This tutorial will show you the proper way to ask your genealogy questions in a forum setting; etiquette, common sense rules and how to provoke a  positive and useful response.

(1) Don’t write in all capitals; SURNAMES only. In the online world writing in capitals is used to imply shouting.

Don’t – I’M MARY, MY GRANDMOTHER IS MABLE MAUDE JOVAN B. 1928 IN CLARENDON.
Do - I’m Mary. My grandmother is Mable Maude JOVAN b. 1928 in Clarendon.

(2) Provide as much detail as you can; results will be much better. Create the post as if we nothing, because until you tell us, we don’t. Include enough information in the message to warrant a proper response. Listing surnames and locations without full details will only get responses asking for more information. Instead, provide users with as much info as you an give to solicit a connection; dates, locale, parents, siblings, occupations, travels etc.

Don’t – Looking for SMITH, JONES, BROWN, JOVAN
Do – My grandmother is Mable Maude JOVAN b. 1928 in Clarendon, Jamaica. Her brother was John, sisters: Catherine, Louise, Agatha, and Aunt Fanny (pet name). I think Mable was the last born. John went to do farming abroad (where, when). Their father was called Uncle Sonny. We are related to SMITH JONES BROWN from Mocho, Clarendon, Jamaica.

(3) Subject & Message Body
Do not attempt to post your entire message in the subject. Do not post subject headings that offer no information “need help”, “looking for my father” or similar headings. The subject should clearly state your SURNAMES of interest, the LOCATION and any other relevant info that would summarize your query.

Do - SMITH, JONES, BROWN, JOVAN – Little London, Westmoreland, Jamaica
(even though your query will be posted in the Jamaica Forum, include the word ‘Jamaica’ in the subject and message so that it will show up in searches)

(4) Don’t mention your living relatives especially your parents without their permission! You will see this as the norm on genealogy boards worldwide; don’t do it! Identity theft is very easy when you have all the info you need.

Don’t – Hi I’m Mary, my mother is from Clarendon and her maiden is BROWN. My father is John George MITCHELL. Her grandmother is Mable Maude JOVAN b. 1928
Do- Hi, I?m Mary. My grandmother is Mable Maude JOVAN b. 1928 in Clarendon, Jamaica. I am looking for ancestors and descendants from those or other areas of Jamaica.

(5) Roll Calls
Do not put “Roll Call” in the subject heading, there is no one by that name. When listing the surnames you are looking for, try to break them into smaller posts and tell us about each of them; don’t list more than four at a time. List the surnames and location in the subject.

(6) Organize your query so that it is easy to read; break it small paragraphs especially if you have a lot of info. In that case you may want to discuss a few people and create a new topic for the others.

(7) If you’ve found a connection explain how you are connected, don’t just say you are; remember the board is help everyone make a connection. Many people get to this point and then begin corresponding privately leaving all others in the dark. Share!

Don’t ? Hi I think we are related, I believe I?m your cousin.
Do – Hi, my grandmother is xyz b. 1920 in St. Vincent. Her father is xyz and mother is xyz. She had two sisters; Mary and Jennie. If this rings a bell we are related.

(8) Update Your Posting (s)
If you after you have placed your post you find some clues or solve your mystery, update your post and share your findings with others that may also be looking; you may find even more clues thereafter.

Written by Antoinette Forsythe Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Image Credit: Explore Your Roots by CaribbeanAncestry.com Copyright © All Rights Reserved.

Here is a step by step tutorial / lesson on how to start building your Family Tree; I have included my very own personal tips and tricks that will come in handy if you decide to transfer your findings into a genealogy software.

1. You will begin by documenting all the information you know off-hand; fill in the attached Pedigree form (click the word pedigree) as best you can.
2. Now you will look around your home for hidden resources: family heirlooms, documents, letters, photo albums, Bible (some contain a genealogy chart at the beginning), school records, phone books, diary, church directory, telephone directory etc.
3. At this point you will create a system for gathering and recoding your data; the basic questions you must always seek to answer for each person you add to your Tree, and how will you record it. See Basic Questions.
4. You will now go through each item (resource), extract information from it and record it. Most importantly you will document the source (where you found the info) for every piece of information that you record (diary, school record, death certificate, Bible, you etc). Do not make any corrections in your notes; record misspellings, incorrect dates etc. exactly as written. Also make note of any source (s) that confirms info already in your Tree.
5. Once you have extracted all that you can from yourself and your personal belongings, you will then branch out to other members of the family; interviews.

