Re: Requesting help in your research
- From: julierog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Roger Lustig)
- Date: 24 Feb 2006 03:05:24 -0800
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To Carol's comments, let me add a hearty "Yes...but..."
First of all, *good* local libraries aren't to be found everywhere. Here in the US many cities (New York, Carol's Baltimore, and my own town among them) have great public library traditions, but that isn't always the case, and in other countries the situation can be downright grim. On top of that, some of us do live much further from a decent library than others do, and still others aren't able to go out as readily.
Next, there's the matter of centrality to one's research. Yes, pick up bits of a language or two, get to know the geography of key regions--but the Jews of Europe were a relatively peripatetic lot, and there's only so many times one wants to do all the groundwork in order to figure out a potential reference to a single ancestor or distant cousin. Getting to know enough German, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Latin might be a lot for a Galizianer researcher; when it then turns out that someone married into a family from Saloniki or Mantua, I think it's perfectly fair to ask the group (perhaps with a "reply privately") for a hand.
I think Dan Leeson would agree with me, not least since he and I have answered one another's basic questions on other subjects in at least one other forum on occasion. Moreover, some things *don't* come naturally from basic research with maps and names; for instance, "Why was there evidently a substantial connection between the communities of Town X and Town Y?" may be old hat to those who know the stories and historical contingencies, but could elude any new researcher for a long time.
The Internet is by far the most powerful tool for research ever developed. (15 years ago it was already touted as "the world's largest scientific instrument".) Much of its power comes from its ability to reduce duplication. But none of us has published everthing we know, let alone everything we suspect, so that basic query may be what's needed to coax the "missing link" information out of whoever might have it. (The owner of the info may not even know of its significance until the question is asked.)
When it comes to courtesy and proper use of the group, however, there is one thing that members should do, though: search the message archives. If the answer's there, then posing the same question to the thousands of us is little more than noise. If someone has answered something similar, email them directly. And if someone writes to you with a question, at least write back to say you don't know. (I'm not always perfect with this last point either, but I try...)
After four years of spending far too much time on genealogy and history, I'm beginning to get a grasp on an area of about 6 counties, with *very* basic knowledge of things outside of there. Do your homework; use what references you can; see if your question has been answered before; but keep those questions coming! They, not the answers, are often what stimulates researchers in entirely different areas!
Roger Lustig
Princeton, NJ
researching Upper Silesia--parts of it more than others...
CRomRider@xxxxxxx wrote:
I am not picking on anyone in particular, but I have noticed quite a number of quieries on Jewishgen asking for help when I think a little old fashioned legwork is in order. I say this as a genealogist who has done things both the old fashioned way and now the easy way--ask on the internet and have the answer almost handed to you.---
But you just don't learn the same thing if you don't go to your local library (and I think most of us are able to do just that, unless you are the Jewishgenner reading this on a submarine or living in a remote village in Mali). What you learn by picking up an atlas and looking for the answer yourself is immeasurable. You learn what cities or villages were close to the town of origin for your family--and you will need to eventually search those areas eventually. If you use a college library chances are you will find an atlas in a language other than your own--French, German, Russian, etc. You will learn to slowly begin to recognize names in other alphabets and you will learn how borders changed. Pick up a book on doing genealogy research in a particular area, and you will not only find what you are looking for but also discover archives and resources you never thought of.
Sender: Roger Lustig <julierog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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