2019 A Year of Genealogical Research

At the beginning of a New Year I like to take a look back and see what I have accomplished over the past year. I still work full time and can only do my genealogical research in little bits at a time. By taking the time to look back at the statistics and what I have been able to do I feel more of a sense of accomplishment then I might otherwise feel.

I use Legacy Family Tree software to maintain my family tree. I have trees in Ancestry and My Heritage but those are not the most up to date trees. (Sometimes in Ancestry and My Heritage I may collect information from hints and store them in my trees for future research and then discard them if the information is not correct. I use it as a ‘holding place’.)

From my Legacy tree:

A review of the statistics in my Legacy tree that I am most interested in:

I wasn’t able to add much new information to my Legacy Family tree in the past year but I was able to go more in-depth with the information I have found on people in my tree.

I decided to run my fan chart again this year. The last time I ran this was two years ago with my 2017-A Year of Genealogical Research. At that time I was missing 34/62 ancestors. I have now been able to locate and add the names for a total of 58/62 of my ancestors. With the exception of four 2x great-grandparents I have been able to identify them all. The four that I am missing will require searching in Luxembourg and German records. Hmm, what a great reason to travel abroad! Hopefully, one day in the future.

In 2019:

• I completed 46 Blog Posts (my goal was 50) with an all time total of 98,188 page views.

I continue to connect with several new cousins and develop ongoing relationships with others:

• The Warner Cousins continued their Christmas Luncheon get together for the 4^th year and added two more cousins. Six of us share great-grandparents Carrie Terry and John B. Warner. So glad two more cousins were able to join us this year. More memories and perspectives to share! Special thanks to Marie for once again opening her home to us!

Me, Kim, Hollie, Kallie, Marie, Jane, Suzanne and Sophia

• While I was able to prove my heritage and join the General Society of Mayflower Descendants last year, this year I was able to have a traditional costume made and wear for the San Diego Colony Thanksgiving luncheon in November.  (See previous post What Would Priscilla Mullins Alden Think?)

Kathy Hughes (on left) is the amazing seamstress who made my costume

Goals for next year:

• My usual goal, to complete 50 blog posts.
• I am scheduled to be a Co-Presenter, with Darlene Conner Sampley and Diane Gould Hall at the San Diego Genealogical Society on July 11th to talk about the Mayflower Society.  I enjoy presenting and hope to develop two more presentations around Wills and Land Deeds.  Stay tuned to find out when I will be presenting.
• Meet some of the cousins I have only corresponded with to date.
• Attend the Pilgrim 400th Anniversary Commemoration in Massachusetts in September.

In summary, I think it’s been a great year for research. I can’t believe what I have been able to learn about my ancestors beyond their names and dates of birth and death. Learning the history of the time period my ancestors lived has also helped me put some perspective on their lives. They have come alive as the courageous people who worked hard, loved their families and did the best they could. I owe so much to so many that have listened to my stories, read my blogs and helped me find the missing bits of information that added to my ancestors’ stories. As frustrating as my brick walls can be it’s remembering the people I have met along the way and the information I have found that make this so rewarding. A special thank-you for all the encouragement I get from my readers.  It truly is the ‘journey’ that is the reward! Off to another exciting year of research!

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,
Debby