The Year Ahead – November 30

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 30 – Today is Small Business Saturday. Support your fellow genealogy entrepreneurs with a purchase.

Genealogy Bargains is a great place to start. Or think about any genealogy blogger you follow; do they have any premium memberships that they offer or books or merchandise? Perhaps it’s time to check out their websites more. Many genealogy entrepreneurs have written books, just check out the many on Amazon.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 29

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 29 – Visit the Story Corps website www.storycorps.org/discover/the-great-thanksgiving-listen to participate in the “Great Listen” by recording a family story for future generations.

If you are like me, one of the oldest generations still living in your family, then it’s time to tell your story for future generations. Convince a younger member of your family to interview you. You could always prepare the questions for that person and/or see what story they want to hear about. Have fun with it.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 28

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 28 – Enjoy Thanksgiving Day with your living relatives or friends!

I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, tied with the Fourth of July because it involves, family, friends and food. Even though cooking a big Thanksgiving meal is a lot of work, I have learned over the years, how to keep the stress down and give me the most time with my relatives and friends.

 I do some prep work starting Monday and working up to Thursday. I clean one room each day and prep for one dish. I make deviled eggs, so I will boil and peel the eggs one day. I will slice them in half, plate them and but the yolks in a bowl another day. I will make the filling and fill the eggs the morning of Thanksgiving. I make homemade cranberry sauce and thus I will cook the cranberries and refrigerate it one or two days prior to Thanksgiving. You can make pies one or two days before Turkey Day, I always buy my pumpkin pie, because sorry I don’t like pumpkin pie. This year I plan on making a roasted sweet potato dish, and thus I can peel and dice the sweet potatoes on Wednesday to prep. I even chop all the celery and onions for my stuffing ahead of time too. I don’t make the stuffing or stuff the Turkey until the morning of Thanksgiving. Once the turkey is in the oven, I pretty much have the rest of the day to relax. I take the Turkey out to cool slightly before slicing and serving about an hour before meal time, and I then cook my other dishes, mash potatoes, gravy, corn, sweet potatoes and biscuits during this hour.

Remember to have fun and (tomorrow) Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 27

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 27 – Black Friday sales often start early. Check the Genealogy Bargains website www.genealogybargains.com for deals.

Ancestry had a pre-black Friday sale of 30% off gift subscriptions. I wasn’t sure if this was the only sale they had plan on doing, so I purchased myself one to start after my current gift subscription ends. Looking at Genealogy Bargains website, he predicts they will offer a 50% off gift subscriptions after Thanksgiving. Last year they did, it was for one day, however you tell it what day to start within the next 90 days. If I goofed up and bought mine too soon, I will leave myself a note to wait next year.

Because Thanksgiving was later this year, less than 30 days before Christmas, I noticed a lot of places, were offering Black Friday sales well before Black Friday. So if you missed any this year, make a note of checking them earlier for next year.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 26

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 26 – You’ll be busy with the upcoming holiday, but take time to back-up your data. Tidy your paper file while you wait.

Great advice, especially if you are hosting the holidays. What if a family member wants to see what you have done recently in genealogy? Make your working area inviting and exciting for family to see. Make sure you know where to find any paper files you might have on your family.

Check out some automatic cloud backup systems that will automatically backup folders from your computer to the cloud. I purchased one service many years ago and it has saved me from tears, numerous times.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 25

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 25 – Trying to save money for the holidays? Compare the big genealogy subscription websites www.familytreemagazine.com/websites/genealogy-website-comparison.

I read in Facebook groups that some people get tired of getting all the same hints from their preferred website. Perhaps they do need to take a break and try out another website. I must admit, that I use Ancestry a lot. My back up site I use is Family Search which is free. When I say I use these websites, I use their record databases mainly. I do refer to other people’s tree, to see what record databases they have linked to facts to our common people. I might also use it to get a new prospective name, that I can try to research myself. However, this is getting off topic.

Like most genealogist, money is tight for our hobby. We need to be thrifty with our choices. Thus, research what is available on the sites. Keep your eye out for free weekends. If you do sign up for a free trial, make sure you read how you can cancel the free trial before charges are made against your account. I also recommend, you might want to only sign up for one at a time. Which means, whatever length of membership you chose, only have that one membership. Otherwise, you might fall back to your old habits and only use the one you always use, and not utilize the new membership fully.

