Genealogy Do-Over Week 6 - Evidence Evaluation and Online Education

A family birthday, a Game 7 (Go Hawks!), and two bad nights' sleep kept me from writing this post this weekend. So here I am at work writing while I eat lunch because I'd really like to get caught up with the do-over by the end of next week. I'm not sure that will be possible with another family birthday coming up followed by Father's Day, but I'll give it a shot.

The topics for Week 6 of the Genealogy Do-Over were Evidence Evaluation and Reviewing Online Education Options.

Evidence Evaluation

I have started a completely new tree in Ancestry as part of my Do-Over.  It has five people in it, as opposed to my old tree (which is now private), which has 829. I guess you could say I was a name collector, although I wasn't putting people in my tree for the sake of a number.

I knew all four of my grandparents and I would probably feel comfortable putting all of them in my tree based on that fact alone, but I've decided to wait until I have more evidence just to practice my new process on people I do know before I move on to ancestors I don't know.

I'm still working on building the skills necessary to evaluate the evidence that I have and the new evidence I have collected since starting the Do-Over. I'm not that far into Evidence Explained yet and I have just started to use a trial of Evidentia.

As I evaluate more evidence I will share more about this part of my Do-over. For now I am reading and learning which brings me to this week's second topic.

Reviewing Online Education Options

I discovered DearMYRTLE's Google+ community a few months ago.  Every week Myrtle holds Hangouts on Air within a variety of themes.  They are held live but recorded and can be watched on Google+ if you are a member of her community or on YouTube.

She is now in the middle of her third study group of Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones in addition to a Beginning Genealogy Study Group which is almost done, Mondays with Myrt, Wacky Wednesdays and Genealogy Game Night.  You can learn more about these from her blog: DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog.

Her cousin, Cousin Russ, who is there for just about every hangout and is her partner of sorts, has a community of his own. Russ just did a two part Hangout which I haven't had time to watch yet where he goes through the steps of trying to establish the correct name of an ancestor while using his Research Log and Family Tree Maker. I definitely have to make time for that.

So for now, given the constraints of time and budget, my online education will be in the form of these valuable Hangouts, the Genealogy Do-Over and genealogy blogs.

Hopefully I will be able to post again before the weekend. Until then, good luck with your Do-Over or Go-Over.