Roberts Roots & Branches

"Laugh lines crinkled her eyes as your grandma told her favorite story from her youth. You’ve heard it before, but could never imagine interrupting. It’s too fascinating to listen to your grandma’s memories about her first days at new schools, adventures with her sisters, and how she met your grandfather.   Stories are what bring family history to life."     ---Hanna, Karen, The 4 Family Stories You Must Save for Your Children, Family Search blog, posted January 30, 2015  https://familysearch.org/blog/en/4-family-stories-save-children/

The Importance of an Organization System One of the most important tools for a researcher is organization.   Your future searches and your success depend upon how you file your papers, how you sort your sources and where you put the collected data; both digital and paper. What good is an original source if you cannot examine it as needed?   What good is a document if you cannot locate it when you need it?   What good is a copy of anything if you cannot find it when you need it?   There are many ways to organize what you have researched and there are many ways to organize your future research.   The best organizational tool is the one that works for you! I hate to file; I would rather research.   However, I must file, so for me, filing documents numerically has worked best. I use that same numerical number for my paper files and for my digital files.   I also feel compelled to cite my sources extensively; so I keep an index...

  "At times the strength and determination we have for today comes from yesterday in knowing and learning what strength and determination our ancestors possessed.   They can be our example and our encouragement."   ----Janet Lott

Gather all information on an ancestor  even if it looks like there is no pertinent  genealogical Information.

The necessities of grocery shopping are usually the mainstays of food:   bread, milk and eggs.   Family history necessities are usually birth certificates, marriages licenses and death certificates.   Our grocery list is enhanced with fruits and vegetables that add variety to our meals and balance out our diets.   Similarly, census records, military records, land and court records all add variety to our genealogy research and help balance out the picture of our ancestors. Finally, snacks; candy bars, ice cream, popcorn, chips and soda the frills that add that special treat to our days and evenings.   In family history work, our special treats are obituaries, newspaper articles, letters, diaries and pictures. Life would be boring if we ate the same thing every day; and family history work would be bland if we only found birth, marriage and death records.   Boost your research; look for and at other sources that just might add ...