a research
   planner (see #8 below). That way we can just indicate whether we found
   something or not.
 * Determine what others have already discovered. Avoid duplication of effort by
   a preliminary survey. This involves searching major biographical databases,
   the Ancestral File, the International Genealogical Index, the Library of
   Congress database, Internet sources, etc. Often this information is
   secondary, but it can help you find locations for primary sources. (The
   beginning genealogy lessons guide you through the Preliminary Survey.)
 * Plan your research process with the help of a Research Planner. Do not
   confuse a Research Planner with a Log. The latter only records what was
   found. The former records not only what was found, but also what was not
   found; when an item was searched, and what records SHOULD eventually be
   searched. Using a Research Planner is a very important step to set goals. A
   Research Planner helps to focus you on what you are doing and reminds you to
   apply the other 7 basic rules stated above.


HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE A RESEARCH PLANNER

Use a Separate Research Planner for Each Goal To summarize, goals are arrived at
through an analysis of existing family records. While it is the task of your
computer genealogy program to organize the family records and allow the initial
analysis to take place, it is the task of a Research Planner to focus the
researcher.

Certain information will be found lacking in family records which become a
"goal." List each one of these goals on a separate Research Planner.

Goals Often Involve Smaller Objectives Separate planners are used because most
goals need to be broken down into smaller objectives. For example, your goal may
be to locate the father of Johan Hains, born 1847. Write the goal at the top of
your research calendar. Smaller objectives can be written in the space labeled
"object of search," in the example which follows.

An example In our above sample, a will which mentions a John Hains as the son of
a Mr. Hains could be proof if the person was found in the correct location, at
the same time. Also a census with a child of the correct age as Johan/John
listed with his parents would provide evidence to solve the problem. So your
research calendar would then look like the sample below. (The abbreviation "Ind"
stands for "Is this item indexed?" and "Con" stands for "Condition of item.")

Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in
Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.RepositoryDateDescription of SourceIndObject of
SearchTime Period, SearchNoteExt. #Call #Con 1850 Census Index of VirginiaXHains
family with son John age abt 3John born 1847Might be spelled Haynes Franklin
County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ Johnd. Bef 1846ditto

You do not have a repository (a place) where this might be found as yet. Neither
do you know an exact book or film number or a full description. That can be
filled in later once you see the card catalog for the repository. In essence,
you are "planning" work to be done later.

Once you learn the whereabouts of a Federal Archives center near you which has
census films, you will be able to proceed. You may also learn that a local
Family History Center has the probate records you are searching available on
microfilm. You are now able to fill in the other boxes labeled "Repository" and
"Call #."

Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in
Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.RepositoryDateDescription of SourceIndObject of
SearchTime Period, SearchNoteExt. #Call #ConSan Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index
of VirginiaXHains family with son John age abt 3John born 1847Might be spelled
Haynes T1245 Roll 125 FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ Johnd.
Bef 1846ditto 0854245

When a visit is made to the FHC and the Archives, you will be able to actually
look at a copy of the original documents on film. You can then locate your
families and make photocopies of the film. At the top of the photocopy for the
will, you write "H-1" indicating "Hains family extract item 1" and also record
that number under "Ext #" (Extract Document Number). Your research planner then
looks like the document below.

Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in
Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.RepositoryDateDescription of SourceIndObject of
SearchTime Period, SearchNoteExt. #Call #ConSan Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index
of VirginiaXHains family with son John age abt 3John born 1847Might be spelled
Haynes T1245 Roll 125 FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ Johnd.
Bef 1846ditto 0854245

The census may indicate you were in the wrong county for the probate and sure
enough, you find nothing in the census index for Franklin county but there was a
Hains family in the neighboring county of Henry. You make changes to your
research planner as shown below.

Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in
Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.RepositoryDateDescription of SourceIndObject of
SearchTime Period, SearchNoteExt. #Call #ConSan Bruno Archives 1850 Census Index
of Virginia NOT in Franklin, in Henry Co., insteadXHains family with son John
age abt 3John born 1847Might be spelled Haynes

0 — Not there.

T1245 Roll 125 FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ Johnd. Bef
1846ditto

H-1 other Haines

0854245

Knowing that you found nothing in Franklin county, but now need to look for
information in Henry county, your calendar now looks like the example below. You
have two lines already completely filled out, and then you add two more lines
for the new census and will searches that you need to do in Henry county.

Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in
Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.RepositoryDateDescription of SourceIndObject of
SearchTime Period , SearchNoteExt. #Call #ConSan Bruno Archives 1850 Census
Index of Virginia NOT in Franklin, in Henry Co., insteadXHains family with son
John age abt 3John born 1847Might be spelled Haynes0 — Not there.T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ Johnd. Bef 1846ditto0 — Not
there.0854245 San Bruno Archives8 Aug 19971850 VA, Henry County census page 34
Hains family with son John age abt 3John born 1847 H-2T1245 Roll 143 Will index,
VA, Henry Co Hains w/ Johnd. Bef 1846

When you go to look up the census and will microfilm for Henry county, you can
fill out more information in your research calendar, as shown below. When
looking at a roll of film, a book, files, or any other, materials, indicate if
there is a problem with the film or index so you don't have to spend valuable
time on it again. As the * in the "Con" field below indicates, the Henry county
will index had an error. The Hs were placed in the index after the "Is" thus
causing a problem for the researchers. You can also turn the planner over and
write your notations on the back if you need more space for making notes about
errors.

Goal: Find the parents of Johan/John Hains born 1847 in Virginia; living in
Franklin Co, Virginia in 1880.RepositoryDateDescription of SourceIndObject of
SearchTime Period , SearchNoteExt. #Call #ConSan Bruno Archives 1850 Census
Index of Virginia NOT in Franklin, in Henry Co., insteadXHains family with son
John age abt 3John born 1847Might be spelled Haynes0 — Not there.T1245 Roll 125
FHC Franklin County, Virginia Will Index Hains w/ Johnd. Bef 1846ditto0 — Not
there.0854245 San Bruno Archives8 Aug 19971850 VA, Henry County census page 34
Hains family with son John age abt 3John born 1847 H-2T1245 Roll 143

Will index, VA, Henry Co

(*all H's in index after I)

Hains w/ Johnd. Bef 1846 *

Conclusion

Basically, goal setting involves asking questions, recording questions, and
listing sources. Greater success involves applying good research techniques. But
the foundation of our success, depends upon focusing on appropriate goals from
the very beginning.




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