Why Aren't You Having Fun with Your Family History Research?

11/02/2012

Okay so you have been doing family history research for a few years, and for some reason you just aren't having as much fun (or any fun). Let me pose some questions on why you may not be having fun anymore:

Have you hit a brick wall? You know what that is right? You are desperately trying to find some information that will prove that your great great grandfather is who you think he is, but you can't prove it. Or the names on a marriage record doesn't have the exact names that it "should." Or a variety of other reasons.
Are you totally disorganized? You know what I mean - you have photos and photo albums strewn all about; you have notes written on slips of paper everywhere. You think you know who you need to research but you have no plan. And getting organized is boring, right?
Have you lost your zeal for research? So you haven't found anyone new lately - you've been searching but haven't had what I call a "boing" and thus you have become discouraged. Your cousin bait and cousin hunting activities haven't paid off and nobody has emailed you about your Ancestry Tree in months.
Do you have a mental goal to increase the number of ancestors and relatives in your database? Are you one of those people who think a successful researcher has to have thousands of names in their database? Take it from me - that is a silly goal. I belong to a few forums where genealogy is discussed - and you would be amazed at how many people boast about their 17,000 or 30,000 or even 100,000 person databases. Who cares?
Do you have a mental goal to to prove that your ancestry goes back to a specific century? Why is that? Isn't that kind of an arbitrary goal? All that does is create stress and pressure that you don't need. And stress and pressure isn't fun - is it?
Do you have a website for your Family History? If you don't - why not? It allows you to crystallize your research and focuses on non-research activities. More on this later.
Are you intimidated by all the experts and the requirement for detailed source citations? Read any article about genealogy research and the experts will all say the same thing - you MUST document in detail where you have found the information that you have found. Guess what - that is good advice - but I do not agree with what some require as 100 or 200 word citations I'm kidding here - but I don't care to have to document what I had for lunch the day that I found the marriage record online for my great great great Uncle and Aunt. So cite your sources, but don't let the academics intimidate you into thinking you are doing something wrong. Again, that is no fun.

I have THE answer for you. Listen closely as if I am whispering. The answer is to:

Stop focusing on the ancestors you don't know and start focusing on the ancestors you do know

Let me tell you what is cool about this and why it is so important.

It's Fun!

And this is what you do to have fun with your "known" ancestors:

First of all - if you don't have a family history website - for crying out loud - build one. It's easy and guess what - It's fun! Here are 3 links from this site "The Ancestor Hunt" about building a Family History Website: Build Your Family History Website; Make Your Family History Website Memorable; Another Reason to Create a Family History Website
Search for newspaper articles about your ancestors - not just birth announcements or marriage announcements or obituaries - but stories - about how someone nearly got run over, or committed a crime, or won an award at the county fair for their peaches, or ran for political office, etc. There are tons of stories sitting and waiting for you to discover. And there are several newspaper search sites out there - some free and some require a paid subscription. Try it out - it's fun.
Focus on photos for awhile. If they aren't part of your family history website - then write articles about and around them - photos can and do inspire stories. If you aren't sharing them with your relatives - why aren't you? It's easy. Create a free Flickr or Picasa or Photobucket online account, tag the photos and upload them. Send the links to your relatives - who knows, one or more of the photos may trigger a memory or a story from your "cousins."
Focus on writing stories for awhile. Take that interview from Great Aunt Bernice and write a story around it. Or better yet - are there "themes" that run through your ancestors? For example - I have a few ancestors who were inventors with patents, and a collection of entertainers - both in music and movies and TV. Write some themed articles. I even have about a half dozen house painters - I don't know why - but it's interesting. Write about them.

So - focus on the ancestors you know about - the discoveries are just as rewarding and in my opinion even more rewarding than finding a new ancestor, or a new set of dates for someone. You will have fun and your attitude will change positively!

And you will...

Turn this

Into this

Comments

Jacqi Stevens link

11/02/2012 6:49pm

Good point. Finding and sharing our families' stories with others--particularly online--is one way we bring our ancestors back to life again. That way, we aren't just putting the fun back into our own research, we are making it fun for others to hear about, too.

