Genealogy X What to Expect When Researching Family History
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About this ebook
Family history has inspired, provoked, encouraged, and convicted those who have been moved to learn more about their family roots. Many family historians and professional genealogists spend countless hours putting together family trees and organizing timelines relying much on the Internet, but what some don't anticipate is the offline challenges that come when delving deep into family history from argumentative relatives to stolen goods, sometimes these issues will put a halt on genealogy research. Finding private information doesn't always show up in an online ancestry database, but comes out of the mouths of relatives, treasured goods and more. So when controlling senior kinfolk catch wind that you are interested in your ancestors' lives and possibly theirs too, some start talking, and it won't be long before compelling family history begins to grow legs and start walking too. Therefore, what does the enthusiastic and ambitious family researcher do when problems arise? This is where "Genealogy X: What to Expect When Researching Family History" is needed. In this guide for the novice and intermediate family historians, you will read how Author, Poet, and Inspirational Speaker Nicholl McGuire worked around some hurdles and what she did to prepare a number of family memoirs for relatives and clients as well as tips on how to begin your family research projects. Critics will create roadblocks, but it is up to you to stay motivated through the process. You have future generations that need to hear from you! "Know Your Enemy: The Christian's Critic," Tell Me Mother You're Sorry," "Saying Goodbye to Dad," and "Socially Sweet, Privately Cruel Abusive Men" are all Nicholl's nonfiction books which she calls "by-products" from the emotions she felt while compiling information about her genealogy roots from Benin, West Africa to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The information she provides in this short, comprehensive guide will help you with your family research goals.
Nicholl McGuire
A native of Pittsburgh PA and a transplant in Southern California, Nicholl McGuire is the author of "Laboring to Love Myself," "Laboring to Love an Abusive Mate," "When Mothers Cry," and other books. Nicholl runs a home-based business, Nicholl McGuire Media, providing writing and publishing services for individuals and businesses in need of website and blog content, family memoirs, visual presentations, clerical tasks, and more. Nicholl has been publishing online since 2007. Her work has appeared on eHow, Hub Pages, College Central, Axis of Logic, Natural Beauty Secret, Street Articles, Bukisa, Authors Den, and many other websites and blogs. Nicholl attended Point Park University and took classes in Journalism and Communications. In addition to writing, she offers spiritual wisdom on YouTube channel: nmenterprise7. A born again Christian believer, survivor of domestic violence and a mother of four sons, Nicholl is a woman who definitely knows about the challenges of loving one's self and others.
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Genealogy X What to Expect When Researching Family History - Nicholl McGuire
Genealogy X
What to Expect When Researching
Family History
Published by Nicholl McGuire Media at Smashwords
Smashwords Edition
copyright 2015 by Nicholl McGuire
Smashwords License Statement
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.
If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Making Sense of Family History
2 Genealogy Websites
3 Ancestor Research
4 Life and Times
5 Genealogy Tools
6 Documenting Genealogy Sources
7 How to Successfully Interview Family and Friends
8 Sharing Findings
9 Family Secrets, Lies and Cover-ups
10 The Brick Wall
11 Closing
Other Books by Nicholl
Connect with Nicholl
Introduction
Years of masking the truth, the persistent family genealogist will need the diligence and courage to perform in-depth research about one's family roots—going beyond the He say...She say
of loved ones. This may take having to travel to the location that was once forbidden. Sit with a former employee or family friend. Talk with least favorite kin like exes and others. If the obstacles seem insurmountable, the novice or intermediate researcher may have to enlist the help of outsiders to assist with assembling the family tree and collecting supporting evidence. As you discover more, there might be those negative individuals, enablers, gatekeepers, and others (like a ghost or two) who will want to derail your efforts. You might have already got the speech from one or two family members like: What do you need to talk to those relatives for? I can tell you about…I don’t see why you have to go all that way to find something out about our kin when you could just go and see…or check the Internet.
Usually the person or group that one might be trying to keep you from seeing or talking to is where the jaw-dropping stories, answers to questions, and much of the family details might come from whether accurate, untruthful, or missing vital details, but still useful.
Private, controlling and stubborn matriarchs and patriarchs of families work very hard at maintaining power and control over family stories whether compelling or not. Only a select few, usually the eyewitnesses who were present at the time a life-changing event occurred, really know the full account. However, the big mouth, exaggerator, liar, and know-it-all type will talk over those relatives who challenge his or her story-telling with, I don’t recall seeing it that way. I know that’s a lie because I was there. Who do you think you are saying that about…you know you are wrong! Why do you keep so many secrets?
The controller of information will discredit truth by bad-mouthing family members who exposed his or her lies, manipulations or exaggerations. They might say things such as: You can’t trust her, did you know…? I wouldn’t think too much about what was said that relative doesn't have a good track record, so what does he know? Those old fools wouldn’t remember anything; they were too young back then. You know our kin is old and forgetful, what would they know?
Don’t underestimate anyone in the family even if documents might not be totally accurate or stories a bit strange, ask yourself, Is what he or she saying backing up most of the family stories I heard about? Do the documents he or she has given me hold up any facts?
I took the liberty of interviewing many relatives and cross referenced what they told me with historical facts via government records, and I checked with others who knew the individuals who were telling parallel family stories. What I found was surprising those who wanted very much to be the gatekeepers of information were critical of those who knew more than them. The jealousy of relatives, who were self-proclaimed family historians with little or no significant ancestor records, was so thick you could cut it with a knife! When family truth came out, they tried almost anything to put it back in the box. Negative statements were made about my material from a single person which I have changed actual comments slightly and added others, Don’t get that book…I don’t believe it. Oh, those are just made up stories. It’s all opinion, there are no facts! Why write a book anyway? I don’t care what she said, he said or they say this is what I say!
The negativity lives on with mean-spirited loved ones. Even if some of the individuals weren’t that forthcoming with their personal lives and even if facts were not 100% accurate, wouldn’t it make sense for critics to produce documents that would prove otherwise? Most critical folks never bother to put their money where the mouth is to attend family reunions, purchase family memoirs or help others in big ways; therefore, their criticisms should fall on deaf ears, better yet, leave them out of your projects if you suspect they might be a problem.
Family is a big deal for many people who have grown up in environments where it was encouraged and sometimes demanded to connect with kin. A number of relatives spend much time contacting loved ones, gathering with them, and servicing one another just like their ancestors did before them. But with technological advancements numerous family meetings are occurring over the Internet.
The generation of children born during the 1970s had been labeled, X
back in the 1990's as the slacker group by mainstream media. They were described as having no original thoughts, styles or plans to do anything significant to move