She was talking about a friend who played golf very, very well. This man was a perfectionist. When he was in a tournament, he would agonize over every swing and analyze every shot afterward, going over and over what he should have done and how he could improve.
While this gentleman was trying to perfect each shot, his competitors were playing golf. And winning. His obsession with perfecting technique derailed his ability to win.
My cousin's point: Keep your eyes on the prize. She was reminding me not to miss seeing the forest by being distracted by all the trees. Every tree is important (just like every ancestor is important) but the big picture is equally important. Stepping back to see the big picture is every bit as vital as checking, sourcing, and documenting every last detail.
One of my goals is to find out about ancestors who are known only by name, like Rachel Shuham and Jonah Jacobs, who were my paternal 2d great-grandparents from Lithuania. We know Jonah died some time before Rachel and their two children and grandchildren came to New York City in the 1880s. Lots more to learn there!
So for me, the Genealogy Go-Over is really about carefully reviewing what I know and using that info, plus new cousin connections, new techniques, and new data, to move ever closer to the prize of understanding who my ancestors were, where (exactly) they were from, and whether we have other cousins out there, still to be found!
I'm awaiting DNA results from Ancestry that I hope will offer a window into a different family story, one about my maternal grandfather's background. The story is about the various tribes that conquered Hungary hundreds of years before grandpa Tivador Schwartz was born in Ungvar. The tribes raped and pillaged their way across the landscape, and supposedly some of that tribal blood found its way into my grandpa's bloodline generations back. Will my DNA results reveal any trace of the conquering tribes? Waiting to see.
I do feel this way sometimes, that I could spend all my genealogy time learning about something like citations and then have no time for research. That's also because I don't have as much time as I'd like. I have a lot of goals and try to do a little of everything.
ReplyDeleteSo many ancestors, so little time. Like you, I have a lot of goals and it's a juggling act to do everything I want to do! So I do the best I can on citations and keep my eyes on the big picture stuff. Thanks for reading and adding your thoughts!
DeleteI have also been re-evaluating how I spend my research time. There were times I would be so intimidated with writing the citations correctly that I got stalled in research. No more. I do the best I can, and I am determined to not get side-tracked. I have recently started blogging again as a way to help me think through my research plan. It is helping me to be better organized.
ReplyDelete