The Year Ahead – December 31

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.

December 31– Think how far your family history research has come this year. What did you accomplish? How can you improve next year? Write down your research resolutions.

I first want to acknowledge that I managed to maintain this daily posting this past year. At times it was difficult when life throws you curve balls. Thus, I feel like this is great accomplishment.

Anyway, my major goal to publish a book on one of my 3^rd great grandparents hasn’t been accomplished yet, but I hope to have it done before summer, so that I can pick another ancestor to research. I did do a book for a cousin of my late sister-in-law. It was a wonderful project to learn some of the basics of my book generating software package.

Since I am writing this before Christmas, I am hoping to receive a gift that will aid in my slides project which is to scan the numerous slides I inherited from my father. My previous scanner required me to load a slide plate with three slides and then I could scan those three. The new scanner will let me just feed each slide into the scanner and it will save the slide. Therefore, take the slide out of the carousel, place it into the scanner and then back into the carousel.  I am hoping this process will be faster than the older one, especially since my fingers are not as nimble as they use to be. Plus, the scanner has a 7 inch viewing screen. Thus, I might have to order this for myself if I don’t receive it as a gift.

I also plan to work more on my DNA matches, now that I purchased Ancestry Pro Tools, I find that I am able to figure out more relationships for my matches. This aids in my book projects that I want to do, since, I want to figure out all the descendants of my immigrant ancestors.

I still have lots of paper and computer files to sort (as mentioned yesterday). I want to see which papers need to be inputted into my tree, those that need to be scan and if I can purge any of these items. I basically am trying to organize my files for the next generation, after I am gone. I don’t want them tossing papers because it is easier than figuring out what it is. I think I need to dedicate at least one day a week this upcoming year, otherwise, it will never get done!

As for my blogging, I plan to still do some. I participate in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks an Amy Johnson Crow project.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!