IN THIS CHAPTER

Sharing the workload

Joining research groups and societies

Mining family reunions

Locating professional researchers

Pursuing online education

You can think of genealogical research as a journey. You may begin the journey by yourself and know exactly where you’re going. After a while, you discover that the trip would go a lot faster if you had someone along for the ride or you find you need directions. In your genealogical journey, travel partners and help can take various forms — books and classrooms, others researching the same family, a research group interested in one of your family lines, or a genealogical society that coordinates the efforts of many people researching different families in a specific location.

This chapter explores ways to find (and keep) research partners, as well as ways that research groups and genealogical societies can help you meet your research goals.

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

We think it’s only natural to want to do all your own research. After all, that way you have control over how the research is conducted, whether it’s documented correctly, and what piece of information you get next. For you, it may even be comfortable to be alone in your quest. We understand that you may feel this way, but we’re here to tell you that it’s time to step outside your comfort zone. Although researching alone some of the time is great, don’t try to do all the research yourself. As you’ll discover, an awful lot of people out there are digging for answers, and it would be a shame for you not to take advantage of their work and vice versa.

By knowing the family lines and regions that other researchers are pursuing, you can coordinate your efforts with theirs — not only sharing information you’ve already collected but also working together toward your common goal. Maybe you live closer to a courthouse that holds records relating to your ancestor than does a distant cousin with whom you’re communicating online. Maybe the cousin lives near a family gravesite that you’d like to have a photo of. Rather than duplicating efforts to collect the court records and photographs, you can arrange for each of you to get the desired items that are closest to you and then exchange copies of them over the Internet or through traditional mail.

The Shotgun Approach

You’re probably wondering how to find others with whom to share your information. Well, you could start by going through telephone books and calling everyone with the surname that you’re researching. However, given how some people feel about telemarketers, we don’t recommend this as a strategy.

Sending mass emails to anyone you find with your surname through one of the online white-pages sites, networking sites, or online social circles is similar to the telemarketing strategy we’ve just warned you against. We refer to this mass email strategy as the shotgun approach, and many people refer to it as spamming. You shoot out a bunch of email messages aimed in various directions, with hopes of successfully hitting one or two targets. Although you may find one or two people who answer you in a positive way, a lot of people may find such unsolicited email irritating. And, quite honestly, gleaning email addresses from online white pages is not as easy as it was even just a few years ago. Most of the online directories that allow you to search for email addresses no longer give the precise address to you. Rather, they either enable you to send an email from their sites to the individuals, leaving it up to the recipient to respond to you, or they require you to purchase the specific information about the person from them or one of their sponsors. This is their way of protecting that person’s online privacy, and for some it’s a means to earn money.

Instead of spending hours trying to find email addresses through online directories and following a three- or four-step process to send an initial message to someone, go to a site that focuses on genealogy to find the names of and contact information for researchers who are interested in your surname. This is a much gentler, better way to go about finding others with the same interests as you.

Also, note that we aren’t saying that email directories are completely useless in genealogy. Email directories can be a good means for getting in contact with a relative whose email address you’ve lost or one you know is interested in your email.

Making Friends (and Keeping Them) Online

You may be wondering where to find fellow researchers. You can find them by searching query pages on the web, forums, mailing lists, and social networking sites.

If you decide to use email to contact other researchers, send them an email message introducing yourself and briefly explaining your purpose for contacting them. Be sure to include a listing of the ancestors you’re researching in your message.

Before you rush out and start contacting people, however, we must offer the following sage advice:

