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!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 31 – Happy Halloween! Visit a Cemetery to do some “ghost-busting.” Or visit virtually at a site like Find a Grave or Billion Graves.

One of the things I like to do, is to record the Find a Grave Memorial numbers for those relatives who have died and have a Memorial record. Thus, sometimes, I run a report through my genealogy software of all those people who died and have no Memorial number recorded. I sometimes run a report of people who have no death date but are over 100 years old and see if I can find their Memorial or at least their death date.

I will spend the day or two going through my report and seeing if I can add to my tree. I will research the relatives that are linked through the Find A Grave Memorial page and verify that they are indeed their parents, siblings, spouse(s) or children. I will even update pages that are missing parents or spouses. If I look for a Memorial and I don't find one, I now record "no memorial found", so they don't show up on future reports.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 30 – Peruse the national Collection of Union Manuscripts (NUCMC) www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc for recent collections of interest or items related to your genealogy.

I never used these collections and thus I am very unfamiliar with this website. I am not exactly sure if the information is available on-line or if it is a guide on where to find the printed items in person. So take a look and see what you find out.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 29– Download writing software Scrivener www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/download for your next writing project.

Even though I consider myself a computer nerd, because I have a computer degree, I use my computer almost on a daily basis, I am set in my ways. I don’t necessarily like to learn new things. Shocking Right! I am comfortable using Microsoft Word. Funny thing, my first word processor program I used was Word Perfect. I was a pro at it. Then my work started using Microsoft Office 95. I was sent to classes to learn, Word, Excel, and more. The trainers were former Word Perfect users and they taught by referencing how we did it in Word Perfect then they showed how they do it in Word 95. It was so much easier in Word 95. I have never looked back.

I guess what I am saying is, if you have something you like, it’s okay to stick to it, if it meets all your needs. If not, then check out Scrivener. Especially if you don’t have anything or don’t like your current software package. It offers a true 30 day trial version, you get 30 days of using it, and they don't have to be consecutive days. To purchase the program, currently it is less than $60.00. This is quite a deal compared to purchasing Microsoft Word or the Office Suite.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 28 – Register for National Novel Writing Month (“NaNoWriMO”) www.nanowrimo.org, which starts November 1. Despite the name, the project isn’t helpful just for novel writers; join to encourage yourself to write more in general.

This is one of the reasons I joined “52 Ancestors in 52Weeks” by Amy Johnson Crow. After I signed up, I receive weekly prompts and how I interpret the prompt is up to me.  What I like about the 52 weeks, it gives me a chance to review parts of my tree, that I might not looked at for years. Writing things out, helps me see new avenues to pursue to find out more information. However, since I put these into a blog, it is a way for me to preserve my ancestry for other relatives, both current and future generations.  If I ever wanted to do a book, I could pull these blog posts into one document and generate a book.

I started off small, doing perhaps one or two prompts a month. Then I decided one year to try to do every week, fail miserably because life gets in the way. I go on vacation or maybe the prompt didn’t move me. However, it got me writing about my relatives, not just my ancestors and being spotlighted by Amy when she gives out the new weekly prompt is very satisfying.  

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 27 – Type up a one-page profile about a favorite ancestor. Add photos, print it on nice paper, and frame it to make a great present.

You could take this one step further. What doing several ancestors and make a book or booklet of them Have you ever thought about creating a blog site, you can make them private if you are unsure about this suggestion? Then create blog posts about various ancestors or relatives. Actually, this is already the thinking behind, Amy Johnson Crow's “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks”.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 26 – Connect with other genealogists in Facebook groups https://socialmediagenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list/

Note: as of January 2021, all future updates and maintenance of the list is being handled by Cyndi Ingle of Cyndi's List at https://cyndislist.com/facebook.

I belong to many Genealogy Facebook groups, some are based on websites I use, others on software programs, even methodology for genealogy. These groups have rules, read them carefully and don’t break the rules. If their group isn’t the place for a DNA question, don’t ask a DNA question. Learn where to find the feature posts, these might be the most common concerns within a group and the admins might want to keep them consolidated into one post. There might be files they share. Also learn how to properly follow a questions, by clicking the three dots in the upper right hand corner of the post and then select “Turn on notifications for this post”. This way when someone makes a reply, you will find it in your notifications (the bell on your Facebook page). Also, learn how to search the group’s previous posts to see if someone already asked a question you have.

