Instruction

We get asked a lot of questions about why, where, when and what we do, and it's usually followed by 'How can I do that?'

This is our section of instructions, articles and general information.  We welcome anyone with questions to e-mail us at Jenn@SnowStones.com or Jake@SnowStones.com.   We won't however, do your website for you or do specified works.  We have more than enough of our own research and website design waiting for us to get to it all.

Genealogy is all about Passion.  It's got to be about Passion, cause we sure aren't in it for the money!  Right off the bat, we have to be honest in saying that it's an expensive endeavour.  The driving, the getting lost, the staying in places you're not native to.  The basic office costs for paper, printer toner and the equipment...  Laptops, a desktop super computer that keeps our copies and runs most of our programs...  The programs and the add-ons.  Website fees, fees and more fees.  Digital cameras, batteries, photo editing software...  Memberships for online sites, Genealogy Societies and Training.   It adds up.

Is it worth it?

Absolutely.  Without question.  It's spiritually, intellectually and physically fulfilling.  It's also demanding.  You don't find records by wishing them into existence, and you don't come across findings without having them affect you.  Emotionally, it can be a very difficult experience.  You have to be prepared for what you're getting into.  But you don't know excitement until you find a missing ancestor, in a different country and they've had 50 kids that have populated generations to be recorded...  You don't know frustration until you find out the church with records for an entire generation burned to the ground 50 years ago and there's nothing you can do to recover the loss...  You don't know sorrow until you find a child that was lost to a family that loved it, carved into stone and left for generations.  It's a whirlwind of emotions if you're involved, and if you're not involved, you're not doing it for the right reasons.  Your research will always reflect the person or people who've done the work.

How do we do what we do?  We do it with love, and with a respect we'd want to be treated with if we were the ones who'd gone before.  How can you do it?  Well, first you have to decide it's what you want.  Then you have to grab hold of it with both hands and fight for it.  When there's a dead end, you have to find another avenue.  When you're lost, you have to find another map that will take you where you want to go.  And when you're broke you need to dig out the change from under the back seat in your car...  Just to pay for whatever you need next.  In other words, you don't give up.  Not ever.  And it could be years between clues, but you keep on going.  Tenacious and Stubborn become compliments.
Willful, Irritating and a Pain in the Ass become the norm.  But in the end, when you sit back and look at the people that haven't been lost to time, when you see the generations that are recorded so that future generations have a history to look back on... Well, then you know you did what was right.
 

Robert Frost (1874-1963), The Road Not Taken

These Articles, Tips and How-To Instructions are about as detailed as we could make them without telling everyone what to do.  We wanted people to have a clear view of our practices, without trying to say 'This is Right, this is Wrong'.  Once you get started, you'll figure out what works for you and what doesn't.  Keep in mind that preservation is the key, and to treat others as you'd want to be treated is the Golden Rule.  You'll figure it out.  We'll see you on the road.

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