The Year Ahead – January 31

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.

January 31 – The first month of the year has flown by! Review your genealogy progress, then put up your fee and relax.

I like reviewing what I have accomplished in my genealogy research. This is why I have that calendar/journal book I mentioned earlier. I managed to finish a family history book for my sister-in-law’s cousin. I started the book last year and I finally finished all the proofing, created a cover and sent it off to the self-publishing company. Yahoo!

Now I can return to my own family history book research project on the Goodwin descendants. My goal this year, don’t let anyone talk me into doing their book before I finish mine.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 30 – Start a family history album that includes photographs and copies of family documents. Get inspiration at www.parade.com/1344479/marynliles/scrapbooking-ideas. 

Scrapbooks don’t have to be hard or expensive buying all kinds of specialty products. I like using website’s like Shutterfly where I can create a small 8” x 8” book. Don’t know where to start, pick one ancestor, one of your beloved grandparents. Do you have any pictures? Can your siblings or cousins share a favorite story about that grandparent? Include a picture of your sibling or cousin on the page of their story. Look for vital records, census records to fill in the pages. Show a simple descendant chart. Don’t over think it, keep it simple.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 29 – Make your own family history trivia game with the tips at www.familytreemagazine.com/kids/not-so-trivial-pursuit.

What a great idea. However, for me, it’s very difficult because being the youngest of a large family, I don’t even know trivia about my family. What about a game about your living family such as “Do You Really Know Your Family?” offered by Amazon. 

Another game I saw was "Who Really Knows Me!". A fun game where everyone tries to match your answer. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 28 – Organize your genealogy periodicals, including electronic versions. Give extra print copies to a friend or library.

The genealogy library in my former town would get genealogy periodicals donated all the time. Even old issues have many helpful hints. References to online resources might be out of date, but techniques don’t go out of date as fast. 

I found past issues of the Genealogical Helper on Internet Archive. Other websites such as the National Genealogical Society has archived their past magazines for members.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 27 – Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Learn more at www.ushmm.org/remember/international-holocaust-remembrance-day.

My only experience with the holocaust has been from me reading the Diary of Ann Frank. Reading about a young girl who lived this horror. Sadly, genocide happened before this and on some levels, it still is happening today. We must remember the critical lessons of the Holocaust history so that we don’t repeat it.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 26 – Brainstorm ideas for a genealogy blog, and research possible platforms. Check GeneaBloggers www.geneabloggers.com for tips and inspiration.

I have three genealogy blogs. They all can be found at my website of www.cmfilipiak.weebly.com I started one in 2011 for a surname, titled "Hilts and Hiltz Cousins Blog" in connection to my private Facebook group by the same name. I haven’t done much on this blog, but I know it’s here when I do start researching this family branch again. 

My second blog also started in 2011, titled “My Simple Genealogy Research Blog” was for my personal research. A place I could record strange findings, share new technology or anything else I pertained to my person research.

My third and final blog is titled “Out on a Limb Genealogy" which I started in 2013. This is where I share stories from assisting other people’s research. I even used it for software tips.

So, what ideas do you want for a genealogy blog? Remember to do this blog for yourself, don’t worry if no one else will read it. I don’t have huge numbers of people reading my blogs, however the few that have left comments have been newly found relatives or other people who also found it interesting. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 25 – Find your nearest FamilySearch Center or partnering library. Run a Google search, or visit www.familysearch.org/centers/locations.

When I inputted my zip code, I find FamilySearch Center and affiliates. A center is managed by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah while an affiliate library may be a public or higher education library, archive, museum, cultural center or genealogical or historical society. 

Affiliates are usually open to the public more hours than most FamilySearch centers. Plus, they may offer other services such as other historical and genealogical collections, even access to additional records through the library’s inter-library loan system; research assistance; and media conversion resources.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 24 – Consult Cyndi’s List www.cyndislist.com/queries to find message boards related to your ancestral surnames and places of reference.

