Readers have asked how to cite Internet sources. Confession, I don’t really know the answer – and I don’t think many others do, either. It is a new, still-evolving discipline complicated by the transitory nature of the beast, where links to pages get changed and/or vanish into cyberspace. Often I cannot even find my own way back to something I ran across while researching. Continue reading Citing internet sources
All posts by Alicia Crane Williams
Genealogical writing styles
Some Vita Brevis readers have sent me really nice samples of what they are doing using the Early New England Families Study Project format model. Thanks, you are all “on point” and doing a great job. Plenty of questions have been sent, too, so let’s address some of those.
“Register style” vs “Early New England Families format”
First, there is no right or wrong way to use the Early New England Families format. Continue reading Genealogical writing styles
Delayed recording of deeds
While working on the Early New England Families Study Project sketch on Samuel Maverick this week, I came across a deed from 1636 that was not recorded until 1717! This is a good reminder that deeds are entered into the official books by the date they were recorded, not by the date they were made. Thus, one can never assume that a deed recorded after a person’s death – even decades after – is not that person’s deed.
A sale of land was legal, whether or not the deed was recorded, although recording the transaction helped to prove legality if disputed. Recording might be delayed until the land was sold the next time, which might be a generation or two later. Continue reading Delayed recording of deeds
Now, it’s time to write
[Editor’s Note: Between June and August of this year, Alicia wrote two series on her research and writing methodologies. In the interest of bringing them together, and sharing them with a fresh audience, they are offered again, with some of the author’s commentary. The first of these two posts appeared here:]
From Composition: Part One:
Many people enjoy fishing, but not as many enjoy cleaning the catch. That is why we all have piles of research sitting waiting to be compiled into finished accounts. In some cases we may have entered our data into a genealogical database, but as nice as they are for sorting a multitude of facts, there is still no replacement for a well-written genealogical story. Continue reading Now, it’s time to write
Update on the Early New England Families project
Six new sketches have been posted in the Early New England Families Study Project database:[1]
John Dunham (c. 1615–1692), son of John Dunham (GM); married Mary ___; settled in Plymouth; farmer; 7 children.
Richard Newton (c. 1606–1701) married Ann/Hannah Loker alias Riddlesdale; settled in Sudbury and Marlborough; husbandman; 10 children. Continue reading Update on the Early New England Families project
A genealogist’s research process
[Editor’s Note: Between June and August of this year, Alicia wrote two series on her research and writing methodologies. In the interest of bringing them together, and sharing them with a fresh audience, they are offered again, with some of the author’s commentary.]
From Collecting published accounts:
This may turn out like watching sausage being made or paint dry, but let’s walk through the process of creating an Early New England Families Study Project entry.
We start with the entry from Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700: Continue reading A genealogist’s research process
A second toe in the web
When I started my experiment of creating a web page about seven months ago, I advised everyone not to follow my advice and not to expect quick results. Good thing, because as of this writing, I have just managed to publish a website with one page!
Back in February I found the procedures and information that I needed to wend through in order to create a web page far more complex than it had been the “old days,” when I had successfully created a website with Network Solutions, so I let the project linger while attending to more urgent and/or fun things. Continue reading A second toe in the web
Composition: Part Four
Final assessment
As I tie up loose ends on the Early New England Families Study Project sketch for Richard Newton, it is time to assess the work.
Newton’s sketch is fairly short, four pages at the moment: his birth and ancestry are unknown, he did not participate in town or colony governments, was not in trouble with the courts, and left no interesting biographical highlights. A lot of information was already in print about the Newton family, including a full transcription of Richard’s will in the Newton Genealogy. Continue reading Composition: Part Four
Composition: Part Three
Footnotes
Each Early New England Families Study Project sketch is an article by itself, so full bibliographic citations are given the first time a source is used, with short form citations thereafter. I have a Word file with the full citation for every source I have used (which grows with each new sketch), and I can “cut and paste” these into footnotes without having to retype. This is my manual version of the bibliographic and footnote options that come with most genealogical database programs these days. Continue reading Composition: Part Three
Composition: Part Two
Proofreading
What can I say about a task that falls below cleaning toilets on my list of favorite things to do? However, mastering the discipline of proofreading is imperative. Your audience is counting on you to get it right, no excuses. It is also a Catch-22 – no matter how diligently you proofread, you will miss something and someone will immediately point that out to you as soon as it is published! “Paranoia is good” when it comes to proofreading. Continue reading Composition: Part Two