I have learned so much from my Facebook Groups. I even save some posts and you can save them (clicking those three dots) into organized groups that you name for future reference. Google how to do something in Facebook if you don’t know how to do something.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 25 – Believe it or not, the holidays are just around the corner. Start working on some genealogy-themed gifts. See www.familytreemagazine.com/projects/gifts/best-genealogy-gifts for ideas.

Some of these gift ideas are for your fellow family genealogist, however, I like to make genealogy gifts once in a while to share my findings with my family.

I have done family tree chart gifts and they were well received. I print them on nice paper, or get a pre-printed form and fill it out with your best hand writing. I then frame them, so they have no excuse to display it somewhere.

If you are like me, and already have a lot of my shopping done, think about next year. Perhaps a small family history book, a collection of photographs or newspaper clippings about some of your direct ancestors. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 24 – Create a family tribute video with free software Adobe Spark spark.adobe.com or iMovie then share with a relative.

You will need to create an account. My normal TIP: Always create an account using your email with an unique password. Don't use your Google, Facebook or Apple account, because if a hacker gets access to that account, then every account you created with that login will be compromised.

I seem to see these tribute video at people’s funerals. How nice it would be if we could present them to our love ones while they are still here with us. Christmas is two months away, perhaps you could do one as a Christmas gift to a love one.  For new parents, how about their child’s first year? How about, a recap of the school years for a recent graduate? Maybe you made an exciting new discovering in your research, you could create a short video showing those results. Let your imagination go wild. There are no wrong answers.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 23 – Outline a narrative covering your ancestor’s life. Analyze and resolve conflicts, look for additional documents, identify gaps and confirm your sources.

My genealogy software package, Family Tree Maker has a timeline function. It takes all the facts I have inputted for a person and allows me to view them. I use this often for finding gaps or to see conflicting information. I also know they have a similar function on Ancestry. If you use a different program, check out to see what they have to give this type of function.

This is a collateral relative and thus I don't include all the information. For my direct line relatives, I will have residences included from census records and city directories. This helps in case, I am missing a birth record for a child, I could see when they were born and perhaps a census records and city directories can help me determine where the child might have been born. Keep in mind, that some times women left the home and went to their mothers, aunts or sisters houses to have babies. 

The biggest conflicts I am finding are the dates being reported in someone’s obituary doesn’t always match up to the actual records that I find. I find birth and marriage years off by one or more years. Lesson learned here: Don’t rely on only one source for information. Usually, the record closest to the event is most accurate. However, even official records can introduce errors, humans are flawed by nature.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 22

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.

October 22– What did your ancestors earn in today’s dollars? Let an inflation calculator https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm tell you.

After my father passed away in 2011, I came across some documents that included his last paystub in Dec 1989, the year he retired. First of all, I surprise how little the pay actually was, because he was a salaried person. I remember my sister thought my father made $100,000. And she wasn’t anywhere close to what he actually made.

He made $30,000 in 1989 and based on today’s standards, it still isn’t $100,000. It is only a little more than $75,000. I always thought of us as middle class, and I still do.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 21 – Visit (or re-visit) the Library of Congress www.loc.gov for historical maps, photographs, documents, newspapers and oral histories.

I find myself going to the same four on-line websites. We all need to get out of our comfort zones and explore other resources. Especially when we hit road blocks or just don’t seem to find much on our ancestor or relative. Instead of just saving more websites within your browser bookmark function, create a word or excel document for storing this information. Then you can add a brief description of what databases/information they have that you like. Perhaps the last day you visited that site. Then once a month, every other month, or every quarter, pick a day to visit your document and see what websites you have been under utilizing.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 20

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.

October 20 – Explore new digital collections on FamilySearch; from www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list, sort by Last Updated.

I have used FamilySearch’s card catalog; however, I didn’t know this list was here. I am very excited to see Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1740-1900 since I have Irish Roots.

When I brought up the list, it was alphabetically by default. Thus, I click on Last updated. This then sorted the list with the oldest date first, so I had to click it once more to get the most current to display first. I can also change the list from 10 items to 20, 50, 100 or all items. Within each date, it doesn’t sort the list alphabetically, so maybe there is a time field, we don’t see. And thus, the list might be sorted by the actually time it was uploaded

My desired collection shows a camera icon to represent there are images, however, the few records I looked at stated there was no image available. Thus, the items might not be available for all records within the collection.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 19 – Celebrate Sweetest Day by writing about a sweet moment in your or an ancestor’s life. (First kiss, prom date, or first time meeting a person.)

I think back onto my first kiss. I was with my Senior Girl Scout troop, helping to setup/open up a Girl Scout Camp in the northern section of our Girl Scout Council. There to assist in the project was a Camping Group, a group of families who camp together. We had to set up the big tents on platforms and move in cots and more.