Don’t forget, some libraries might have library editions to these sites and you might be able to see if they have the sources you want, or save money and use the library editions to save you money.

Finally, when creating new logins, please create an unique password for each site. I know it gets confusing trying to remember them all, but I have a password book that I write all my passwords in. I know they say don't write down your passwords, but seriously, we might have to. Just keep that book in a safe place.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 24

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 24 – Share a link to a helpful family history article you’ve read recently with a genealogy buddy. Ask her to do the same for you.

I am lucky to have such a genealogy buddy. Even though I don’t live in the same state as her anymore, we try to connect via Zoom on a regular basis.

This reminds me, I need to reach out to her and see when we can schedule another zoom meeting or two or three.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – November 23

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 23 – Pull out a few mystery photographs and examine the clothing with a magnifying glass. Compare the styles to those from historical eras.

How about bringing some of those mystery photographs to your family Thanksgiving dinner? Maybe someone there can help you identify the people or the era.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – November 22

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 yourbest research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 22 – Open AI Launched ChatGPT chat.openai.com in late November 2022. What genealogy-related questions have you asked it?

Here are some tips for using ChatGPT for genealogy:

• Be specific: Ask specific questions and include any relevant information in the prompt. 
• Analyze the response: Check the response for historical accuracy. 
• Treat suggestions as hints: Be ready to investigate the leads ChatGPT provides. 
• Remember previous input: ChatGPT remembers previous input in the same chat. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 21

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 21 – Plan to take your genealogy on your holiday travels. Load up on reading materials for the car, and grab printouts of any photos or research you want to share with relatives.

In this day an age of electronics, can you put any of those photos or printout on your iPad or Tablet if you have one. I use DropBox on my desktop and laptop to share files. Dd you know that the Basic (Free) plan allows up to 3 devices so you can connect your iPad or Tablet too.

If you plan on leaving the printouts, by all means print stuff out. However, I would still bring something to write new information. People may find errors and will want to correct them, or add to what you already have.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 20

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 yourbest research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 20 – Generate maps of your ancestor’s hometowns at MapQuest www.mapquest.com or Google Maps www.google.com/maps.

I do this with addresses I find on some vital records, such as birth, or from census records. Did family live near each other? It’s interesting to see that too. For example: I have a friend who purchased a home because it backed to her elderly father’s home. This way, it was easier to help him out.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 19

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 19 – Not great at small talk? Get 117 questions to ask your family at this year’s Thanksgiving gathering blog.myheritage.com/2017/03/questions-to-ask-your-family.

Okay, maybe you don’t want to ask all 117 questions, but what about making a game out of it. Place each question on a 3”x5” index card. Turn them face down and have each family member pick one and answer it. Of the 117 questions, are any in your top 10, 20 or 30? Use only those questions. Try using these 117 questions at all your family gatherings, remember, Christmas is just around the corner.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 18

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 18 – Don’t let ancestral nicknames – such as Beth, Bess, Betty, Liz or Lizbeth for Elizabeth – trip you up. Broaden your online searches to include nicknames or just a first initial.

Also think about abbreviated names such as Jas for James or Chas for Charles. Plus, I noticed some women in my family started using their middle name as an adult. For example, I have an Elizabeth as a young girl and Harriet Elizabeth as an adult.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 17

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 17 – Check in on your hardware. Are you due for an upgrade to a laptop or external hard drive? If so, research some options and add them to your holiday wish list.

I got a new laptop this spring and a new desktop, two years ago. How did I know I was due for an upgrade? For the desktop, it was running slow, would lock up when browsing and everything was taking longer than it needed to.  For my laptop, basically the same thing, but my built-in Wi-Fi adapter stopped working and that was the most frustrating thing to deal with. I did get a Wi-Fi external adapter and that sort of worked. However, it took up one of my precious few USB ports.

