When I first started with genealogy, I mainly researched my dad’s side of the family. These ancestors are from the Smoky Mountain region of the United States in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina (and just a little bit in Virginia). The families intermarried a lot and it quickly gets difficult to sort everyone out. Therefore, incorrect and unsourced information for these lines is EVERYWHERE!
Headstone for Julius Dugger, Samuel Dugger, and Hannah Potter. Photo from FindAGrave and taken by Aleta Stafford – used here with permission.
Admittedly, when I first started researching, I just copy and pasted information into PAF, started printing reports, and sat back in the glory of having my ancestry go back to the 1700s. The problem? None (or very little) of it was sourced. A lot of it (read: 95%) was incorrect. In short – it was a mess.
In the last 2 years or so, I’ve been mainly focusing on my other family lines. In some sense, I think I just needed a break from trying to sort my Smoky Mountain ancestors out. I craved something different and began focusing on my Indiana, Washington, Ohio, and New England lines.
Recently, however, I’ve become inspired to tackle my Smoky Mountain ancestors again. I want to start getting these ancestors organized – sorting out who is who, what documents are available, and knowing where every bit of information comes from. I want it all sourced and documented. To tackle this project, I’ve decided to use WikiTree – having a collaborative tool will hopefully attract cousins and others with interests in the area to pitch in. I can use all the help I can get for sorting and sourcing these ancestors!
So it seems after all these years, I’m going back to the start.
What’s your latest genealogy project?
Share this:
Google+
Elyse Doerflinger