• Before sending messages to a website maintainer, look around the site to see whether that person is the appropriate one to approach. Often the person who maintains a website is indeed the one who is researching the surnames you find on that website. However, it’s not unusual for site maintainers to host information on their sites for other people. If they do, they typically have separate contact addresses for those individuals and an explanation that they’re not personally researching those surnames. Some even go so far as to post notices on their sites stating that they don’t entertain research questions. When you see a list of surnames on a site, don’t automatically assume that the website maintainer is the person to contact. Look around a little to ensure that you’re addressing the most appropriate person.
• Make your messages brief and to the point. Email messages that run five or six pages long can overwhelm some people. If the person you send the message to is interested in your information and responds positively to you, you can send one or more detailed messages at a future date.
• Ensure that your message is detailed enough for the recipients to decide whether your info relates to their research and whether they can help you. Include names, dates, and places as appropriate.
• Use net etiquette, or netiquette, when you create your messages. Remember, email can be an impersonal medium. Although you may mean one thing, someone who doesn’t know you may mistakenly misinterpret your message. (For more on netiquette, see the nearby sidebar, “Netiquette: Using your manners online.”)
• Don’t disclose personal information that could violate a person’s privacy. Information such as addresses, birth dates, and Social Security numbers for living persons is considered private and should not be freely shared with other researchers. Also, we don’t recommend that you send much personal information about yourself until you know the recipient a lot better. When first introducing yourself, your name and email address should suffice, along with the information about the deceased ancestors you’re researching.
• Get permission before forwarding messages from other researchers. Sometimes researchers may provide information that they don’t want made available to the general public. Asking permission before forwarding a message to a third party eliminates any potential problems with violating the trust of your fellow researchers.

Joining a Herd: Research Groups

If your relatives are tired of hearing about your genealogy research trips or the information that you found on Great-Uncle Beauford, but you’d like to share your triumphs with someone, you may be ready to join a research group.

Research groups consist of any number of people who coordinate their research and share resources to achieve success. These groups may start conducting research because they share a surname, family branch, or geographic location. Individuals who live geographically close to each other may make up a research group, or the group may consist of people who have never personally met each other but are interested in descendants of one particular person. Research groups may have a variety of goals and may have a formal or an informal structure.

A good example of a research group is one that Matthew discovered shortly after he posted his first web page many years back. An individual who was researching one of his surnames on the East Coast of the United States contacted him. After exchanging a few emails, Matthew discovered that this individual was part of a small research group studying the origins of several branches of the Helm surname. Each member of the group contributes the results of his or her personal research and provides any information that he or she finds, which may be of use to other members of the group. Over the years, the group has continued to work together and expanded their efforts. The group as a whole has sponsored research by professional genealogists in other countries to discover more about their ancestors there, and they’ve spun off a more formal research group that focuses solely on molecular research (DNA-based) of the Helm bloodlines. The vast majority of the communication for these two research groups is through email.

Becoming a solid member of geographical societies

Genealogical societies can be great places to discover research methods and to coordinate your research. Several types of societies exist. They range from the more traditional geographical or surname-based societies to cybersocieties (societies that exist only on the Internet) that are redefining the way people think about genealogical societies.

Chapter 6 introduces geography-based genealogical societies as groups that can help you discover resources in a specific area in which your ancestors lived, or as groups in your hometown that can help you discover how to research effectively. However, local genealogical societies can provide another service to their members. These societies often coordinate local research efforts of the members in the form of projects.

These projects can take many forms. For example, the Illinois State Genealogical Society (www.ilgensoc.org) is working on several projects, including creating a database of county marriage records, updating a list of Illinois pioneers, forming a list of all cemeteries in the state (see Figure 15-1), and compiling indexes of Civil War, World War I, and World War II certificates issued.

Smaller groups of members sometimes work on projects in addition to the society’s official projects. For example, you may belong to a county genealogical society and decide to join with a few members to write a history of the pioneers who settled a particular township in the county.

To locate geographical societies, follow our advice in Chapter 6 or check out the site of a genealogical-society federation such as one of these:

• Federation of Genealogical Societies, Society Hall page: www.fgs.org/cstm_societyHall.php
• Federation of Family History Societies: www.ffhs.org.uk

Gathering Kinfolk: Using the Family Reunion for Research

You may have noticed that throughout this book, we strongly recommend that you interview relatives to gather information about your ancestors both to use as leads in finding records and to enhance your genealogy. Well, what better way to gather information from relatives than by attending a family reunion?

Family reunions can add a lot to your research because you find many relatives all in one place, and typically most are eager to visit. A reunion is an efficient way to collect stories, photographs, databases (if others in the family research and keep their records in their computers), and even copies of records. You might even find some people interested in researching the family along with you. A family reunion can be great fun, too.

