Carnival Of Genealogy 107 - The Seasons of My Genealogy Research

If I were to align the seasons of the year to my genealogical activities I would say that:

• Spring would be the season of reflection. What material do I have? What do I know? and What do I need to find out? 
• Summer would be Season for undertaking the research, visiting the archives, relatives and cemeteries.
• Autumn would be the season for evaluation. Assembling the research and the material and knowledge already gleaned. What still needs to be discovered. 
• Winter would be the season to write up the material into a knowledgeable and workable archive, fit for the future. Winter would also build into the reflections of what I need to do in the following Spring.

Researching our ancestry isn't like that though is it? Of course I tend to visit Cemeteries more so in the Spring and Summer and perhaps Autumn and rarely in the Winter, but that is not a certainty. 

I have spent hours sorting through two large filing cabinets in my study over the last year, yes, I did say year. I have shredded so much material, all domestic sensitive waste that I filled our cardboard bin twice over! The plan was to go back through my genealogical files and folders and streamline the material ensuring the data appeared in my computer programme. Not a quick job by any means. 

I also streamlined all the material that relates to my two one name studies, one place study, a collection of material of a particular road that features in my ancestry and a collection of papers that relate to two locations, both out of the UK to see if the material is substantial enough to be called a one place study and if it isn't do I want to build into the data so that it is.

I have decided that for the remainder of this year I am going to refile and establish my next path of research. Catalogue photographs of graves and cemeteries and generally evaluate what research I have and what I need to still locate. 

I guess that all these activities put me somewhere between  Spring and Autumn and as I establish what data I have about specific individuals I shall head into Winter with a Ancestor of the Week post.