Sourcerers' Challenge (May 2019)

Question

Hello, Sourcerers! It is time to start sourcing! Prior month stats will be posted soon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please click the "answer" link (not the comment link) if this is your first month or if you can't use the Challenge Tracker. 

                 

To participate:

Remember, your sources need to be as full and specific as possible, so others find them useful. That means, if the source is online, you should link to it. If it is a page from a book, the page number should be included so others can easily see where you found the reference. 

When you can, it is great to do a bit more while adding sources, like clean up the gedcom leftovers or help the formatting from older profiles. Sources are important, but if you cannot find them among all the other stuff, they are not helping as much as they could.

On to the monthly challenge:

You only need to answer this month's post if you are new to the Sourcerers' Challenge. If you opt to use the Tracker you are good to go.  If you opt to  add your sourced profiles, add an answer with the required details. If you exceed the character limit add another comment.  Please number your contributions. Obviously, the Tracker is faster and less work for everyone.  If you have a problem with the Tracker let us know by posting a comment to the thread. 

USING THE TRACKER

You can add sources to any profile. The tracker should only be used when the profile meets the Monthly Challenge definition of Unsourced.

After you save an edit, a green banner appears at the top of the page. In the banner is a black “button” labeled Challenge Tracker. Press that and, on the page that comes up, select Sourcerers challenge and the appropriate comment (or fill in your own if none of the canned answers fit what you did). Hit Add Action and you are finished. The Tracker tracks the number of profiles you add sources to. You can see the results for any monthly challenge using this link. The current month is at the bottom

http://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/default.htm

• All profiles improved must come from the Unsourced categories or be already present on WikiTree and unsourced. Orphaned profiles are another great place to look for unsourced profiles. The hope and goal is to improve the profiles already on WikiTree that do not have sources. Adding sources will also help merges happen which will improve our tree. Showing folks what sources you are using helps newer researchers see just what is available out there for us to access.
  • Only track improvements to profiles that were created more than a week ago.
  • Only track improvements to profiles that do not have sources. 
  • If the only source is a link to a profile, a search results page from another genealogy website, the words "Ancestry tree," "Geni.com," "Pedigree Resource Files" from FamilySearch, or the like, adding a better source will be a valid update for the Sourcerers' Challenge. If you add better sources to the profiles like this, use the Challenge Tracker to include it in your tally.

• The tally is of profiles improved, not sources added. That said, if you can add a number of sources to a profile, all the better.

• If you attempt to add sources to a profile and cannot find any, please add a note under a == Research Notes == section (add the section if it is not there) giving where you tried to find records and sign it with the four tildes (~~~~) so the date is applied as well. Something like "Looked for John in the US Census records for 1900-1940 and could not find him on FamilySearch or Ancestry" would be fine. Or, "Searched google for an obituary and did not find one." That way the next researcher knows where to start. Do not remove the Unsourced Template and do not use the tracker to count in your tally.

• If you find a match and can merge a profile into an already sourced profile, that counts too. You found a source, plus you eliminated a duplicate. Awesome!

The Monthly Challenge runs from midnight the first day of your month and ends at 11:59 the last day of the month. 

The current Current Challenge Tracker Results Page has up the minute stats for those of you using the Challenge Tracker.

http://wikitree.sdms.si/Challenges/SourcerersChallenge/20190501/User.htm  

Ask any questions here in the thread, otherwise, SOURCE! 

See this thread for info on milestones https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/797329/ 

Comments

I goofed up :( I accidentally added duplicates to the challenge button because on my screen it looked like they didn't go through. I'm very sorry, it was a mistake that I will not make again.

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You only need to answer this month's post if you are new to the Sourcerers' Challenge. If you opt to use the Tracker you are good to go.

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Following the above statement, I used the tracker throughout May without posting to say I was "in", but did not get a milestone sticker/whatsit.  Do we not get one if it's the same as the previous month? 

(I copied it from April's and added it to my bling set, but there's no notification on my profile messages.  It's OK to not have it there, as I understand how busy doing all this must keep you, but wanted to check that my adding it wasn't going to break anything.)

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Hi Melanie, you will get the stickers. Sorry they are late, I'm struggling with a presentation for my local GenSoc meeting that is this Saturday. It has put me way behind.

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That's ok!  You take whatever time you need!  (I have lots of sources I need to add, even if they don't all qualify for this month.  Too long neglected family because I get caught up with non-related to me folk.  )

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I just wanted to make sure I wasn't breaking anything. 

Answer 1

Please add me for the May challenge.

Comments

Done. Thanks, Philip, good luck!

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Congratulations, Philip, on sourcing the most profiles in the May 2019 Sourcerers' Challenge. Sorry about the delay in awarding your badge but it's there now. I hope you had fun!

Answer 2

I'm in again.

Comments

Thanks, Buelah. Good luck

Answer 3

I'm in for May.

Comments

Thanks, Fred. Good luck

Answer 4

I am in again for May.

