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The dreaded “brick wall” can come tumbling down if you keep calm and take a precise approach, three genealogy experts say in a new video.
Diahan Southard, Crista Cowan and Janet Hovorka offer a plan that was part of the recent RootsTech 2024 in Utah. Essentially, it is a five-step approach that asks the perplexed genealogist to follow what they call a “search party” method. They label the steps spotlight, clues, sift, map and dig.
Here’s one part of their method. It’s the “spotlight.”
Are you stuck on trying to determine a direct ancestor’s point of origin abroad, for instance? Writing the question down will help you focus on this point of the day and keep you from wandering off into other subjects before you have this absolutely vital piece of information.
Next, expand your search a bit. Finding and working on a person you know to be related could help determine the starting point of the direct ancestor you are seeking, or at least give clues. Even if the proof you are after does not jump out at you (relatives can be born in different places), at least you now have a good start.
This is a technique I like, although I call it “casting a wider net.”
Take a look at this hour-long video, available via a search for RootsTech 2024, which was completed just weeks ago. You’ll find more videos from previous years as well. Like a scientist or detective, keep educating yourself.
New data bases: Two collections of material that look very useful to genealogists and historians are on the way.
One is the archive of the Scranton Times-Tribune newspaper, recently taken over by the Lackawanna County Historical Society. The newspaper made the records available after it was purchased by MediaNews Group last year, area news outlets reported recently
“Over the next few months, the historical society will begin the long process to inventory the archives and make them accessible to the public,” said WVIA-TV.
Go to www.lackawannahistory.org.
The other is the massive collection of records from the old Glen Alden Corp., once the pre-eminent coal company of Northeastern Pennsylvania and employer of an estimated 34,000.
The records will be taken over by the Industrial Archives and Library of Bethlehem, which will prepare them for use by researchers, the Times Leader reported recently. Glen Alden, which entered bankruptcy in 1976, was famous for its dyed “Blue Coal,” which it sold all over the Middle Atlantic area.
Glen Alden’s old land holdings had been taken over by Earth Conservancy, with the task of putting them into modern productive use.
Industrial Archives describes itself as “an independent institution” tasked with preserving industrial records and making them available for research by “historians, scholars and the public.”
Go to www.industrialarchives.org.
Tech assistance: If you are a senior citizen and relatively new to the use of technology in your genealogical pursuits, the Greater Wyoming Valley Area YMCA has an offer for you as part of its community outreach.
The Y offers a series of six online videos to guide the viewer through the use of a smartphone, tablet, laptop, smart watch and any other portable device. To access the videos, go to www.wvymca.org.seniortech.
The videos cover Zoom, smartphone basics, texting and the various aspects of email, such as sending photos and other materials.
The Y also offers live help sessions, by appointment, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 2 to 5 p.m. You can call 570 823-2191. Of course, bring your tech device with you.
Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history and genealogy columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.
Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history and genealogy columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.