You need to be girded with several key skills to be successful as a genealogist, amateur or professional. We are investigators of the First Degree, sniffing out clues. Then, we analyze and dissect those clues to assemble a sometimes very complicated puzzle. The following is a list of key skills that might prove useful.
Legal – many of the key documents that will help you crystalize the past, include Last Wills & Testaments, property transactions, and in some cases, criminal court proceedings. Probate records can often reveal key aspects of your ancestors’ lives. Terminology might be the least of your challenges.
History –the timeline of events that coincide with your ancestor’s lives enriches their history. Germany’s success against France in 1870 altered the boundaries in Alsace-Lorraine. Did you have ancestors living there? Names and street names would soon have then been Germanized.
Old Photos – sometimes, we can glean clues for old photos such as clothing styles, automobiles, locations, etc. Hopefully, someone has been thoughtful enough to identify the people in your old photos.
Arithmetic – you need to be able to quickly calculate the age of individuals from newspaper articles, land records, death certificates, etc. Converting calendars could be a bit more work. We have Gregorian, French Revolutionary, Julian calendars, and many more.
Maps – the “where” of your ancestor’s lives is a crucial element of their life stories. You might need to be able to correlate an old hand-drawn map with a contemporary satellite view. And jurisdictions often change so check the neighboring counties. The place names may be strange to you but are key to determining location and record jurisdictions.
Language – those old archive records might be in a different language. Thankfully, several modern tools can help translate the text and Facebook volunteers might chip in.
Handwriting – cursive on the verge of extinction? However, university courses, online experts and online tools can help untangle even the most ancient script.
Detective – examining all the details found in those old records and correlating these just might provide the breakthrough. Keep a keen eye and never give up!
DNA – with DNA now a part of everyone’s research, we may become scientists far beyond high school biology. DNA might appear as a huge elephant, but you can gobble that elephant, one bite at a time.
Support is always available with your local library, your local genealogical society, Google, Facebook, Pinterest and a host of genealogical websites. After all, genealogy is one of America’s most popular hobbies.
Ron Gilmore
Email: rvg3@me.com
Website: https://www.rgenealogy.ca