Tag: research

A second annual assessment

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I meant to post new articles every two or three weeks this summer, but summer is almost over and I still seem to be in vacation mode. Hopefully when I get back to my desk in September, I’ll feel refreshed and ready to write. 

There is no getting around it: the articles I’ve been posting about my ancestors every week or two require a lot of hard work, so I needed the break. Today, however, it’s time for an assessment. 

Since I started Writing Up the Ancestors in October 2013, I have posted 61 articles. The stories about the Smiths of Macduff and the Hamiltons of Lesmahagow have had the most views, probably because these are common family names – and uncommon place names. But a story called “No Fairy-tale Ending” (The Seigneurie of Milles–Îles, part one),about a young couple who died unexpectedly, leaving their orphaned daughter to be brought up by people who had an eye on her inheritance, has been viewed infrequently. I have changed the title to “The Doomed Marriage of Mary Sophia Roy Bush and Louis Charles Lambert Dumont”. (https://www.writinguptheancestors.ca/2015/01/sophia-mary-roy-bush-and-louis-charles.html) I want these articles to be found and read.

One of the biggest challenges in writing family history is to bring each ancestor to life. That starts with writing skills, such as finding a good lead for the story. But I usually only have superficial facts about my ancestors, so I have to make sure I don’t get carried away and make assumptions about their actions and motives, and I constantly remind myself that the values and customs of their societies are quite different from mine. 

Another difficult aspect of blogging, at least for me, is preparing proper footnotes. It is picky and time-consuming and I find it hard to follow a consistent bibliographic style. I need to do a better job of this.

On the other hand, source citations are essential, so I try to give readers enough information that they can find my sources themselves. People have told me they like the Research Remarks section of each post in which I describe the resources I have used and where I found them, mention sources of additional information and identify brick walls. I love writing that section and I hope that, even if readers are not especially interested in my ancestor, they will learn something from the research process.

When I first started writing this blog, I had a bank of stories I had already written, and I had research on other ancestors at my fingertips. Now I’ve posted most of those stories, and I need to spend some time researching families I haven’t even mentioned yet. But it is hard to focus on research and simultaneously write regular blog posts. Something has to change, or this will feel more like work and not like fun. 

So this year, I will either post shorter stories on Writing Up the Ancestors, or I will continue to post long stories less often. I’ll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I will also post short articles about my research processes and discoveries on the collaborative blog GenealogyEnsemble.com. I still have lots of stories to tell.

What I’ve Learned So Far

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In the fall, I will write about Stanley Bagg’s role in building the Lachine Canal.

Last September, at a genealogy conference, speaker Lisa Louise Cooke recommended I write a blog. “A blog is a good cousin-catcher,” she said. So I started a blog.  Eight months and 34 blog posts later, I am still amazed by the tales I’ve been discovering about my ancestors, however, it is time to assess what I’ve learned so far from writing the blog.

Writing Up The Ancestors has helped me get in touch with at least two very distant relations. But even more important than catching cousins, it is helping me get started on what I hope will eventually be a two family history books, one about my father’s Scottish ancestors, the other about my mother’s roots in Montreal. That is a big undertaking but, just like any big project, it isn’t so bad when you break it down into small tasks — say, 500 words a week. These stories require a lot of work. Checking all the facts is particularly time consuming. By the time I’ve finished editing, I usually run out of steam and tell myself I will do the references later. That has been a mistake. Even if I don’t put the complete references on the blog, I should be writing up them for myself, while I have all my files in front of me. I will catch up with them over the summer, and I have promised myself I will take care of them weekly when I resume writing regularly.

It is hard to assess the blog’s success. I am pleased with it in that I am basically writing it for myself and making progress towards my long-term goals. As for readership, by mid-June 2014, I’ve had  5,200 post views, which is not stellar, but I’m satisfied. I made an effort when I created this blog to ensure it could be found on Google. And if those who discover it enjoy it, I think that is because I try to focus as much on my process of discovery as on my ancestors’ stories. 

Finally, sitting in front of the computer is great in the winter, but now that summer is finally here, I want to be outside, gardening and enjoying the sunshine. Also, I need to prepare for a fall research trip to England. So, I may post occasionally, but for now, it is time for a break.

À bientôt.