Revisiting Goals 2010

I suppose I wouldn't be revisiting my 2010 goals now except that I've met one - or nearly have - so I guess I can crow a little about it. I have scanned a large part of the Russell family archives and all of the photos I have found so far. That is a BIG deal for me. Scanning gets mighty boring, especially when what I really want to do is dig into some family roots or climb some neglected family tree limbs. The numbers: 241 documents such as letters, report cards, newspaper clippings, funeral notices, obituaries, invitations; about 45 postcards, front and back; about 110 photos, also front and back

The other part of that particular goal, #4, was to post them here. Well, I haven't done that yet - obviously... but I will! I think the plan is to begin at the beginning...I tend to have to do things chronologically...except for several very important digressions. An example will be the story of a smart, accomplished young woman who became a nurse in the early 1900s but who died too young. It's not a dramatic story, but it is a heartbreaking one, especially for her sisters who grieved a long time for her.

There are still several parts of the archives to scan, including the diaries of the Russell sisters. I photocopied the pages years ago and scanning shouldn't take long. There are also scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and other things that will prove more challenging to scan. I may set up my camera to take digital photos of them. That will be down the road a bit. I don't anticipate being able to start posting this until after Thanksgiving, and most likely after the new year.

There are no scandals in the story, no black sheep or fallen women. The story of the Russell family up to the middle of the 20th century is the story of an American family seeking to earn a living and take care of their family responsibilities, which meant they had to move several times to find work. They lived through many historic changes. But the diaries and letters they left do not talk about that. They record the personal stories of the how they earned money to help pay for necessities, of giving up a dream to care for a parent, and of their struggles to live up to their spiritual ideals. To quote from Agnes Russell's diary: "How can writers describe such dull, drab, lonely lives of country people. Maybe some families live such lives - we didn't."

What I've been working on...

Wish I had taken a picture of the stack of genealogy-related papers I decided to tackle this past weekend. It was at least a foot high and leaning dangerously. I whittled it down to a manageable 3 inches. I also cleaned out two totes full of family history stuff and filed it all, well, most of it. Feels more manageable now. So I haven't been researching, but getting things organized and knowing where things are is priceless. If only I had a dollar for every time I said to myself...Oh, I forgot I had that... or some variation thereof, I'd be able to buy, well, another file cabinet!

I hope to dive into another research project soon, the kind of diving-in that involves long periods of time without looking at the clock, my husband standing at the top of the stairs, asking if I'm going to feed him any time soon or have I abandoned him, my eyes squinting through the sandy feeling of tiredness to see just one more census image, just one more! But which ancestor will it be? I'm waiting to see which one speaks to me, which one presents the most intriguing mystery to be solved, which end-of-line ancestor finally wants to be found.

2010 Goals

After the "failures" of last year :) I think I'd better build some success into my goals for 2010.

1. Join D.A.R. Fairly safe to add to the list because the process has already been started. I met with a member of the local chapter of D.A.R. in December and she has all the information needed, I think, for her to do her part of the paperwork involved. I hope to be able to join as a descendant of Luther Kallam (who else!).

2. Compile and publish a PDF document about Luther Kallam and perhaps post it on Scribd.

3. Search for the parents of John Jones, Susan Ann Westervelt Newcomb and Luther Kallam.

4. Scan all Russell family archive documents, and post their stories here.

5. Begin a project of photographing all the tombstones in a cemetery and post pictures on findagrave.com.

6. A repeat from last year...scan and properly file all old family photos.

7. File all family history related papers currently residing in various totes and file boxes.

8. Make family memories with my children and grandchildren!

Goals 2009 - How did I do?

1. Blog once a week.

Failed. Blogged 29 times so far in 2009.

2. Finish re-filing of Family History files; the Russell and Jones sides of the family tree are done, now to do Ferguson; then Mayfield and Hollowell.

Are we ever finished with filing our family history papers? Just when I thought I had the Russell and Jones papers filed, I'm questioning my system and may redo. Need to get this settled before I file the other families. In other words, failed.

3. Put all old family pictures in one place, scan each of them and file in a safe place.

Failed. Didn't touch pictures this year.

4. Find John Jones' parents.

This is getting to be a broken record...failed! Didn't even work on it. Got too consumed with the life and times of Luther Kallam.

5. Discover where in Wales the Davis and Jones families came from and when.

Failed.

6. Travel to Leavenworth and take photo of John Jones' grave.

SUCCEEDED!!!

One out of six! Oh well!

So much for resolutions!

Ok, no comments about not posting weekly like I said I would. Real life intervenes and now that mom is settled(?) in her new apartment, no more excuses.

What I will be working on this weekend is a way to put PDFs of pedigree charts on this blog. I've found a way, now I just need to do it.

Someone needs to hold me accountable!

2009 Goals

I'm keeping my goals modest this year, to leave room for "real" life.

1. Blog once a week.
2. Finish re-filing of Family History files; the Russell and Jones sides of the family tree are done, now to do Ferguson; then Mayfield and Hollowell.
3. Put all old family pictures in one place, scan each of them and file in a safe place.
4. Find John Jones' parents.
5. Discover where in Wales the Davis and Jones families came from and when.
6. Travel to Leavenworth and take photo of John Jones' grave.

2008

As the old year ends, I want to mention a few exciting family history related things that happened in 2008. The countdown...

3. The switch to Legacy software was a great decision. It works the way my brain works and adding sources is so easy there's no excuse not to. Love the help disks that came with it. And the people who created it all seem like a really nice bunch of people, too. A real bonus in this age of people who feel entitled to be grumpy all the time.

2. Adding the Davis branch to the family tree. I will post sometime in the future about how you should always listen to your mother, even when (or especially when) it comes to little tiny family history clues.

1. A tie. When you have an ancestor named John Jones, any information you can find out about him is wonderful. I've known he died at the old soldiers home in Leavenworth, Kansas, for many years. But this year I found the possible location of his grave on the Internet. I got on the phone and talked to a young man named Mike, probably a volunteer, and when he confirmed that this was indeed John's final resting place, I got goosebumps. Another story for another day. But probably the most wonderful thing was finding more information on his wife, Alvina Davis Jones. She died when she was about 51 years old, in 1896. I don't think her death was probably recorded in any official way. But thanks to old newspapers, I was able to find out when she died and why. Yet another story for another day.

I'm looking forward to many more family history adventures in 2009. I have a whole list of goals...maybe I'll post them tomorrow.

Goals

The Big Dream Goal: For every identified ancestor, a complete timeline of his or her life, including the political and social climate they lived in, with complete and accurately recorded sources for each and every fact; copies of primary and secondary records scanned and backed up, with paper copies filed in an easy to understand system; a paper and digital copy of the story of their lives in a form that a descendant or cousin with only a slight interest in family history would find pleasurable to read.

The Realistic Goal: Just get the stuff into some semblance of order so it won't get pitched when my kids clear out the house some day! (Yes, kids, I hear the whispered "Thank yous"! )