Check and Recheck Your Steps

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By The Tree Shaker-

When you think you have exhausted all the possible resources. Here are some steps to recheck your steps to see that you have checked all possible records and resources.
First thing you should do is go to the local library and look at their collection to see what resources they have that will help you either in your research or for you to gain knowledge of research that you may have not considered before.  So you should be looking at now only the how to research books but also the archives and the special collections sections.
Another thing to check with your local library and see what items are available thru inter-library loan. Sometimes some of the archive locations will loan out the microfilm on inter library loan for a short time.  Also you will want to check out your local libraries website which in today’s world you may find some valuable resources on their website. More and more stuff is being added on a lot of the websites especially libraries and historical societies because they are trying to digitalize as much as they can these days.
Historical maps are another good resource to track where you ancestor lived and maybe locate the next place of residence better. A lot of these maps can be found online as well usually.
There are many blog sites that may lead you to tips on breaking that common brick wall in research also.  www.cyndislist.com is a good place to find mailing lists on a surname or location you are researching. I would suggest that you at least join a surname mailing list for a while and see if you can find some valuable information. In doing this I would suggest you either get a separate genealogy email address or use a email address that you don’t use for personal use because sometimes these mailing lists can send lots of emails.
Some other things to do when you have exhausted all your resources for your research and want to move on from research for a research break. Go through your photo albums and label all the photos. Some people don’t think this is important because they are my photos and I know who is in the pictures but when they are passed down to others will those people know who is in the pictures.

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When you think you have exhausted all the possible resources. Here are some steps to recheck your steps to see that you have checked all possible records and resources.
First thing you should do is go to the local library and look at their collection to see what resources they have that will help you either in your research or for you to gain knowledge of research that you may have not considered before.  So you should be looking at now only the how to research books but also the archives and the special collections sections.
Another thing to check with your local library and see what items are available thru inter-library loan. Sometimes some of the archive locations will loan out the microfilm on inter library loan for a short time.  Also you will want to check out your local libraries website which in today’s world you may find some valuable resources on their website. More and more stuff is being added on a lot of the websites especially libraries and historical societies because they are trying to digitalize as much as they can these days.
Historical maps are another good resource to track where you ancestor lived and maybe locate the next place of residence better. A lot of these maps can be found online as well usually.
There are many blog sites that may lead you to tips on breaking that common brick wall in research also.  www.cyndislist.com is a good place to find mailing lists on a surname or location you are researching. I would suggest that you at least join a surname mailing list for a while and see if you can find some valuable information. In doing this I would suggest you either get a separate genealogy email address or use a email address that you don’t use for personal use because sometimes these mailing lists can send lots of emails.
Some other things to do when you have exhausted all your resources for your research and want to move on from research for a research break. Go through your photo albums and label all the photos. Some people don’t think this is important because they are my photos and I know who is in the pictures but when they are passed down to others will those people know who is in the pictures.

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