Image by Gerhard Gellinger from Pixabay
Happy New Year! 2020 is here, and I’d like to use this post to jot down a few of my genealogy plans for this year (although in general I tend to steer away from resolutions and rigid adherence to goals).
First — yay! — I am going to SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy) for the first time. It’s in January, and I will be taking a week of courses focusing on land records and deeds. I’m psyched — and I hope also to spend some time at Family History Library, which I last visited in 1994.
The next item on my list for 2020 is participating in a National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) / Mastering Genealogical Proof (MGP) Study Group that will meet once monthly on Tuesday evenings, led by Cari Taplin, CG, of Genealogy Pants. The Tuesday evening group is full, but there is still availability in one of the other slots. Click here for more info.
I’m also considering attending Jill Morelli’s Certification Discussion Group. I had signed up for it last year, but then got a new job, so cancelled.
My research focus will continue to my Copple / Wright (and related) lines in southern Indiana, and western North Carolina.
Finally, I’m hoping to write at least 50 posts to this blog in the coming year, completing two “A through Z” series.
With all that said, here’s the itemization from the beginning of 2019, and what I did (or did not) do. Life zig-zags, and you just keep up as best you can.
Here’s a look back at my genealogy goals for 2019, made when I had just completed the BU genealogy course, and was still between bill-paying jobs.
| Education and Development | Comments | What were my Results? |
| IGHR (Athens, GA) | week of July 21, 2019 | Signed up, then had to withdraw. Signed up for SLIG 2020 |
| Texas Institute of Genealogical Research 2019 | week of June 9, 2019 | Skipped this entirely; too busy at my bill-paying job. |
| Legacy Tree webinars | focus on BCG-sponsored | Am a subscriber to FamilyTreeWebinars; watch these regularly. |
| Community and Colleagues | ||
| join Assn of Professional Genealogists | Renewed, but not actively involved in chapters, etc. | |
| renew Indiana Genealogical Society membership | Renewed, but not actively involved in chapters, etc. | |
| renew NGS membership | done — 2 year renewal | current through Nov 2020 |
| join Texas State Genealogical Society | Joined, but not active | |
| start attending DGS meetings and get more involved in DGS | attend meetings regularly in 2019 | Am currently the E-Newsletter Editor, and am a life member, but don’t attend meetings regularly. |
| DNA SIG meetings | Have attended DNA SIG meetings occasionally but I generally use Facebook groups and Blaine Bettinger’s DNA-Central as my “SIG” | |
| Writing (high-level) | ||
| Evaluate: what do I know and how do I know it? | for key (aka “brick wall”) ancestors | in process |
| Formulate a research question and a research plan for each of the “brick wall” ancestors (above) | in process | |
| Write up GPS proof summaries (or narratives) for each research question I’ve asked (and think I’ve answered) re: my ancestors’ lives | on hold | |
| DNA | ||
| Continue mapping my chromosomes | my favorite thing! | ongoing |
| Copple (family line) project | on hold | |
| Ask other cousins if they will consider testing | ||
| Long-Range | ||
| submit my lineage to Sonoma County Genealogical Society for a certificate (if approved) | by the end of 2019 | maybe next year — not a priority right now |
| submit an article to NGSQ | this is at least a year away | |
| get my CG designation — or my AG designation | this is at least a year away | |
| apply to and complete Pro Gen study course | typically a 6 month wait list, after you apply. Offered 3 x a year | On the waiting list since February 2. |
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Genes and Roots 