I love Cyndi’s List, however a warning that many don’t use message boards like they use to. This doesn’t mean they don’t have useful information, or helpful hints. Many users are turning to Facebook and creating groups for surnames and places. Also, you might find items on X, formerly known as Twitter or Instagram.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 23 – Celebrate National Handwriting Day by trying to decipher script in hard-to-read records. Get tips at www.familytreemagazine.com/records/documentary-evidence.

Reading old handwriting or even my own handwriting can be challenging. I like to transcribe all documents, especially those with hard to read handwriting, so that I don’t have to keep trying to make out the document every time I review it. After the first time, I can refer my transcription, however you always want the original to reference, in case you think you made a mistake in the transcription.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 22 – Decide how you’ll include online keyword searches in your research log.

 

This is a big change in research logs since the internet was developed. Not only do you need to write down the website site, if using Ancestry, Newspapers or FamilySearch, but what secondary databases and what you inputted into the database search engine. One way, might be to do a screen shot before hitting enter and then save the file with a name that has the time and date and website in the name. Such as: Research Log – Ancestry 19 Jan 2024 12 31 pm. Then put that file name into your manual research log, so you know where to find the image you saved. Save all these images in a folder on your computer as “Research Log”.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 21

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.

January 21 – Fill out the vital-record request forms you collected on the 17^th. Record the request in your correspondence log.

This is great advice if you are mailing out these requests. Don’t forget to record those that might have been sent electronically too. However, if you are like me and do some in-person requests, still fill out the form, however you might want to put them into a “Research Trip” folder so you remember to take them with you. Make this folder a pocket folder or expanding folder, then if you drop the folder, everything might not fall out of it. I speak from personal experience.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 20 – Create a genealogy correspondence log in an Excel spreadsheet. List letters you send and receive alongside contact information.

In my early days of research, late 1980’s and early 1990’s, I kept a paper correspondence log. Sometimes, replies took many months, and I would have forgotten to follow up with the log.

In today’s world, you might want to keep track of Ancestry messages you send to other members. Even though Ancestry saves the messages on your account, having an easy spot to review who you sent messages to, is nice.

Also, emails you might send out to people or organizations. I can group my sent emails if I want, however the correspondence log makes the visual easier and you can create separate tabs in Excel for different types of correspondence. One for USPS (snail mail), one for emails, another for Facebook and yet another for Ancestry messages.

Lastly, be patient, I have been known to put off an email and then totally forget about it. Therefore, send out gentle reminder emails, but give them sometime between the emails.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy! 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 19 – Call your local public library or state archive and arrange a tour of the genealogy department. Look for special collections, especially those that aren’t digitized.

Having an appointment for a tour is much better than just showing up and hoping they have time to give you a tour. Check out their website, if they have one and get familiar with what they offer and thus you can ask about their locations during your tour.

Don’t forget that some historical societies and genealogical societies have resources too that might not be located in the Public Library or State Archive. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 18 – Use holiday cards and family newsletters to update your relatives’ contact information. Make sure everyone knows how to reach you, too.

I have noticed that the number of holiday cards I received have gone down drastically. I send out almost 40 cards every year and get about 20 back. I think I only received one family newsletter and it was a friend’s newsletter.

I now use Facebook as a way of updating my tree and keeping in contact with relatives. When a cousin posts “Happy Birthday” to their child, I now have a birthdate. If they give me their age too, I have the year. They may post pictures of their grandchildren too. I have made a general source labelled Facebook and will record, who posted the information, what day they posted it. I even can take a snapshot of the post using the snipping tool on my computer or take a picture using my phone and sending the picture to my email.

Think of the many ways we can stay in contact with our relatives. When I moved in 2020, I made sure my Christmas Cards had my new address on the inside of the card, not just on the envelope. When I see a post on Facebook that someone moved, I send them a private message asking for their new address. Sometimes, I even use county tax records to find their current address.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 17 – Make a list of vital records you need. Check each states office’s website for record locations, fees and forms. 

