And here they
are:
1.
Be
a more hands-on researcher
The internet has been amazing and I have picked up a few valuable
resources beyond Ancestry, Family Search, etc. but still I have hit some walls
which I figure exist partly because I need to reach beyond the internet. I want to get some experience working with
microfilms (hunting the right ones down or using them more at Archive
visits). I have visited a couple
archives and had some great success and also failures where there was no info
to be found (although I have a feeling I wasn’t searching the right way) but I
need to head back with a better plan of the info I am looking for and where I
can find it.
Is it bad that so far I have been a “cheap” genealogist? I have a full subscription to Ancestry but I
have steered away from obtaining records that I have to pay for, mainly because
I have been worried about not getting the correct information or nothing at
all, however I fully realize that regardless, if you are asking another
researcher for assistance, you need to pay them for their time. And I think to bridge some of the gaps in my
own research, making that investment to gain access to information (through
contacting far away archives/churches etc. or ordering BMD records) is the next
step in my research process.
2.
Take
a day trip (or two..) to the Ancaster Area
My 3rd great grandfather, Richard Biggs (more on
him below) settled as a young boy in Ancaster Township, Wentworth County around
1800, and until the early 1900’s a lot of my ancestors still lived in and
around Ancaster. I have some great
details for these ancestors but still, I want to go to the area and personally
track down their grave stones, and see if there are any Church records for
them. I would also like to visit the
Family History centre in Hamilton, and the Hamilton Archives.
3.
Find
Richard Biggs’ ancestors
So, I know Richard Biggs came to Ancaster from New Jersey,
around 1800, and was around 3-5 years old.
And until census info and a book about the history of Wentworth details
his adult life, this is all the info I have about when he first settled in
Canada. I have no idea who his parents
are (did he even emigrate with them?), or where in New Jersey he came
from. I have found a few Biggs’ living
in New Jersey in the late 1700’s but no mention of a young Richard Biggs. So on par with being a more hands-on
researcher, I think the next step is reaching out to the sources of the bits of
info I have. I am going to contact the
smaller archive offices in New Jersey, as well as some of the older churches in
the area where I think his family may have resided. In all honesty, he may not have even come
from New Jersey (his death records and census info only indicate he was born in
New Jersey). And once I find that U.S.
connection, I can’t wait to see how far back it will go…
4.
Organize
and put more research into my Mom’s side of the family.
My mom emigrated to Canada in1952 from Germany with her
parents and brother. I have some family
details (more stories than records) but not much beyond who my great
grand-parents were. What I do have
though are birth certificates for my grandparents, Henry Brendel and Auguste
(Bernhardt); a letter my grandmother wrote that we have had trouble translating
but know it has details of other relatives; and some old photos. My primary goal is to try to get that letter
translated and start working on confirming some of the details. I also think a factor in my lack of info is
the language barrier, but I know that with some more invested effort, I can
find more links to my Mothers heritage.
5.
Be
a Better Family Tree User
I got Family Tree Maker 2011 (FTM) in December 2010, and that
was when I really started my research. Last year I posted my family tree to my
online Ancestry account. The problem
though (and I don’t know what I did wrong) is that the tree I posted online is
not linked to the one I created in FTM, even though I posted it through the
program. To add to this, when I follow a
“hint” from my FTM tree, any info I want to save is being added only to the
online tree.
I may just have to delete my online tree and try again, but
either way I will need to figure out how to keep the trees linked, and how to
make sure that any new info is added to both my FTM and online tree. This has also shown me that I have really
only scratched the surface of what I can do with both FTM and Ancestry. So learning how to use more of FTM (and
Ancestry) is one of my main goals
6.
Keep
better track of my progress
That’s where this blog come in. Welcome to Just Call me Gene! I created this blog at this point more as a
journal to track my research progress and the details I find. Although
I have been at this on and off for a couple years and have made some great
discoveries, in the grand scheme of things I think I am still very much a
newbie at this. In 1 years’ time though,
I hope that I will have more experience and be more comfortable going beyond my
computer to track down my ancestors.
And if you have any interest in the same people I do, drop me
a line – I would love to share any information I have.
Thanks for stopping by!!