Kenneth R Marks link

11/02/2012 9:17pm

Thanks for dropping by Jacqi. Writing ancestor stories is my favorite part of all of this - makes it a 3 dimensional activity - not just a bunch of names and dates.

Kenneth

Jennifer

11/02/2012 8:52pm

Needed that. Thanks for posting it.

Kenneth R Marks link

11/02/2012 9:19pm

Jennifer,

Glad the article helped. For me the stories and the photos are my favorite part. Dates, etc are kinda like paying the bills - has to be done but not the favorite part of life.

Thanks for dropping by.

Kenneth

Jenny Lanctot link

11/03/2012 9:18am

Kenneth, this is a great article. One thing it doesn't address is what happens when you lose the will to research because no one ... and I mean NO ONE ... in your family is interested. If there was something describing light years beyond not being interested, it would apply here.

Not only do the relatives not care, but all the research on your ancestors points to the fact that they were (for the most part) ne'er-do-wells, family-abandoners, and overall losers. Oh, and possible murderers.

So you do all the research, write all the stories, and gather all the documents ... for what? Who will get your research when you're gone? Who will care what your ancestors did? The stuff you find out about your ancestors only depresses you further.

How would you overcome that situation? (By the way, this does not apply to me in any way - I am still completely obsessed with my research - but I know at least one person who has felt this way in the recent past and I'd really like to know if there is help to be had).

Kenneth R Marks link

11/03/2012 10:26am

Jennifer,

I posted a complete response to this on Facebook. I would just ignore the fact that your relatives aren't interested. Think of oneself as a storyteller and try to divorce yourself from the fact that you carry some of their genes. (I know its not you).

I am genuinely thrilled when I find any kind of story about my ancestors. Doesn't matter to me whether they are saints or sinners.

And documenting their stories for posterity is providing a service to human kind and to future descendants and ancestor hunters.

And thank you for reading and your gracious compliment.

Kenneth

Malcolm Bland

11/06/2012 11:05am

This is not uncommon but I recently heard of an interesting 'solution'. Leave all your Family History information to a responsible relative in your will, with the instruction that it need not be read or used BUT it must never be thrown away, disposed of, or destroyed! Even if it lies unloved in an attic or cupboard for years it must be preserved. At some time in the future someone will 'rediscover' all your research and love it and add to it! Might not be your children or grandchildren, but it will be there when the right person finds it!

Alternatively, Leave it in your will to a local archive. They will store it in a correct fashion in perpetuity and one day someone will find it and add it to their own story.

Just a thought...

Malcolm

Jill Groce link

11/03/2012 12:06pm

My problem is an embarrassment of riches. I've been researching for 15 years. My father's ancestry on many different lines has been documented by conscientious researchers in books, journals, websites and manuscripts with dozens of citations. I've avoided the issue of how to parse the information, how to decide which sources to check and why. It's time to face the music and prioritize.

Kenneth R Marks link

11/03/2012 3:10pm

Jill,

Thanks for stopping by. Sounds like a "good" problem to have although I imagine a bit overwhelming.

Good luck,

Kenneth

Jean D-T

11/03/2012 12:17pm

You took the lead out of my feet. Love the ideal about the website

Kenneth R Marks link

11/03/2012 3:08pm

Jean,

Thanks for reading my article. Glad that it inspired you a bit. Do you have a family history website? If not, feel free to contact me and I would be glad to give you some pointers. It is incredibly easy and the tools for creating a website are free from several different sources. You can have a site up in an hour with the basic components and you can then add more later.

And it's fun.

Kenneth

Peg link

11/04/2012 7:59am

Thank you so much for the great information. I was not only hitting brick walls but was feeling like I didn't know where to go to reach out further. Building web pages will be a great new challenge. Thanks for taking me through how to get started.

Kenneth R Marks link

11/04/2012 8:18am

Peg,

You are very welcome. Good luck with building a new family history site. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. Glad to help.

