A Sense of Family: January by the fire: Motivation Monday

For some reason I always think that things will slow down after the holidays. “After the first of the year,” I tell myself, “there will be lots of time for catching up on things, reading, sorting photos, and getting stuff in order. I can sit by the fire with a cup of tea and knock these things out.” Ha! Who am I kidding? I don’t think I’ve ever found myself with time on my hands in January, and this year was no exception. But I do feel like I got some things accomplished this month. Here’s how I did with my January goals:

Research

Use my last month of Ancestry World Deluxe to look for international records on the Herrel, Evans, and Baxter families. I spent most of the month on the Evans line, but it was worth it. I made a huge breakthrough in pinpointing the family out of all the other Evans families in Wales. I knew I should write a research report for my files so I wouldn’t forget how and why I reached my conclusion. But then I had another idea: why not write it up as an informal case study for my blog? That will force me to think it through—and who knows, maybe something I say will help someone else. The result was Finding Common Names in Census Records: Evans, part 1 and part 2. Oh, and the other names? I searched but didn’t find anything for the Herrels. I saved a bunch of Irish civil registration records for members of the Baxter and Flack families to look up on FHL microfilm.

Organization

Organize my surname binders for Herrel, Evans, and Baxter. I did Herrel and Evans. Baxter is on deck.
Start reading Organizing Your Family History Search by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack. I read the whole book and really enjoyed it, even though the parts about technology are outdated. As I figure out how to use some of her suggestions, I’ll share them with you. I didn't get to the book Throw Out 50 Things, but I did take at least 50 items to Goodwill, so that's a start.

Blogging

Begin participating in Amy Coffin’s 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy and Michelle Goodrum’s The 21^st Century Organized Genealogist memes. I did one post for Amy’s and am working behind the scenes on Michelle’s challenges. I’m realizing I have a long, long way to go on my digital organization and archiving.
Give my blog a fresh look. Well, I got my Christmas background down, does that count? I also rearranged and added a blog roll to my sidebar.

Writing

Create a habit of writing 20 uninterrupted minutes a day. For the most part, I stuck to that, and it feels good. I did miss a few days but tried to make up for it by writing longer on others.
Write an article on the 1940 Census for the Palatine Heritage. Done.

Education

Watch two genealogy webinars. I watched “Digital Books and Sites for Genealogists” by James Tanner and “Pilgrims and Patriots: Discovering Your Massachusetts Ancestors” by Marian Pierre-Louis. Both were excellent. I took notes and saved them in Evernote so I can refer to them anytime. I’d like to say thanks to Legacy Family Tree for providing such high quality webinars, free and open to everyone.
Start the “Organize Your Genealogy” course with Family Tree University. I just started lesson 3 (out of 4). I'm picking up some good bits here and there, and it's giving me some things to work on.

All in all, not a bad month. Setting monthly goals seems to help me focus. Thanks to Stephanie of Corn and Cotton: My Family's Story for getting a group of us going on this (you’re invited to join in at any time--just go to her blog and link up). Now here's what I hope to do this week:

organize my Baxter binder
complete the "Organize Your Genealogy" course
record information I found at OHS on the Beum family
watch as many of the live streaming sessions from RootsTech as I can
sign up and start the Family History Writing Challenge, hosted by Lynn Palermo
think through what I want to accomplish in February so I’m ready for the next Motivation Monday

Best wishes for a great week, everyone!

Why I Read Blogs: Abundant Genealogy

High Hopes for January

Finding Common Names in Census Records: Evans, part 1

Finding Common Names in Census Records: Evans, part 2