Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!
What follows is my take on the subjects of a blog post that has merit for the issues it brings up, and has done much to stir up the Genealogoshere for the last 4 days. ;-D
The other day Paul Duxbury, of Genealogy and Family History, a Genealogy Blog, wrote an interesting piece about "5 Bad Genealogical Sources (Bad sources of historical data for your genealogy research)."
The opinions on Wikis, Historical Novels (I was a huge fan of the old Historical Family Saga Genre of 1975 to 2000), and Films, I can agree with, but the other 2, on Personal Sites, and Blogs I can not, especially, Blogs.
ON PERSONAL WEBSITES THE AUTHOR WRITES:
Many entries on personal websites are made without much regard to whether they accurate or not. And since a personal website can be made by anyone, personal websites is not a source of historical detail.
I have no clue just how many such sites Paul, who lives in the UK, has explored, and how deeply, but it can not have been near enough to judge all such sites by the content of the bad ones.
Most people make, and maintain, personal websites, especially of a Genealogical nature, to share what they know, and continue to discover, of their family history, and yes, it is true most folks are not professionals, but just as knowledgeable as their time, and resources, allow them to become.
Do not shun these sites out of hand, because you never know what clue, tip, or resource, to help your own research, that you will find.
ON BLOGS THE AUTHOR WRITES:
Just like personal websites, blogs are a good source of unreliable information simply because anyone who can type and use the internet can make a blog site especially with the “throwaway blogs” which don’t involve even purchasing a domain name. And since the credentials of most bloggers are questionable especially when it comes to history, blogs will provide no help in your genealogy research. So when looking for a historical account, stay away from blog sites.
Let me add an addendum to that last comment in the light of some feedback....
There are some good Genealogy Blogs as a number of people have highlighted, however my own experience has shown that the majority are quite poor - so at the very least be sure that you can verify the information before you rely on it to take your research forward.
This angers me.
Paul knew he was making sweeping generalizations about the majority, by tagging them with the same brush as the bad Blogs he has encountered, because he was getting feedback that made him add a throw away line along the lines of "Yeah, yeah, there ARE a few good ones, but..."
No serious library blog would even agree with his opinion.
I began my own digging in the roots of my Family Garden, in the late 80's, and have kept at it as best I could ever since.
I consider myself still a newbie in so many ways.
I began Blogging in 2002 and, from the start, included the occasional story about my Genealogy research, with pictures, in the mix (In 2007 I closed that old place, and moved most of my old Genealogy stuff to this blog, and greatly expanded my Genealogy Resource Blogroll which this discussion has me thinking of writing more about over time in order to help get the word out.).
Back then there WERE no Genealogy Blogs, to speak of, that I am aware, and Genealogy Websites, and Genealogy Themed Personal Sites were not as many as today, but this has changed significantly, in the last 5 years.
Because of my 1st writing about my research, mysteries, and rare success, on my blog, I had something coherent to write on message boards at Rootsweb, and elsewhere.
This led to my making important contacts, through by blog posts, and my message boarding, with researchers who had information, relevant to me, or at least advice and tips, that have been useful to me in my research.
Because of my Blogging about my Father, and his journey from the old country to the new, my cousins, and his 3 Sisters contacted me after 15 years of silence, and while the last 3 years of intermittent contact, with people on one side who speak, and write little English, and on the other side a guy who speaks, and writes neither Serbian or Macedonian, has been difficult, I may finally make a breakthrough in our confusing correspondence.
Yes, many Bloggers, like me, have no credentials related to Genealogy, but that does not mean that they will "provide no help in your genealogy research."
Bloggers may have info such as names, dates, and places that may be related to you, and help you in your research, but they also share their experiences of researching, the good, the bad, the funny, and the ugly, and anyone who reads such stories will learn something from them.
Of course, the smart thing would be to follow the paper, or link, trail they used to get the names, dates, and places, for yourself, if you can, because you may find out something your source overlooked.
Don't automatically accept the evidence from any secondary source - blog, website, county history, Library book, etc - without trying to verify the info, from original sources, if you can.
Many Bloggers, like me, are natural, and talented, storytellers, even poets, and humorists, and do so much more than post dry statistics, and information, and that is another reason to read them: You might come across old family stories, and legends that you never knew about, as well as writing prompts to encourage your genealogy research.
For instance I shared a magnificent writing prompt called "Where I'm From", that every researcher, and their older relations, should try their hand at.
For instance, in my case, I did the research that found out the fate of the long lost sister of my Maternal Grandmother, a story that anyone related to her husbands family (Her and her Hubby were childless.) would be interested in if they knew it was online on this blog.
In another instance, I've shared, here, my research into the story of the mysterious death of my Maternal Grandfather, a story that mentions the names of the suspect, the coroner, witnesses, and the people involved in the inquest into the death, and includes newspaper images, and articles.
In another instance I've shared the roadblock that is this mans Mother, and the 5 husbands she outlived, including the 3 that gave her children, and how it took a DNA test of my Uncle to confirm which one of her Hubbys our family was related to.
Lots of names there, and still plenty of mysteries that need solving. ;-D
There are people out there looking for the names I have posted in that story as well,, and one day they will stumble upon my blog, and whole new avenues of research will open up for both of us.
There are more mysteries in other branches of my Mothers family, from the same period, that I am just beginning to explore, things that my Uncle, and Mom never knew, and that their Mother took with her to the grave a few years before I got interested in my roots.
My Genealogy Archive, on this blog, is here = Digging Up Roots in the Family Garden
I've found lots of useful advice, and tips, and links, by reading Personal Genealogy Sites, and Genealogy Blogs, and that's why I've built up a resource in my sidebar.
You can read more of this writers thoughts here: 5 Bad Genealogy Sources.
24 hours later the tune of this Genealogy Blogger had thawed even more, toward his fellows, than his brief adendum indicated. ;-D