Just a comment from participating in Clean-A-Thon....

One great way to find profiles that do not have the unsourced tag but are already present and unsourced is to look at any of the following 539221 suggestions:

• 131 No Dates - No Dates on relatives - Open - Unknown Status: Both Birth and death dates are missing on this profile. There are no data on this profile or any attached relation profiles to estimate birth or death dates.
• 132 No Dates - No Dates on relatives - Open - Status Died: The profile information indicates this person is deceased, but both birth and death dates are missing. There are no data on this profile or any attached relation profiles to estimate birth or death dates.
• 133 No Dates - Dates on relatives - Open - Unknown Status: Both Birth and death dates are missing on this profile. There may be sufficient data on attached relation profiles to estimate a birth or death date.
• 134 No Dates - Dates on relatives - Open - Status Died: This person is marked as dead, but all birth and death information are missing on this profile. There may be sufficient data on attached relation profiles to estimate a birth or death date.

Comments

Excellent tip. Kay, thanks! I did a bunch of those during the CAT. Good luck this month.

Answer 5

Please count me in for May! Thanks!

Comments

You're counted, Louise. Good luck

Answer 6

I am in without using the tracker it doesn't want me to use it.

Comments

OK, Linda. Good luck

Answer 7

I would like to try!

Comments

Great, Drika. Good luck!

Answer 8

I'll help this May! I will use the Tracker.

Comments

Thank you, Michelle. Good Luck!

Answer 9

I,m ready for another month.

Comments

Great, Gurney. Good luck

Answer 10

Hi Debi

I'll try to do some this month in Washington State Unsourced.

Thanks!

Az

Answer 11

Count me in again

Comments

Will do, Chris. Thanks and good luck

Answer 12

Count me in again for May

Comments

Will do, Kevin. Good luck

Answer 13

I want to learn how to do this.

Comments

Welcome to the Sourcerers' Challenge, Denise. I'm going to give you some info here. Feel free to send me a private message if you have questions.

To get started, I recommend working on Orphaned profiles. You don't need to adopt them, we're just going to get them ready for someone else to do so. To find them, look at surname indexes for surnames in which you are interested. For instance, here is a link to the index for your surname https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/FREEMAN. There is a link in the "Quick links for members" section to see orphaned profiles.

We suggest using FamilySearch.org to look for sources because anyone will be able to see the record you find and because FamilySearch provides a citation which can be copied and pasted on the profile. Take a look at this profile sourced from FamilySearch to get an idea what is available.

Answer 14

I'm in, as always.

Comments

Great, Alex, thank you and good luck!

Answer 15

I'll see what I can do to help out once again.

Comments

Thanks, Barbara. Good Luck!

Answer 16

I will participate

Comments

Good luck, Brigitte. Thanks!

Answer 17

I'm in, and have started already (with tracker) :)

Comments

Excellent, R. Thanks and Good Luck!

Answer 18

Add my name to the list.  I skipped signing up for April but shouldn't have.  I sourced many during the Clean-A-Thon!

Comments

You already have the Sourcerers' Badge, Edie, so registering in the monthly challenge is no longer necessary. As long as you tick the Sourcerers Challenge in the tracker, your contributions will get counted each month now.

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Thanks, Debi!  I only saw that there was a suggested change yesterday, so I did not know the suggestions had been approved.  I don't know why I didn't get that update earlier in my g2g feed.

Answer 19

I will do what I can. Focus on profiles from southeastern US states.

Comments

Thanks, Nelda. Good luck, us Southerners need all the help we can get *grin*

Answer 20

I'm relatively new to WikiTree; even though I'm an experienced genealogist.  This will be my first month to attempt the challenge and I'm hoping to improve my WikiTree skills.  I'm concentrating on improving the sources of the family lines I have researched in the past 30 years.  My struggle is learning all the things that WikiTree can do, it's a bit overwhelming!   My genealogy instructor back about 1988 used to tell us, "Genealogy without documentation is mythology"

Leslie

Comments

Welcome to the Sourcerers' Challenge, Leslie. The goal of the challenge is to have at least one source on a profile with enough information to help a reader find the record. 

We suggest using FamilySearch.org to look for sources because anyone will be able to see the record you find and because FamilySearch provides a citation which can be copied and pasted on the profile. Take a look at this profile sourced from FamilySearchto get an idea what is available. You will need to register with them but it is free.

If you prefer to work with Ancestry records, please make sure to provide the names as in the record, type of record, location, date, and database name. For instance, this totally made up record: 

• Mary Schnict [spelling from image, indexed as Selmid], death, Hunter, Mississippi, 13 June 1914; Ancestry.com, "Mississippi Deaths 1879-2013"

Please let me know if you have any questions. I've learned so much from sourcing; I hope you have the same experience.

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Welcome to WikiTree Sourcerers, Leslie!  You will find that that quote is our mantra in the Help pages.  See:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Sources