Surname Study - Q&A time

My post last week on Surname Studies elicited a long reply containing a few questions which I will attempt to address here.

So.....was your choice of ONS host price-based, or do all the ONS websites do basically the same thing as far as support?

My choice of The Surname Society was not just cost based but that was a big factor. The cost to register each surname study with the Guild is 12GBP on top of your subscription, there is no extra cost with The Surname Society. I had been a member of the Guild for a number of years but realised that The Surname Society was a better fit for my purposes. 

I did not need a body to host my study I needed somewhere to list, describe and promote my study. The Surname Society provides that facility for me.

The Guild may provide more resources but, as The Surname Society is new, it  has fewer resources but the collection is growing. There is immediate help available via the Surname Society Facebook Members' Group.

Have you advertised the study in any magazines or any online methods?

I initially advertised my study via several social media channels and received some helpful responses from genies with Curry connections. I have a Wordpress blog/website for the study which I hope will act as "Name Bait" for anyone doing searches on the internet. Having my blog preserved on The National Library of Australia's Pandora Archive will ensure that the Curry stories are preserved. I have added the Curry surname in Australia to a few Members' Interests lists.

http://curryaus.wordpress.com

Because I am still at the data gathering stage and there are lots of resources, both print and online with Curry information available, I don't see the need to promote widely yet. I need to organise  the mountain of data that I have recorded before I start sharing. I've yet to decide how and if I will publish the database I am developing.

With a less common surname with fewer resources available I would probably promote to find connections at an earlier stage. For this I would consider non-genie print publications like major newspaper RSVP columns and any magazines that would provide free or low-cost advertisements.

Have you written to all the Curry names in the White Pages (for eg) to attract other family members who might have information?

With a less common surname with fewer resources available I would probably contact potential family members via the White Pages etc. but for the foreseeable future I will deal with the list of resources I have and organise the information I have gathered from them. There is so much on Trove that I don't think I'll get much further than the organising stage in my lifetime, that is why I chose the CurryAus blog for my A-Z blogging challenge. 

What are you hoping to find out from other Curry family members? In my case I'd like to fill in some blanks back in Ireland, just before the Catholic records start.

Before I move offshore I want to sort out the various Curry families in Australia and record their stories so that they are not forgotten. Another reason I chose The Surname Society to register my study is because their rules aren't as prescriptive as the Guild (although I think the Guild  has loosened up recently).

Are you combining your ONS with any DNA testing? 

Not yet but definitely on the cards. I found my first potential Curry match just this week and have a few possibles who also have Curry in their trees - I may yet just find some Irish cousins..