Whilst I have enjoyed reasonable success in my family research, I am still learning. Nonetheless I feel it may be useful to share research tips which have worked for me.
Tip 1 – Let It Go
This is a hard one and requires more than a little humility. There have been many occasions when I have attempted to solve a family mystery and come up with zero. Each pathway I attempt to follow, leads nowhere, leaving me feeling like I am in a maze where all the exits are blocked.
I do the genealogical equivalent of giving up and finding a coffee shop.
Letting Go…
I usually decide it is possible I am being protected for some reason or that I may be on the brink of a huge discovery but now is not the time.
This means I sometimes relinquish that particular part of my investigation – for years.
Whilst I have been involved in family research since the mid eighties, there have been huge periods of time when I have virtually forgotten about it. Then an incident or a conversation might bring it back into focus.
I was a busy mother of small children for a while. Once they had grown sufficiently independent, my curiosity had led me to Google a few names.
I was astonished to discover my father had also been researching those same names. He had been dead almost ten years by that point in time. That was the nudge I had needed. I had felt I was meant to continue where he had left off.
Another time my computer had crashed. Initially I had been pretty upset as I had then needed to reload disc after disc of information.
My father’s long-forgotten hand-drawn family tree had miraculously appeared on my screen. This was again sufficient to re-energize my investigations.
I have learned that the answers I seek, may well eventually burst up out of nowhere.
Every now and again I might delve into Google to see if I get a hit but I no longer let it become my focus.
I used to love the TV programme Cold Case – each week somebody comes forward who raises questions, a box is retrieved from the archives and a case re-opened.
In genealogy we are dealing with some very cold cases. Family research is like this in my experience. Sometimes we get instant answers – sometimes we need to let things stew in the archives.
My friend came to me very upset one day, as she had just witnessed a terrible accident and had seen a guy die in front of her. She had been particularly distressed that she had not even known his name. I told her to leave it with me. Within a few hours on Google, I had discovered enough to allow her to reach out to his mother on Facebook. Whilst I am sure his mother’s grief was still immense, I believe the communication between them had helped bring them both a measure of peace. This was one occasion when I was able to get instant results from my research.
This is not the norm – mostly answers take time. They may take decades and sometimes answers may not even come in our lifetime.
I once set myself the task of finding out about the individuals from an old address book. One entry in particular had fascinated me.
I had regularly dropped “Fred Smith” (Not his real name) into Google.
I had learned a little more each time. Then one day, in what could only be described as a miracle, I had discovered that this person was not only still alive but he had an email address. He was over ninety years old, yet I had been able to communicate with him and his wife for a few years before he died.
I firmly believe there is a time for everything – or as my parents used to say,
Everything comes to he who waits.
Sometimes simply being prepared to wait for answers is the most valuable research technique.
Gifs from giphy.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.