How far out do you
work on your family trees? The sky is the limit of course but where do you stop
researching? How far off your direct lineage do you go?
My two cents is I think it begins with your purpose and what
interests you? If you are still active
age focused on life things like raising a family, is genealogy something you
want to do as a second vocation or will it remain a hobby passion? I think you need to do the same good effort
for both but if you are thinking certification then you might want to take a
peek at what is required and that might guide you in terms of things to
accomplish over the long term when ready to embark on the second vocation.
As to interest what hooks you? The thrill of the hunt, the sharing of news,
documenting the line, searching long forgotten documents and images in County
Offices and libraries, visiting where your ancestors walked, creating a trail
of family history useful to your descendants?
Any of these things and more are great interests; if you live a long
life you could be doing this stuff long after you “retire” so make sure you are
enjoying what you do. It is fair to tell
others what your search mission is so they can understand your methodology and
don’t be reluctant to carve it up to play towards your interests.
I like to go back as far as 8-10 generation if this is
possible for each of your lines; at this writing 8 generation for me would be
in the early 1700’s. I say this is my
preference because 8-10 generation matches with an above 90% probability of
finding a most recent common paternal progenitor based on 111 marker DNA
testing.
If you wish to acquire membership into certain organization
such as DAR or SAR then their documentation requirements will help define the extent
of your searches.
In regards to how far I go off of my direct lineage I
generally use a couple rules of thumb; I try to go one extra step if available
to add what I might know or have found to leave a good hint for others who may
wish to go further. I often get off into
a treasure trove of information purely because I started on a path and the
findings are so easy for me to document and share with the assumption that
someone, somewhere is searching for this exact information. And lastly, I will find myself off on a
tangent purely because it is somehow interesting or providing something new
unexpected. At some point I always come
back to my main mission and now and then take stock on how well I am
progressing.
In my case, I hope to find and document my Yates paternal
line back to at least my migrating ancestor or beyond. I would like to visit England (based on DNA
testing) and walk in those space once filled with my ancestors. It shapes how I go about my searching and
learning.
For myself, I find I need some variety in how I do what I
do. I find myself searching and
documenting, sharing through various routes, working with images when
available, learning about and participating in DNA testing, visiting locations
where my search indicates interim presence of my line and then I do a
significant amount of learning to understand the context of the times. As a result of not being a stellar student in
my formative years this has been an important and enjoyable treat. And lastly, I spend energy when I am
connected with an unknown cousin doing searching or someone who has found some
of my work helpful and we find ourselves momentarily working hard together
sharing every little hint we can. These focused
moments normally have a short life but it is a connection that can be called
upon over time. I find these moments truly
an unexpected and enriching benefit to all the hours spent.
