Overcoming Discouragement in Genealogy (Why Continue to Build Your Family Tree)

How have I not quit my genealogy research? Why build a family tree? Why do genealogy? Do you need a reason or boost in your genealogy motivation?

So why build a family tree or keep building your family tree? What’s the reason to do genealogy? Or maybe you’ve been bitten by the genealogy bug but are discouraged and want to give up, quit, simply put… you’re burned out! A viewer saw one of my videos and suggested this topic, so to all you out there who are discouraged? Stay tuned!

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0:00 Intro
0:28 Two questions: why do genealogy and how to avoid burnout
0:40 Family History is Fun - it's detective work
1:07 Learn about origins of family
1:34 Family secrets or tragedies can also help you learn
1:54 Find cousins through genealogy
2:06 Family History's positive effect of children and grandchildren
2:47 Learning is good for you!
3:23 How to avoid burnout
3:38 Taking a break in your genealogy research
3:58 Focus on other aspects of family history
4:35 Overcoming brick walls
4:42 Reach out for help
5:38 Patience is a virtue
5:48 Genealogy conferences

While I specialize in United States genealogy, these videos outline research methods which will help you research your family history anywhere. Happy hunting!

#Ancestry #Genealogy #FamilyTree #FamilyHistory #GenealogyBurnOut
Check out these other genealogy YouTubers: Genealogy TV, Family History Fanatics, Geneavlogger, Ancestry (Barefoot Genealogist), Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow, and of course, keep watching me, Aimee Cross - Genealogy Hints.

Music "Something Elated" by Broke for Free.

[gendeb]

My number one diversion is gardening so I tend to do most of my genealogy in the winter here in the Midwest. Instead of finding more ancestors when I’m burned out, I concentrate on one, usually a female. It’s amazing what I’ve found! Extra husbands, a custody lawsuit of the stepchildren when the husband was killed in the Civil War, Morgan’s Raiders running past her farm, releasing an inherited slave, the number of airplane pilots in the family including two sisters, a divorce before the civil war because the husband left the state for embezzlement. These stories are more exciting than dry names and dates!

[meaganmorris]

Definitely needed to see this video

I’m getting very discouraged with my search. My family has been in the same city for almost 200 years and there were several floods and fires in the downtown area that destroyed important documents and my state was one affected from the census fire.

I came across your videos a few days ago and I truly appreciate your knowledge! Trying to stay positive and keep at it!

[victoriad]

Thank you for this encouragement. I went back to my research with renewed energy this afternoon and, lo and behold, had a major breakthrough!

[randywallis]

I started working on my Father’s name after I got to my 2nd G grandfather I moved over to my mother’s Maiden name and worked for a while. Then switched back to my fathers. With so many lines if I get tired of one I move over and I even read wills of people I’m not related to I find wills very interesting; interesting and informative what was considered of value. Shirts, bead clothing the Bible and writing paper. I also wonder why some children got more than others; the list could go on. I also take most of the summer off and do a majority of my work in the winter

Thanks
Randy

[herleyrobinson]

You’re awesome Amy. I love your channel I love your information and how positive and upbeat you always are. I am fairly recently into ancestry and have encountered some brick walls and I’m feeling very frustrated by them. My mother passed when I was seven so I remember her very well but we were not able to have any real conversations about her past. I have not been able to find her on any census sheet. I see her when she married my father and I’ve seen her in various city directories but I have not been able to answer some possible questions about her maternity. So I’ve asked Ancestry and they said that they would give it to one of their teams and would get back in touch with me. It’s been months and I have not heard back so that is my frustration and my brick wall. But genealogy is an amazing pastime I feel that I’ve grown so much just since I have been unsuccessfully pursuing the path.

[bridgetcampbell]

Great episode! Thanks! I would like to add that our own genealogy research can be really helpful for local historians or others who are researching a community, school, historical event etc. So that keeps me motivated to share my results online, even though I don't have children or grandchildren. Thanks again. I love your channel!

[bevleeming]

All your suggestions can help. I don't always have a genealogy subscription so I take some breaks, not necessarily needing them at the time. I'm heavily involved in compiling biographies into volumes and editing and formatting those to share with family. Another huge project has been scanning old family photos and editing them. Only once have I wondered, should I continue, but within days I was back at it again. New discoveries help and give you different lines to focus on. I also enjoy learning about the histories of the areas.

