14.1 Sharing Findings and Collaborating

“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten; either write things worthy of reading, or do things worthy of writing.”1 – Benjamin Franklin

Completing a genealogical research project and finishing a research report are big accomplishments, but, if the report and data stay in a drawer or saved on a hard drive, it is not much use beyond earning a grade. A fulfilling aspect of genealogy is that family historians get to work together and share the information they discover. One way to collaborate is by working on compiled trees, like FamilySearch Family Tree, or posting the information on public member trees, like the ones found on Ancestry.com and other paid member websites. Completing the research and report is the hard part, but sharing the information is exciting, and, when others working on similar family lines benefit from what is contributed, collaboration becomes especially rewarding.