Anyway, there was several families with children, and one family had two sons who were in our age group. At night, we all sat around the big campfire and he cozy up to me. We had smore’s and laugh and talked as a group. This campfire was a little distance from where my troop set up our campsite, thus he and his brother walked us back to our site. This is when I got my first kiss.  Even though he lived nearby my home, we never did get together again. Ironically, my husband had graduated from the same High School this young man was attending. My husband would have already been out of school when this sweet little first kiss happened.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 18 – Design a scrapbook layout or collage with cemetery souvenirs. Including tombstone photographs, obituaries, graveyard history and a map.

There is a cemetery in Doylestown, Columbia County, Wisconsin where many of my relatives are buried. Many years ago, a distant cousin and her daughter transcribed the entire cemetery (long before Find A Grave became popular).

However, this project idea is very similar to project that DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) are doing within their chapters. They are mapping out various cemeteries near their meeting places. One thing they recommended was to start with a smaller cemetery. This can become quite a big project.

Thus, if I want to do this cemetery, Find A Grave shows there are 898 memorials, this would be quite a project. One of the cemetery photos happened to be of my relative, Edward McMahon who died at age 16. He is listed on one side of the large stone and his mother is showing on the other side. In the distance and to the left of the previous stone mentioned is another McMahon descendant.

This might make for an interesting project where I could just highlight my relatives in a cemetery. I will have to add this to my long list of project ideas.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 17 – Start a family health history tree using the free My Family Health Portrait software https://cbiit.github.io/FHH/html/index.html

I was never that interested in a family health history, until my intellectually challenged sister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They checked her blood work to see if this was inherited and part of the process was answering a series of questions that asked about close relatives and causes of death. This is when I realized, how much I didn’t know about the causes of death from my close relatives.

The Surgeon General's My Family Health Portrait tool does NOT allow the government or other entities to access your information. The tool provides the software for organizing your information, but your information is not transmitted back to government or other servers and can only be downloaded by you. Your information is never available to anyone else, unless you choose to share it. The Surgeon General's tool does not provide medical advice. For questions related to family health history and your health, talk to your doctor.

 Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 16 – Design a family photo calendar using Lulu www.lulu.com or Shutterfly www.shutterfly.com

I always like this idea, but what photo’s do you want to include? Family history photos you have or have found while researching. Perhaps an interesting document. Don’t forget to include some ancestor’s birthdates or anniversaries on this calendar. Perhaps this could become a Christmas gift as a way to share your family history with your family. Feeling pressured to get it done for this year? Then design one for 2026. Just set-up some due dates so you can get it done in time for next year. Perhaps decide on what you want for each month, what dates you might want highlighted in your calendar. Just let your imagination go wild.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 15– Catch up on your favorite genealogy podcasts – including the Family Tree Magazine podcast, due for a new episode today.

I don’t know why I haven’t listened to any podcasts? I could have been using my iPad for listening to podcasts. I already use it to read blog posts. Doing a Google Search, I found many of ways to listening to podcasts. Since my iPad is an Apple device, I will start by using this app.

My challenge to myself and you (if you so decide to partake). Start listening to podcasts. You can listen while you are driving, or in my case, while I am reaching.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 14 – Find resources for Indigenous Peoples’ Day by visiting https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360

My half-siblings descend from the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin. I find researching this branch of their family very interesting. I have found some books about their relatives that was written by one of their distant relatives. Their 4th great-grandfather was Vieux Caron, Menominee leader, who died ca. 1780.

• The Menominee are a federally recognized Native American tribe whose history dates back 10,000 years.
• The Menominee refer to themselves as Mamaceqtaw, which means "the people". The name Menominee comes from the Algonkian word manomin, which means "wild rice".
• The Menominee Indian Reservation is in Wisconsin, and includes parts of central and mid-eastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
• The Menominee once occupied 10 million acres of land, but treaties with the U.S. government reduced their land base to 235,000 acres today.
• The Menominee economy is dominated by lumber sales, which account for about half of the reservation's economic activity. The tribe also has a casino, hotel, and logging camp museum. 
• The Menominee are known for tapping maple trees for syrup each spring, and some still gather medicinal plants.
• The Menominee are the only present-day tribe in Wisconsin whose origin story indicates they have always lived in the state.
• The Menominee are also known as Anishinaabe, Chippewa, Ojibway, and Ojibwe.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 13 – On this International Day for Disaster Reduction, research how disasters such as fires and floods affected your ancestors’ using newspapers, coroner’s records and history books.

