Happy New Year!
I learned a long time ago that I am much more likely to achieve my New Year’s Resolution if I only choose one. I think it through and carefully select one DO-able goal that I think will have an impact on other areas of my life. They are usually simple goals like floss every day, write in my journal every day, take a shower and get ready for the day before my husband leaves (that goal was set after my youngest was born).
This year is no exception. I have chosen one loose resolution – I’m still working on defining it exactly.
Aside from my one New Year’s Resolution, I usually choose a few shorter term goals – goals in areas of my life that just need a bit of re-focus.
This year, one of those goals is about Family History.
In 2015 I have set the goal to post at least once each week on my blog. Because, posting about my genealogy experiences definitely improves them. I think things through more carefully if I write about them. I make connections with people. I learn from my readers. I attract distant cousins who always enrich what I know. I read what other people write about genealogy. Blogging about genealogy has been good and I want a little more good in my genealogy life.
So that is my genealogy goal for 2015 – at least one blog post on here each week.
I have a Genealogy Wish List for 2015 as well:
- Order the homestead papers for Henry and Alice Hyde.
- Order the homestead application for Frank and Alice Duval.
- Acquire the Estate record for Alice Hyde.
- Order the Civil War Records for Landrie Brouillette & Seth Potter Maffit.
- Make ANY kind of progress on John Costello – my great grandfather and SERIOUS brick wall.
- Make a decision on a DNA test/company and have John Costello’s two living sons (in their 80s) take the test.
- Buy a higher quality scanner.
- Finish scanning the many photos Grandma gave me.
- Clean out my hard drive.
- Buy Dragon Naturally Speaking (is that what it’s called?) and use it to transcribe the interviews I have recorded.
- Find someone to rescue the old cassette recordings my mom gave me to care for.
- Order a handful of the long list of English records I want. (Pricey)
- Resolve the conflict in Family Tree on familysearch regarding my James Young, my 4th great grandfather. This requires a surname study for the parish. Two James Youngs married two Janet Robertsons two years apart and each had a son James Young. Oy!
- Prove or disprove that Landrie Brouillette and Emilie Fortin are the parents of Esther Brouillette.
- Organize my family photos, documents, videos. Make backups.
- Participate in the 52 Ancestors challenge again. (No pressure, just when it fits in.)
- Join Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
- Attend RootsTech.
- Learn more about the Alaskan adventures of my family members.
- Visit BYU and the FHL in SLC more often.
I could keep going and going. But I know that setting ONE goal – writing one blog post each week – is DO-able and it will help me chip away at that big old list there.
So, how about it?
What is your ONE Genealogy goal for 2015?
I challenge you to set ONE goal and DIG IN!
PS – that super cool photo up there is my Great Grandpa Frank Duval. Here it is with the back of the photo too.
