It's that time of year when those of us in the US start to plan our Thanksgiving meals and gatherings, and our Canadian neighbors are just finishing off their leftovers. We are celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. We generally believe that our Thanksgiving is modeled on a traditional English harvest feast in 1621 that was shared by the English colonists of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people who had been here for thousands of years before the Pilgrims arrived.
This year is very special in that it also commemorates the 400th anniversary of the arrival of that little ship called the ''Mayflower,'' and those celebrations are bringing many new folks to WikiTree with new or renewed interest in family history, some with ancestors from very early America. FamilySearch is sending out communications to their members providing family trees showing how they reportedly are descended from Mayflower passengers. All of this is a great way to bring in new interest and new members to our community, and we welcome this curiosity.
We've seen some activity in recent days with new members eager to build their family tree and connect themselves to our vast single family tree. What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving, with an extention to family history! So for these new members we have a few hints & tips, and for those who are returning a short refresher.
*Only one profile for any person - we don't want to create ANY duplicates as they make more work for everyone.
*Most early, pre-1700 New England families already exist on WikiTree, as well as a massive number who were born before 1800. ASSUME they are already profiled, search carefully, and you'll probably find them. If not, try searching for a parent, spouse or sibling, and with a spelling variation. And - try one more time with a different date.
*On pre-1700 profiles, collaboration and sources are the key. Have you found what seems to be new information? Many times newer genealogists fall into an old trap: not verifying their sources. There are literally thousands of old genealogies in print and online, family trees published from Ancestry to FamilySearch to GrannysGenes. Look for the original source records! Does a source give you a date that's not on a WikiTree profile? Find the original source for that date! It may be an old town records book, a probate record, a diary that has been published, or perhaps some guardianship papers. Don't cite the old genealogy, cite the primary record where the date is found.
*Communicate your changes - BEFORE you make them. Choose your best option: simple changes can be suggested to the project members and profile managers by making a comment on the profile. If you found a new source, let us know. If you found a new parent: leave a comment and others will help you verify if it's correct if there is a reliable source to prove it. If you found new dates or locations for a birth, marriage or death - comment on the profile and include your verifiable source information. If you have found something complex that needs to be examined and discussed, start a G2G post with appropriate tags so that all members of the project have a chance to see and evaluate the new evidence you've located.
Above all: communicate with your fellow members and you'll learn a lot about WikiTree, genealogy research, locating new reliable sources, source citation and find a great community spirit. Ask questions - the only "stupid" question is the one NOT asked!
