Hi everyone!
It's time to get to known another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Richard Heritage.
Richard became a Wiki Genealogist in August of 2017. He helps out as a Data Doctor and a Sourcerer.
When did you get interested in genealogy?
It was a very gradual process, starting with always enjoying old family photos. An email from a distant cousin piqued my interest some years ago, and after my kids were grown I had time to pursue genealogy as a real hobby. (Unfortunately, by then my parents’ generation was all gone. :( )
What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?
These days it’s mostly my first grandchild, but I also read, birdwatch, hike, cook, and play Dwarf Fortress.
What is your research focus?
I like to go wide rather than deep. It’s more interesting to me to understand how people two or three generations ago lived than to find ancestors from centuries ago.
Do you have a favorite ancestor?
I was researching my third great-grandfather, trying to decipher some early 19th-century handwriting. Does it really say “Stephen Heritage, a lunatic”? Yes, it does. The involved process used to judge someone’s mental health back then, combined with the elaborate cadences of the language used, absolutely fascinated me.
What is your toughest brick wall?
It’s a largely self-constructed wall, but at some point I have to cross the Atlantic to research my mother’s family in Ireland and my wife’s in Italy.
How long have you been on WikiTree?
I signed the Honor Code in August 2017. I don’t remember how I heard about WikiTree, but I suspect I wanted to avoid subscribing to a pay site. The vision of a single, accurate world tree was inspiring to me, and the fact that few of my ancestors had profiles meant that I could do foundational work.
What do you spend the most time doing on WikiTree?
Besides slowly building out my own tree, I do a lot of profile improvement, mostly for orphaned profiles. I like to produce well-written and thoroughly sourced profiles, whether I’m putting in new profiles or working on challenges, especially with orphaned profiles. I like to say that as a Data Doctor I don’t put a band-aid on a gaping wound. I’m a plodder when it comes to the Thons because I don’t like to make a profile with a single source when I know there are more out there.
Which projects are you most involved in?
I’m a Data Doctor and a Sourcerer. I’m also on the Italy Project, but that’s aspirational at this point.
Do you consider your work here to be part of your legacy?
Not mine so much, more the legacy of the people whose profiles I work on.
What is your favorite WikiTree feature?
My favorite feature is that there are so many features and functions that I keep discovering new ones I didn’t know about.
What would you most like to see added or improved?
I would love for the FamilyTree Matches app to have some controls—sorting, filtering, that sort of thing.
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved in our community?
For people new to WikiTree, I think a key is patience in learning how the site works and what its culture is.