Kenneth

Ann Hinds

11/05/2012 8:06am

I am writing a book about my husband's family. I know that I need a website to promote it but I never considered a website as a way to store records and pictures. It's a great idea and one that I am now actively considering. As with all the important pieces of information that I gather for further use, I am pinning on Pinterest. For the first time in weeks, I feel energized again. Thanks!

Kenneth R Marks link

11/05/2012 11:57am

Hi Ann,

Thanks for dropping by. Glad my article helped. Take a look at my family history site www.braunhart.com to get an idea of how a site can present one's ancestry online.

If there is anything I can do to help you with your family history site, please contact me. I would be glad to help.

And I am glad that you are energized.

Kenneth

Barbara Stewart

11/05/2012 8:31am

This is a wonderful piece. Have been doing genealogy for some years now and have always felt as though it was a special haven for me-- an escape of sorts, where I can dabble in many things. I can be part detective, part historian, part geographer, part photographer, part librarian, part scientist. I can take on these roles to discover histories about my family that are important and meaningful. Over the past couple of years, however, as my regular job has been more taxing (and I'm getting older), I haven't had as much time to devote it. Somehow the work changes have made it much less fun. I really want to get back to the place where it's enjoyable. I can't quite put my finger on why it's not as fun. I think it has to do with the fact that since I can't binge on it (like I did when I' wasn't working), somehow I can't keep track of what branch I was focusing on-- it becomes overwhelming, frustrating (and maybe even a chore) to get back on track.
Your article might not have been intended to help me with this, but it does speak to me about how I can move forward. Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts. They're spot on.

Kenneth R Marks link

11/05/2012 11:59am

Barbara,

Thanks for dropping by. I am very glad that my article helped you even in a small way.

Kenneth

Jodi link

11/05/2012 2:06pm

Thank you for this timely article! I started a family blog earlier this year to document a Grand Aunt's life work of genealogy. It is daunting to say the least, and with 2 children (who will be 6 & 2 in Feb 2013) I often find myself easily distracted and overwhelmed with the project. I love the project and want to do her work justice, so reading this has me itching to jump back in! THANK YOU!
PS - I would very much appreciate any thoughts you might have on my blog. As a newbie (to blogging) and amateur, but somewhat experienced, genealogy buff I would welcome any assistance! Thank you again!

Kenneth R Marks link

11/05/2012 5:36pm

Hi Jodi,

Thank you so much for the compliment. I would be glad to review your blog. Just took a quick look and have a few ideas. I would prefer to email you the comments though rather than placing them in a comment here. You can email me at kr_marks at yahoo dot com and that will give me your email address and I can then email you with my comments. Glad to do so.

Thanks again,

Kenneth

Gloria Bauer Ishida

12/05/2012 5:43pm

I found your article on Upfront from NGS and link to you blog. I really like the "having fun". I do enjoy writing articles and stories such as you mention above and have done so. But because i love researchI do get bogged down or too focused on it (not for the article I am writing but even for other folks I do not know) and set writing aside. I am glad I was alerted to your blog and will continue reading it.

Kenneth R Marks link

12/05/2012 5:46pm

Thanks Gloria for visiting. Yes for me - it is all about having fun. If I'm not having fun researching or telling/writing stories I'm doing something wrong.

And I am glad that you will continue reading it. I appreciate it.

Kenneth

LeAnn Knifer Atkin link

02/26/2013 7:00pm

Wow! You hit the nail on the head for me. For me it is not enough to know names and dates. It is the history of their lives, the times and places. Getting to KNOW the person is so important to me. Why they did what they did, what happened then. The history of the times. Who was the "blacksheep" and who was the hero. Why I am the person that I am. Which characteristics do I carry, looks, likes, feelings, where did they come from. Just discovered you site today. Love it and will definitely be checking back on it. Thank you so much for the post. It is wonderful!
LeAnn Knifer Atkin
Lander, Wyoming

Kenneth R Marks link

03/04/2013 10:43am

Thanks LeAnn. I love the stories - that makes it worthwhile for me. Glad to know you feel the same.

Dorset County Public Records link

05/19/2013 11:03pm

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