G is for ... GENEABUDDY!

Special thanks to Alona at Gould Genealogy for coming up with the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge!

G is for ... GENEABUDDY!


That's right.  My geneabuddy is as much a part of my family history as any of my ancestors.  I don't know about anyone else, but I can't spell "family history" without L-A-U-R-A.  Several of my previous blog posts go on and on (and on and on and on, I'm sure) about how awesome my Geneabuddy is.  I know for a fact that my research would not have progressed as much as it has (or been as fun to do) without my Geneabuddy, Laura.  Her blog can be found here.


We call it our "Success Team."  We meet by telephone every Saturday morning and go over how we did on our goals for the previous week, and set our goals for the following week.  There have been times when one of us has had to play the reality card for the other, which resulted in an adjustment to the list of goals for the week.  There have even been times when one or the other of us is just burned out (or, in my case, lazy) about the whole thing, and the other just has to play the butt-kicking card.  It's all about keeping it real.


One of the best things about having a Geneabuddy is that you have someone with whom you can share your frustrations and your victories (without the constant eye-rolling and feigned interest that usually follows any mention of genealogy around friends and family members)!


It's good to have someone in your life who can help keep you focused, keep you grounded, and - most of all - keep it fun!


If you'd like to know more, my prior posts about Success Team can be found here.

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Were your eyes bigger than your stomach?

Remember that old saying?  I remember being told that after I had eaten about half of what was on my plate at dinner ... and thinking to myself: "but I didn't serve my plate!"


Well ... this time I did, and I think I may have bitten off more than I could chew.  It all started with some scanned photos from my vacation .............


[insert Scooby-Doo wavy screen effects here]


In the beginning, there was Family Tree Maker.  I had used FTM ever since I can remember, and back when I was a "name collector" (not to worry, I have learned the error of my ways!) I would find stuff on Ancestry.com, plug it into my little tree, and go merrily about my business.  So yeah, I have 3,000 or so names in my FTM tree.  Of course, I can only prove a small percentage of those relationships.


In the last year or so, I have become "enlightened" about citing my sources and all that.  Well, the citations in FTM don't play nicely with the way my brain works (citationally-challenged), so  after I attended the Family History Expo in Atlanta last November, I purchased and started transferring all of my data over to RootsMagic 4.  I am only transferring the people to whom I can prove a relationship, and adding sources and media to back it up.  I'm up to 149 people in my database.  It was running along so smoothly.  Apparently, I thought I needed a challenge.


During my vacation I scanned a few hundred photos and newspaper articles that my grandmother had in scrapbooks and photo albums.  In the process of trying to label and organize them all, I realized that I needed to completely re-do my digital filing system, and I needed to figure out the best way to do that.  So last week as I was catching up on my blog reading and I came across a post from GeneaPopPop explaining how to use a wiki as a research tool.  O.M.G.  My mind was officially blown.  It made perfect sense!  I could update it as I went, I could access it from anywhere, and I could invite people to put their 2 cents in if I wanted!  I. HAD. TO. HAVE. IT.


So I began researching wikis.  Apparently, I'm not as tech-savvy as I thought.  This was going to take some serious homework.  In any case, I went ahead and downloaded demos from a few different wiki providers (TiddlyWiki, WikiMedia, and Wikispaces) just to play around and see what felt comfortable to me.  I ultimately chose Wikispaces - mainly because it's free up to 2GB, and since I have all of my media saved in the cloud already I can just point the wiki to the files I've already organized.  Easy peasy, right?


I played around with it, trying to make a template for all of my people pages, adding people as I added information.  (By the way ... you have to upload media files to the wiki - you can't just point your link to them.  I already have 8GB worth of media, not including my new photos and articles.  This is already costing me money!)  Once I got up to about 6 pages, I thought ... "what the heck am I doing?!!?"  I remembered I already had a wiki on WikiTree!  And I've already uploaded my GEDCOM and everything.  Half the work is already done for me -- and it's FREE!  I stopped working on my new wiki and decided to take a break.  Something in my brain needed some rest apparently.


