Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – What Type of Genealogist Are You?

It’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with genealogy extraordinaire – Randy Seaver — and tonight’s mission, should I decide to accept it is determining: What Type of Genealogist I Am!

I’ve decided to accept this mission and here is my assignment (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) Read Lorine McGinnis Schulze’s blog post “What Type of Genealogist Are You?” (25 August 2012) and determine which type best describes me:
The Hunter or Detective
The Gatherer or Ancestor Collector
The Ancestor Finder
The Hoarder
The Junkyard Collector
The Scholar
The Analyzer
The Planner

2) Answer the question, and write about it!!”

After reading Lorine’s excellent blog post, I would have to say that I’m definitely:

The Ancestor Finder (aka The Genealogy Enthusiast)
This genealogist loves it all – doing the actual research and finding that elusive ancestor. But they only enjoy researching their own family tree, not the ancestry of strangers.

Yep, I ABSOLUTELY love the ancestor hunt — woo-hoo!! But, I’m not into researching for others just yet (notice I said yet) because I don’t feel comfortable doing so. Why? I’m more of a self taught genealogy enthusiast than one who has taken formal classes and training in genealogical research. I’m an avid reader and have quite a few genealogy books in my personal collection that I use with my own family research. BUT, I am currently taking online genealogy courses offered by the National Genealogical Society in hopes that I will one day have the solid knowledge and skills to assist others with their family research and more!

One other category that I would add to Lorine’s list that describes me is — The Collaborator! This genealogist does lots of research, finds new things about their ancestors and resources and loves sharing that information with others. This is in contrast to — The Hoarder (which is so not me)  – a genealogist who does lots of research, finds new things about their ancestors but refuses to share any of the information.

Areas that I can stand improvement are source citations (The Scholar) and being a faithful keeper of research logs (The Planner)!

So what say you? What type of genealogist are you? Let me know your thoughts!

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Searching For . . . on OWN TV

Searching For . . . on OWN TV

January 1st marked the launched of the new Oprah Winfrey Network — OWN! This new network is all the rave and I am especially excited about seeing the new documentary show, “Searching for …” that features the real-life work of Pam Slaton, a professional investigative genealogist, who help  people track down lost loved ones.

According to the OWN —

“Pam Slaton’s career as a professional investigative genealogist began nearly 20 years ago. Wanting to find her own birth mother, Pam hired to a professional searcher. The experience was the most devastating of her life, and Pam vowed that no one else should have to go through what she did. She keeps her own pain in mind when helping clients on their journeys. And her results are astounding! Pam has an 85 percent success rate, follows a strict “no find, no pay” policy, and is one of the most sought-after professional searchers in the country.”

A sneak peek of this new show aired January 1 right around the time I left home on my genealogy roadtrip; so I missed it! And based on the 150+ comments left at the website, this is a show I MUST see this year.

To learn more about “Searching for …” visit the show’s link on the official OWN TV website – http://www.oprah.com/own-searching-for/Searching-For–OWN-TV. If you get a chance to see the sneak preview of this one, let me know what you think!