Keeping Up

Keeping Up

We all have multiple lines we are researching. It seems I pay more attention to some lines and less to others. I field more queries about those lines and am generally more familiar with them. The other day I got an inquiry about a line and I couldn’t recall the details. Then I realized I haven’t had an inquiry about that line in years.

There was a time when I had so many inquiries on that line my expert sent his GEDCOM file so I could just pull it and find out a few things, decide where to sent the researcher for more. In those days my internet connection was dialup and things were slow. Now internet is always on and generally fast. I realized that I didn’t even have a bookmark for the database my expert has developed [and keeps up] so I hadn’t had an inquiry since I moved five years ago.

I could say it means interest in lines goes in spurts and that’s probably true. It also means I have neglected to keep up with my genealogy. I’m more organized but I’ve gotten sloppy on the lines no one asks about, particularly when there are others who are paying attention to those lines.

Is it possible to keep up with all the lines? Is there a formula for how much time to devote to each one? Is it okay to forgot some lines because others are devoting all their time to them? Contrary to what some might suggest, we cannot possibly do all the original research on all our ancestors. What is the compromise?

2 thoughts on “Keeping Up

  1. My research is all over too. I will work on one line and then for some reason, I switch midstream and go to another. I guess it is controlled chaos. Like the time in May when I went to McKeesport Versailles Cemetery to take photos of my grandparents graves. I knew my grandmothers brother was buried there, so I decided to look him up, so to speak. Much to my surprise there were about six others there. These people were my great grandfathers siblings and their wives. I honestly had no idea they were there. I really should have started sooner, before my parents died.

  2. If you find the answer, let me know. I am all over the place with my lines, too. I know I'm supposed to concentrate on just one at a time, but I can't help it. They're all so dang interesting!

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