This makes me think of the latest Hurricane that swept through the South and left much destruction in its path. If it isn’t affecting us personally, what are you seeing on TV. Imagine if this was 100 years ago, how well do you think your ancestors would have handled it.

I can’t imagine what these survivors are going through. My prayers and thoughts are with them.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 12 – Farmers in your family tree? Learn how to trace them www.cyndislist.com/farming.

I have many Farmers in my family tree. At least prior to 1900, there were almost all Farmers. They may have had another trade, but they also farmed.

Cyndi’s List led me to the BLM – The Bureau of Land Management; Patents. I tried see if my 3^rd great grandfather, Thomas Goodwin was listed. Doc 25214 was found and it appears Thomas was granted 80 acres because of his Military Service.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 11 – Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, starts at sunset today. Access Yizkor books, cemetery information, and more at Jewish Gen.

I don’t have Jewish ancestry; however, I do have a few Jewish friends, not all practicing Jewish, just like I consider myself Catholic just not a devote Catholic, I don’t go to church. However, I like to learn about other religions. Or is Jewish an ethnicity? Anyway, expand your horizons, because you never know if you might come across a Jewish relative.  

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 10 – Visit Pinterest www.pinterest.com  for inspiration on genealogy crafts and projects.

I did this many years ago, I still get email notifications from Pinterest on genealogy crafts and projects. My problem, I just don’t get Pinterest. To me it seems to be a serious of links from this page to that page to the next page. I never seem to find step by step instructions or even an outline of the craft or project. I must admit, that I also didn’t spend much time on this site. However, don’t take my limited skills or interest to determine you checking it out. I did see some interesting items, that I ended up googling to find out more information about the item.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 9 – Frame an old record about some’s ancestor, then give it to them. The gift might pique their interest.

I like doing this for my half-siblings. I have given them Christmas gifts that pertain to their Father’s Ancestry, my mother’s first husband. It’s nice when my nieces and nephews know about these items. When my eldest brother died a couple of years ago, my only desire was that these items were kept in the family. My niece, his daughter said to me “Of course, and she took the items home”.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 8 – Those of Polish, Slovak and other Eastern European descent celebrate National Pierogi Day today. Find and try a pierogi recipe.

My husband’s family is of Polish descent, in fact his grandfather was the immigrant ancestor who came here from Poland. I remember the first pierogi I ever had was when attending his sister’s wedding. It was in Chicago, and the entire 7 course meal was Polish cuisine. Having been raised on a lot of German/Irish cuisine, I saw many similarities. This was by far, the best meal I ever ate in my entire life.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 7 – Check for Family history month events (or even monthly genealogy society meetings) held in your area.

If you type genealogy followed by your county name such as: genealogy Sheboygan County, you will get a list of links.

This list consisted of how to do genealogy research at the county court house, Family Search’s Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Genealogy wiki page, RootsWeb Sheboygan County Page which hasn’t been updated since 2019, Wisconsin State Genealogical Society County page with links, Genealogy Trails page for Sheboygan County, plus more.

I did not find any Genealogical Societies in Sheboygan County; however, I did find many Historical Societies.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 6 – Sign up for a free trial at a subscription genealogy site you’ve been meaning to try.

Make sure to check out how to cancel your free trial before signing up for any site. Do you have to call to cancel? Try calling the number before you sign up and see how long the wait time is. Does the number even work?  Make sure to cancel your free trial before the end of the subscription period. If you do sign up for a subscription, don’t leave it on automatic renewal. For example; Ancestry will allow you to cancel your subscription, however the verbiage will make it seem you will be cancelled immediately. However, you will have your subscription for the entire time you signed up for.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 5 – Interest a youngster in family history with old phots and a family tree chart. Tell a story about an ancestor’s life or your own.

Many years ago, I got my nephew, who is the same age as my youngest daughter interested in Genealogy. I got him interested into DNA and he took the test, got my brother to test and his sister to test too. He might have gotten his mother to test, but I would not know, because we are not a DNA match. Anyway, he has broken through some of my brickwalls with his wonderful analytical mind.  Now that he has obtained his law degree, I am hoping he can still find time to do research.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – October 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.

October 4 – In full swing since mid-September, Oktoberfest season is a chance to don your lederhosen and celebrate your German Roots.

I always thought I had more German Roots than I actually had, thanks to finding out my mother was born out of wedlock and the man that raised her wasn’t her biological father. However, my father’s paternal grandmother was German. Also, I love Germany, after visiting the country when I was in high school.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!