RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: andrewalston on Sunday 01 July 18 15:34 BST (UK)
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Has anyone else noticed a change of emphasis in peoples' research?
When I first joined RC, most posts were about research going further back in time to the earliest possible ancestors.
These days there are many posts relating to people alive well into the 20th century.
I've a feeling that the trend started with the centenary of the start of the Great War, as people tried to find out about those who died, and those who were left behind. Other records, especially the 1939 Register, seem to have fed the trend.
Anyone else seen this?
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That's an interesting thought. The Great War could have had a lot to do with it - and i suppose if you've reached more or less a dead end - daren't say "brick Wall" - going back in time, many of us want to fill the intervening generations in with more detail, and certainly things like the 1939 register becoming available also assist with research and more recent family history.
It could also be that television programmes like WDYTYA? assist - and now that people are living longer, it's often more possible for people to ask their grandparents, even great grandparents.
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I don't know why it is, but there has definitely been a change in emphasis. Not long ago it was all about quantity. If you didn't have numerous thousands of people in your tree you were obviously not putting enough effort into it. Today, quality is the watchword and thank goodness I say.
Regards
Chas
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Initially I set out to get as far back as I could but was dissatisfied when all I ended up with was a lot of names and dates, and little else. Having relied almost exclusively on the internet as my source I had no certainty about the accuracy of my "research".
I then reversed the process, and set about identifying all my great grandfather's descendents including, where I could, those that were still alive. I contacted those for whom I could find an address and, explaining my objective, asked if they had any memories or material they would be willing to share. Although not all responded, many did and often they spoke of names on documents they held and about whom they knew nothing. Gradually I gathered the pieces together and was able to reconstruct a cohesive family narrative going back to 1800 and let others know how things fitted together. I have now written up a brief summary of my findings and supplied a copy to all those who contributed, several of them overseas. It was like a huge jigsaw with many people each holding a few pieces.
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Well I started my research with building a framework of names and start and end (birth and death) dates that I could find. I then started filling in the blanks so to speak and trying to discover what happened and what life was like for each of them between those dates. Even on day one I viewed discovering their names as just the starting point