My Genealogy Journey Beginnings

Do you remember when you first embarked on your genealogy journey? Was it in the pre-Internet era, when research meant leafing through books and filling out forms by hand? If so, you’re not alone.

My own genealogy journey began simply, with paper and pencil in hand. I started with blank pedigree charts and family group sheets, eager to uncover my family’s story. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone in my efforts—I had several family members who helped set me on the right path.

It was my grandmother CRAWFORD who first sparked my interest. She expressed a desire to know where her grandmother was buried. Beyond that, she had an invaluable collection of family photos and personal knowledge about her side of the family (the Currey line) and my grandfather’s family (the Crawfords).

Other relatives played key roles as well

• Gladys (Vanderwilt) Crawford, my great-aunt by marriage, had compiled extensive research on the descendants of Judson Crawford, my great-grandfather.
• Dorothy Gilbert, my dad’s first cousin, was delving into the Currey branch of the family tree.
• Max Briles, a second cousin once removed on my mother’s side, had documented the Briles family genealogy.
• My grandmother BRILES contributed her father’s family Bible, along with treasured family photographs.
• My mother-in-law, Joanne Philbrick, introduced me to the basics of genealogy, teaching me how to use family group sheets and pedigree charts effectively.

Because my research began before the Internet era, much of my early work involved traveling to archives and libraries. I made frequent trips to the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka, where I pored over Kansas census records, federal census rolls, and an extensive collection of Kansas newspapers to uncover obituaries and other clues.

This was also the time of SASEs (self-addressed stamped envelopes). I used them regularly to request vital records and correspond with other researchers.

While I began with paper forms, I soon found family group sheets too restrictive:

• They only allowed for basic events like birth, marriage, death, and burial.
• They didn’t provide an easy way to track the sources of my information.

My first leap into genealogy software came during a trip to Salt Lake City, where I purchased Personal Ancestral File (PAF). Digitizing my research was a game changer—it allowed me to organize census records and other data. However, PAF didn’t adequately address source documentation. To solve this, I transitioned to The Master Genealogist (TMG), which allowed me to add sources. At the time, I relied on Richard Lackey’s Cite Your Sources to guide my citation writing.

From the beginning to now

Eventually, I moved from TMG to RootsMagic, a platform that became a cornerstone of my research. With it, I embraced Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Evidence Explained as my go-to guide for citation writing. While I still consult Evidence Explained occasionally, I now lean on templates to create citations.

RootsMagic includes many templates, but sometimes I need to customize them to fit specific sources. For example, I recently modified a template from Evidence Explained to document a county record from FamilySearch, which I then shared with my husband for his research.

My genealogy journey from the beginning to today has been a rewarding evolution. I continue to collect ancestors and events, always striving to document my findings with accurate source citations.