It’s been quite a bit since I last posted, and for good reasonings. Given the situation we’re in globally and finishing out the school year was pretty rough so genealogy took the back burner for a while. I had originally started migrating everything from my older blog to my new website some time after the winter break as a part of my genealogical New Year’s resolutions but then stopped. Now that I’m on summer break and have some more time to work on my blog, I’m hoping to publish posts a bit more frequently (especially since I have some ideas floating around in my head!).
This blog however has now evolved – and hopefully will continue to evolve! Besides being just a blog, I’m hoping that this will become a landing page for most things Puerto Rican in regards to amateur research, use of DNA, and sources one might need/can use when it comes to tracing their family tree. I’m definitely no expert when it comes to building webpages, so forgive any kinks you might come across and definitely let me know! My goal overtime is to become more serious about genealogy (New Year’s Goal #3) and ultimately provide certified assistance for Puerto Rican research. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it’ll definitely take patience on my part as well.
A New look
As you can see above, the “intro” page to my website it VERY different than what it was when I just had a blog. When you first enter my page, you aren’t greeted with the blog right away, if not a place where you can learn more about my personal journey; links to my blog, getting started, PR church research, and who I am. I decided to go with this approach since like I stated above I wanted it to more interactive in regards to research and putting my process out there. The webpage is far from complete but I figured it was worth launching, letting others peruse my blog and research, and continue building out my platform from there. For example, two summers ago I began cataloging Puerto Rican church records into more manageable charts that would take you to the film you were interested in searching, however I stopped after cataloging a few towns. Since I’m not finished, I still have some ways to go but can continuously add to that section overtime growing out the subsections in that tab. Below you can see some of the towns I’ve already catalogued.
Getting started
This section of the webpage is probably a great place for all novices to take a look. This tab covers 10 different tips and tricks in order to begin your Puerto Rican genealogy. Granted, a lot can be useful for overall genealogical research, but there are definitely some Puerto Rican specific sections as well. You can find this page and read more about it here!
blogging
What I started years ago I will continue to do – blog about my experiences with genealogy! My main focus has always been to track my progress and help others by showing them my process or methods in order to complete genealogical research, especially for Puerto Ricans living outside of the island interested in their roots. Over time I have traveled to Puerto Rico and Spain to conduct research on my ancestors, taking many DNA tests amongst them autosomal and Y-DNA tests from 23andme, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, NatGeno 2.0, and even blogged about others connected to the island that might not be from “expected” stock (typical island stock being African, Taíno, and Spanish). For example, my own 4th great-grandparents were from Martinique and Guadeloupe, and so blogging about French Caribbean online genealogical research might help someone else (Puerto Rican or not) on how to find those specific records. This is the “bread and butter” of my page and where most of my work will be done. Unless there is something else that can be added to the page that would be beneficial to Puerto Rican genealogists, this is where most of my energy will be spent.
Final thoughts
Since I wanted to get more serious about my platform, this is definitely the big jump! It’s a new chapter for me in regards to blogging since it’s more of a serious platform with different working sections. Hoping it serves a greater purpose for the Puerto Rican genealogical community and definitely for myself! So make sure to follow along as I continue this journey!