When you attend your next family reunion, be sure to take along your notebook, list of interview questions (refer to Chapter 2 if you haven’t developed your list yet), and camera. You can take some printed charts from your genealogical database, too — we bet that lots of your relatives will be interested in seeing them.

Rent-a-Researcher

A time may come when you’ve exhausted all the research avenues directly available to you and need help that family, friends, and society members can’t provide. Maybe all the records you need to get past a research brick wall are in a distant place, or maybe you have too many other obligations and not enough time to research personally. You needn’t fret. Professional researchers are happy to help you.

Professional researchers are people to whom you pay a fee to dig around and find information for you. They can retrieve specific records that you identify, or they can prepare an entire report on a family line by using all the resources available. And, as you might expect, the amount that you pay depends on the level of service that you require. Professional researchers are especially helpful when you need records from locations to which you cannot travel conveniently.

When looking for a professional researcher, you want to find someone who is reputable and experienced in the area in which you need help. Here’s a list of questions you may want to ask when shopping around for a professional researcher:

• Is the researcher certified or accredited and, if so, by what organization? In the genealogy field, certifications function a bit differently than in other fields. Rather than receiving a certification based on coursework, genealogical certifications are based on demonstrated research skills. You find two main certifying bodies in the field: the Board for Certification of Genealogists (www.bcgcertification.org) and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (www.icapgen.org).

  The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) awards two credentials: Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Lecturer. The credentials are awarded based on a peer-review process — meaning that a group of individuals possessing the credentials evaluate a research project of an applicant.

  You might also run into some old certifications such as Certified Lineage Specialist (CLS), Certified American Indian Lineage Specialist (CAILS), Certified Genealogical Records Specialist (CGRS), and Certified Genealogical Instructor (CGI), which are no longer used by the organization.

  The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) awards the Accredited Genealogist (AG) credential. The accreditation program originally was established by the Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2000, the program was launched as an independent organization called ICAPGen. To become accredited, an applicant must submit a research project and take an examination. Accredited Genealogists are certified in a geographical or subject-matter area. So, you want to make sure that the accreditation that the researcher possesses matches your research question.

  Some professional researchers do not hold either of these credentials but might hold a professional degree such as a Masters in Library and Information Science or advanced history degree from an accredited college or university. Depending on the research area, they could be just as proficient as a credentialed genealogist.

• How many years of experience does the researcher have researching? In general, we tend to think of a person as improving in knowledge and efficiency as he or she has more years of experience researching. But the answer to this question needs to be considered in context of some other questions. The researcher might have only a little time researching genealogies for others but might have an educational degree that required historical research experience.
• What is the researcher’s educational background? The methods for researching and the type of reports that you can get from an individual can be directly influenced by his or her educational background. If the researcher has a degree in history, you may get more anecdotal material relating to the times and places in which your ancestor lived. If the researcher attended the school of hard knocks (and doesn’t have a formal education per se but has lots of experience researching), you may get specific, bare-bones facts about your ancestor.
• Does the researcher have any professional affiliations? In other words, does he or she belong to any professional genealogical organizations and, if so, which ones? Much like the question dealing with certification or accreditation, a researcher’s willingness to belong to a professional organization shows a serious commitment. One organization to look for is membership in the Association of Professional Genealogists (www.apgen.org). The APG is an umbrella organization of all types of researchers and those providing professional services. It includes researchers credentialed under both BCG and ICAPGen, as well as other noncredentialed researchers. All members of the APG agree to be bound by a code of ethics and meet certain research standards.
• What foreign languages does the researcher speak fluently? This is an important question if you need research conducted in another country. Some research firms send employees to other countries to gather information, but you need the reassurance that the employee has the qualifications necessary to obtain accurate information.
• What records and resources does the researcher have access to? Again, you want the reassurance that the researcher can obtain accurate information and from reliable sources. You probably don’t want to pay a researcher to simply read the same documents that you have access to at your local library and put together a summary.
• What is the professional researcher’s experience in the area where you need help? For example, if you need help interviewing distant relatives in a foreign country, has he or she conducted interviews in the past? Or, if you need records pertaining to an ethnic or religious group, does the researcher have experience researching those types of records?
• How does the researcher charge? You need to know how you’re going to be charged — by the record, by the hour, or by the project. Is there a down-payment due before researching begins? And it’s helpful to know up front what methods of payment the researcher accepts so that you’re prepared when payment time comes. And you should ask what you can do if you’re dissatisfied with the researcher’s services (although we hope you never need to know this).
• Is the researcher currently working on other projects and, if so, how many and what kinds? It’s perfectly reasonable to ask how much time the researcher can devote to your research project and when you can get results. If the researcher tells you that it’s going to take a year to get a copy of a single birth certificate from an agency in the town where he or she lives, you might want to rethink hiring that person.
• Does the researcher have references you can contact? We think that a researcher’s willingness to provide references speaks to his or her ethics. And we recommend that you contact one or two of the references to find out what exactly they like about this researcher and whether they see the researcher as having any pitfalls of which you should be aware.

