When There's a Job to be Done

 

Whether working in genealogical research or in any other line of work, to get a job done, you need the right tools. If this isn't the first time the job's been done, hopefully those tools will be found stored in the right place.

In the case of our task for August—the eighth of my Twelve Most Wanted for 2025 being my father-in-law's great-grandmother Johanna Falvey—I was unfortunately remiss in putting away those tools from the last time I visited this brick wall ancestor's records. Granted, I haven't struggled to piece together Johanna's story since July of 2020, so I guess a little self-forgiveness is in order. Besides, I made up for my shortcomings with some remedial effort yesterday.

Of all my gleanings on the Falvey family in the past, I gained the most information by emailing with an unlikely research partner: a Falvey descendant living halfway around the world from me. For almost five years, we had put our heads together over this research mystery, each of us sharing what we knew about our respective sides of the family. From time to time, we were joined in the conversation by mutual DNA matches, though even with all the input, we still couldn't pinpoint the most recent common ancestors back in County Kerry, Ireland.

Apparently, the Falvey family's descendants are widespread; among the contacts made were descendants all across the United States, as well as in Australia and New Zealand and, of course, Ireland. Comparing notes with several researchers keen on finding their roots can add up to a considerable amount of correspondence. Even if it is digital, it does take up storage space. And it still depends on the organizing skill of putting things where they can be easily found once again.

That was the main task at hand. I've always kept a set of digital folders in my email account for family research communication, organized by surname. At the end of this review session yesterday, I can now say all the Falvey communication is tucked away in its rightful place, having been reviewed as a launching pad for the continuation of this research journey in the coming weeks.

On Monday, I'll re-introduce Johanna Falvey and review what we've already uncovered about her story, but first, we'll need to check on that biweekly review tomorrow. Then, on to the brick wall battle for this month.