During our Success Team meeting on Saturday, Laura and I were talking about my forays into the world of wiki.  Being supportive like only Laura can, she confirmed my decision that I don't need another project to tackle right now and that I have other goals that need to be addressed first.  She reminded me that I had just mentioned that I'm not getting as much of my own research done as I would like, and that at least one of my goals needed to reflect that desire.  This is why I am so thankful for our weekly Success Team meetings - so I can bounce ideas off Laura and she can tell me whether it's a smart idea ... or just plain crazy!  I'd never be able to stay on track without her.


I have canceled my new wiki.  I am still working on a new filing system, but it's one that involves digital folders in Dropbox.  It will take a lot less time to create and maintain, so that is definitely a plus.


This episode has caused me to create a list of questions that I will ask myself the next time I think I need the "next big thing:"
1.  Does it help me accomplish one of my goals?
2.  Do I have the time to devote to it?
3.  Will my research benefit from it?


If the answer to one of these questions is 'no,' then I will likely abandon whatever it is.  In some cases, it might go on the "want" list, but probably near the bottom.  


GO TEAM!

Genealogy Success Team - Week 9

Ok, so as Laura mentioned in her blog, last week was a little rough for us.  I was dealing with some family issues, work issues, school issues, and probably 14 other kinds of issues, so I didn't get as much done as I planned ... but technically I was able to score some check marks on my list.  To recap, here's what I was supposed to do last week:

1. Read 2 Casefile Clues.
2. Blog more than once.
3. Respond to the request for additional information from NARA re: military records.
4. Order copies of Land Entry files from National Archives for Joseph Zenophile Lanctot and Philippe Lanctot.
5. Request death certificate for Elizabeth Bourke Lanctot.

I was able to read one back issue of Casefile Clues and the latest issue of Casefile Clues for Beginners (I'm trying to keep current with that one!).  One check mark for me.

I technically posted more than once to my blog, thanks to the previously-scheduled Sunday's Obituary posts I wrote a few weeks ago.  Two check marks for me.

I filled out the NARA paperwork with as much information as I had and emailed the forms down to my aunt to take to my grandmother to sign.  Technically I did what my goal required.  I haven't gotten the forms back yet, so I can't make another goal until I have them in hand.  Three check marks for me.

Did you know that the land records cost a minimum of 40 bucks a pop??  Neither did I.  So, I had to wait until payday so I could request those records, which I did on Saturday.  Technically, it was still within the week, so it still counts, right?  Four check marks for me.

I also neglected to send off my request for Elizabeth's death certificate last week.  I just got too busy.  However, I'm glad I waited because it occurred to me that I had requested a bunch of vital records from South Dakota several months ago.  Even though Elizabeth's wasn't one of them, I did recall receiving a refund check from the South Dakota Department of Health (which I never cashed) for one record they couldn't find.  Ah ha!  So instead of mailing a payment to them, I just returned their check with my request for her certificate.  We'll see if that flies.  I hope it does;  the check is void after August 8!  Timing is everything, I suppose.  Five check marks for me.

My list for this week is not nearly as demanding (I'm taking some leeway with the definition of that term) as it was last week; two things that are always on my list and one thing that could take me 5 minutes or it could take me 5 weeks:

1. Read 2 Casefile Clues.
2. Blog more than once.
3. Explore the universe for my 2nd great grandfather's obituary.  (I only have a month and year of his death and no location, which is why I have no idea how long it might take to find it).

So technically I got five check marks for the week.  It's still progress, and I'll take it wherever I can get it at this point.

GO TEAM!

Genealogy Success Team - Week 8

When we first began our Success Team, I had high hopes, sure ... but I never thought it would help me keep my in-basket under control!  I suppose keeping my focus on my goals has either (1) kept me from filling my in-basket with stuff that I've collected during my GeneaADD-frenzied searches, or (2) given me more time to deal with the stuff that in the in-basket.  Either way ... I'd call it winning!


