{"id":82233,"date":"2021-12-28T09:45:06","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T14:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=82233"},"modified":"2024-04-15T13:03:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T17:03:43","slug":"3-genealogy-goals-for-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/3-genealogy-goals-for-the-new-year.html","title":{"rendered":"3 Genealogy Goals for the New Year 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega presents three genealogy resolutions for the New Year that you can keep! Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Happy 2022! The end of one year and the beginning of a new one can bring up all kinds of feelings. You may feel dread that the last year seemed to go by super-fast (why does that seem to happen more when you\u2019re an adult?) or you might be feeling excited at the prospect of what a new year will bring.<\/p>\n

No matter which way you feel, where are you with your genealogy goals?<\/p>\n

These last few years have been tough, and it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess what this new year will bring. However, you probably have ideas about what you want to accomplish with your genealogical research. Maybe you want to finish some research projects so that they are ready for the next generation to inherit. Or you want to finally bust through that 18th century ancestral brick wall. Whatever your end goals are it can be daunting to set resolutions that you may forget by the end of January.<\/p>\n

What if you did something different this year? What if you set three simple goals for the new year that if you finished, you could do again using three different examples?<\/p>\n

Goal #1<\/strong><\/p>\n

First, pick one ancestor. That\u2019s easy, right?!<\/p>\n

Pick one ancestor that you want to know more about. Ideally this isn\u2019t an ancestor you just pick out of all your possible ancestors, but one that you\u2019ve already done solid research to trace yourself back to.<\/p>\n

Have that ancestor\u2019s name? Good! Now create a timeline for that person. If you don\u2019t know a birth, marriage, or death date, that\u2019s ok. That\u2019s what research is about. Add what you do know about that ancestor to the timeline. If you know approximately what year they were born or died, then add that but say \u201cAbout [insert year],\u201d \u201cAfter [year]\u201d or \u201cBefore [year].\u201d<\/p>\n

Your timeline is a living document that will change as you research. Don\u2019t forget to add historical events that might help you understand your ancestor\u2019s life, such as a war that he possibly fought in or a famine that might have resulted in her emigration (remember these events can lead to additional records).<\/p>\n

Now that you have that information, identify what records you would expect to find that ancestor in. This will all depend on time and place. Need help? Consult the FamilySearch Research Wiki <\/a>for the location you are researching.<\/p>\n

Now ask research questions and begin your research! Don\u2019t forget that an online collection of newspapers, such as GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>, can help lead you to other records including land, vital, court, and church records.<\/p>\n

Goal #2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today we have access to countless types of online digitized records. The problem is, we don\u2019t always know much about these record types. Sure, you know about the 1880 census \u2013 but do you know what questions were asked on that census, or what the enumerator instructions stated about those answers?<\/p>\n

Saying you want to research \u201cchurch records\u201d is meaningless because what a church record is differs according to the religion and denomination. You need to know exactly what church record would be available for your ancestor.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 26 July 1984, page 41A<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s a record set you have never used before? What\u2019s a record set you wish you knew more about? Goal #2 is for you to find two different record types and learn more about them. How can you do this? You can:<\/p>\n