In my genealogy software package of Family Tree Maker, I can make to-do-list and categorize the item. Here is an example of a Death Certificate to-do-list I created for my 2nd great grandmother. I marked it completed and added the note of “obtained copy”. If I don’t find it, I can write, not found. This to-do-list helps me create travel days in my state. If I get enough items for a county, I might plan a day trip to do some in-person research.

I even create General Task for each County Courthouse, with the address, the room number, their hours. I have been adding phone numbers and websites to the task so that I can verify hours or call ahead of time to make sure they will be open.

For more remote Vital Records offices, I might have their website for ordering copies and the cost of the copies. Even though many county offices use Vitalchek to obtain copies, some still will have the option to mail in a form with your check or money order, along with a copy of your official ID. Working directly with some county offices is cheaper however it might be slower.

Another option is to see if there is a local Historical Society or Genealogical Society who might have members who will obtain these copies for you for a small donation or fee. 

Remember, not everything is available on-line, perhaps only an index is available and there is no way to know if you are looking at accurately transcribed information.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 16 – Download indexes for all 20-plus years of Family Tree Magazine at www.familytreemagazine.com/freebie-article-index-downloads.

I do keep my past issues of Family Tree Magazine. The first 16 years are on several CD’s and a few additional issues are on my computer in PDF format. I love getting the magazine in the mail, I love the pull-out sections for the Cheat Sheet and the Research Guides. I wish Family Tree Magazine still offered those wonderful CD’s but I understand that CD’s are a thing of the past. Many new computers don’t even come with a CD drive. They do offer digital issues of the magazine for purchase. At one time I subscribed to both the digital issues and the print issues but then the digital issues stop being PDF’s and I had to use a separate program to read them. I like PDF’s because I can read those on my iPad.

Anyway, check out the index, I find some past articles are still relevant today. Keep in mind that those articles that reference weblinks might not still work

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 15 – This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, find out how your family may have been involved in civil rights movements. Start at the National Civil Rights Museum www.civilrightsmuseum.org

To be honest, I don’t think my family really got involved in the Civil Rights Movement or any other type of movement. I know my dad believed everyone should have the same rights as everyone else, no matter of their race, sex, or religious affiliation. I follow his example. He was the International Service Manager for Mercury Marine and travelled the world, thus, he met all kinds of people.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 14 – Make an index of what’s in each file folder or binder and post it on their covers. Create a master index that includes all your files, too. Receive your free copy of  a Table of Contents for Files

Personally, I don’t do this, however, I can see the advantage of doing this. It’s just not the way I look at my research. My file folders are pretty self-explanatory, since they are for a married couple, everything in that folder is for that couple. I also don't have huge contents in my folder and there are copies on my computer. However, if my file folders were huge or if I was using a binder system, I would like an index at the beginning of the folder or binder.  Then, I would see at a glance what is in the folder or binder and the order.

I guess, I am ultimately lazy and the thought of creating a master index, seem daunting.  I know I would never keep up such as system. Thus, remember, this is your genealogy and you need to do what you will maintain. You do want to keep a well-organized system, something a stranger would easily follow and something you will maintain. There are some habits I saw the advantage of doing and yes it took a while to develop it into my normal procedures. You will be the best person to decide what will work best for you and your research.

Even if I do or don’t do something that these tips are suggesting, doesn’t make me or them right or wrong. These are suggestions to help all of us in our research. Each of us, will need to decide what will help us to improve our research. 

Please take a few minutes and really evaluate the pros and cons of developing one of these tips into your daily routine. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 13 – File any loose documents in your family history binder or file folders.

Wow, this is big one. I have piles of loose documents and notes. Things I started and didn’t finish. YIKES, I see a new shiny bright object and I would throw down my current research to follow that shiny bright object. 

