What is your toughest brick wall currently?
Taking my Menzie line back to Scotland. I've seen other online trees say that they came from Dull, Perthshire, but I haven't been able to prove this with records yet.
How long have you been on WikiTree?
I first joined WikiTree in June of 2019, I found out about WikiTree when I was doing a Google search on one of my ancestors and her WikiTree profile came up. There was a very thoughtful research note attached and that piqued my interest. I had some reservations about a collaborative tree, but once I understood WikiTree's commitment to research integrity, that made all the difference for me. Like many people, I was initially intimidated by the learning curve and I didn't really get deeply involved until December of 2020. I found people to be extremely helpful on G2G, but I would really credit the Saturday morning Livecasts with helping me to understand what you can do on WikiTree. That said, I'm still learning and know that I will be for the foreseeable future!
Which projects are you most involved in?
I've completed all three levels of the Scotland Project's Tartan Trail under the fabulous mentorship of Jackie Prentice and Jennifer Hutton. I can't recommend this learning experience enough to any WikiTreers with an interest in Scotland! Among others, I spent time with a salmon fisherman's wife, an earl, and a physician. The trail took me to Angus, Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Roxburghshire, and Perthshire, so my comfort with Scottish geography grew considerably. Post-Tartan Trail, I've joined the Clan Menzies team and I can't miss being a part of the Twisted Thistles whenever there's a Thon. I've completed two levels of the Trans-Canada trail and look forward to completing Level 3 soon. I'm also a member of the Ambassadors Project and try to talk up WikiTree to any and all genealogists who cross my path.
What inspires you to contribute so much of yourself to WikiTree's mission?
Aside from WikiTree's commitment to accuracy, the other thing that I find to be exceptional about our community is that I've really been able to genuinely connect with others. That's an elusive experience online, so WikiTree is definitely doing something right to foster those kinds of interactions. Seeing the amazing things that other WikiTreers are accomplishing is a continual inspiration to me. I also value being part of a community where kindness, helpfulness, and humor are to be found in abundance. The strength that comes from knowing the stories of my ancestors is one of my main motivators in investing so much of my time and energy into genealogy. Sad as it is that I will never meet the ancestors that I research, it's a thrill when a discovery draws back the curtain for an instant allowing a vivid glimpse into their lives. WikiTree's design is the best that I've found for sharing what I discover with others. It's amazing to know that the profiles I have worked on will be there for many generations to come.
What is your favorite feature on WikiTree?
I can't miss checking out my Connection Finder results each week and the Saturday morning livecast regularly highlights these profiles of the week.
What feature would you most like to see improved?
This is a very minor request, but could watchlists be sorted by death date too?
Do you have a story about how you were helped through the work of others on WikiTree?
My Menzie line through my maternal grandfather's mother has led me through many little genealogical obstacle courses. I knew that my second great-grandfather Andrew Menzie was born in Madison County, NY in 1816, but I was having a hard time confirming my theories about who his parents were. Over time I compiled a list of supporting evidence of sibling relationships drawing upon census records and newspaper articles. I also made a research trip to Canastota, New York in the summer of 2020 where I found other helpful tidbits at their small public library. A few months ago I sent a message to the profile manager of Julia Menzie Tryon and asked for his thoughts on the case I had built. He agreed with me that it was convincing enough to link the siblings to parents Thomas Menzie and Anna Perkins Menzie. Not only was I very grateful to have a second opinion, but Mike then also spent some time helping to spruce up this twig of WikiTree by adding sources and creating profiles. As a fun side note, this development connected me to the Perkins line which is part of the Puritan Great Migration Project. All of a sudden my weekly WikiTree connections got much more interesting.
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved?
I remember my initial months on WikiTree. It felt as if I had wandered into a palace the size of the Taj Mahal. I barely dared go far from the entryway for fear of getting hopelessly lost! But it helps to remember that mistakes can be undone and help is just an ask away. There are many avenues for learning: posting questions or simply browsing G2G, watching the Saturday morning livecasts, or joining Discord to chat with other WikiTreers in real-time. Subscribe to the WikiTree YouTube channel where you'll find a wealth of content, including very helpful and concise videos put out by the Data Doctors Project. Follow your interests by joining a project, contributing to Question or Photo of the Week, or joining a team for one of the Thons.
What could we do to inspire more people to participate?
Find ways to make the learning curve less intimidating. In addition to the fantastic job that our Greeters do, perhaps we could offer a monthly Zoom session or livecast for new members that would walk people through the basics of building a profile. There are probably videos on the WikiTree YouTube channel that serve this purpose, but an event in real-time would give the audience the chance to ask questions and direct the content towards their specific interests.
