I’ve been writing quite a bit about the Trautvetter family lately. Perhaps a little more than usual. A few readers think that it’s the only family I ever write about. It’s not <grin>.
There’s really one reason: I’ve been working on them.
I don’t schedule posts weeks or months out like some writers do. I don’t spread them out as much as I should. I don’t have some looming editorial calendar that I follow because I don’t spend time writing editorial calendars because that makes me feel too much like a marketer. Most of the posts here are fresh and are written as I’m researching or as I’m summarizing something that I have found. I like to write about things while I’m working on them as it actually helps with research and improves my process. Comments about posts are easier to respond to if the subject is fresh in my mind and I don’t have to bring myself back up to speed just to respond to a comment (and when necessary–I don’t always comment on every comment). Of course people will comment about something I wrote several years ago in which case some review is often necessary.
I try and make posts about more than just the family or the people I am writing about. Most of the time the post is not just about the people being researched–except for the occasional “cousin bait” post.
Not every researcher will encounter the “call names” that were discussed in a recent post. However…we all occasionally have the issue of what name to use when referring to a person who used variant names (either intentionally or through clerical means). The German call names are not the only time I find myself thinking of what name should I use to refer to someone. My Ostfriesens did not have fixed surnames until the 19th century, my children’s French-Canadians had numerous spelling variants and name Anglicizations with both first and last names (not to mention dit names), and my own US Southern families had their share of individuals named Sarah/Sally, Melinda/Belinda, etc. Other discussions are often more about the record and the process than they are the specific family.
The posts about the Trautvetters often are not really about the Trautvetters at all.
And often I get ideas on my other families in the process.
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