Genealogy Goals for 2026

It's a new year and time to set my genealogy-related goals for 2026.

In 2025 I only wrote three blog posts, one about my Kilcullen ancestors in Sligo, Ireland, and two about my Chandler and Brown ancestors and Chandler and Dane ancestors in colonial America. Despite the lack of writing, I did a lot of research, mainly around those same ancestors, in anticipation of future posts. I also visited American Ancestors in Boston and scanned a bunch of books relating to New England ancestors. I am still reading through those scans and working to align the details with my own research.

Goals for 2026:

• Write a follow-up to my Kilcullen post about the generation of Kilcullens who left Sligo for America (I am still in progress on this research)
• Write a follow up to a 2015 post I wrote about some Dickson relatives, having recently learned some very disturbing information about one of them
• Continue to read through the documents from American Ancestors related to the Chaplin, Ingersoll, Scoville, and Webster families.
• Finally write the post I started drafting over a year ago about my 10th great-grandmother, Elizabeth Fones

Wishing anyone who reads this little blog a very happy 2026! May this be the year you smash all those brick walls.

Genealogy Goals for 2025

It's a new year and time to set my genealogy-related goals for 2025.

I started off 2024 with a bang, writing four lengthy posts between January and June. Those Capen, Gorton, Coles, Carpenter, and Arnold ancestors were very colorful and interesting, and those posts were really fun to write. Then, I wrote nothing from June until December. While I would love to have more time for writing in 2025, a look at my Google Calendar tells me that my schedule will be worse, not better, in the coming year. I will do my best to keep posting, though!

In 2024, I did get to attend a couple of (virtual) genealogical society meetings, and I dove into some Y-DNA issues with my dad. I continued researching and then writing about my early American ancestors. These are all wins.

For 2025, I think I will refrain from setting specific goals, and instead say that my general focus will be to research and write as much as possible, given the complexities of my schedule. Genealogy is a fun thing, not something I need to be worried about in terms of checking boxes right now. I do plan to continue writing about my early American ancestors on my Griffin line, especially those who lived in New York. From there, we'll see how it goes.

May you have a wonderful 2025!

Genealogy Goals for 2024

  

It's a new year and time to set my genealogy-related goals for 2024. 

I accomplished my goal of writing more often in 2023. Finding a bunch of early-American ancestors who lived in Salem and were involved in the Salem Witch Trials was exciting, and I had a lot of fun researching them and sharing information about their lives. I also wrote a post about my paternal great-grandmother, Sarah Kilcullen, and hope to learn more about her in coming years. 

In terms of my 2023 goals, I'd say I'm 2 for 4. I did not compile all my Lacey posts, as I keep promising to do, but still hope to accomplish that. I also still haven't solved my SEO issues, but as I mentioned in my 10-year blogoversary post, I'm also reconsidering where to share this family information in general, and perhaps a blog doesn't make sense in 2024. On a positive note, I did post more, and I also continued consulting and generally assisting others with family history research. Overall, I feel like I really expanded the family tree and my understanding of certain moments in history, and that's definitely a win.

Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:

1. Continue compiling my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. I'm just going to keep this on my list until it happens.

2. Continue my consulting work.

3. Post regularly. I am still working on researching some early-American ancestors and have some fun immigrant ancestor stories coming to the blog soon. 

I also look forward to connecting with my local genealogy society more often in 2024. I've cleared some conflicting commitments from my calendar that should make this possible. I always really enjoy talking with others about their family history work. 

May you have a wonderful 2024!

Genealogy Goals for 2023

 

It's a new year, and time to set my genealogy-related goals for 2023. 

I wrote very little in 2022, but somehow still managed to address most of the goals I set at the end of 2021. In the past year, I've continued genealogy consulting and plan to extend that work into 2023. This is the time of year when friends are buying DNA tests on sale, so I hope to help them with their corresponding family trees once their results arrive. I also just rescued another old family album full of identifiable photos, and look forward to researching those pictured and returning the album to a family member. While this blog was largely neglected last year, I did write a three-part series about notable relatives that I had hoped my children would find interesting. They didn't, really, being young and generally uninterested in family stories at the moment, so I will happily return to writing about the wonderful "average Joes" in our tree.

In 2022, I also pulled all my Lacey family posts from this blog and started compiling it into a sourced document that could be emailed to relatives. This is taking a long time. Everything needs to be reformatted, and I'm trying to expand and add more detail wherever I can. This has led to some additional research and the need to create graphics and mini-trees. The project will definitely extend into 2023.

Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:

1. Continue compiling my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. 

2. Continue my consulting work and my hobby of rescuing old family albums.

3. Post more often. I may be using some prompts from Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks to try to write shorter, more frequent posts and address some as-yet-unmentioned ancestors.

4. Figure out my search engine issues. It turns out that Google is not indexing this blog and most of it doesn't appear in Google searches. I've done a deep dive into SEO and acquainted myself with the Google Search Console, but the issue remains. It may just be that this little blog doesn't get enough traffic to register, but it's also not very useful if people can't find it when they search for family names. If anyone reading this has any tips, I'd be very appreciative. Resolving this issue is a big 2023 priority.

I have high hopes for 2023 and look forward to lots of travel and family fun. My local genealogy society is meeting in person again, so I'm excited about seeing them face to face after far too long. 

May you all have a wonderful year!

Genealogy Goals for 2022

  

It's a new year, and time to set my genealogy-related goals for 2022. 

In 2021, I wrote a series about my Dutch ancestors, the Beukenkamp family, and their experiences in The Netherlands during World War II. I also worked on scanning and organizing some of my Lacey photos. However, I didn't accomplish my 2021 goal of compiling my posts about the Laceys into a book. I'll roll that over for 2022.

In 2021, I started a small side business consulting on family history matters. Thus far, I've helped the husband of a colleague get started with Ancestry.com and learn some best practices for future genealogy research. I've supported a friend from my local genealogy society in organizing her digital files and creating storage systems that work for her. It's really rewarding to help others with their research in any small way that I can.

Another fun project I started in 2021 was rescuing family albums that have been abandoned in resale stores. For several years, I've been digitizing and sharing old photos found in junk shops and in online auctions, hoping that relatives will eventually discover them online. This project, Found Photographs, has not been a primary focus for me. However, this summer, I stumbled upon an incredible family album in our local antiques store and couldn't resist buying it in hopes of returning it to family. I was able to locate the great-granddaughter of one of the couples in the album and send the album off to her in New York. She was incredibly grateful and sent me heartfelt emails thanking me, which was so lovely. I really enjoyed researching that family and tracing the path the album had taken from New York to California. A couple of weeks ago, I found another album of a similar vintage in an online sale and snapped it up to see if I could replicate my previous success. This is not an inexpensive hobby, but it's fun and feels meaningful. 

One disappointment in 2021 was that our local genealogy society continues to meet on Zoom instead of in person. I totally understand that this has been necessary, but do hope it will change as we emerge from the pandemic. While I appreciate how virtual meetings increase the reach of a group, I deeply miss seeing these genealogy friends in person and catching up with them on their lives and their work. Maybe my biggest genealogy wish for 2022 is to once again eat windmill cookies in the hallway with the MCGS group, while they regale me with their latest victories and we commiserate about our brick walls. It's been nearly two years since I've seen them, and I miss that group a lot.

One victory in 2021 was finally getting to visit the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I have wanted to go there for so long! I was just passing through Salt Lake City with my kids, and didn't have time to actually do any research, but we enjoyed all the interactive exhibits on the ground floor, and I got the lay of the land, so that when I go back (which I will!), I am ready to get to work.

Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:

1. Compile my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. I'd like to add more details and get facts properly footnoted, so this will be a significant project. I would also like to reach out to some descendants from other Lacey lines to share this information.

2. Continue my consulting work and my new hobby of rescuing old family albums.

3. Start a fun series about notable relatives that I think my children will enjoy. As my kids get older, I am really trying to engage them with family stories that they will find interesting. Right now, they seem to primarily be intrigued by the famous ancestors, or the ones with really remarkable stories, so I'm going to write down as many of those as possible for them.

I am hopeful that things will improve dramatically in 2022, and that we'll all be in a much better place shortly. Take care of yourselves!

Genealogy Goals for 2021

 

Each year I write down genealogy-related goals for the upcoming year, and usually many of those goals get carried over into the next year, because I never have enough time to get everything done. If I can find a bright spot in the absolute dumpster fire that was 2020, it's that I had more time to focus on this blog and on family history work. Three of the four goals I set were accomplished, and the fourth is an ongoing project that is coming along well. 

In 2020, I switched from focusing on my maternal lines to my paternal lines. I started with my third-great grandparents, Bartley and Judy Lacey of Rossadillisk, Ireland, and tried to trace every single one of their descendants. This was nearly a year-long project in itself, but a really fascinating and rewarding one. I plan to continue some of this work, and also branch out into exploring other parts of my father's family tree.