To help me avoid, doing this, I use my Task list and my research notes in my Family Tree Maker software to write down that shiny object, so I can follow it a different day. I might make a digital copy of that website, document, and place it into a “working” or “further research” folder, so that I can find it later.

I have slowly started going through my old piles of loose documents and I make sure I have the information into my tree, that I have properly sourced that information. I will make a digital copy of that document, if I don’t already have it. I will then decide if I need the paper copy (is it an original such as a vital record or marriage invitation) and file it or shred it if not needed because it’s not an original item.

Basically, I developed knew procedures when I do research. This has reduced the number of loose copies I have. It has helped me stay more focus on the current research project/goal. As for those shiny bright objects, they still occur but I have not let it derail my current research project/goal.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 12 – Start a research log or journal. The free online tool Trello www.trello.com can track your tasks in lists and cards. 

I am not big on research logs. However, I have used them and they can be very useful, especially when working on a specific research goal. You can easily see what you have already tried, where you already have research and where you might still need to look at.

My genealogy program, Family Tree Maker has a built-in research log and journal. It actually has research notes field for each person. This is set to private and thus if you sync to Ancestry, it will not sync or transfer to your Ancestry tree. I have used this many times, after a big research session to put my findings, conclusions, and possible follow-up suggestions. 

Version 2019 has a Change Log or journal of at least the last 1000 things I modified in my tree. I can go back and see what I was last working on and when it was done.

I also use the Task area to record things I might want to follow up on. I have used it to plan research trips, by creating a category to help me sort my future tasks.

Plus, I have a physical calendar planner where I write myself general notes of what I did today in regards to my genealogy research. 

However, you decide to track and record research, don’t forget this important step. You don’t want to waste time visiting the same courthouse, looking for the same records that are not there.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 11 – Transfer digital photos from your devices to your computer and/or your cloud storage account. 

Remember when we said to backup your research. Well, our photos are pretty important too. Just recently, Shutterfly stated that they were going to remove customer’s photos from their computer if the customer hasn't ordered a product in a while. I read horror stories where Shutterfly deleted customers photos and it was the only place these precious photos lived. They lost all these photos. 

Today’s computers have large hard drive capacity. Transfer or at least copy your photos from your devices to your computer and then incorporate those files into your backup system.

You might have purchased additional storage space with your phone’s cloud service, which is great. Thus, you can have many more photos at your fingertips. How many photos are on your phone? How do you find what you are looking for. Are they organized? With my iPhone, I can create categories for my photos. It’s a lot easier to find my photos, I just click on a category and now I see only a small subset of my photos.  How would you feel if they all suddenly disappeared? Do you know how easy it is to delete a photo by accident? Again, this is why you want to have them stored in more than one place.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 10 – Most 1890 US census records were destroyed 103 years ago today. See what parts survived at https://www.archives.gov/research/census/about

The biggest newbie question I hear is why they can’t find their relative in the 1890 US Census. Many people don’t realize there was a fire and the census records were damaged by the water used to put out the fire.  Paper can get moldy when wet.

Don’t forget about state census records to help fill in the gap between the 1880 and 1900 US Census. Some states took their own census and these were usually taken between US census years. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

 

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 9 – Review family history note from your conversations with relatives, and add new information to your software and/or charts.

To be honest, I don’t have notes from conversations with my relatives. My older relatives died while I was still in grade school. Sadly, I didn’t write notes of conversations I had with my parents.  However, I do have notes, when I visited courthouses and didn’t pay for a copy of the vital records, since they were too expensive in my state, I recorded what I saw. These along with any previous documents you saved or printed are great to review. I have a better knowledge of genealogy today than 20 years ago. I have a bigger tree today than 20 years ago. Some of those people attending a funeral might actually be relatives that now they maybe in your tree to expand on. For example: if they state Mr and Mrs John Jones and their son, Clifford attended a funeral. Maybe now you have a John Jones in your tree and you can research to see if that John also has a son Clifford. 