Here are my goals from last week:

1. Read at least 2 back issues of Casefile Clues.
2. Add at least 10 new links to my website.  
3. Add more web resources to research checklist (as appropriate) from my ongoing list.
4. Do a Footnote.com lookup for Laura's ancestor.
5. Blog more than once.

Here are my results:

1. I did better than 2 ... I read 3!
2. I added about 20 new links to my website.  Of course, I also added about 10 more to my "pending" list ... 
3. I added 3-4 sites to my research checklist that weren't already there.
4. I did the lookup for Laura's ancestor.  Very interesting, that one.
5. I actually had 5 blog posts last week.  I think that might be a record for me.

I had a list of goals for this week that was made with the presumption that I would be flying out to the west coast for my grampa's funeral*, but circumstances prevent me from going at this time. So, I had to come up with a new list of goals:

1. Read 2 Casefile Clues.
2. Blog more than once.
3. Respond to the request for additional information from NARA re: military records.
4. Order copies of Land Entry files from National Archives for Joseph Zenophile Lanctot and Philippe Lanctot.
5. Request death certificate for Elizabeth Bourke Lanctot.

GO TEAM!  

*I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to all of you who have kept me and my family in your thoughts during this difficult time.  Each and every message meant a great deal to me, and made me proud to be a member of this fine community.

Genealogy Success Team - Week Seven

No, your eyes don't deceive you ... I have changed my blog template yet again.  The last one was too skinny for my blog posts and felt really crowded.  This one is more open and airy, don't you think?


It's been a busy week.  Between work and school (and the new extended version of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy on Blu-Ray - complete with 26 hours of extra behind-the-scene footage!! - arriving on Tuesday), I was afraid I wasn't going to reach all of my goals, but the thought of having to admit defeat to Laura (insert ominous music here) kept me going.


Here is my list from last week:

1. Work on summary for Inferential Genealogy study group. 
2. Read at least one back issue of Casefile Clues.
3. Add list of web sources to research checklist.  
4. Start going through the photos I have of my ancestors and picking 5 of them that I will reprint (to eventually find interesting frames of various sizes and hang on one of the empty walls in my house).
5. Blog more than once.
6. I added this one after my blog post last week - to continue to try to contact the activity director at my grandmother's assisted living facility to enlist her help with photo identification, etc.

Here are my results:

1. I finished putting together my summary for the Inferential Genealogy study group, but due to some technical difficulties we were unable to have our meeting in SecondLife on Tuesday and it has had to be rescheduled.
2. Not only did I read one back issue ... I read two!  I read a back issue of the regular and the first issue of the Beginner series.  Good stuff there!
3. I added all the websites on my list to the research checklist.  Thank goodness for Excel.
4. This one proved to be a little more problematic once I got started.  I chose my 5 photos, but I didn't print them.  Mainly because without knowing all the photos I'm going to put up, I don't know what size I want them to me (and I haven't been to the store to get any other size than the 4x6 photo paper I already have).  This is a bigger project than I have time for right now.  It's on the back burner until after August.
5. I managed to eek out 3 blog posts in addition to my weekly update (yay!)
6. I talked to the activity director (Stormy - isn't that a great name?) on Monday.  She was super nice and offered to handle everything for me.  She asked a lot of questions so she had a complete understanding of what I wanted and what needed to be done.  I mailed the photos and the letter off on Tuesday.  I can't wait until I get it back!

Now, I've "depressurized" my goals for this week, since I have an algebra midterm on Friday.  Here they are:

1. Read at least 2 back issues of Casefile Clues.
2. Add at least 10 new links to my website.  (I currently have 104 bookmarks that need to be added - and counting.  This is going to be interesting.  Whatever, baby steps, right?)
3. Add more web resources to research checklist (as appropriate) from my ongoing list.
4. Do a Footnote.com lookup for Laura's ancestor.
5. Blog more than once.

It appears that the website for my online algebra class is down today ... darn.  Guess I'll go ahead and start on my list!

GO TEAM!  

Genealogy Success Team - Week Six

This is the start of week six of our Genealogy Success Team and we're still going strong (well, Laura is going a little stronger than me, but there's no "I" in "team" so it's WE!)


