Nichter's Genealogy Corner

  Genealogists source materials. The source's quality will vary depending on the professional expectation for the source itself. 

  Genealogy is a science. It is very precise. Details matter. In order to be a good professional genealogist, you need to follow the general genealogical standards for high-quality genealogy. If you are not seeking to become a professional, you should strive for high-quality genealogical work, because low-quality genealogy doesn't provide useful genealogical materials. 

  Genealogist's worst nightmare. A broken trail of genealogical data. Sometimes circumstances arise where a paper trail presenting information about a family suddenly... ends. A phantom ancestor; there was information for this once, but over time, the information vanished. In cases like this, there is normally one solution: declare an unknown ancestor. 

  Genealogists travel. This is an occasional possibility when visiting locations in order to obtain information outside the internet. Make sure to be prepared for those possible times you will need to travel somewhere in order to find answers for a research question. 

  Because professional genealogical research is a serious business, as a full time or seasonal genealogist, you should have a decent idea of what you really want to keep researching over and over again for other clients. If you don't like the area you are trying to research, it's only going to ruin your research as a genealogist. Associating genealogical research with too many negative experiences is not a wise idea. ICAPGEN provides opportunities to specialize in various locations of your choice. Specialization in more than one place is doable, but make sure you love researching these specialized areas.   

  Libraries are a fantastic resource for genealogists. They contain hundreds of books individuals can read to obtain information helpful in many sections of their research. While making use of every library available, it is also good to search for libraries with a specific focus on genealogy (if some libraries don't cater to genealogists). Though it is ideal to assume almost every library will be useful in different ways for genealogists.