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 8 – Create a backup system for your research that uses the 3-2-1 principle: three different copies on two different media, with at least one of them backed up offsite (such as in the cloud)

We all know that backups are important. However, just like dusting our baseboards, it’s something we put off because it’s not fun. You would think that learning the hard way, would have been enough for me to change my habits. Sadly, not at first. I have lost information over the years because of computer issues. 

In my early years of research, I worked on a family history book with my aunt. I manually typed it up using WordPerfect. This was in the early 1990’s. I printed out the pages as we went, we photocopied images onto the pages, where I left blank space for the photos. While working on this book, I diligently, put in all the proper codes to populate the table of contents and a book index. However, before I could generate the index, my computer failed and I lost the entire book. Looking back, if I had taken the computer to a computer guru, she/he would have been able to rescue my hard drive. My computer was having a keyboard issue on the motherboard. Backups in those days wasn’t cheap. The file was too big to copy to a floppy drive and external hard drives were out of my reach.

Fast forward many years. When I started to do more genealogy and external hard drives were more economical, I started a monthly back up of my important computer data. I knew I didn’t need the programs; those could be reinstalled. I keep a small box, for all my install disk for my computer along with any program codes to activate if needed. I even created those “restore” disk when I purchased a new computer. However, my external hard drive crashed. I had moved some things to my external hard drive that I didn’t have on my computer. Big Mistake! Then I got the “blue screen” of death and knew I should be okay; except I hadn’t done my monthly backups for about 6 months. You know the saying, later, later, I was too busy to be bothered. I lost six months of my genealogy research; I will never know exactly what I lost. 

I have placed a monthly reminder on my phone for my monthly backups and I have added a cloud backup system too. The one I use isn’t important, what is important is that I am using a cloud backup system. It does incremental backups, which means only new files or files that have changed are backed up nightly. It also offers a sync drive where I can store files that I can access easily not only from my desktop, but from my laptop too. I have placed my genealogy documents on this drive. 

I have had many “blue screen” of death over the years, even with my new computer I purchased in 2022. However, restoring from the cloud backup and my manual hard drive have made it almost painless. 

One final note, if you use flash drives, don’t forgot to back up those too. I have a folder on my desktop computer for backing up my flash drives, and then my cloud backup system can back those up for me. I also, back them up monthly on my external hard drive. I don’t use my flash drives that much anymore, so I only back up those that have changed.

Remember to have fun and Just do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 7 – Some Orthodox Christian churches continue to use the Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas today. Learn how to convert between the Julian and Gregorian calendars www.stevemorse.org/jcal/julian.html

This website even shows when each country switched over. Being from the United States of America, I decided to see what they had.

Country                                                 Last Julian Date            First Gregorian Date

United States – British Colonies          Sep 2, 1752                    Sept 14, 1752

United States – French Colonies          1582                               1582

United States – Spanish Colonies        1582                               1582

United States – Alaska                         Oct 6, 1867                     Oct 18, 1867     

*Note: Alaska skipped 11 days instead of 12 because it flipped over the dateline as it made the change

Canada                                                  Sep 2, 1752                    Sept 14, 1752

Canada, Nova Scotia                            Sep 2, 1752                    Sept 14, 1752

*Note: Nova Scotia used Gregorian calendar from 1605 to Oct 13, 1710 and then switched back to Julian Calendar

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 6 – Get involved in your local community. Find a senior citizens center, Rotary Club, library, or historical society and see if you can volunteer or organize a family history workshop.

Other options could include genealogical societies, genealogy clubs, lineage societies. I even taught beginning genealogy classes at my local community college, but they also offered free talks and I did several on beginning genealogy topics. 

Many schools will have a homework assignment on family history, and even if you can’t present the topic in the classroom, perhaps you can give helpful hints to the teachers who will be teaching the subject.