So, if you are looking to upgrade, I always recommend setting a budget. What do you want to spend? Then decide what you want in your computer. Some of the things I needed was a large hard drive, lots of RAM, lots of ports and I wanted to hook up more than one monitor. I wanted to hook up three, but my desktop only does two (I compromised). I wanted a small CPUS and an internal CD drive, but those are hard to find. I ended up buying an external one, for the rare times that I need it. I also wanted the best processor that I could buy with my budget. What are you willing to compromise on? Hard Drive size, RAM, price?

I started looking six months in advanced and happened to find a desktop I like at a Black Friday sale. Sadly, I struggled with some computer issues for the next year, but I think all those problems have been fixed (under warranty). The laptop I got; I didn’t directly buy. A local business has what they call Amazon Mystery Boxes, these are boxes that Amazon creates when they are clearing out warehouses of certain inventory. I have never purchased one of the boxes before, which cost $40. But on a whim, I purchased one and it had a laptop in it. Talk about lucky, right?

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 16

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 16 – Download a mobile app for genealogy that you’ve been meaning to try. Some popular options include Google PhotoScan www.google.com/photos/scan or an app for your favorite family tee-builder.

Scanning apps are very handy. You might think why do you need one, you can just take a picture of something, right? Well, yes you can, however, scanning apps can straighten out the image, often creating a PDF of the document where you can search for words, phrases and such. Things that are not possible with an image.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – November 15

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 15 – Consider donating to Reclaim the Records www.reclaimtherecords.org which has a goal of releasing records to the public.

I have followed reclaimtherecords on X, formerly known as Twitter. I am amazed at what they get accomplished. However, it sometimes takes them years to get the records that are suppose to be available to the public, to actually be available to the public. So if you have a spare money, please consider donating to them.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – November 14

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 14 – Check in on your writing goals (NaNoWrMo or otherwise). If you’re behind, schedule a mini-marathon writing session in the next week to catch up.

My writing goals are simple, such as making sure I keep up this year with the daily blog posts. I use Blogger which allows me to schedule my posts to appear on the day and time I want. This feature is very useful for my daily blog posts, I do them once a week and just schedule them to appear on the proper day and time.

Did you know that FaceBook has this same feature for Groups or Pages? Create Holiday posts ahead of time and schedule them to appear on the proper day. This way you can set aside one day a week, or monthly to do all your posts for the week or month.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 13

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 13 – It’s World Kindness Day. Do a genealogy good deed: Look up information, translate a record, or read a draft of someone’s family history.

Another way to help is join some Facebook Groups and help out when someone as a question. Just remember to be careful because the written word sometimes can appear harsh. Or, if you belong to a Genealogy Group, suggest a help day, where people can come with a simple question and you try to help them.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – November 12

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 12 – Hunt down a Thanksgiving dish from yesteryear at HeritageRecipes.com www.heritagerecipes.com/Recipes.htm. Plan to serve it at your family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

I love sweet potatoes, and so does my family. I found a recipe that I will definitely be trying this year. I usually like to try at least one new recipe. Many years ago, I started making my own cranberry sauce, not the gel kind in a can. It is now one of my favorites.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 11

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 11 – This Veterans Day, add your ancestor to the WWII Memorial Registry www.wwiimemorial.com

I looked up my father-in-law and didn’t find him, so I added him to the WWII Memorial Registry. His name is Michael Filipiak from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 10

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 10 – Now that it’s designed, your family newsletter is ready to be sent! Give it one last proof, then hit Send.

In case you missed it, November 7^th’s suggestion was to design a family newsletter. Personally, this might be a little fast in getting one out. So, my suggestion, pick one ancestor or relative and dedicate the newsletter about them. If you want help on future newsletters, place a little notice about looking for co-editors/writers. Keeping the newsletters short, keeps interest high and perhaps the person will read it immediately - instead of leaving it in their inbox to be looked at later. Usually, those items are forgotten and might get deleted.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 9

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 9 – Create a wish list of software, books and subscriptions you’ve been coveting. Leave it in plain sight of anyone who might give you a holiday gift.

Also, if you know of any possible sales that usually occur, leave this in that information on your wish list. For example, Ancestry’s website has had a Black Friday sale for many years, where they offer gift subscriptions at half price. I always give myself one for the year.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 8

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 8 – Look beyond standard family tree software to add-ons that locate defunct towns and create pretty charts.