One way to find professional researchers is to look for them on comprehensive genealogy sites. Another is to consult an online directory of researchers, such as the Association of Professional Genealogists (www.apgen.org/directory/index.html) directory. Follow these steps to check the APG directory:

1. Using your web browser, go to the APG site at www.apgen.org.

2. Click the link from the list in the left column of the page under the Find a Specialist heading.

   For example, we looked for a researcher who specializes in adoption.

3. Click the link for a researcher who, based on the description posted, looks promising.

   Figure 15-2 shows the researchers specializing in adoption.

When you find a professional researcher, make your initial contact. Be as specific as possible about your needs. That helps the researcher pinpoint exactly what he or she needs to do and makes it easier to calculate how much it will cost you.

DNA Consulting

In addition to generalized genealogical researchers, some paid researchers specialize in helping you understand your DNA tests. If you’ve taken one or more DNA tests and you just don’t understand what it all means, you might consider hiring one of these DNA consultants. Some have built companies that will create a report that interprets your DNA results after they’ve been processed by a lab. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy maintains a list of DNA consultants at www.isogg.org/consult.htm.

Be sure to get answers to the following questions before engaging a consultant:

• What are the academic qualifications of the consultant? Does the consultant have a degree in genetics, biology, or a related field?
• How long has the consultant been involved in genetic genealogy?
• What is the assistance that you require? Some consultants specialize in a particular type of DNA analysis.
• Does the consultant have a relationship with a specific testing company?
• As DNA research changes over time, will the consultant update the research as new information becomes available, and how much will the consultant charge for that service?

Helping Yourself

Earlier sections of this chapter dealt with finding research assistance in the form of others — finding contributors via societies and projects, and hiring researchers. But research assistance can come in the form of self-help, too. Self-help allows you to discover new or different ways to research, or new perspectives on existing resources that might help you over a research hump.

Getting educated online

Digital libraries and accessing printed materials isn’t the only form of self-help. There are online courses available too. You might consider the resources available at two sites that deliver instructional material over the web: the Family History Guide and Ancestry Academy.

The Family History Guide (www.thefhguide.com) is a free resource from FamilySearch.com. The learning content at this site is divided into nine projects: Family Tree, Memories, Descendancy, Discover, Indexing, Help, Technology, DNA, and Countries and Ethnic Groups. From there, you can drill down to more specific topics, each of which has a training plan with links to research projects, tips, videos, and records.

Let’s explore how to use the Family History Guide. Say we need assistance in learning how to research Native American ancestors. Follow these steps to see what the Family History Guide offers:

1. Using your web browser, go to Family History Guide (www.thefhguide.com)
2. Click the link Countries and Ethnic about mid-way down the main page.

3. Scroll down and click on the link for Native American in the Ethnic section at the bottom of the Countries/Ethnic page.

   The resulting page, Project 9: Native American, is divided into four sections, or Goals: Get Started (Learn About Native American Research), Special Topics, Search Records, and Get Help. Read through the guide and follow any links to additional resources and records that look useful.

   Figure 15-3 shows Goal 1: Learn About Native American Research in the Family History Guide.

Similar to FamilySearch.com, Ancestry.com also offers online instructions for researching. Ancestry Academy (https://www.ancestry.com/academy/courses/recommended) offers video courses online for a variety of topics, including getting started, documenting findings in Ancestry family trees, how to use specific types of records, and DNA research.