[Genealogy] Too Much Summary and More

[Michael John Neill]

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14 March 2024

** Too Much Summary Can Mislead
** New Webinars--Intro Prices Not Extended

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Too Much Summary Can Mislead
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Summarizing too much can lead to incorrect statements.

I reviewed the information on my ancestor table and looked at several of
the entries, some of which I summarized in order to save space. If we are
not careful a summarization may say something that we do not actually mean
to say. My 3rd great-grandmother’s entry is a good example:

*Marie Gerdes Wilken Bruns* (1831 Wiesens, Ostfriesland – before 1877
Hancock County, Illinois).

Actually the date of death for Marie should be “before 29 August 1877” as
that is the date her husband, Hinrich Jacobs Fecht, married his subsequent
wife. It is assumed Marie was deceased when Hinrich married again. Saying
Marie died “before 1877” is not technically accurate as Marie could have
died in the early part of 1877. Of course it is possible that Hinrich and
Marie divorced, but since there is no local divorce record for them it has
been concluded that she simply pre-deceased Hinrich before his marriage in
August of 1877.

The date of death for Marie should indicate that “based upon her husband,
Hinrich’s marriage in Carthage, Illinois, on 29 August 1877 to Mrs. Antje
Habben and the fact that no divorce record can be located for Marie and
Hinrich, it is surmised that Marie was dead by that date.” It is possible
that Marie moved away and divorced Hinrich, but not too probable. This
statement about Marie’s date of death clearly states how that date was
arrived at without getting too bogged down in the citation. It is not
necessary to go into laborious detail, but dates for events that include
“before” or “after” as part of the date should give some indication of how
that approximate date was determined.

It could be buried in a footnote. But not everyone reads footnotes and
sometimes footnotes end up not being included with the actual text.

One problem with using “before” or “after” as a qualifier to dates is that
people strip the qualifier and end up saying the person died on the date
instead of before or after it.

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Genealogy Research in Illinois--new Webinar

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 Genealogy Research in Illinois

This presentation will cover an overview of research in Illinois,
including: state resources, local resources and records (including an
overview of typical courthouse records created in Illinois—land, court,
probate, and vital), and records access. Additionally statewide research
facilities and an overview of their collections and materials will be
discussed.

Also included will be a brief discussion of searching the FamilySearch
catalog and accessing and using various websites of state agencies and
organizations. A general methodology for accessing records in Illinois will
also be included.

The presentation will be approximately 90 minutes in length. Handout with
links to various websites discussed will be included.

Michael John Neill is an Illinois native and the eighth generation in one
family line to have lived in Illinois. He has actively researched his
Illinois ancestors since the early 1980s and is an experienced courthouse
and archives researcher. His presentations are informative yet engaging and
practical.



Pre-order for $22
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EJVPZWN5HUW2N>.
Delivery date 20 March 2023. Price after delivery will be $28. There will
be no extension of the introductory price.

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FamilySearch Full-Text Problem-Solving

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This presentation will be example-based only and it will be assumed you
have a working knowledge of how to use the full-text search at FamilySearch
(order that presentation for $30
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=246272&method_id=268990>—download
immediate).

We will look at five examples (ones not discussed in the original
presentation) and follow a consistent process and methodology to maximize
the chance that we find what’s available for the individuals in question.
It’s important to leverage all you know about an ancestor combined with the
power of full-text search—we will focus on: family members, migrations, and
known events and relationships. Our approach is systematic—we avoid the
rabbit hole approach that can make full-text searches inefficient.

Release date: 19 March.

Pre-order at $21
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=KTZSEB9A2NNUE>.
Regular price $28.


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NotebookLM for Genealogy Problem-Solving

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Take your use of NotebookLM beyond the basics. In this session, we will
look at ten examples of using NotebookLM for genealogy research. This
presentation assumes you’ve got a working knowledge of NotebookLM either
through experience or our presentation (order that for immediate download
here
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=248457&method_id=271366>
for
$25).

We emphasize the responsible use of AI in genealogy and being reasonably
critical of AI-created content. Our approach is to use NotebookLM to assist
in the refinement of ideas and research process not to have AI create
content and call it our own. NotebookLM can be the research assistant you
always wish you had—although an imperfect one.



Release date: 19 March.

Pre-order at $21
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NX3QCCNRYLTSN>.
Regular price $28.
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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