[geneewert]

My brother-in-law went to a Czech Museum in Iowa and my sister and he were almost completely without answers when the guy from the museum asked him about his heritage. So my brother who was with them stated that he was sure I could find the answers. I, of course, had my brother-in-law and his parents in my tree but that was it. SOOOO... My shot in the arm - new motivation - was to pick up both his parental lines and see what I can find. It has been fascinating and I am having a blast. Especially since that is a heritage/background not shared in my direct family line so I am learning a bunch about a different culture, migration patterns and country of origin. On that note a country that is known in various records on this side of the ocean as Bohemia, Moravia, Czechoslovakia, and Austria - WOW!!! As I work, he knows he is related (indirectly) to Father Emil Joseph Kapaun (who is so near receiving sainthood), so I want to find that relationship for him as well. I'm not a Catholic, but I know how special that would be to him.

[arlindanelson]

Great tips and suggestions. My number one thing to do is shift gears to learn more that I may be missing by watching videos or reading books. Novels are a good distraction. I do take a break from it all for a week or so by doing crafts or watching movies. I also review what I have accumulated as well as some of the things you've mentioned.

[faustbos]

Wow, I feel like I could have written this one word for word. I'm just on the cusp of my "break" even though my research is going well. My tree is pretty full. One of the things this journey has resulted in I learned to read (and somewhat speak) Italian!. Kinda handy for going through Italian records. Just last night I noticed my cousins husbands family was missing a great great grandparents layer. They are joining an Italian american club and asked if I had any information on the family... Boy was that a loaded question with a full answer. So I found out why I was missing this info and here is my tip.Think WAY outside the info you have in the box. I only knew their location as "Italy" and was at a dead end. But then after going over documents over and over, I noticed one with a reference to a birth place of the wife. It didnt exist of course. tip two, assume things are spelled wrong. 3) make some healthy assumptions like "hum, maybe they lived near each other. I got down to map level and looked for villiages that were sort of spelled close enough. I went to Google and started searching for name variations, and then I found the villiage (maybe). Searched directions from where he was born to this villiage, 17km... close enough. Went to antinati and looked for a doc where I expected one to be.... and there it was.... sort of. The last name had a different spelling but a spelling I would have expected... Unfortunately their marriage in 1904 is not online. Someone will have to find that another way. Now they have a starting point. One more assumption tip. Was looking for information about my own great grandfather who was murdered in 1907 at 25 years old. I knew nothing about him. In searching a newspaper site, one day I wondered how would a reporter mis hear his last name. I searched for that. And there it was, multiple articles with a record of him and what Really happened. Family lore was that he was stabbed in a poker came over 25 cents. Reality was much better. Two people one a friend, were fighting over a card game, it spilled over into the streets and my great grandfather tried to break it up, Saved his friend, but took the hit. This really opened up something in me about my family. Love your channel!!

[lizcostine]

Yes, I’m burnt out. I have been diving into mega data that my mother and her sister left me. As well, scanning, organizing and researching.
I stepped back, focused on house projects, taking a trip to my brothers this week in Washington St.
my goal is to return to in in a few weeks, hopefully my fresh eyes will pick up on what I had over looked before.
Thank you. Your videos are priceless.

[nickw]

Hi, I currently feel burned out because I’ve been so intensely focused on one branch of my family tree that I’ve simply exhausted all possible records that I can easily find. However I found switching to another branch like you suggested really helped me get through my burnout and get back into the research game. I would also say I generally feel burned out when I simply can’t find anything (usually pre-1850). Another thing I also think helps is using different platforms as many times I find different sources or pictures on multiple platforms rather than just one.
Thank you so much for your videos they have been a lifesaver for my research.

[saintinlower]

I also feel like a detective when doing genealogy. And I, too, find a connection and why certain family experiences may have happened. It's a belonging that I feel. And my children are interested in the history of their lineage and how they've come to where they are. I appreciate you sharing your enthusiasm and I also feel it because as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe in the welding link between family and that it can last throughout all eternity.