Are you a WikiTree user? If so, how much of your tree is actually represented there?
While I have most of my RootsMagic database linked to the FamilySearch tree and reflected in my public tree on Ancestry, I have to admit that only a small portion of that work has made its way onto WikiTree’s collaborative tree.
Those missing profiles are exactly why I signed up for my second WikiTree Connect-A-Thon.
Going into the weekend, I had a clear goal: add the deceased descendants of my 4th great-grandfather, James Crawford. I wanted to focus specifically on the lines that had not yet been represented, helping to connect more of my family to the larger, shared tree.
However, the weekend didn’t unfold quite as planned.
Mother Nature had other ideas. Heavy rains to our south on Thursday and Friday turned our normally calm river into a raging torrent. That surge of water damaged a regional fiber line, knocking out both our internet and cell service just for most of Saturday.
Thankfully, I had prepared ahead of time.
Before the Connect-A-Thon began, I created narrative reports for the deceased descendants of James’s son, Nelson G. Crawford, who were missing from WikiTree. With those reports in hand, I was still able to make steady progress—even offline for part of the weekend.
By the end of the event, I had added 121 new profiles—primarily 2nd and 3rd cousins—to the collaborative tree. It was a satisfying reminder that preparation pays off, even when circumstances don’t cooperate.
And I wasn’t working alone. As part of the Tree Nuts team, we collectively added an impressive 2,301 profiles over the weekend. That shared effort is what makes events like the Connect-A-Thon so rewarding—each small contribution helping to grow a single, global family tree.
So, I’m marking my calendar for the next Connect-A-Thon, July 17-20.