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.