Please respond here if you would like to help with a Special "US Presidents" Project. [closed]

+18 votes
2.7k views
We'd like to find out if others would like to help with this Project, or if it is even worth a launch.

So kindly state your interest in an Answer here or in the Comments section.

Thanks!

Keith Baker
in Policy and Style by Keith Baker G2G6 Pilot (105k points)
closed by Robin Lee
Another option that we - and other groups - might want to pursue for volunteers is homeschoolers. When i mentioned this project to my wife she mentioned that often parents are looking for historical projects to do with their kids. They would need some guidance but it would be a great way to introduce a new generation to genealogy and get some valuable work done on the tree. Let me know if you want me to check it out further.
Brian -
Personally, I find that to be an excellent idea.  Involve the Homeschoolers every way you can.  It is good for them and for WikiTree!
Keith
I am already buried in working on my own lines, or I'd volunteer. That being said, I would gladly post this on the homeschooling groups I am in (my kids are not old enough to help much) if you get something written up as to what expectations you would have and such!
I totally understand. I have been entering family histories for over a year now and still feel like i am no closer to done. I posted on Ambelside but once we narrow tasks down a little more you might be able to pass it on to any boards you know of. Would be a great American history or us government project for someone.
Go ahead and put me down, Keith, and I will help where I can. I am starting US History with my eldest this year, so maybe I can do extra research on the side to start building profiles.
Thanks Abby!
I'm been staring at this question for a week and now feel like this is a pretty cool project.  Everyone in my family always asks if I can prove they are related to someone famous.  I think by placing presidential families available here people would try to prove they are related.  So consider me a volunteer please.  Give me a president to research and I'll start him.   My feeling is that we may be surprised how many people will want to show they have a family connection.
Hi Ed. Got both your messages. It looks like you found the project page so that is most important. I will respond more directly to your other message. Welcome aboard.
Wonderful Idea Kieth,

I am from the Grant family,  No direct lineage but happy to assist in this worth while project.  Please, send me a link or information on the format to be followed.  If, we need to discuss the project to formulate a plan of attack count me in.

I know many of you have already done this but if  you are interested in joining the Presidents group please add your name here http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:US_Presidents . I feel like quite a few people have joined the group over the last week or so and I believe I have welcomed almost all of you but just want to make sure I do not miss anyone. If you are unsure how to add your name to the list or would like to talk directly I can be messaged from my profile Chelton-4.  Thanks for all the interest.

Hi there. You are on the right track by wanting to include home schooled kids. My son is home schooled. He is a freshman in high school. We are also in the LDS church, and his calling is head of the Family Research for the youth of our ward. We are descendants of Anne Marbury Hutchinson who is the ansector of a few Presidents! Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush and of course- his son, and a couple who tried to win the place, Mitt Romney and Stephen Arnold Douglas who ran against Abraham Lincoln in 1860. (Lincoln lost the race for Senator to Douglas two years earlier, but his debating skills won him the hearts of many for the precidentcy to come)

I learned all of this in a combination genealogy-history of the civil war-era effort that has swept our whole family up in a whirl wind of learning about our family and their lives during an American era that was like no other.  It has been a gas!

Since you guys brought it up, can we make my son a part of this group? He would be thrilled!
I would like too
I don't understand the object of this project.  There is already a U.S. Presidents Project.  Please clarify
Very interested in working on this projects
We already are, anyway I am.  Anything special we need to know to do or just go down the TWIG to as close to present Cuz's?   I am working on Pres Coolidge and going back and adding all sibs/kids

9 Answers

+4 votes
 
Best answer
by Robin Lee G2G6 Pilot (852k points)
selected by Keith Baker
+5 votes
What kind of things are you looking to do Keith? or is it still kind of up in the air? I am intrigued either way. ~~~~
by Living Chelton G2G6 (8.6k points)
Good question, Brian.  

My thoughts are that this is really an extension of the Special Project to Improve Profiles joined with the idea of preserving a specific profile for each of the Presidents that all others would be merged into via a group management.

By example,  a search for Abraham Lincoln will return a great many profiles for the 16th President, many are the result of uploads and lacking source citations.

Conversely, a search for George Washington will return a very small number of profiles for the 1st President, obviously the work of a group of WikiTree folk (they are on the Trusted and Managers list for [[Washington-11|President George Washington]])who have taken responsibility for cleaning up and merging.  Kudos to them!  Perhaps they will help here as well..?

So the proliferation of Lincoln profiles needs attention, whereas the Washington profile seems to offer a fine example of good group management that appears to have arisen organically.
That totally makes sense Keith and is a great idea. Let me know if you decide to move forward with this and I will help what I can. I have not really had to deal with all the merge related issues - most of the data I have I have had to enter by hand - that many people run into but am willing to learn.
Brian:

I'll gladly keep you in the loop.  Thanks for your interest and all you do for the WikiTree.

Keith
There is quite a bit of genealogy on several US Presidents on the http://fabpedigree.com website. At least it gives basic family trees which could be later checked. I have a distant relationship to the Harrisons and Jimmy Carter.

