The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

RLP 339: Customizing an Airtable Research Log for Tax Records

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Jan 6, 2025

Delve into the fascinating world of genealogy as the hosts explore the power of tax records. They discuss using Airtable to customize research logs, making it easier to track economic status and analyze family connections. A case study on the Weatherford family demonstrates practical applications of this tool. The episode also compares Airtable with traditional spreadsheets, highlighting its advantages for organizing complex data. Listeners are encouraged to leverage tax records as invaluable resources in their genealogical journeys.

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ANECDOTE

Weatherford Research Challenges

Diana discusses her Weatherford research and the challenges of numerous Weatherfords in Dallas County tax records.
Each individual's multiple land parcels created redundant entries, hindering efficient tracking in her standard research log.

ADVICE

Custom Airtable Tax Table

Create a dedicated tax table in Airtable, mirroring the tax list headings.
Link this table to both the People and Research Log tables for efficient citation management.

ADVICE

Tax Data Analysis

Group and sort tax data in Airtable to analyze individuals' economic status over time.
Look for patterns like changes in land ownership, livestock, or tax payments, which can reveal life events like deaths.

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In Episode #339 of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss customizing an Airtable research log for tax research. Tax records are invaluable for genealogy research because they were taken annually, filling in the gaps between federal censuses. The challenge is finding a good way to track and analyze the data. Airtable is a favorite research log tool, and by adding a linked table to the log, researchers can tame tax data and make it work for them.

Diana shares a case study using her ancestor, Henderson Weatherford, who resided in Dallas County in 1860 and appeared on a tax list that same year. She wanted to track the Weatherfords who showed up in Dallas County by 1850 to see if there was any connection to her ancestor. Nicole explains the technical setup in Airtable, starting with the RLP with DNA 4.0 (2024) Airtable base template and adding a new table by matching the headings in the new table to the headings on a tax list. Diana explains how she analyzes the data in the Airtable research log by grouping the tax table by an individual to view their economic status. She gives practical applications of her research process and concludes that tax records are valuable in genealogy research. Listeners will learn how to use Airtable to track and analyze tax data to further their genealogy research.

This summary was generated by Google Gemini.

Links

Customizing an Airtable Research Log for Tax Research - https://familylocket.com/customing-an-airtable-research-log-for-tax-research/

Back to the Basics with Tax Records - https://familylocket.com/back-to-the-basics-with-tax-records-part-1/

RLP with DNA 4.0 (2024) Airtable base template - https://www.airtable.com/universe/creator/usrsBSDhwHyLNnP4O/nicole-dyer

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Research Like a Pro Resources

Airtable Universe - Nicole's Airtable Templates - https://www.airtable.com/universe/creator/usrsBSDhwHyLNnP4O/nicole-dyer

Airtable Research Logs Quick Reference - by Nicole Dyer - https://familylocket.com/product-tag/airtable/

Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide book by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com - https://amzn.to/2x0ku3d

14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge Workbook - digital - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-digital-only/ and spiral bound - https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-spiral-bound/

Research Like a Pro Webinar Series - monthly case study webinars including documentary evidence and many with DNA evidence - https://familylocket.com/product-category/webinars/

Research Like a Pro eCourse - independent study course - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-e-course/

RLP Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-study-group/

Research Like a Pro with DNA Resources

Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist's Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence book by Diana Elder, Nicole Dyer, and Robin Wirthlin - https://amzn.to/3gn0hKx

Research Like a Pro with DNA eCourse - independent study course - https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-ecourse/

RLP with DNA Study Group - upcoming group and email notification list - https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-study-group/

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