G2G: Is it better to focus on adding new ancestors or to enhance the old ones?

Question

I have finished adding my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents to WikiTree. So far they only have brief bios and my Research Notes with questions, info, and source names (no real citations). See [Kain-710] for an example.

I have two paths forward: 

1. Clean up the people I’ve already added (expanded bios, real sources citations, proof statements, etc.) or 
2. Add more ancestors. 

If I add more ancestors, I also have two paths forward: 

1. By Generation (i.e., add my 16 2xggps) or 
2. By Surname (i.e., finish my Huigens branch to the end, then work my way back through the other lines on that branch before starting a new branch).

I've connect my two biggest surnames, Ogden and Strayer, to the larger tree already. I don't think there is much chance of for other known lines to connect up. On the other hand, the only benefit to creating in depth Bios that no one will ever read is that it gives me practice in being a good genealogist. 

What is the general feeling in the community? Lots of so-so profiles or fwere really expansive ones?

Thanks, Kevin

Comments

Before it gets overwhelming, I think creating complete citations would be a good place to focus.

A citation like “1910 Census” or “1910 Census Nebraska” really doesn’t tell you much. If you add the location, that makes it much better, identifying the household is even better. This way someone looking at the profile can find the source easily and see exactly what the source tells you. You can add the enumeration district and sheet number; but with the indices available today that doesn’t add much to facilitate someone finding the record. You can also add a url, which is useful until the url changes; personally I don’t add them for just that reason.

Answer 1

I think it comes down to personal preferences. I don't think there is necessarily a better way. My favorite thing to do is sourcing and I like to find family members of the profile I'm working on. I like finding all the sources I can for each new person. My least favorite part is the bio because it takes me so much time and I appreciate it when someone who likes doing the bio's more helps out. The wonderful thing about Wikitree is we all help each other. So my advice would be to do whatever is calling to you personally.

Comments

This. Do what will keep you interested and adds value in some way. Think about what you will regret the least should you ...uh...win the lottery and never return to wikitree in the future. 

Myself, I've added tons of branches, and am trying to go through them all to add in the easily found sources before I go back and try to write good bios. But, I also have a Maintenance Rotation to try to keep me touching all the things I want to work on regularly, and Personal Maintenance Categories to try and keep me organized as I look for all those sources. 

This year, I'm going to try to focus on clearing out all those maintenance categories for at least the first five generations of my direct ancestors (but not necessarily the branches) simply because I know I've set myself up for decades of work already, so I want to make some headway on my direct lines. But that's just my preference.

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Yep.  Do what you enjoy, but make sure your sources are entered.

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I do whatever interests me at any given time. Working on my 15 for 15 challenge has helped me go back and add more to my earlier profiles. I also add plenty of new profiles, especially during Connect-A-Thons, that need more sources and better bios.

Answer 2

A couple of notes:

1. Full written biographies are not a hard requirement. It is difficult to write a thorough and meaningful bio for someone when you are still in the research phases.
2. You have tons of sources already on the Kain-710 profile. Don't feel a need to convert those to inline citations immediately. Again, it looks like you are still researching and may find new sources that challenge what you know, or make you ask more questions.

Honestly, the best path forward would be a heavy mixture of both methods (clean and add new). Some of the questions you have now, or may have not have asked yet, may only be available through adding connected profiles - so don't limit yourself to "Cleaning up the people I’ve already added".

Find a source for the father? Add the father. Find a source for a brother? Add the brother. As you expand, you will start see a picture of the family, and the family is an important piece of the puzzle for knowing a person. Expand the biography as you learn and uncover new information.

Comments

If I add more ancestors, I also have two paths forward: 

1. By Generation (i.e., add my 16 2xggps) or 
2. By Surname (i.e., finish my Huigens branch to the end, then work my way back through the other lines on that branch before starting a new branch).

There is also 3: Work in family groups.

Start at Kain-710 and find all possible relationships - parents, spouses, children, siblings. You may have to work up and down a bit, but get it all laid out. Then choose one of those relationships (up, down, sideways) and start all over. 

Option 1 (by generation) is not very helpful in my opinion. Think of researching this way via paper (like the old days). You start with a group record and fill in one box, then go to a new sheet for a new person in a different family group. Then you have to backtrack and later try to flesh everything out. Yes - it works, but can be messy and leads to loads of papers you may forget about :)

Answer 3

Kevin, I took a quick look at Kain-710 and what you have so far on your family tree. You have a great start with lots of information.

My suggestion would be to change a few things on your sourcing and format on existing profiles before adding too many more.

You have many sources. The key would be for others looking at your profile to be able to access a link to see the source information if possible. There are source formats and templates you can use that will help make it easier going forward to retrace your steps on sourcing.

Three templates I frequently use are for FindAGrave, FamilySearch, and Ancestry Records or Sharing.  I will send you a private message with my email address with further info on this.

My suggestion on a bio is start with a basic bio for each profile with key facts, such as birth, marriage, and death, supported with a source.  

Put additional notes or unsourced information in your research notes section until you’ve included this in your bio or resolved any discrepancy.  

Also, I’ve been doing my genealogy for over 20 years mostly on ancestry, but joined wikitree in 2017, becoming more active in the past year and a half.

I would also highly recommend taking the PIP Voyage to learn how to make profiles better.  I took it last summer.  

Thanks for reaching out on G2G.

Steve

Answer 4

I prefer to do a mix of those things.  It depends on how much time I have at that moment or what I feel like doing. Sometimes I'll discover some new source and get excited to add to whichever branch it's for, then I'll work on that family to expand on them more.  Right now, I'm working on my mom's paternal branch and filling in more sibling information. I've been hoping to give her a booklet of her family tree for her 80th birthday later this year.  In general, I try to rotate through my branches to see which ones I haven't worked on lately and what info is missing from them.  Good luck!

Answer 5

The answer is Yes. Focus on each one. Work on your personal branch of the WikiTree until you can't work on it anymore and then go create some profiles for others so more connections can be made.

Comments

You have to do what gives you rewards. For me it is finding the people with proof by linking them to source/citations. Right now I'm focused on any holes in the tree after our 5th generations. I have documented about 4,000 persons, however on Ancestry there are 10,313 people. I don't believe I will get all these done before my time is up.

Answer 6

It's all good. I have a tendency to work on what interest me. I want to identify ancestors back to their migration to the United States. If they are of "historical" significance, good or bad, I try to add something. As far as bios go, I don't belabor over details that are un-sourceable. Call me the Joe Friday of WikiTree- "Just the facts mam". I say do what you enjoy about genealogy the most. Try not to irritate your fellow genealogists but, if you do, may the most/best sourced argument stand until further sources are found. Most profiles can be corrected, most can be improved but ALL can be changed.