I have a family tree software add-on that can create pretty family charts, it is called Charting Companion. I must admit, I haven’t used it a while. 

The above chart was found on someone's Esty page for only $3.98 and the ad states: You will love this DIY family tree. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to have one professionally made you will be able to type in family names on your own using free Adobe Acrobat software you can download online.

You can find sites that let you order blank charts that you can fill out. Make sure to check the reviews before buying anything. If it sounds too good to be true, it might be. Also, if they don’t allow payment through a third-party vendor such as PayPal to keep your information secure, and you still want to try the company. Buy a pre-paid credit card to make your purchases and thus the store won’t have your bank information to steal.

NOTE: There is a neat trick to use up those some balances from your pre-paid cards on your Amazon account. Just Google for the answer.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 7

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 7 – Design a family newsletter. Find free templates at https://create.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/newsletters

Newsletters were more popular during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, coinciding with a surge in general interest in genealogy that was sparked by the television miniseries “Roots”.

I still think Family Newsletters can be fun, you can email the finished PDF to your family members who could either print them out or just save the issues. You could do an annual, bi-annual or maybe quarterly issues. Do you know several distant relatives who are into genealogy? You could meet once a year and create a newsletter on the interesting stuff you discover, include current activities too.

How fun would it be to compile them into one big book to share for future generations?

Other ideas, create a family history blog and publish posts similar to articles you could had included in the newsletter. How about a Facebook Group for that family line. I have two such groups, one is private for a family line and another is public for my Revolutionary Ancestor. I try to post something about once a month.  

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 6

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 6 – Chase down family stories about your Native American ancestor. Get leads at www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/research-individual.

I don’t have any Native American ancestors, but my half-siblings do. Their ancestors were from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 5

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 5 – After casting your vote today, search for your ancestors’ voting records. Contact the county election commission to ask where old records are.

Even though, this is a great suggestion. Since this is a presidential election year, you might want to wait until after January 6^th, your county election commission might be busy doing recounts or other stuff.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 4

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 4 – If you missed your favorite genealogical conference, see if you can purchase a syllabus or video recordings.

FYI – RootsTech (March 6-8, 2025) registration is now open. There is so much available online for RootsTech, check out past years videos too.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – November 3

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 3 – Take advantage of the “extra hour” you get today from Daylight Saving Time ending to search an online collection you haven’t tried.

Just for the record, not everyone will be getting an “extra hour”. I lived for 20 years in Arizona and they don’t observe Daylight Saving Time. Basically, with their hot summers, it would increate energy consumption if sunsets occur later in the day. I don’t know about that, because it wasn’t like I changed my AC when the sun went down. However, it did mean that taking a nightly dip in the pool could occur earlier, because it was usually dark by 8-8:30. However, the Navajo Nation, which is located in parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, does observe daylight saving time.

Also, Hawaii doesn’t observe it either because of its location near the equator means that there isn’t much variation in the hours of daylight throughout the year. Thus in 1967, Hawaii’s officials decided that the state didn’t need to disrupt its schedules to account for changes in daylight.

Some US territories also do not observe daylight saving times, including American Samoa, Guam, The Northern Marina Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Plus, many countries don’t participate either.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 2

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 2 – Study how US state borders changed over the decades using references such as the Atlas of Historical Geography of the United States, dsl.richmond.edu/historicalatlas.

US State borders usually changed when they were territories to becoming states. For example, my home state of Wisconsin; was at one point, part of the Michigan territory but broke off to become its own territory. That territory included all of present-day Wisconsin, as well as parts of North and South Dakota and all of Minnesota and Iowa. When it finally became a state, it lost that section of Minnesota too.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – November 1

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have introduced The Year Ahead, 366 genealogy tips will make 2024 your best research year yet by Lisa A Alzo. Lisa mapped out a day-by-day research plan.

November 1 – Roman Catholics celebrate All Saints Day today. Use the FamilySearch Wiki https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Latin_Genealogical_Word_List  to learn some Latin.

As a Roman Catholic and having many relatives as Roman Catholic, I do recognize some Latin phrases since many record books column headings are written in Latin. Annoying? Well it can be beneficial too, because English, German, Irish and so forth will have the same column headings.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!