A dear friend of mine (no, there really wasn't any sarcasm there) suggested I do this, figuring it would be helpful in my research. I could pick a particular person I am researching, would have to organize my notes, papers, etc on that person, and in the end may find I have more information than I thought. Putting that info out there for other researchers to see may lead to more info - and we all know it is all about the info. Especially that one piece, that one clue, the last puzzle piece we need to verify and confirm that yes, this person is my person.
Ya'll know how it is: you sit down with your to-do list, open your website of choice, type your surname into the search box, and five hours later, you are so pleased with yourself that you just found another whole line of the family, descended from a 5x great-grandparent. Your hands are cramped from writing (yes, SOME of us still write with pen and paper), or from mouse-clicking as you download and save info to your wonderfully organized files, your eyes are glazed from reading fuzzy images of long-ago documents, your body - well, its gone stiff from not moving. Yes, you are very pleased. Until you realize you have not found one person on your to-do list. And so, the next night, its begins again, and so on, and so on...
So, my hope is that I do get better organized, get my handwritten notes, print outs, pictures, etc, onto the computer, and get a better idea of just what information I have on my family. My title "12 years later..." refers to the fact that I began my genealogy research 12 years ago; I have at the least a file box, with appropriately labeled files for 16 surnames (5 or 6 gens back), and with my various handwritten notes, print outs, pictures, etc, in their appropriate file.
My next post I will list all my surnames and a quick glimpse into my research.
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