My purpose here . . .
- Find cousins and share information with them
- Share good stories and discoveries
- Share tips to help others interested in genealogy
- Inspire people to go further with their genealogy
And I want to bring some focus back onto the process, what it is really like to do genealogy and family history. The reality is not so glitsy as it seems on a certain popular tv show. They make it seem like the minute you decide you are interested in your roots, you fly across the world and some expert reveals huge news for you. Your ancestor was in the Salem witch trials! You have a royal ancestor! My goodness.
The reality for most of us is a lot of time spent digging through records, tromping through cemeteries and getting advice from distant cousins. And it is great fun!
And while ancestry.com has done a lot to make genealogy research easier, I feel we also lose something. When it is so easy, we lose the appreciation of what we have discovered. And then there is the issue that people don’t seem to actually read what they find! A lot of people seem to just copy others’ wrong information. We still need to check original sources and think critically about the information we have gathered.
Lastly, for the first 20 years, I was very focused on research. I have collected a lot of stuff! Now I am focused on the goal of organizing and sharing. I am in the process of going through all my folders and organizing and updating everything and also analyzing my sources and filling in the gaps.
A bit about Jill . . .
I have been a librarian and genealogist since 1993 (emphasizing US/Midwest and French Canadian research at many repositories such as the Family History Library, the National Archives, the Minnesota History Center, the Wisconsin Area Research Centers, local historical societies and county courthouses.)
I earned my Masters degree in Information and Library Studies from the University of Michigan (focused on technology, research and management). I earned my BA cum laude from a small liberal arts college (history major and computer science minor, plus six months of study in French in Strasbourg, France). Lastly, I have created many professional presentations, workshops, publications, websites and events.
Want to work with Jill . . .
Need a great multimedia presentation for your next family reunion or local history meeting? Or maybe you want some help with your genealogy research, website, video, podcast or book? You might want to hire me to help – I have been doing websites and multimedia for decades. Contact me here & let’s talk about it!