I was able to technically* complete all of my goals for the week.  This is what they were:

1. Mail requests for military records for my GGrandfather and Granduncle.
2. Finish Inferential Genealogy Case 3.
3. Call the activity director at my grandmother's assisted living center to discuss the photo project I am sending, and ask for her guidance and suggestions before I send the letter.
4. Blog more than once.

I mailed my requests to NARA in St. Louis on Monday (June 20) along with all the "proof" requested.  I have no idea how long it takes to get the materials back, so I guess now I just wait.  How long should I give them before I call or write to follow up?  I decided I would keep a "diary" of these records to use as a blog post some time in the future.

I finished up Case 3 of the Inferential Genealogy course on FamilySearch, which I blogged about here.  Our IG study group is going to meet again on Tuesday to compile a summary of the course to present to Dr. Jones, so we have each been asked to put together an individual summary so nothing gets left out.  Hopefully, somewhere between my blog posts and my chicken-scratch notes, there's a summary of all the pros and cons of the three case studies.

*This is where the "technically" part comes in.  I called the activity director and had to leave a message.  I actually called her twice (just call me an overachiever), but haven't received a call back yet.  I will continue to try to reach her this week.

I was able to post 3 times to my blog this week, in addition to my Success Team update.

Not a bad week, considering.  

My goals for this week aren't much more aggressive (thank you, algebra), but it's all about moving forward, right?

1. Work on summary for Inferential Genealogy study group.  This is due before Tuesday.
2. I ran across some copies of Casefile Clues that I printed out some time ago, but haven't had time to read, which makes me sad because there is some really good tidbits of information in there.  My goal this week is to read at least 1 issue.  I hope to read more than that, but I'm sticking with 1 and we'll see how it goes.
3. A couple of weeks ago, Debbie at Mascot Manor wrote about creating a process for her research.  She was kind enough to send me the Excel file for my own use, which I am in the process of tweaking.  Whenever I run across a source that I want to remember to utilize in my searches, I'm writing it on a notepad.  Right now I have about 15 items on that list that need to be added to the appropriate category on the research checklist.
4. We're always searching for "the one" to whom all of our research will go when we pass.  I only have one daughter, and she has no children so far.  So ... she wins.  Now I just have to hook her and reel her in.  Lorine at the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog gave me a great idea to get my daughter more interested in our family history ... the Ancestor Wall.  I probably won't play games with her (she's 21), but I can still "quiz" her periodically, right?  This week, I'm going to start going through the photos I have of my ancestors and picking 5 of them that I will reprint (to eventually find interesting frames of various sizes and hang on one of the empty walls in my house).
5. Blog more than once.

Now I just have to get started!  GO TEAM!  

Genealogy Success Team - Week Five

Wow.  I can't believe it's been five weeks.  I told Laura this morning, this partnership has lasted longer than some of my relationships!  But I digress.


This was a pretty busy week for both of us, but I am so proud of Laura for the multitude of blog posts she made this week! A grand total of 5!  A blogging machine, that one.


These were my goals for last week: 

1. Go to first Delta Genealogical Society meeting.
2. Select and send a French vital record for translation.
3. Attend 4 Jamboree webinars.
4. Work on Case 3 of Inferential Genealogy.
5. Blog more than once.

Okay, so I went to the society meeting.  I'll be blogging about that separately ... but I can tell you that I absolutely cannot wait until the next one!  Wonderful people down there at the Delta Genealogical Society!


I actually ended up sending three French records for translation - not because I was greedy - but because I wasn't sure which ones would be easier to read.  They were all pretty crappy old copies.  In any case, Laura was able to get a rough draft of the transcriptions and translations to all three of them to me yesterday, which impressed the heck out of me.  She must eat lots of carrots because I don't know how she was able to make some of those words out.  My eyeballs are obviously foreign-language-impaired ... so much for Lasik.  I think I have determined, now that the translations are done enough to make some sense out of them, that two of the records are probably not my people.  Bummer, I know ... but one of them is my GGGrandfather!  So, yippee!


