No one cares as much about your research as you. No one will look as diligently for a piece of information or a record as you will. Someone you ask for help will only spend so much time on your problem. Someone you hire will not be able to research indefinitely to find that missing piece of the puzzle (unless your budget is unlimited).

And if you want your genealogy to have a chance of surviving past you, it’s up to you. It won’t happen by magic. That’s why it’s up to you to record the stories you find, preserve the artifacts and ephemera you acquire, and try and nurture an interest in genealogy with the younger generation. Some don’t care what happens to their research after they leave this existence. Others do. Every researcher needs to decide what category into which they fall and act accordingly. Although I hope that those who claim not to care would at least want to share their discoveries with others so that those in the next generation of genealogists don’t have to struggle to find something that has already been found.

Riley–the dog in the picture used to illustrate this post–has some good advice.

Riley wags his own tail. No one does it for him. No one cares as much about your research as you do. No one will spend the time on it that you do. Not even if you pay them. Research methodically. Report accurately. Track what you use. Cite what you use.

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