One of my goals for 2020 was to start regularly attending the meetings of our local genealogy society again. I did until March, when everything had to stop. However, the board of our society did an amazing job immediately pivoting to online meetings, and I think it's been a great thing for the group. So many more people are able to attend now, and as our meetings are open to all, new faces from societies outside the immediate area are joining in, too. Our society records online meetings, so if you miss one, you can watch it later. I wish I could see everyone in person, but am grateful that the online format means I never miss a meeting anymore.

I have so many plans and goals for 2021 and hope everyone will get vaccinated so we can start living the lives we want to live again. Here are my genealogy goals for the coming year:

1. Compile my posts about the Lacey family into a small book that I can share with other family members. I'd like to add more details and get facts properly footnoted, so this will be a significant project. I would also like to reach out to some descendants from other Lacey lines to share this information.

2. Continue organizing my family history materials. I created a great closet space for everything this year, but still have a lot of scanning and filing that needs doing. 

3. Start writing about a new family line. I am thinking about creating some posts about my Dutch ancestors, the Beukenkamp family. 

4. Revisit my research on my Dwyer and Coleman ancestors in Australia. I'd like to see if I can find any updates on those families. This is also a body of research I should compile into a small book and share with relatives.

More than ever, please stay safe and well. I hope that by this time next year, the worst will be long behind us, and the world will seem like a more familiar place.

Genealogy Goals for 2020

Oh, hello there. I haven't posted since... July.

2019 was not a great year for my genealogy research. Between increasing career responsibilities, a lot of work travel, managing the renovation of our new house, and the demands of a local group that I co-lead, 2019 didn't leave me a free second for many of the things I enjoy, including genealogy. However, I have plans to ease back into it in 2020. There are a couple of half-completed blog posts in the queue, genealogy society meetings in my calendar, and some organizational tasks that are on my mind. I intend to make all of this more of a priority in 2020.

Here are my modest goals for 2020:

1. Update this blog more often. I'm not sure exactly which branch of the family I'm going to write about next. I'm thinking about switching to my paternal lines for a while.

2. Write about the Lindsey family of Frankfort, Kentucky. I rescued some old letters from my local antique store belonging to the Lindsey family (no relation to me). I still need to transcribe them here.

3. Continue organizing my family history materials. There's a closet in my office that is begging to be turned into a nicely-organized genealogy storage space.

4. Return to the meetings of my local genealogy society more regularly. I miss everyone and all the wonderful things I learn at those meetings.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2020!

2019 Genealogy Goals

2018 was a year of upheaval for me, and I did not have a lot of time to devote to genealogy. I certainly did not achieve all of my family history-related goals last year, although I made progress on a few larger projects and continued to blog when possible. I expect that 2019 will be more of the same, as my personal and work commitments will take precedence over genealogy, but I'd still like to set some goals to keep myself focused.

I set genealogy goals for myself in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. Whether I actually achieve all my goals or not, it's helpful to think about top priorities each year so I can stay on task.

Here are my goals for 2019:

1. Continue writing about my Smith line. I've been working on this for a while now, and there's still more to share.

2. Write about the Lindsey family of Frankfort, Kentucky. I rescued some old letters from my local antique store belonging to the Lindsey family. I will be writing about them here and trying to return the letters to a Lindsey descendant.

3. Organize and archive. My family will be moving in 2019 (again), and I am eager to get my genealogy files unpacked and organized so they can be easily accessed. I will also continue to scan and archive my materials, particularly the photos and original documents left to me by my grandmother.

4. Research my Burns and Matthews ancestors. The search for more information on my direct maternal line has been a frustrating one. I have a big brick wall in Nancy Matthews Burns, my 4th great grandmother. This family came from the Carolinas to Tennessee and on to Illinois in the 1800s. I will continue to research them and see if I can make any headway.

Happy New Year! I hope 2019 will be happy and productive for all of us.

My 2018 Genealogy Goals

2017 was a struggle in a lot of ways, and certainly in regards to my genealogy work. World events, new commitments, and a challenging work/home schedule have meant that my research has to take a back seat to other, more pressing items. This trend will surely continue in 2018. However, I plan to take the time to update my blog more often than I did in 2017. I've gone through my calendar and scheduled writing time, so hopefully that will help. I often find that if I can wedge something into my calendar, it's more likely to actually happen.

I set genealogy goals for myself in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. Doing this helps me stay focused on my top priorities throughout the year. It looks like I only addressed one of my resolutions in 2017, and in the most cursory way. So, this year, I am going to set more specific, realistic goals.

Here are my top priorities in 2018:

1. Finish transcribing my grandmother's memoirs. Share them with family members. I am about halfway through this task.

2. Write about my Smith line. I started this in my final blog post of 2017. This will also involve carefully reading the notes and research sent to me by my grandmother's cousin Barbara, who has done a ton of work on this family.