I attended not just 4 ... but all 5 of the Jamboree webcasts!  I posted about that here.


I wasn't able to get to Case 3 before our meeting this morning because my homework got in the way (and took a lot longer than I really wanted), so that's getting pushed onto this week's list.  The IG Group is meeting tomorrow night, so I absolutely have to get that done ASAP.


I was able to make 3 blog posts this week in addition to my weekly update.


This week I'm allowing a little even more wiggle room in my goal list because I'm still getting settled with my homework and how much time it takes (obviously, the hour per night I allotted on my schedule for studying isn't cutting it -- I have been spending a minimum of 3 hours per night just getting through a chapter.  Don't judge - it's algebra).  So ... here is my list for this week:

1. Mail requests for military records for my GGrandfather and Granduncle (my mom got my grandmother to sign them so I could mail them off for her father's and brother's records).
2. Finish Inferential Genealogy Case 3.
3. Call the activity director at my grandmother's assisted living center to discuss the photo project I am sending, and ask for her guidance and suggestions before I send the letter (I keep meaning to do it, but I keep leaving her number on my desk at home and she's only there while I'm at work ...)
4. Blog more than once.

Yes, it's a relatively light list, but at least it will keep me moving forward on a few things, at least for the next 8 weeks (or until this algebra class kills me).

Incidentally, we also discussed Debbie's "Tuesday's Tips" post over at Mascot Manor about her processes.  I can relate to the buckshot approach to research whenever I find a new person to add to my tree.  Fortunately, our Success Team meetings have helped me rein that in a little bit, and I know that Debbie's tips will help too.  I encourage everyone to take a look at it ... she has one of the best research checklists I've seen (and it's an Excel spreadsheet, which makes it even better!)  She also has a link to the most awesome citations-on-the-go post-it notes.  I ordered mine on Tuesday night and they arrived yesterday ... zoom!

GO TEAM!!

Genealogy Success Team - Week Four

You know what I like about these Success Team updates?  I get to give myself a little pat on the back.  More importantly, I hope it will encourage ... heck, even inspire ... others to set some short-term, attainable goals for themselves.  I have actually started using this method for a lot of areas of my life (housework, homework, work-work, etc.), and I'm really starting to see some progress!  I couldn't do it without Laura.  Best. Teammate. Ever.

To recap, last weeks goals were:

1. Go to the FHL.
2. Transfer 5 peripheral people from FTM to RM4.
3. Enter sources for Lucile Stiker's biography on my website.
4. Blog more than once.

I actually went to the Family History Library on Saturday after our Team meeting.  First, as soon as I walked into the library, it felt like I was walking into someone's family room.  It was very cozy, inviting, and unpretentious.  I think some of the posters they had up were older than me.  The librarian, Deborah, was fantastic.  She was new, so she didn't even pretend to have all the answers, which I applauded.  We went on an exploration of the library together.  They have 4 microfilm readers (unfortunately, none of them are flash drive compatible), and one of those microfilm scanners that's hooked up to the computer.  They also have about 6 computers set up in a little room off the main room.  There are probably a dozen file cabinets full of films and fische, and TONS of notebooks with all sorts of information.  My work is cut out for me now.

Now that all of my (roughly documented) direct line ancestors have been transferred to RM4, which takes me back to my 3rd great grandparents, I am working on transferring all the peripheral relatives.  I'm basically following the same format as before (starting with most recent and working backward) and transferring all documents and other media, sourcing, etc. I'm continuing to make hard files for everyone too.  I managed to get about 14 people transferred this week, mainly because I simply don't have as much documentation on my peripheral line yet (but now that I've been working on this inferential genealogy course, I'm realizing that my peripheral relatives are just as important as my direct line ancestors!).

I already had the biography for my great grandmother, Lucile Francis Stiker, on my website, but I hadn't put her sources on there yet.  I finished that as well.  She can be seen here.

... and I've blogged three times (four, if you count my Faces of Genealogy post, which consisted only of a picture).


