04 December 2016

Joshua Taylor on How Genealogists Research

Joshua Taylor, President of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, professional genealogist, and theme speaker at the OGS Conference 2017, is interviewed in an episode of an educational series “Doing History: How Historians Work.”
Presented in an interview format with host Liz Covart it covers what would be good to know when starting out researching your family history and, as always, acts as a refresher for the more experienced.

  • New-York Genealogical and Biographical Society
  • Overview of professional genealogy
  • Where genealogists start their research projects
  • How far back you can expect to trace your family tree
  • Differences in access to records between the United States and European countries
  • The role questions play in genealogical research
  • Genealogists’ research process
  • Where genealogists look for information
  • Digital resources for genealogical research
  • Types of historical sources genealogists use
  • How genealogists research people who left little-to-no written record
  • How genealogists use the work of other genealogists
  • How to know if the family tree constructed by another genealogist is accurate
  • The role of DNA in genealogical research
  • Objectivity in genealogical research
  • The final products of genealogical research
  • Strategies for becoming “unstuck” in your genealogical research
  • The role historical context plays in genealogical research
  • Researching in U.S. census records
  • Tips and tricks for conducting genealogical research
  • Local genealogical societies

Although Josh and Liz do come at the topic from a US, and New York orientation the advice is more generally applicable.
Skip past the first five minutes of the episode to the interview which lasts about 40 minutes.
Toward the end of the episode it's revealed that the next series of Genealogy Roadshow has not (yet) been commissioned.

www.benfranklinsworld.com/episode-110-joshua-taylor-genealogists-research-history/

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