Staying Focused

[corklabus]

How DO you stay focused on your research when there are so very many interesting side topics to be stumbled upon and distracted by ?
Like one day you're researching "topic A" and the next thing you know, you're off on some website where somebody stuffed a bananna up the wrong end of a monkey. I waste SOooo much time with distractions that I either get disgusted with researching stuff or I forget what the heck it was I was working on to start with. I can get totally lost in related topics, let alone the really stupid stuff.

 

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[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

corklabus,

the twist and turns of life..............

Life is so much fun.........................

Just like detecting,
never know what you may find.

have a good un............
SHERMANVILLE

 

[jeff of pa]

Sometimes Distractions can be more intresting then
your original Research subject.

The last few posts I added to the New Jersey Forum
all started out as a Distraction

 

[DigginThePast]

Yeah, I have the same problem when researching on the web. I'll find several more interesting things to research and of course many links that have nothing to do with my search. Some days its fun, others very frustrating.

 

[Massbaycolonist]

The internet is a very poor place to do any real research. Go to the library at or near the area where you think there may be treasure and do research. Ask the reference librarian or desk librarian for help finding info on your quest. I havn't seen any monkeys with bannanas at the libraries.

 

[Montana Jim]

The internet is a very poor place to do any real research. Go to the library at or near the area where you think there may be treasure and do research. Ask the reference librarian or desk librarian for help finding info on your quest. I havn't seen any monkeys with bannanas at the libraries.

I agree completely...

Except for the monkey part...

 

[BuckleBoy]

The internet is a very poor place to do any real research. Go to the library at or near the area where you think there may be treasure and do research. Ask the reference librarian or desk librarian for help finding info on your quest. I havn't seen any monkeys with bannanas at the libraries.

Exactly. The internet is engineered to provide you with distractions, links, offers, promotions, etc... And it's really hard to even know which information to trust in the first place. It's one thing to look up an item and see how it fared on eBay or at an online auction...It's another thing by far to get any research done online. Think about it. Everyone has access to the same information you just looked up. What will you find when you get to the site? Drive to the best library in your area. The treasure is there.


Regards,


Buckles

 

[mlayers]

you need to go to the libuary where there is peace and quite. they have all the records of your area and a copy machine so you can take it home with you.,,,mlayers

 

[corklabus]

Geeeezzeee........ I can sure tell you guys ain't never been to OUR Library.......
I ain't so sure they ain't got monkeys 'n Nanners.......
Truth is, the nearest Library to me really SUCKS for what I'm researching locally and THEY are "supposed" to have all the archives for this County.
I'm basically researching about a 40 mile stretch of the U.S. Highway that I live on, since it puts me and my property smack in the middle of a large amount of CW traffic, campsites and skirmishes, that have widely been ignored in the historical literature. Most of it only claims "fleeting mention" in most of the books and such that I've gone through. All I accomplished with that, was to confirm everything I'd found on the internet . Actually the internet was more informative.
The Library refered me to the highway department for the maps I'd like to see, but That department wasn't even formed until WAY after what I'm interested in, so I have my doubts about that deal, or if they would even have anyone available for such research. Around here, "Billy Bob" can drive a snow plow okay, but I wonder if them Boys really know how to read much more than a stop sign.
I'm thinking maybe the County courthouse might have "something"....At least THAT exsisted back then, But I bet that'll be a real treat as dumb as I am about what I'd be lookin' for.
I gotta say one GOOD thing about our Librarian. She told me she'd get any book I wanted that was available from the Library of Congress. Sounds good, but I'd probably be gettin' make up at the funeral parlour by the time I actually got the info and managed to read it.............
When I first joined this site, somebody told me this area had been "heavily" hunted. I don't doubt that, but then one never knows. Things seem to turn up in other places, so why not here?

 

[Montana Jim]

Local historical society... usually they are housed in a library, sometimes a courthouse... but either way those are always the best place to spend your time... IMO.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Geeeezzeee........ I can sure tell you guys ain't never been to OUR Library.......
   I ain't so sure they ain't got monkeys 'n Nanners.......
Truth is, the nearest Library to me really SUCKS for what I'm researching locally and THEY are "supposed" to have all the archives for this County.
  I'm basically researching about a 40 mile stretch of the U.S. Highway that I live on, since it puts me and my property smack in the middle of a large amount of CW traffic, campsites and skirmishes, that have widely been ignored in the historical literature. Most of it only claims "fleeting mention" in most of the books and such that I've gone through. All I accomplished with that, was to confirm everything I'd found on the internet .  Actually the internet was more informative.
   The Library refered me to the highway department for the maps I'd like to see, but That department wasn't even formed until WAY after what I'm interested in, so I have my doubts about that deal, or if they would even have anyone available for such research. Around here, "Billy Bob" can drive a snow plow okay, but I wonder if them Boys really know how to read much more than a stop sign.
   I'm thinking maybe the County courthouse might have "something"....At least THAT exsisted back then, But I bet that'll be a real treat as dumb as I am about what I'd be lookin' for.
   I gotta say one GOOD thing about our Librarian. She told me she'd get any book I wanted that was available from the Library of Congress. Sounds good, but I'd probably be gettin' make up at the funeral parlour by the time I actually got the info and managed to read it.............
   When I first joined this site, somebody told me this area had been "heavily" hunted.  I don't doubt that, but then one never knows. Things seem to turn up in other places, so why not here?

Might as well use WorldCat to look up something that you need and ask her to get it for you.  If it's inter-library loan, you'll get it in a matter of weeks.  If it's purchased, it might be a while longer. What ever institution you look at doesn't have to have been around in the 1860s. Records get moved around over the years.


Oh well--all I'm saying is that the internet is Not your best resource 9 times out of 10.  I don't know your area--You know your area.  Go find what you need to find where you can find it. Folks are trying to help you here...


Go read my post about "How To Find A CW Campsite" in the Kentucky section. Should be a good start for you.


Best Wishes,



Buckles

 

[corklabus]

Hey, Buckles...... There have been some interesting ideas posted here. I didn't mean to sound as if I were complaining about things. Mearly trying to inject a bit of humor into a sometimes nerve wracking project.
Actually, I've managed to run across a few old maps and now I'm banging my head trying to figure out how I can learn to do some overlays to see where things really were back then. Once I get through that, I don't see much more to be done, but physically go look these places over and start tracking down ownerships and asking permission.
Now for a side track.......After all my research, I have learned that just where my major interest was, there are thirteen unmarked CW graves........died of typhoid while in camp and burried there. I've decided that if I never find another scrap of anything, I'd like to locate these men and see that they at least have markers placed on their resting places. There may be "powers that be" who may be able to even identify these men and I'm beginning to look into that aspect. At any rate, I think it's going to be a "long row to hoe".

 

[Lowbatts]

If there was a local paper during the CW era, microfilm copies may be available at the library or libraries in the area. Our local papers from that time did inded report any troop arrangements in the area, often citing whose property they were on. Once you get that much info, you're there. An old plat book should be in one of the local libraries as well. Also check on old railroad maps to see if there are stops now long gone.

You may want to check out OAR also:
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html

Get ready for some reading.