Time to make resolutions for the new year. So, I share my genealogy goals for 2020.   Last year, I referred to a specific blog post that I found helpful:  Setting Genealogy Goals by Jennifer Patterson Dondero. [1]  She offered five steps:

1. Previous year review
2. Broad interest or goal identification
3. Refining your interests/ goals
4. Correlating your previous year review with your refinements
5. Finalizing your resolutions/ goals

I reviewed 2019 in my last post. Now, I set my 2020 goals starting with broad interest areas:

Posten-Richards family (dad’s family)

1. Copy paper BMD certificates from Posten relative to digital files. Place originals in Posten BMD notebook. (continued from 2018 & 2019).
2. Revise at least 4 chapters of Posten family history book. Explore publication options. (One chapter done in 2018; rewritten in December 2019).
3. Send in my DNA to a third company.  Reason:  A Posten descendant with Pennsylvania ties contacted me in 2019. This person is a known descendant of a ‘possibly related’ Posten family that I identified circa 2015.
4. Follow-up on at least one BSO generated from previous searches.
5. Continue paper & digital file clean-up as needed.

Tucker-Maurer family (mom’s family):

1. Anticipate receipt of at least one death certificate (Margaret Tucker, wife of Jeremiah Tucker). Scan document and enter information when document received.
2. Respond to cousin requests for copies of information (Maurer & Jones) and pictures (Tucker).
3. Follow-up on at least one BSO generated from previous searches.

Ellerbee-Simmons/ Johnson-Reed (husband’s family)

1. Continue review of paper files for documents to be scanned and placed in notebooks for Ellerbee-Simmons & Johnson-Reed families.
2. Continue paper & digital file clean-up for these family groups.
3. Plan field trip to Alabama and Georgia to trace Ellerbee family migration. If time and geography permit, follow migration of Johnson-Reed family.
4. Begin to trace descendants of slaves owned by husband’s ancestors. Use templates and directions from the Beyond Kin project.
5. Follow-up on at least two BSOs generated from previous searches (one from each family group).
6. Complete family group records (11 done, 18 to do) with citations as addendum to scrapbook given Christmas 2019.

Genealogy Blog:

1. Post on regular basis, optimally every 2 weeks.
2. Post at least 2 stories about each family—Posten-Richards (dad), Tucker-Maurer (mom), Ellerbee-Simmons (father-in-law), Johnson-Reed (mother-in-law).
3. Limit each post to about 1500 words or less.
4. Purchase or download software to post GEDCOM family tree. Post at least 2 family trees to blog. (continued from 2019).
5. Continue to address Genealogical Proof Standard in reports.

General items:

1. Continue to place To-Do/ BSO items and questions for each family on color-coded file cards.
2. Send for at least 6 BMD certificates. If budget permits, request one certificate per month.
3. Submit at least one article to a local genealogical society for publication in their newsletter.  Specific family/ person TBA.
4. Begin research for another family member- person of interest TBA.
5. Add to Research Toolbox: books “Dating Vintage Photographs” ; possibly Dragon software.
6. Continue volunteer genealogy work with Daughters of the American Revolution.
7. Enroll in at least one genealogy-related webinar or online class, topic to be determined.
8. Complete Family Recipe Book started in 2019. Planned distribution- Christmas, 2020.

2020 Budget:  reflects additional expenses from 2019 and changes in subscription plans.

Reflection:

As I read these goals, I wonder if I am being too ambitious. In general, I spend about 40+ hours per week on genealogy. My family thinks that it has become an obsession. Maybe, it has! But, what a wonderful obsession! Gratifying most of the time because I can see definite results. Sometimes frustrating and time to step away from the computer and files. I believe that I am better organized now than when I started the Genealogy Do-Over three years ago.  Writing these blog posts has helped me step away from just gathering facts and learning to tell the stories. I will keep you posted.

© Susan Posten Ellerbee and Posting Family Roots  blog, 2020

Sources:

[1] Jennifer Patterson Dondero, “Setting Genealogy Goals”, The Occasional Genealogist, December 2017 (https://www.theoccasionalgenealogist.com/2017/12/genealogy-goals-new-year.html  : accessed 27 December 2019).