By TCGS Member, Connie Estep
John Covey taught the June genealogy class continuing the subject of record selection. He
John Covey taught the June genealogy class continuing the subject of record selection. He
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| John Covey practicing what he teaches |
Selection criteria
for choosing a record includes content (does it have the kind of information
you are looking for), location and time period. Remember location boundaries
can change (as did our own Benton County). Learning about the history of an
area can save research time in cases of jurisdiction changes. Access can be
another issue, so check to make sure you are allowed to visit the repository
and can get copies of records. Reading records can be a problem when there are
language differences or hard to read handwritten documents. Another challenge
can be a very common family name; knowing at least a given name, and hopefully
a middle name will help. The more you know about the person, the easier the
research. John also recommends following hunches in choosing records.
John discussed
research logs in detail. The most important reason for keeping research logs is
that they provide a place to cite data sources. They can also help with search
organization to know what has and has not been found. I often have periods of
time between research sessions and find it easy to forget what I’ve done and
what the next step is. This can solve that problem. He covered specific
elements to record and a FamilySearch web address for a blank log.
This blank Research Log can be filled out and printed from your computer. It
can also be printed out blank and entries can be made by hand while
researching.
The next class in this series is September 14;
we will learn about the Soundex system from Susan Davis Faulkner. Classes will
continue through December before monthly TCGS general meetings from 6:15-6:45
p.m. This class was attended by 22 people.
