Back on the Trail

I hadn't really stopped researching - just stopped posting here, and honestly, I don't know why I stopped. I'm back, with even more wacky things I've come across and made contact with - and lost contact with - people who have been of great help.

I've got two research trips coming up by the end of the year and am gathering info like mad to be sure that I make the best use of the short time that I will have in the libraries.

I make lists of what I want to find - a list of obituaries to find, a list of cemetery plots to find and visit, a list of marriages verify, a list of estates / wills, etc. Cause I don't know about you but once I get into the library, the pressure is on. I'm thinking that there is no way that I can find all the information that I need to find in just two days, and if I didn't have it all written down with dates or time frames, I'd freeze and not be able to go in any direction.

Start with a list, even if you are not planning a trip - write down what you want to find in a notebook and then update it as time passes. You find things - cross them off. And if new info raises more questions, add to the list. That way, you're not scrambling at the last minute to decide what to look up or forget to follow-up on something that's been bugging you for years.

Just don't lose that notebook.