This weeks Topics are:
- Conducting Collateral Research
- Reviewing Offline Education Options
Conducting Collateral Research
The differences between Collateral research and Cluster research are a bit confusing. In reading Thomas’ explanation, here is what I believe are the differences.
- Collateral research means researching those who are not the direct line ancestors, but who are considered part of the same family, e.g. siblings, half-siblings, in-laws and others through marriage.
- Cluster research would be relatives of someone who married into the family, neighbors, and what we now consider a network. This I’ve found interesting, because as I’ve done the work for this week, I’ve found my grandmothers sister living with one of the neighbors as a servant. This work is especially important when dealing with common names and can help validate questionable sources.
So, Collateral Research….
- I’m starting out with a direct line ancestor…my grandfather Theodore Peter Doerr.
- Research his spouse, Anna Marie Kappes
- Research her parents, Vincent and Mary (Bodensteiner) Kappes including occupation, address and other details
- Branch out onto her siblings and other non-direct relatives.
I have written a separate post about this weeks research called the Vincent and Mary Kappes Kids.
Reviewing Offline Education Options
I tend to prefer online education, as it fits into my lifestyle at the present. But I would love to attend a genealogy conference. What I will do, is keep an eye on 2016 conferences and see if any of those fit into a place and time that will fit into our vacation schedule. My wonderful husband is still working, but he supports my genealogy work 100% and is willing to take trips with me to find his and my ancestors.
The Genealogy Do-Over journey is a 13 week challenge from Thomas MacEntee, of GeneaBloggers.