Reflections on One Crazy Year in Genealogy
No, this is not a really late “Did I Meet My 2013 Goals” review. The answer to that question doesn’t take a whole blog post. Um, no. Not one. Nada. Not in my business. Not in my personal genealogy. Nothing.
Surprisingly, even though the exodus from New York consumed me, it was a great year for genealogy all the same. Not being able to DO much genealogy gave me an opportunity to THINK about genealogy. What is it. Why we do it. How we do it. Where we are headed: both as a hobby and an industry. And, of course, a little self-reflection was in order as well.
As I’ve begun to settle into life in the Low Country, I couldn’t be more excited about the future. But in order to go forward, we sometimes need to take a step back.
Trust me, when we can’t even agree on what to call ourselves – Genealogists or Family Historians – there’s plenty to talk about! This year we’ll begin looking at everything from the basics (the major document groups) to the controversial (to share or not to share).
Subscribe via email or add “On The Hunt” to your RSS feed. I can’t wait to hear what you think on all things genealogy!
© 2012-2015 The Who Hunter, LLC.
We’re glad to have you in the Lowcountry, Rorey. I hope things go well for you 🙂
As to what we are, I think we’re both things. The way I see it, strict genealogists, a la DAR, are concerned with the facts and building the lineages. But you and I are both family historians, too. We, like many of our colleagues, try to put meat on the bare bones of the facts of our family history, collecting and telling the stories of the lives of our ancestors. We family historians, in addition to collecting the data, try to discover the people behind the numbers. And let’s face it… the stories are much more fun than the data 🙂
Thanks for the welcome Greg! I start with the genealogy – making sure I’ve properly connected folks with the right family – then the fun begins and family history kicks in.
When I first became hooked, the goal was “as far back, as fast as possible”. Today, if I never added another ancestor to my personal genealogy, I could still work happily on their stories for the rest of my life.
As professionals, bringing a client’s ancestors to life for them is one of the greatest joys we can share!