I'm introducing WT to my DAR chapter, and decided a project was the way to go. We have a web page that lists our "Patriot Ancestors" and I've proposed we make sure there are profiles for everyone on the list with at least minmal information and sources, and categorize them as NSDAR Patriot Ancestors. We can then post the page with links to each ancestor's profile.
I went this route for several reasons:
- Members can dip in their toes and start with a single profile
- If members aren't interested in learning the technical aspects of WT, they are welcome to provide text files with sourced biographical information and people more interested in the project can copy and paste and format in WT.
- The Ancestor Explorer App has a list/criteria for "American Revolution" and can be a great recruiting/application tool. Members were excited to learn about additional ancestors/lines and the prospect of using the tool for other societies (like the Mayflower Society)
- The project is large enough for a significant number of participants, but can also be completed in several months with a dedicated core of volunteers.
- I printed out handouts with sample profiles, screenshots from Ancestor Explorer,
It's early days, so I can't comment too much on the success of my plan, but I send out links to profiles as they are updated and hope to build interest and participation.
If anyone is interested in doing something similar with their groups, please contact me and we can work together, individually or as a small group, to record best practices/ideas.