Basic Questions – remember to note your sources:
(1) Full name (maiden / nick name / pet name / title)
(2) Name change – state the reason (adoption, paternity, marriage etc.)
(3) Appearance – what did they look like (i.e. black, mulatto, green eyes, mole on face, hunch back, white etc.)
(4) Date and place of birth – witnesses, godparents
(5) Date and place of death – witnesses, cause, where buried
(6) Education- what schools did they attend, where and when
(7) Occupations – what jobs did they hold, where and when
(8) Marriages – to whom, when, where, how (banns, certificate), witnesses
(9) Military Service – when, where, why (enlisted, drafted, flee country etc.)
(10) Church – affiliation, when, where, role if any (deacon, minister, choir, teacher etc)
(11) Travel – when, where, why, how
(12) Affiliations – political, clubs, offices held
(13) Awards – when, where, why
(14) Addresses – when, how long, lived with whom or near whom, or near what

Example of note taking:
Jane Isabella Smith b. June 16, 1956 Big Bong Island, Naga Naga. d. Nov 20 1999, bur. Canada. Source: John Barry Smith son of Jane Isabella Smith; email.

Now one thing to remember is this, if you exchange a lot of genealogy emails with John you should mention, the subject and date of the email. Why? Let’s say three years from now, you find some errors in your Tree, you may have to re-examine your old notes, by adopting a consistent method, you will know exactly where to look and/or whom to contact for another interview.

Written by Antoinette Forsythe Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Image Credit: Caribbean Ancestry by CaribbeanAncestry.com Copyright © All Rights Reserved.

I recently visited FamilySearch.org’s beta site and what a mess; this entire project needs to be reassessed; it is riddled with errors; natural man made disasters!

FamilySearch.org has begun the process of transcribing the data from their microfilm collection into an online searchable database. Here are the errors that I have spotted thus far:

• Surnames – In cases where a birth record does not contain a child’s surname, the transcriber assumed the child took the mother’s surname name; this is a huge mistake and you will only catch it if you know the child.
• Given Names – Males are assumed as females and vice versa based on the name; the transcriber has assumed the original registrar made an error and/or has assumed the name is gender specific.
• Misspellings – Surname misspellings are being corrected and should not be as the error is often carried over onto other official documents and/or it can become the name they continue using. The corrections should be written in brackets if being done or mentioned as a side note.
• Dates – Dates of birth are incorrect in some case off by years
• Informant / Witness Roles  not defined – Witnesses and / or informants to births are being listed as the father;  another huge mistake. Sometimes the informant is a friend, the person present at birth, a relative, the midwife or the person in charge of the child; the information could be anyone but we don’t know what their role is becasue this information is not being provided to us via text or a link to view the actual document.
• Certification – We are only given the certificate number but not the letters that go with it (i.e. “55” instead of the entire certificate number “LE55”). The letters are a must as it is the actual certificate number. It is also useful for distinguishing between two or more women having the same name and giving birth in the same year. It also helps to clarify the data found in the indexes.
• Locations - Districts, towns and parishes are not correctly matched. For example, you may see “Spanish Town, Westmoreland, Jamaica” and if you don’t know any better, you will take this as fact.
• The district of registration is being mistaken for the place of birth and they are not always one and the same.
• Missing Documents – There is no image (link to view the actual document) so we are denied the opportunity to see valuable information; date, name, occupation, residence, parents, actual age at christening, parents married or not, mother’s maiden name, witnesses, informant etc; confirm the data transcribed.

