How long have you been on WikiTree and what do you spend the most time doing?
I have only been on WikiTree since Jan 2021. At present most of my time is spent on transferring all my information from Ancestry.com to WikiTree. At my current rate I think it will take at least a year. As part of my training I have completed Orphan Trail 1 and Orphan Trail 2 in the England Project. After completing Orphan Trail 1, I joined the Essex Team, I then joined the Mighty Oaks Team for the Clean-A-Thon 2021. I completed 578 errors which I am very pleased with and came 127th overall out of 647 people. It was amazing to be part of the winning team with everyone on Discord supporting and helping each other. This is just one of the reasons I love WikiTree.
What brought you to WikiTree?
After spending 3 months on Ancestry.com, it was becoming apparent that there were many errors that were being passed from one person to another. I felt there must be a better way of doing this. Did some searching on google and discovered WikiTree; from what I read this was what I was looking for. One single collaborative tree (no duplicates, well some are inevitable which are then corrected). With everyone helping each other, and all working to a high standard.
What is your favorite thing about WikiTree, or which feature(s) do you like the most?
Being able to update other people’s profiles, so that we are all helping each other.
If you could improve one thing about WikiTree, what would it be?
To incorporate a “Your Tree Tracker” so if you have a large tree of say 200 profiles, it is not possible to remember how much you have done and what your next steps are for each person. Example: - have you added the 1841 census details to profile XYZ, there is no way you could remember them all. I have created my own Excel tracker, so that I can for example filter on profiles that are missing the 1841 census. My Tracker works for me but may not work for other people.
What is an example of how WikiTree has helped you with your genealogy?
I particularly like the training, and the structured approach of how to complete a biography, so that you only add information to it when you have an actual source no guess work, and all the information is standardised and in the same format.
Any tips for someone just starting out on WikiTree?
I have learnt many things in the short time I have been doing genealogy.
1.) Get it right first time; it will save you a lot of time later. Be thorough with your research, there are no shortcuts.
2.) Don’t rush by adding loads of people in your haste to build your tree, do as much as you can for one person then add the next person, but only when you are sure the person you are adding has the right connection e.g. is the brother or father of etc.
3.) Always add a “Research Notes” section at the bottom of the biography, this is so important, for you and other people.
4.) If you hit a brick wall, don’t worry about it and don’t spend too much time researching it, if the answer does not come to you quickly have a break then.
5.) Do ask other people - there will be someone out there who can help you. So just Ask.
6.) Create your own tracker of what you have completed so far for each person and what you still have to do to complete them.
