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!