Have you been doing genealogy research for a long time now? If so, it may have become rather rote for you, and even tedious, as you are doing the same things over and over again. You started out with a love and passion for genealogy, and it is still there, but you want to make it exciting for you to do again. The good news is that there are ways to put new life into your genealogy. Doing these things will not only make it more exciting for you, it will also make your work more interesting to the people with whom you share it. Here are a few things that I’ve used to make my genealogy come alive again.
1. Take a New Look at the Research You’ve Already Done
Revisit some of your past work and look into those family lines again. You may find new research sources available that will allow you to add interesting details to these lines that will flesh them out and make the people in them seem more like real people again. Never discount the possibility of finding new information on well-researched lines. You’d be surprised how many new discoveries you may make.
2. Work on New Lines
You have more family lines than you can ever possibly get to in a normal human lifetime. Everyone does. When you start looking into the lines of wives, the spouses of children, and other lines that branch off of your main lines, you will discover an infinite number of lines to research. If you have been working on the same lines for a long time, try beginning one that you’ve neglected or not even started at all. You will find a new interest and new excitement in this endeavor as if you are discovering genealogy again anew.
3. Get into DNA
If you haven’t done DNA research on your line, you should. It is a fascinating aspect to genealogy, and it can show you many new things about your ancestry that you never knew. It has the ability to break through brick walls and solve long-standing family mysteries. You can even connect with genetic cousins who may have information on your family you need and may be willing to share with you. Plus, unlike documents, which can have errors, DNA always tells the truth. The real story of your family history from all lines is in your DNA.
4. Get into the Field
If you do most of your genealogy research from the comfort of home, you are missing out on some of the most rewarding aspects of genealogy. Traveling to the places where your ancestors lived gives you the opportunity to see the things they saw, walk in their footsteps, and maybe even see the homes where they lived. You can also find them in local cemeteries, and locate information on them that isn’t online in the local archives, museums, and historical societies. The next time you travel, make it a genealogy vacation, and your research will shine.