After a week of algebra, and realizing how much effort it's going to take to not only pass the class, but do it without annihilating my 3.92 GPA (did I mention I graduated summa cum laude?), I'm having to tone down my goals just a bit.  Here are my goals for this week:

1. Go to first Delta Genealogical Society meeting.
2. Select and send a French vital record for translation.
3. Attend 4 Jamboree webinars.
4. Work on Case 3 of Inferential Genealogy.
5. Blog more than once.

See you next week!  GO TEAM!

Genealogy Success Team - Week Three

Editorial note: In preparation of my Team meetings, I usually start a blank post on Friday so I can remember to post my updates.  When I do that, I set it for a date in the future so I don't accidentally have a blank post.  I just realized that I never changed the date on this one from July 4 to June 4.  Problem solved ... and before my next Team meeting ... whew!


I'm totally digging the Success Team right now.  I'm getting more done (as opposed to just started) than I ever thought possible.  Here is an update on last week's goals:

1. Fully transfer at least 5 people from FTM to RM4 (with corresponding hard file).
2. Fully update at least 1 WikiTree profile. (See my blog post here for the reason behind this)
3. Blog at least once this week (I'm going to start saying "other than my Success Team update post").
4. Now that I know their hours, visit the Family History Library to ask about their process, what collections they have, etc. so I can get organized before I start researching there.

I was able to transfer 8 people from FTM to RM4.  I transferred the 5 I needed to reach my goal, then I realized I only had 3 more to transfer before I could say that my entire direct line had been moved.  So I did it.  Wheee!

I bought a book on HTML ... "Creating Web Pages for Dummies."  Okay, I haven't had time to read it yet, but I updated my great grandmother's wiki anyway and made it all HTML-ified (using the basic codes provided in the help section of WikiTree).  It looks awesome, if I do say so myself.  My cousins have posted photos and updated information on a bunch of the profiles on WikiTree and it's really turning into something special.  I'm very excited.

I did manage to blog more than once.  Three times, actually.

I never made it to the Family History Library before my Team meeting.  They are only open on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings 7-9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10-2.  I ended up working until 9 p.m. on Tuesday and had a massive sinus attack on Wednesday, which prevented me from going.  That goal is carried over to next week.

Now ... before I go into this week's goals, keep in mind that school starts back on Monday and I am taking my absolute last class.  I'm only taking one class, but it's college algebra.  So, (compared to prior weeks) my goals may seem a little timid.  Here they are:

1. Go to the FHL.
2. Transfer 5 peripheral people from FTM to RM4.
3. Enter sources for Lucile Stiker's biography on my website.
4. Blog more than once.

I feel pretty good about these goals.  I think even with my heavier schedule, they are quite attainable.  I will keep you posted!

Genealogy Success Team - Week Two

We're off to a positive start!  This was quite a successful week with completed goals, newly-found cousins, and even some surprises!  I even managed to find time to revamp my blog template.  


As I mentioned last week in my post here, the Genealogy Success Team is the swift kick in the pants I needed to get some things done.  To recap, my goals from last week were:


1. Set a schedule for blogging, researching, and transferring data from FTM to RM4.  With a full-time job and other stuff (life, etc.).
Done.  Laura did, however, point out that I didn't schedule time to eat.  I think it was my subconscious telling me that I could afford to skip a meal or two. 
2. Organize the pile o' Genea-Crap on my desk.
Done.  Surprisingly enough, it didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would.  This was a little disappointing - not that it didn't take long, but that it took me so long to get around to doing something that didn't take that long.
3. Blog at least once this week.
Done.
4. Call the Family History Library that is 10 minutes from my house and find out when they're open.

Done.  I didn't even have to call.  Their hours are listed on the website, which I have incorporated into my schedule.

