1.4 Puzzles and Research
Genealogical research is full of puzzles and being able to thoroughly analyze documents and apply the information accurately is key. Exercises in the textbook may, at times, take the form of puzzles to give students the chance to practice using a keen eye and making connections. The readings, along with exercises and assignments, are tools to help students internalize and practice research and analytical skills. This work takes time but there are estimated time commitments included with the assignments. Remember that because each student will be completing a different project there will be instances where more or less of a commitment is required. There is always the option of spending any leftover time on research or crafting the report.
Genealogy is an academic research discipline that makes history personal through the collection of the data connected to people’s lives. Family connections are explored, and life events examined, then combined with historical context to gain more understanding about how people fit into the human family. The data, history, connections, and information are then combined, stored, and shared; thus preserving the information for the benefit of future generations. Historian Francesca Morgan explains that the walls between history and genealogical research have weakened over time, especially with the advent of large online repositories:
“Historian’s predilections for seemingly narrow topics and events, such as microhistories and local histories, have fostered deep research, using many different types of sources, on surrounding contexts. Such topics deepened dependence on source material that genealogists have also used, and sometimes, generated. Like microhistorians, genealogists use wide arrays of sources while researching narrow topics over long durations.”1