John
I'd be interested in learning more this sounds like a great project

Hi Sue,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I would probably suggest as a way to get familiar with things is to check out the Project Page (http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:US_Presidents) and especially the "talk page" that is linked there. Between the talk page and the conversations you can find here under the special projects it should give you a sense of the arc of the group so far. If  you would like some more detail just message me at Chelton-4 and we can discuss further.  Thanks for the interest.

+7 votes
I would work with this project in a supportive role. For example, if you find profiles of Abraham Lincoln that aren't open, let me know and I can change the privacy level on them so they can be merged. That's the kind of stuff I do for the other projects. Let me know if you need any help! :)

~Lianne
by Liander Lavoie G2G6 Pilot (451k points)
Thanks, Lianne.  Good to know.
+7 votes
Just so everyone knows, there is now a Project page for this project! If you're interested in participating, add your name to the list of participants here: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:US_Presidents

~Lianne
by Liander Lavoie G2G6 Pilot (451k points)
+5 votes
So the Project page and the Project talk page have been set up.  I've taken the liberty of adding Brian, Liane and Arik as participants on both pages since they have each expressed an interest.  Please check those pages and make comments there or here.

For openers, please look at what has been done with the President George Washington Profile : WikiTree ID Washington-11. Note the number of Profile Managers on the Trusted List, then note the Changes list to see that a good deal of collaboration has been taking place.
by Keith Baker G2G6 Pilot (105k points)
+4 votes
Brian and Arik; (others as they appear):

Please add the [[Category:US Presidents User Group]] to your own Profile!

and then

remove yourself at the Category:US Presidents User Group under the list of Pending Members once you have become a 'member' under the Articles!

 

Thanks!
by Keith Baker G2G6 Pilot (105k points)
+7 votes
Yes, I would lke to help.  I'm interested in learning more about this.
by anonymous G2G Crew (710 points)
One area that everyone can help with is to suggest to others merge opportunities.  If you take a look at a president like William Henry Harrison the 9th president of the US you might think there aren't that many matches.  [[Harrison-1107]]  However, a name like William Harrison turns out to be quite popular.  When you couple that with the number of Profiles missing dates it gets quite daunting.  So, even if you don't have time to join the project team occasionally check the presidents page and read about one of them.  If you can suggest to another profile owner to merge their record it will be quite helpful.

Thanks!
+7 votes

I know it has been mentioned above and below but if you are interested in the presidents group please add [[Category:US Presidents User Group]] to your profile page and sign up at http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:US_Presidents. I am trying to catch and respond to everyone as they express an interest here but I worry that I have missed people especially as this thread gets longer. If I have not reached out to you yet and you have an expressed an interest please check out the links above and/or message me on http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chelton-4. thank you all for the interest you have expressed. 

(PS - I apologize for the over use of color but I wanted to make sure this message stood out in this long thread.)

by Living Chelton G2G6 (8.6k points)
I was gifted with a considerable quantity of high quality genealogical material on Matthew Grant, first Grant on this continent and an ancestor of President Grant. Without thinking about what I was doing I began entering the family and merging profiles as I encounterd them. Suddenly I encountered President Grant's father and realized the line I was working on. In any case, its complete except for the two president profiles.  They were less than 200 years old, so I left them for others. I've not gone beyond that level. Have fun.
That is great Tom. Thank you so much. I passed this note on to the person who has chosen to work on Grant's profile so he might be in touch with you. Regardless thank you again for the hard work and contributing to this project.

Leaderless Presidents

We still have plenty of presidents that need help.  Check out this list and adopt a president.  Or, if you have a favorite that has already been picked let us know.

 

Pres # Name Profile
4 James Madison Madison-1
11 James K. Polk Polk-168
20 James A. Garfield Garfield-39
21 Chester Arthur Arthur-49
25 William McKinley McKinley-184
28 Woodrow Wilson Wilson-7591
29 Warren G. Harding Harding-654
31 Herbert Hoover hoover-328
33 Harry S Truman Truman-3
34 Dwight D. Eisenhower Eisenhower-1
I have James K. Polk in my family tree on my mothers side of the family.  Here is the relationship.

Sally Walker (My 4th cousin 3 times removed) was born on 15 Mar 1846 in the White House, Washingtom DC.  She is the daughter of Joseph Knox Walker and Augusta Adams Tabb. She is the granddaughter of James Walker and Jane Marie Polk.  Jane Marie Polk is the sister of President James Knox Polk who and the great uncle of Sally Walker.

Sally Walker married Hampton Lynch Boone.

Hampton Lynch Boone is the great grand son of George Boone who is Daniel Boone's brother.

So James K. Polk's grand niece (Sally Walker) is married to Daniel Boone's great grand nephew (Hampton Lynch Boone)
+4 votes
I've raised this elsewhere, but it seems like a good project of this project would be to discuss and come to some level of agreement on a standard format for the profile pages of US Presidents. A quick review of some indicates they're rather all over the map.

I rather like Abraham Lincoln's page.
by Jillaine Smith G2G6 Pilot (895k points)

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