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eLearning Series: Geneology
My Family Tree is Important to Me
( 50 articles in this series )
Genealogy
Research:
Bring Dead Ends Back To Life
If you are into genealogy, you will at some
time or another hit a dead end. It is just a fact that dead
ends are a part of this hobby, and they are frustrating. However,
you will want to have strategies that will help you to get
over, around, or through these dead end obstacles in your family
searches. The following are a few tips that may help you when
you run into a dead end and keep you from totally pulling your
hair out. Though these tips will not solve all your problems,
they should be able to get your through some of your obstacles
and back on the genealogical research trail.
First of all, consider
doing some networking. Though message
boards, email lists, and newsletters are likely already a part
of your genealogical search, you should lean on them even more
in the case that you have hit a dead end. The worst thing you
can do when you run into some sort of obstacle is to isolate
yourself from others who may be able to help. By using the
message boards and email lists, you are adding more brains
to the problem solving process, which certainly cannot be a
bad thing, can it? If you do not already belong to message
boards or email lists, then you really should. They can help
you with your research, act as added support in tough times,
and can even offer you advice on strategies for finding more
information.
Another strategy for overcoming your genealogical dead end
is to go back over everything you have already done. Always
make sure you have covered all of your bases. Otherwise you
will be very upset when you realize that you spent months working
on a problem you could have solved in the first five minutes.
Many websites and books on genealogy offer checklists for just
this particular issue. They will help you to make sure you
have done all of the obvious things you can to solve the problem
you are experiencing. Review some of your how-to genealogy
books or pamphlets to make sure you didn’t get careless and
skip over a step that could get you out of the predicament
you have landed in.
As a last resort and this really should be your last resort,
you can hire a professional genealogist. Despite what others
who do this for fun might tell you, there are times when you
should consider hiring a professional. However, if you do find
yourself considering a professional, check out some of the
genealogy websites that will tell you when you should and should
not consider hiring a professional. After you read all of the
information and you still think hiring a professional is the
right thing to do, then make sure you do serious research on
who to hire and how to hire them. There is even published information
on how to do this. Then, at least you will know whether or
not it is a good idea to hire a professional and how to do
it. With all of the supposed professional genealogists out
there, you should always make sure that you are getting a legitimate
one that will actually help you overcome your obstacles.
Lastly, you can always just shelve
the problem for a while.
It may sound a little odd, but sometimes you just need to get
disconnected a bit from a problem before you can really tackle
it again. Work on another part of your family tree or another
portion of your genealogy project for a while and just forget
about your dead end. Then, after a few days, or maybe even
weeks, get it back out and look at the problem with fresh eyes.
You may surprise yourself with how quick of a solution you
can come up with after a break.
Genealogy can be a lot of fun and a great hobby. However,
when you hit those inevitable dead ends, it can be immensely
frustrating as well. If you find that you have hit a dead end,
then you need to know how to handle it. By following the advice
outlined here, you will be able to overcome the majority of
these dead ends. However, there are times that a dead end is
a dead end, so just follow these tips and do the best you can,
and good luck.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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