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Saturday, January 02, 2016

MY 2015 GENEAPLANS: HOW WELL DID I DO?

Before I make my "geneaplans" for 2016, let's see what they were for 2015 and how
well I did fulfilling them. My comments on how I did on each are in red type: 

1.Transcribe:  The amount of probate files and other documents I've found increased
substantially last year. I need to establish some sort of routine to get more of them
transcribed. Perhaps regular Amanuensis Monday posts, or maybe Transcription
Tuesdays?


Results: Not as good as I hoped. I've transcribed some but still have a bunch untouched.
I think this and other things fell victim to blogging. 


2. Make more use of Google ebooks and also the FamilySearch and AmericanAncestors.org
websites: I have found a lot of these sites already but I know there is more on them that
I haven't found yet. I need to be more efficient using them.

 

Results: This was one of plans that went well. I use Googlebooks a lot in my blogging and in researching.  I'm still finding probate files on AmericanAncestors.org and I use FamilySearch
frequently when working on memorials for Find A Grave.


3. Organize: I've made a start this past year. I need to keep at it and not backslide because
I'm a hurry. Laziness now will be paid for later.
 

Results: Moderately successful. I have done better in getting images into files and folders
as soon after downloading as possible.


4. Continue working on my family tree: I need to keep adding information on collateral
lines and keep trimming duplicate entries. I seem to add and trim an equal amount of
entries each year. I need to maybe concentrate on the trimming a bit more.
 

Results: This is one of those years where I've trimmed or merged as many people as I've added to my database, to the point the number of people went down by 60 on it this year. So this was a
success.


6. Join a local society: Yeah, I say that every year. 

Results: Nope, still hasn't happened.

7. Continue Find A Grave activities: I seem to work on Find A Grave in spurts. I need to
 maybe pick one night a week to work on uploading the photos and creating memorials
to make it a weekly routine. 
  
 

Results: Created 67 memorials, added 150 photos and 53 volunteer photos.
Another moderate success


8.Blog more: This year I will break the 200 post mark for this blog and post at least 50
times on my Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit blog. I'd really like to hit 100 there, though. 
The 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was very successful for me in 2014, and I plan to continue
with that. Maybe I'll adapt it on the Graveyard Rabbit blog to 52 Headstone in 52 Weeks!
 

Results: Mixed. I had 220 posts for this blog but only 6 for my Old Colony Graveyard Rabbit blog.
 

9. Scan more: I still have my portion of the family photos to scan. 

Result:Epic fail. No activity on this front at all.

10. Index more: This one may be the toughest. With all the other things it's hard to
fit it in, but I will try.
 

Results: I took part in the big crowd sourcing indexing project but that was it.

11. Visit more of the  towns where my ancestors lived, see their graves and homes,
and take photos.

 

Results: While I still gallivanted around in the nearby Plymouth County towns, I didn't make it
North or West this year into other places my ancestors lived.


12. Break down that John Cutter West brick wall: Maybe this will be the year!


Results: Still hammering away but no progress.

And as I say every year, just keep having fun!
Results: I still am!

1 comment:

Celia Lewis said...

I love the "52 Headstones" idea, Bill! Go for it. You're a very busy writer/photographer/historian/genealogist. Busybusybusy!
Interesting you seem to balk at joining a local genealogy society... I've learned so much by hanging out at our local meetings, talking with others, sharing my brick walls. This past year, volunteering at our genealogy library once a month has been fantastic. I often hit one shelf in one geographical area where my ancestors lived, take down some books, and start checking their Index/Table of Contents pages. Found some marvellous stories, and a bit of treasure now and then. You've been at this genealogy a lot longer than I have, I suspect!
Cheers for all your successes this past year.