What about a genealogy blog, like this one. I feel as if I am giving back to the community, might not just be my local community, but it’s a community of people.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 5 – Take a stop to an office-supply store or browse online to stock up on file folders, notepads, pencils, USB drives, whatever’s on your supply list.

Even though on-line shopping is very convenient. I like browsing the clearance racks at my local stores. Many years ago, I was able to get colored file folders. Both the hanging and non-hanging type. That was the year I redid my file system and changed from binders to a color-coded system. 

My local office-supply store has recently closed. So, check out the office-supply area of grocery stores or discount department stores. They might be having a sale on some items. What about the clearance area of these stores, I find all kinds of treasures there. Plus, I have found office-supplies at the dollar stores, the variety might not be there, but I have found post-it-notes, pens, highlighters, pencils and more. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 4 – Spent too much on holiday gifts? Evaluate your 2024 genealogy budget. Consider how to get more out of free resources, including trials at subscription websites.

Remember that Journal I talked about yesterday. This is a great place to list your genealogy subscription websites. When do they expire, how much do they cost. I started purchasing myself gift subscriptions for Ancestry during the Black Friday Sale in 2017. I have gotten myself one every year since. Saving 50% off the price of a yearly World subscription is great. I might even update myself next year to the All Access Plus to include Newspapers.com. 

My advice on any subscription service, genealogy or otherwise, you might want to turn off automatic renewals, especially for those yearly subscriptions. I have subscribed to other websites, and this allows me to review if I am using the website to justify the expensive. HINT: most websites allow you to access the site through the end of paid subscription, even if you turn off the automatic renewals. Some even will send you a discount email if you don’t renew automatically. 

Also, free sites such as FamilySearch has lots of information. Don’t forget about public libraries and their Ancestry library subscription along with other’s they might offer to patrons. Bring a flash drive to save your finds to your computer. If you have a laptop, bring along your laptop so you can look at your tree and what you might want to research. 

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 3 - Take an inventory of your supplies and research materials. List what you still need. 

I have a confession; I am an office supply junkie. Or would you call me a hoarder? I never seem to have enough post-it-notes, pens, mechanical pencils, highlighters, write-out. Plus, don’t get me started on the number of books I have. I also have lots of old issues of Family Tree Magazine. I did manage to reduce my pile of Family Tree Magazine issues when they use to sell a year’s worth of issues on a CD.

I keep a book list using the website, LibraryThing. It is completely free, it can track your books, movies, music. Apps for iPhone and Android are available. Therefore, I don’t have to be in my office to see what books I have and what I don’t have. 

As for supplies, I have told myself, I am not allowed to buy anymore supplies. I allow myself to buy ink for my printer and that is about it. I also read some where that I should keep the number of pens, pencils, highlighters to a minimum that are on my desk. Otherwise, we might spend too much time trying to determine what pen to write with.

One thing I have started using is a Journal. It’s a bullet journal. I tried to create my own, but found one through Amazon called Clever Fox that fit’s my needs. Besides the blank calendar spreads, it has the weekly spread too. I fill out the entire year ahead of time, usually in November. It has goal pages, a focus page, a mind map, gratitude, daily rituals, vision board, year at a glance and blank pages. I record in general terms what I did that day, genealogy wise. What line I researched, how many new people were added, if I wrote a blog post. It reminds me of all the stuff I actual did that day. It sits on my computer desk, and I use it mainly for genealogy. However, I also use it for my vegetable garden, of what I planted, when I planted and when it should be harvested. I like it for recording TV series that I want to watch, or movies I saw and books I have read. I can track when I work on a new crocheting project.  I can even record my daily exercise. At the end of the year, I can recap what I did and record it in my new journal.

Another thing I use is a password book. I have one just for all my genealogy sites. This way I don’t recycle my passwords and I don’t have to remember every single one. I know that we aren’t suppose to write down our passwords, but after I am gone, my family will be able to cancel any subscriptions, access any websites they deem they need to. Plus, my memory isn’t want it use to be.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 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.