I wanted my schedule to be as simple as possible, which (to me) meant it would be an Excel spreadsheet.  This is what I came up with:

Just to be clear, the times that are highlighted for the FHL are not all the times I am going to be at the library.  Those are just the times that the library is open, so I can plan everything else around that.  (And for those who are wondering, even though I graduated a couple of weekends ago, I still have to take one more class - College Algebra - to complete all of my classes, hence the time allotted for study. Ugh).  So my schedule will have to be amended in August when that class is done, which will just leave more time for research!

Genea-crap update: As I mentioned, the pile o' crap on my desk didn't take as long to go through as I initially anticipated.  I had several back issues of Casefile Clues that are "to be read" (they got their own file) and some stuff that can be classified as reference material.  When all was said and done, my "to do" pile was significantly smaller and a LOT less intimidating.  Here is my nice, clean desk.  The top bin in the front left portion of the photo is my new "to do" pile.

As I was going through the pile, I ran across DearMYRTLE's Organization Checklists (January through May).  As I went through them, I realized I'm not as behind as I thought on those, either.  January, February, and March are complete, and I only have one or two items left for April and May.  I won't be caught up by the time her June checklist comes out, but I'm closer than I was before!

I will let Laura update you on her progress, but let me just say that I'm SUPER proud of her accomplishments this week!  She even made some progress that she didn't anticipate!


Since this is a long holiday weekend, my goals got a little bigger:


1. Fully transfer at least 5 people from FTM to RM4 (with corresponding hard file).
2. Fully update at least 1 WikiTree profile. (See my blog post here for the reason behind this)
3. Blog at least once this week (I'm going to start saying "other than my Success Team update post").
4. Now that I know their hours, visit the Family History Library to ask about their process, what collections they have, etc. so I can get organized before I start researching there.


I'm not making it an official goal, but I'd like to also visit my county library and take a look at their genealogy and historical collections and see if they have anything to offer.  At the very least, I may be able to post the collections on RAOGK.


I'd better go get started on my list!  GO TEAM!

Genealogy Success Team - Week One

Back in April, Laura of It's All Relative posted about a Genealogy Success Team to help give her research a boost.  As it turns out, my research (or lack thereof) also needed a swift kick in the pants - from a focus standpoint more than anything else - so I responded to her blog post.  A couple of other people did too, but they fell through, so we had to proceed with a team of two.  We had our first "meeting" by phone this morning at 7:30 EST (that's how hardcore we are!).  We discovered that we have quite a bit in common.


First, we share a brain on the purpose of our research.  We both believe that it's the stories of our entire family (not just the direct lines) that help us understand who we are, more than names, dates, and places.  We both have some very interesting ancestors.  Don't be jealous - I'm sure there are some pretty cool people in your tree too :)


Second, we both have the same problem with the Genea-Crap (if you are unfamiliar, see Kerry's blog post at Clue Wagon).


Third, we're both cat lovers.  I think that's important.  If for no other reason than an empathetic standpoint concerning researchus interruptus (that's Latin for "the cat is on my keyboard").


The purpose of the Team is to come up with goals that are reachable within the week (baby steps), and share them with each other so we are accountable to someone.  Without that accountability, I will never stay on track.  Next week, we will share our progress, brainstorm any problem areas, and make new goals for the following week.  I wrote down my goals and Laura's goals on my notepad.  That's when I realized that if I put one more piece of paper on my desk, it might collapse.  So I wrote them down on the whiteboard next to my desk:

Now it's a constant reminder.

I learned from Laura that the key is to make small, attainable goals - and then actually work toward them!    

My goals for this week are:


1. Set a schedule for blogging, researching, and transferring data from FTM to RM4.  With a full-time job and other stuff (life, etc.), without a schedule I'm doomed.
2. Organize the pile o' Genea-Crap on my desk (remember the whole collapsing thing? This is why):

Fortunately, I had managed to get all of it in one consolidated pile already.


3. Blog at least once this week - so here it is (I'm no Charlie Sheen, but I'd say that's winning!).  Check.
4. Call the Family History Library that is 10 minutes from my house and find out when they're open.


Ultimately, we are going to make so much progress that everyone else in the genea-community will be totally jealous and wish they had gotten in on the ground floor of this venture.


So I'm gonna go get started!