3. Return emails related to my Griffin ancestors. Continue researching this line. My posts here about John T. Griffin and his family have resulted in several exciting communications from new cousins. I have been really bad about returning those emails and fully processing their contents. I pledge to do a better job at this!

4. Organize and archive. My family will be moving in 2018, and I look forward to setting up a genealogy nook in our new home. Part of this process will be continuing to scan and archive my materials, particularly the photos and original documents left to me by my grandmother.

Happy New Year! Let's make this one better than the last.

My 2017 Genealogy Goals

As we enter 2017, I am trying to put the chaos of the last couple of months behind me and get refocused.  I have done absolutely no genealogy work since October, and I'm eager to get my head back into my research and this blog.  Part of that process is sharing my genealogy-related goals for 2017, as I did in 2016, 2015 and 2014.  Doing this helps me stay focused on my top priorities throughout the year.

I made a lot of progress on my goals in 2016.  I was finally able to prove the parents and grandparents of my second great-grandfather, John T. Griffin, a task I've been working on for several years.  I also did quite a bit of blog writing and finally managed to organize all the paperwork and documents I inherited from my grandmother.  Unfortunately, I still cannot seem to make any headway on the origins of my fourth great-grandmother, Nancy Matthews Burns.  I also need to spend more time looking at the paperwork on my Smith ancestors and make sure I have those individuals correctly inserted in my tree.

Here are my top priorities in 2017:

1. ORGANIZE

But wait, I did so much organizing in 2016!  Well, I think we all know that task is never complete.  I still need to get all my grandmother's photos scanned and properly archived.  I also need to scan and transcribe a series of letters that are on loan to me from my mother's cousin.  

2. REVIEW

Remember that great trip I made to the New England Historic Genealogical Society?  I'm embarrassed to admit that I still have not completely gone through the notes and scans I made during that visit.  One of my goals this year is to review all the information I found in the library and get it inserted into my tree and files.  I also need to sit down with my previous posts on my Murray ancestors and clear up some inaccuracies that have emerged since I wrote them.

3. SMITH

I am due to write about this family line on my blog, but feel that I don't know as much about them as I should.  My goal is to really dive into the paperwork I've been given by a Smith relative and wrap my head around this family.  It should be pretty interesting.  As cousin Barbara tells me, apparently my sixth great-grandfather, Capt. Samuel Smith, was a Tory sympathizer during the American Revolution who spent time in prison for his pro-England stance.  Scandal!

More 2017 excitement:

1. Possible museum exhibition

2017 is the 100th anniversary of my great-grandfather George Rutherfurd's military service, which began with his training at the Presidio of Monterey.  I had a very fun meeting with two historians at the Presidio of Monterey Museum last fall about potentially contributing to a special exhibit focused on World War I.  I have lots of photographs and memorabilia from George's time in Monterey, and I'm hoping it might be useful to the museum if the exhibit comes together.  Side note: I want to hang out with historians all the time. It is so fun to meet people who geek out over the same things you do.

2. Blog writing seminar

My genealogical society has kindly invited me to give a talk on blog writing for genealogy.  I've given talks to local groups in the past on using social media to further your genealogy research, but talking specifically about blog writing will be exciting.  I'm very passionate about showing people how writing a blog can connect you with new cousins and helpful information, as well as preserving your work for future generations.

Happy New Year!  

My 2016 Research Goals

I'd like to share my genealogy-related goals for 2016.  I set goals for both 2014 and 2015 and found that this helped me stay focused on my top priorities throughout the year.

I made quite a lot of progress on my goals in 2015.  For the past two years, I've been working on uncovering the lineage of my fourth great-grandmother, Amelia Brown Bellangee.  In 2015, I not only learned who her parents were, but was able to connect her to her grandfather, a Revolutionary War veteran.  One of my other goals revolved around my husband's Pinto ancestors.  This year, I was able to find documentation connecting Miles Augustus Pinto and his father, Isaac Pinto.

Hopefully, the success will continue in 2016!  Here are my top priorities:

1. GRIFFIN
The Griffins continue to be a major brick wall.  I worked on this family quite a bit in 2015 but still cannot prove the parents and siblings of my second great-grandfather John T. Griffin.  I believe I know who his parents are, but haven't found much in the way of actual proof.  I also can't seem to determine the parents of those supposed parents, which might help.  This family lived alternately in New York City and in the areas surrounding Scranton, Pennsylvania.  However, I haven't been able to find much in the way of census records, birth/death/marriage records, or probate documents.  This will be my primary focus in 2016.

