What does a genealogist do?!

So I’ve decided to include Norwegian words as a fun little thing at the beginning of each blog post. So here goes…

Født=birth, as in a birth record. So any time you see that word on a title page of a record, then you know you’re looking at a birth record and not a marriage or death record.

So on to the question of the day. What does a genealogist do for me? To answer that I would say it depends on what you want. You see, family history is soooo many different things that it’s hard to lump it all together in one title. Some people focus on preserving photos and artifacts from family members.  Others focus on making family history crafts, decorations, wall charts, etc.  That is all family history!

What I focus on is the research.  The actual hunting and digging for those original records that prove that your ancestor is linked to your family. Sometimes that means doing the majority of the searching online.  Other times it means going to the actual building that holds that paper and getting a copy of it.  Obviously, it will be more challenging to get a copy of the original document if it’s in Norway; however, most of the records are conveniently online these days. You just have to know where to look.

All of this means that if you don’t have the time or energy to do the hunting, then you can let me do it if I’m a good fit. If you’re a fellow genealogist and you’ve hit a brick wall, then maybe I have resources that can help. Sometimes it takes a second pair of eyes to see the clues that are there. In addition, if there’s a family story or lore that you want to research to see if it’s true, then I can help with that.  If you’re trying to get all of your information organized and show ready for a family reunion, then I can help there as well. Also, if you’re just not that interested in doing the work, but want to know who your family is, then I can do that, too. Bottom line is if there’s something that makes you curious about your family history and you want to research it to prove or disprove what you know, then I’m your gal!  I like to think of myself as the local Nampa, Idaho researcher for our own Who Do You Think You Are TV show. I do the background research so the celebrity can make his or her family discovery on camera. If you’ve never heard of that show, then Google it and watch it! It will blow your mind at which people some of these celebrities are related to.  The show makes the genealogy process look so easy, but I can tell you right now they take and easy 6 months to research each celebrity’s family. Sometimes it takes longer for the research, but it’s at least 6 months. Isn’t that fascinating!! Well, it is to me.  I love genealogy!!  Anyway, best of luck to all of you and happy hunting!

Tiffany