"Who Do You Think You Are" TV Program...

Friday nights, just got a bit more lively. The show on NBC gives a breath of fresh air to family trees.

Since it is airing in other countries and enjoying success, it is about time it got to the U.S.

It would be really nice if they would work on plain ole' Americans rather than just celebs, but...

Genealogy, is something that I feel we all should look into. In the Mormon religion, you are expected to trace your lineage. Some start because of curiousity or perhaps a class project has sparked an interest. Some will say that they have no idea of where / how to start, or that they haven't got the patience do undertake such a grand thing like that...

I have 17 years of research experience, 6 in Genealogy. I was working for a company that had gov't contracts and I was in the Logistics field, or supply. Everything that we buy, has a part number and a manufacturer. That was one of my duties - research part numbers and item names to their manufacturers, if they had one known. If not, they had to be located.

Over the years, I have found that researching a bolt and researching a person are just about the same.

Each one, has their own set of parameters. If all of those do not match, it is the wrong item / person.

A bolt has to be so long, with a certain diameter and thread, along with a certain tensile strength. Oh, and the head matters too -- hex head, flat head, phillips head, etc. Material may be a factor, too.

The same with a person: names and dates of birth and death, places of each, same with marriages. Then there are the parents and their special info. Throw in siblings / children, to be a lot more sure. Cap all that off with grandparent information and we have the makings of a family tree...

Keeping track of your sources is of the utmost importance. I mean, anyone can say this or that but to have proof? The U. S. Census is a large and very key tool. You'll see, depending on which one it is: the head of household, spouce, kids and their ages, birth month and year, race, gender, immigrant or not, naturalized or not, language, if they can read & write & speak english and more. All from one piece of paper. Copying anothers work is not the same as doing the work yourself. Besides, how do you know if their work is valid?

If it isn't, you have nothing - just words.

I read awhile back, "Genealogy without proof, is mythology"...