January 2 - Identify your genealogy goals for the year, and make a concrete research plan.

I always like to review my previous year and my goals. Did I achieve my goals? If I didn’t what could I have done to make those more achievable. My biggest problem with goals, is that I tend to make too many or under estimate the time needed for each genealogy goal.

Even though my goal is to do Genealogy every day, lets be honest, this is not a realistic goal. Thus, we need to remember that we have a limited amount of time to do Genealogy. Plus, we need to be well balanced and allow for other interest to fill our time.

Looking back onto my five goals last year, I did achieve two of them. I had placed one on hold early on, because I knew pretty quick that goal wasn’t something I really wanted to do.

Therefore, the goals I did accomplish was to participate in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project by Amy Johnson Crow, one week more than I did the previous year. Another goal that I accomplished was creating a family history book for my sister-in-law. I used Family Book Creator with my software package of Family Tree Maker to publish a book using LuLu.

I did not complete my DNA Project for the Hiltz/Hilts tree and I didn’t clean up my paper files. I wanted to scan and purge or files those.

I also started two different projects that weren’t on my list. I was researching all the descendants of one of my 3rd great grandparents (The Goodwins) so I could publish a book on them and ended up working on a book for my sister-in-law’s cousin (The Jones) for her family. That project took way too much of my time. I have learned, I need to say NO or do is for a hefty sum of money.

Anyway, my new goals for this year are as follows: 1.) keep up “The Year Ahead” blog posts. 2). Continue to participate in “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” blog post for those themes that move me. 3.) Finish the Jones book. 4.) Continue my research on the Goodwin family and 5.) Clean up my paper files.

My concrete plan to achieve these goals: 1.) I will work on “The Year Ahead” blog post one day a week, by doing a week’s worth and schedule each post to display on their proper day at 7 am CST. 2.) On the same day as doing “The Year Ahead”, I will see if I want to write a blog post based on the weekly theme. 3.) I will finish up the book in January but concentrating my time on this project before working on goal 4 or 5. 4.) after I finish the Jones book, I will spend at least one day a week researching on the Goodwin family. 5.) after I finish the Jones book, I will spend my first hour of each research day with cleaning up my paper files. I will reward myself by working on my other goals.

Take a few minutes now and try to come up with at least one genealogy goal for the year. Then make a concrete research plan. Set aside on your calendar a time each day, week, or month that you can work on this genealogy goal.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!

The Year Ahead – January 1

Back in 2006, Family Tree Magazine published an article with "365 Ideas to Trace your Roots, Have a breakthrough year with our 2006 Tip-a-Day Research Planner" by Lisa A Aloz. In 2012, I decided to try all those Tips and share them on my other blog titled “My Simple Genealogy Research Blog”.

In the January/February 2024 issue of Family Tree Magazine, they have reintroduced "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.

I have decided to try all these tips again and to share my take on each of these tips. 

January 1 – In recognition of Copyright Law Day, explore the basics of US copyright law www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture.

Therefore, it might be ironic that I am copying what Family Tree Magazine has printed in their magazine. However, it states that “Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans are not protected by copyright law. Similarly, it is clear that copyright law does not protect simple product lettering or coloring, or the mere listing of product ingredients or contents.”

Thus, if you copy, reproduce, display, or otherwise hold out another's work (such as an image, musical recording, article, or any other type of work that you did not create) as your own, you are undoubtedly infringing on copyrighted material. This is true whether you benefited financially from the use or not.

Therefore, since I am using just a short phrase, from each day’s tip, I am hoping I am safe from copyright law. Plus, I will always give, Family Tree Magazine and Lisa A Aloz the due credit for the tip. However, my comments on the tip will be my own work.

You might want to go out and find a copy of Family Tree Magazine and follow along with the 366 genealogy tips and make this a better research year than you had in the past.

Remember to have fun and Just Do Genealogy!