Progress

Tending my tree

Some numbers and comments to help track my progress. My objective is not volume, but quality of information in the tree. I split my genealogy time between filling the gaps on the tree and fleshing out information on the people I have identified.

 

Where I started

When I set up the original tree structure at Easter 2010 I had fairly limited information. Knew all 4 grandparents, but beyond that things were a little hazy. All great grandparents were dead before I arrived in the world. I started this little adventure with 5 full and two half names for great grandparents, but no dates. At that stage I only had names for 3 of my great great grandparents.

6 months down the line

Amazed at the progress I have made in the past 6 months:

• All great grandparents now have names, but I am still chasing birth records for some of them.
• Have named 13 great great grandparents, plus one more who raised the child but may not have been the biological parent.
• Have several ancestors at the 3 x great and 4 x great level and have even found some 5 x greats.
• Have over 700 people in my research database. Over 500 of these are now connected into my tree. About 140 different surnames that play a role in the tree.
• Have learned the importance of primary source information, but am still a bit slow at recording my sources, so I have a big heap of certificates and other paperwork to plough through and register.

Early 2012

Progress was slow in 2011, but after a big push to sort through paperwork and update my tree at the start of 2012, the current status is:

• Reliable documentary evidence now traced for most of the first 5 generations and some beyond that.
• Have identified names for 15 of my 16 great great grandparents. Only great great granny Webb remains elusive.
• 3xgreat grandparents – found 17.5 of 32
• 4xgreat grandparents – found 14.5 of 64
• 5xgreat grandparents – found 10 of 128 which is a good step in the right direction
• Have just made my first venture into generation 9 with 2 Scottish 6xgreat grandparents and have other potentials, not yet confirmed
• Research database has 1861 people (some duplicates that need to be resolved), 475 marriages and there are now over 350 surnames as I have started to track my ancestors’ other descendants.

However, I am still more concerned about quality than quantity, so I am about to embark on an integrity check and remove the more dubious items that were added in my early days of research.