How do I go about it?

[lydiaann]

Five lines going...and all have ground to a halt as it is much less easy to 'document' entries the further back I go.  Family names do help somewhat but when the names I am looking for are, in the main, all 'common' (I hate to think how many Taylors there are in this world... ).

During lockdowns, when life came to a standstill, I did manage to 'tidy up' the trees/lines a lot and then I tackled the 'Shoebox'.  Thirty-seven pages has become 6 - I am very proud of myself!  I am now starting on the 'Hints' tab and find myself very daunted.  Five lines with a total of 1001 pages, 372 in one line alone.  Where do I start? Any ideas?  I have noticed that people are 'repeated', should I make a note and do one person at a time or should I just start at the beginning (some 12 years ago now!) and work my way back to the present day.  Has anyone else gone through this exercise?

[iluleah]

It sounds like you are trying to research too many people on different lines and becoming overwhelmed.

The name of the game is to prove each person you research and yes the further you go back the less records are available, so it is important to know what records are available in the country/place and time frame they lived. I have also found it is worthwhile researching sideways ( siblings) as they go back to the same parents ( as your ancestor) and many times I have found records for siblings easier to find.
Take one person at a time and find ALL records THEY generated during their lifetime so you can cross reference their records and know that person should be in your tree before going onto the next generation back..... as you only need to make one mistake and you will find yourself with ancestors that don't belong to you.

[Guy Etchells]

It sounds like you are trying to research too many people on different lines and becoming overwhelmed.
The name of the game is to prove each person you research and yes the further you go back the less records are available, so it is important to know what records are available in the country/place and time frame they lived. I have also found it is worthwhile researching sideways ( siblings) as they go back to the same parents ( as your ancestor) and many times I have found records for siblings easier to find.
Take one person at a time and find ALL records THEY generated during their lifetime so you can cross reference their records and know that person should be in your tree before going onto the next generation back..... as you only need to make one mistake and you will find yourself with ancestors that don't belong to you.

Aaagh looks like 65 odd years of research needs to be chucked in the bin, it seems I have been doing it all wrong.
Sorry but I hardly ever research like that, mainly because people belong to families, they are not unattached objects. For instance, once I have got back beyond the ancestors I know, I would try to expand the parents of the child from his/her marriage record and birth or baptism record, I may search for a later census record for the child or look for the first census after that child’s birth using the father’s name, having found one census I would expand to as many other census as I could noting every family member named.
I have found it is simpler to expand families as a group rather than individuals. This way of working also helps to differentiate individuals with a common name as although many families may use a number of similar names for their children the birth order and often, but not always the baptism order will determine the correct child.
I may be working over 20 people at the same time, but those 20 people are all connected in some way or other. Anyway, that is the way I research and the way I find easiest and lest repetitive that working each person individually.
Cheers
Guy

[philipsearching]

I think emptying the Shoebox (what is that? - does it contain miscellaneous data not yet attached to your tree?) may not be a priority, and I am wary about going back to the beginning.  The important thing is to organise your tree and ensure you have images or sources as evidence.

Make sure your direct lines, starting with yourself and working backwards, (whether as individuals or in family groups) contain at minimum the following:
(1) for direct ancestors: BMDs with images of certificates or registers where available, or sources cited
(2) for direct ancestors: any other records - census, military, legal, school, occupation, wills etc. with images where available, or sources cited
(3) for siblings of ancestors: BMDs with sources of information cited

Distinguish between primary and secondary sources.  A primary source is an original document (including photocopies and images).  Secondary sources include transcripts, indexes, personal memories, biographies, and online trees - these can contain errors.

Scan all documents and give the images helpful filenames (for example TomBrown1777-1822will is a better name than IMG1822g), then attach them to your tree.  Label and store the hard copies separately (if necessary have a "completed" file and a "pending" file).

If all goes well, you will never be able to sit back and say: "I've finished my tree", but you will be able to say: "This is my tree so far, and I know it's correct, let's see what else I can discover".

Philip

[lydiaann]

Thank you for all your suggestions...actually, I DO stick to direct lines but my problem is those families who took the Bible seriously, you know - the bit about 'go forth and multiply'.  So back in the early/mid-19th century, most of those people (especially the country folk) had 10 and 12 children.  One of my families had 6 Euphemias in one census, a grandmother, her child and HER child, plus 3 other grandchildren...4 of them were almost the same age.  However, I am taking note of all the suggestions and will try and get myself organised before I even open up the 'Hints' tab again...putting everything together will be the important thing, I think.

Philip: the 'Shoebox' is on Ancestry.  If you have a document that you feel actually does belong to your family but you cannot place it (yet!), you save it into the Shoebox and can always refer back to it later.

Thanks once again, Chatters, for your truly invaluable advice.  Watch this space!!

lydiaann