2. SMITH
This is another holdover from 2014 and 2015, which I haven't worked on much due to the focus on the Griffin family.  We are missing a generation in our Smith family tree. I know that my fourth great-grandfather, Samuel B. Smith of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was the grandson of Captain Samuel Smith of Winchester, New Hampshire. We have land deeds and other family records proving as much. However, I don't know who Samuel B. Smith's father was with certainty. I am pretty certain his name was also Samuel Smith, but looking for a Samuel Smith in New England is like a needle in a haystack.

3. MATTHEWS

In 2014, I was able to prove the parentage of my third great-grandmother, Temperance Burns.  I now know that her parents were Absolom Burms and Nancy Matthews.  However, I can't seem to go any further back than that.  Right now, I'm focusing on Nancy, since she is the last known ancestor in my direct maternal line.  All I know about Nancy is that she was born about 1800 in North Carolina, and married Absolom Burns in Tennessee before moving with him to Illinois.  My next step will be to try to locate a marriage record for Nancy that might name her parents.

Happy New Year!

My 2015 Research Goals

I'd like to share my genealogy-related goals for 2015.  I did this last year, for 2014, and found that it helped me stay focused on my top priorities throughout the year.

I did make some progress on my goals in 2014, particularly in terms of the Schmidt and Griffin families, and I'm hoping to continue that momentum in 2015.  Here are my top priorities:

1. GRIFFIN
I accomplished a major goal related to my second great-grandfather John T. Griffin in 2014. The next step is to continue to try to prove conclusively his parents and siblings.  This is my primary area of focus right now.

2. BROWN
This goal remains from last year.  I am trying to find the parents and siblings of Amelia Brown Bellangee, my fourth great-grandmother.  I know the dates and places of her birth and death, but still have not been able to figure out who her parents were.

3. SMITH
This goal is also a holdover from 2014.  We are missing a generation in our Smith family tree.  I know that my fourth great-grandfather, Samuel B. Smith of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was the grandson of Captain Samuel Smith of Winchester, New Hampshire.  We have land deeds and other family records proving as much.  However, I don't know who Samuel B. Smith's father was, for sure.  I am pretty certain his name was also Samuel Smith, but looking for a Samuel Smith in New England is like a needle in a haystack. 

4. PINTO
My husband's Pinto ancestors were rumored to be Portuguese pirates.  A few years ago, I discovered they were actually Portuguese Jews who fled to America during the Spanish Inquisition.  However, the connection between the Connecticut and Ohio branches of this family is too tenuous for my liking.  One of my goals this year is to shore up that relationship and definitively prove the parentage of Miles Augustus Pinto and his (presumed) father, Isaac Pinto.

My 2014 Research Goals

Happy New Year!

Photo by Madhan Kumarb

I wanted to share my genealogy-related goals for 2014.  Number one is to just keep trying to find time to research, which is easier said than done, but I also have some specific individuals that I'd like to focus on this year.

One benefit of joining my local genealogy society is that I'm learning a lot about process and proper research techniques.  While I am a very organized person, it wasn't until a fellow genealogy society member pointed out the necessity of a research calendar that I began keeping track of exactly what I was working on, along with current status and next steps.  Thank you, Sierra!  My research calendar is also helping me to focus my time and energy.  So, a quick glance at my research calendar reminds me of my priorities for 2014.

1. GRIFFIN
There are two goals here.  (A) Establish location and date of death for my great-great-grandfather John T. Griffin.  (B) Prove conclusively the parents and siblings of John T. Griffin.  The Griffins have been quite difficult to research and are definitely my biggest challenge at the moment.

2. SCHMIDT
Continue to research my husband's great-grandmother, Lena Schmidt Laun.  In 2013, I smashed a big brick wall by discovering what happened to her after her divorce from Harry Laun, but I still don't know who her parents and siblings were.  I know when and where she was born, so it's just a matter of sorting through the seemingly thousands of Schmidt families in Belleville, Illinois.  I'd also like to see a divorce record for Lena and Harry, but I haven't had any luck with St. Louis records departments yet.

3. BROWN
I am trying to find the parents and siblings of Amelia Brown Bellangee, my fourth great-grandmother.  I know the dates and places of her birth and death, but still have not been able to figure out who her parents were.

4. SMITH
We are missing a generation in our Smith family tree.  I know that my fourth great-grandfather, Samuel B. Smith of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was the grandson of Captain Samuel Smith of Winchester, New Hampshire.  We have land deeds and other family records proving as much.  However, I don't know who Samuel B. Smith's father was, for sure.  I am pretty certain his name was also Samuel Smith, but looking for a Samuel Smith in New England is like a needle in a haystack. 

There are many other goals on my research calendar, but these take top priority.