<div dir="ltr"><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Need to unsubscribe? <a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/tip-of-the-day_genealogytipoftheday.com" target="_blank" style="">Do so here</a>. </font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Genealogy Update 23 January 2026</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">** How Did This Get in the Record?</font><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">** Midwest Genealogy Center<br></font><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">**
<span style="color:rgb(37,41,42)">Genealogy Attention Disorder</span><br></font><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">------------------------------------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">How Did This Get in the Record?</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">-------------------------------------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">When viewing any record or document used in your genealogical research, ask yourself:</font></p><blockquote style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%;border-width:2px;border-color:rgb(0,115,170);color:rgb(23,37,42)"><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">how did this information get in this record?</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">how did this \u201crecord\u201d get in the record book?</font></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">That\u2019s essentially what we did in our <a href="https://rootdig.genealogytipoftheday.com/?p=1132" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-decoration-line:none;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(3,169,244);text-align:initial;max-width:100%">post on the 1830 marriage record from Ohio</a>. But it is what the researcher should do with any record\u2013not just in those instances when there are two copies of the same information. Even though one of the 1830 marriage \u201crecords\u201d is a copy, the question of the \u201coriginal\u201d record is still one the researcher needs to answer.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">If you\u2019ve not thought how the various pieces of information came to be in a record, then you\u2019ve probably not fully analyzing it.</font></p><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">-------------------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><span class="gmail-il">Midwest</span> <span class="gmail-il">Genealogy</span> Center Trip-Deadline Extended</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">-------------------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">We've extended the deadline to register for our <span class="gmail-il">genealogy</span> research trip to Independence, Missouri. We still have openings for this May 2026 trip and are still accepting registrations. <a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/mid-continent-genealogy-library-october-2025-research-trip/" target="_blank">Details on our website</a>. </font></div></div><div><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">--------------------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">NotebookLM for <span class="gmail-il">Genealogy</span> Released</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">--------------------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><p style="text-align:initial;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Now released for immediate download: NotebookLM for <span class="gmail-il">Genealogy</span></font></p><p style="text-align:initial;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);max-width:100%"></p><p style="text-align:initial;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Ever wanted to create graphics, mind maps, and other graphics for your <span class="gmail-il">genealogy</span> research easily? Now you can and we\u2019ll show you how. Notebooklm at Google.Create audio and video overviews, mind maps, reports, quizzes, infographics, and slide decks from your uploaded files, <span class="gmail-il">genealogy</span> documents, and the like. NotebookLM is not perfect by a long shot, but it may give you insight into your own research. We will take a responsible genealogical approach to using Notebooklm. It is a tool and like any tool needs to be used carefully and judiciously. We won\u2019t necessarily agree with all the conclusions it reaches, but thinking about its insights and trying to prove/disprove them or analyze them further may enhance our research in ways we did not expect.Order now\u2013download immediate. <a href="https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=248457&method_id=271366" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(3,169,244);box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-decoration-line:none;line-height:1.5;text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Hour long presentation and handout included</a>.</font></p><p style="text-align:initial;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">See sample infographics on our blog post at:</font></p><p style="text-align:initial;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);max-width:100%"><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/01/14/notebooklm-for-genealogy/" target="_blank"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2026/01/14/notebooklm-for-<span class="gmail-il">genealogy</span>/</font></a></p><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></font></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">----------------------------</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Genealogy Attention Disorder</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">-----------------------------</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I think I have Genealogy Attention Disorder and it is not my fault. There are others to blame.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I blame my family.</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Many of my ancestral families lived in the same rural areas for generations. This increases the chance that I\u2019m related by blood or by marriage to a significant proportion of the local population. It is common to search for one family in a record series and recognize another ancestral family name in that same record. And then there are always the last names of people who used to \u201clive up the road.\u201d Who can\u2019t resist looking at that other document? Next thing I know it\u2019s three hours later.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I blame FANs.</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">One of Elizabeth Shown Mills\u2019 key research suggestions is the FAN approach (documenting the friends, associates, and neighbors of your ancestor in order to learn more about your ancestor). It\u2019s a sound method (which I used for years before I ever heard it called \u201cFAN\u201d) and can help when records on the ancestor in question are inconclusive or lacking in sufficient detail. The problem is that this method requires the research to expand to<em style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"> even more people</em>. And more names means more distraction.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I blame the Internet.</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I no longer have to wait for things to arrive in the mail. I can get a number of materials and documents without ever leaving my home\u2013the moment I think of looking for them. It\u2019s possible to spend hours searching on Google, <em style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><a href="http://books.google.com/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-decoration-line:none;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(3,169,244);text-align:initial;max-width:100%">GoogleBooks</a>, </em><em style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><a href="http://www.hathitrust.org/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-decoration-line:none;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(3,169,244);text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Hathitrust</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-decoration-line:none;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(3,169,244);text-align:initial;max-width:100%">Archive.org</a></em>, etc. looking for materials, digital books, etc.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I blame needing to learn about context.</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Fully understanding records requires knowing about the legal, social, and cultural environment in which they were created. More details to confuse and distract me. Reading old state statute books is advised to get a partial understanding of laws and ages of consent, but then I see the page on the bounties paid for wolf scalps and I\u2019m diverted for another hour.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">I blame the need for reasonably exhaustive searches.</font></strong></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">The Genealogy Proof Standard requires that a reasonably exhaustive search be conducted before a conclusion is reached. If a reasonably exhaustive search is good, it stands to reason that a totally and completely exhaustive search is better. That means even more items to distract me and cause me to lose my focus.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Genealogists are, by their nature, inquisitive. That\u2019s a good thing. The problem that reasonably researching an ancestor who died in Amherst County, Virginia, in 1820 probably should not morph into researching his great-great-grandson who died in the San Francisco Earthquake.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Probably.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Take advantage of those reasons your have Genealogy Attention Disorder. Just try and keep your focus.</font></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 16px;padding:0px;outline:0px;line-height:1.6;color:rgb(37,41,42);text-align:initial;max-width:100%"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"> <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">Manage Your Subscription</span><br></font></p><div><div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">---------------</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Unsubscribe and other options can be accessed here:</font></div><div><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/tip-of-the-day_genealogytipoftheday.com" target="_blank"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">https://genealogytipoftheday.com/mailman/listinfo/tip-of-the-day_genealogytipoftheday.com</font></a></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Email me at <a href="mailto:mjnrootdig@gmail.com" target="_blank">mjnrootdig@gmail.com</a> with unsubscription issues</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4">Genealogy Tip of the Day, PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439</font></div></div><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><font color="#888888"><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">--</span></font> ------------------------------------<br>Michael John Neill<br>Genealogy Tip of the Day</font></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 8pt;line-height:15.6933px"><font face="georgia, serif" size="4"><a href="http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com/" target="_blank">http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com</a><a href="https://genealogytipoftheday.com/index.php/2025/11/04/common-names-at-familysearch-full-text-webinar/" target="_blank">names-at-familysearch-full-text-webinar/</a></font></p><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>