I use Ancestry and Family Search (LDS mormon genealogy site) religiously; I could not do without them and truly appreciate their efforts. I am extremely grateful to FamilySearch.org for making their online data available for free; they are not another money grabbing genealogy corporation. However, I am now forced to use them as I use my own site (CaribbeanAncestry.com), with great caution; as long as the information being presented is not supported with its documentation (so I can verify for myself), I must take it as hearsay or an assumption; I cannot take the transcriber’s interpretation as fact.

I have sent a letter to Family Search regarding the errors; I strongly suggest that  you do not use their beta site (http://fsbeta.familysearch.org) until they correct these errors and take steps to ensure they will not be repeated.

Please share the experiences (positive or negative) that you have had with these two  sites. Also share your suggestions and tips that we can use in the meanwhile to get around these issues.

In the days of old, family histories were passed down over the years by word of  mouth without error;  I’ll continue to use my mother’s oral history for my family tree research; modern day resources for genealogical research has got nothing on my mamma!

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Written by Antoinette Forsythe Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Image Credit: Secret… by Vince Alongi Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

You Might Be Addicted To Genealogy if…  (1) 95% of your Friends List are new relatives that you found on facebook; you love them dearly and can’t wait to meet them. Meanwhile for the average facebook user 80% of their friends list consists of people that found them; they don’t care for them much and have no desire to hook up.

(2) When someone in the family dies you’re pissed off because you didn’t get a chance to interview them. Everyone else is deeply saddened they didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.

(3) You shamelessly joined this group for the sole purpose of finding more relatives.

(4) You can honestly say, “I knew a woman that had 20 children in 18 years; her husband fathered 3, her first cousin 1, her uncle 1 and the rest was her slave masters; all children had the same surname.”

(5) After a night of partying you tell your friends that your eyes are bloodshot, your head hurts, you feel nauseated and you are more confused now than the night before. All because you chose to skip the partying to go look at birth registry microfilm… for 5 hours!

(6) Everyone is dreading the upcoming family reunion because Milton who just got out of jail will be there; they feel its way too early to speak to him. They don’t want to say or do anything to upset him. You can’t wait to get there because you think no time like the present time to grill him about his grandparents.

(7) While your girlfriend is snooping through her friend’s friend list looking for hotties, you’re looking to see who shares your surname.

(8) After finding a hottie your girlfriend goes to google.com to check him out. You go to ancestry.com to check out his ancestors.

(9) You have at least on one occasion, stayed up all night trying to figure who the baby daddy was for someone’s gggm.

(10) While reading a tragic news story, you drop a tear or two and decide to start a movement to free the slaves; you forgot the paper is dated 1792.

(12) You joined the aviation group and you’re afraid of heights and would never fly a plane, but hey, the admin shares your surname; you might be related.

(13) While in a bar fight your friend shouts, “and your mama is on welfare!” You chime in, “yeah and your gggf… !”

(14) Your ailing grandmother is hospitalized. Everyone shows up with flowers, slippers and teddy bears. You show up with a tape recorder, notepad and a pen.

(14) Your ailing grandmother dies and everyone can’t wait for the Will to be read just so they can see the gold mine they’ve inherited. You can’t wait to dig through her photo albums, diaries, letters, heirlooms and old documents, then you want to see the Will only to see if grandma mentioned some relatives you might have not yet discovered; a genealogical goldmine.

(15) Every time you’re introduced to someone all you want to know is, “what’s your surname and what parish / country are you from.”

(16) You often nag your friends to interview their parents and grandparents, “before all that history is gone forever.”

(17) You often nag your friends and insist they make a Will because its important to keep all that property in the bloodline.

(18) Your friend tells you he just had a beautiful baby girl and .you think, “…another surname lineage shot to hell.”

(19) You’ve joined your surname facebook group, you have a facebook genealogy app and you are a member of more than three facebook genealogy groups.

(20) It wasn’t enough for you to join every genealogy site that exists, you had to go and start your own genealogy blog / website / faceboook group…

http://CaribbeanAncestry.com – Free Caribbean West Indies Indo-Caribbean Jamaican Family Search Genealogy Research Library

Written by Antoinette Forsythe Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Image Credit: Addicted to Genealogy by CaribbeanAncestry.com Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Caribbean Ancestry by CaribbeanAncestry.com Copyright © All Rights Reserved.