Motivation Monday- Weekly Update

(* I had this set in my scheduler to post early yesterday, but for some reason this did not occur, so I am publishing a day late. Staying focused is too important right now in my opinion).

Motivation comes in many forms: a regular paycheck, a boss threatening to replace your position, an unexpected hug from a teenager.....fill in the blank with whatever those motivation are for yourself.

In order to stay focused in my genealogy research, making a small set of weekly goals that I am publicly accountable to on here is one way to stay motivated. Last week I made a small list and will use that as the beginning of either a weekly or bi-monthly post to update on progress and make a set of new "motivating" steps to continue forward progress.

So, here is an update:

 -Complete a Database of Tombstone Tuesday Entries Posted to this Blog  (Completed)


- Review  Military file of Lemuel Tucker (my oldest brick wall ) in order to return to posting about him (Currently reviewing in depth and will post an entry next week for Military Monday on Lemuel)


- Search the local 1940 city directory as one step to confirm addresses in preparation of release of 1940 census (Have discussed family addresses with my mother, and searched online for relative city directories, but the 1940 city directory I need to view is at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in their Indiana Room. I will be visiting on Tuesday morning.)


- Visit the Warrick County, Indiana courthouse to obtain records related to my German heritage (Visited last week for several hours and obtained many records on the family, some I will be sharing in upcoming weeks)


- Use Google Reader to catch up on all the blogs I have missed in recent months (much to do in this area; there are so many good blogs with good information to share that I may be catching up for awhile)




Now, in addition to what I am continuing from above, these are my additional motivations in the next week:


- Return to the Warrick County courthouse for other records


- Spend an evening scanning photographs and/or documents (I intend to make this a weekly event while watching some favorite television programs) 


- Return to Familysearch.org  indexing to  polish up on my skills this week so that I will be prepared to assist in the indexing process when the 1940 census in released April 2nd. 




Let's see how this process goes and let's all "stay motivated"!

Changes, they are a coming

I wrote a couple weeks ago that I was reevaluating my use of this blog and how I wanted to make the space more productive for myself and for others who read the contents. After giving myself some time to think through the possibilities, as well as my to-do lists, I am prepared to discuss them now.

When I first began this blog, I stated that I wanted to use the space to "display information about my ancestors and their life, as well as to use it as a forum for discussing other ancestors from the Tri-State of Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky." I also wanted to use this blog to discuss brick walls I needed help with.

Over time illness had prevented consistent use of this blog and the blogging community I love and respect, and I have also failed to stay the course with many of the goals I initially planned for this space. Now with thought and planning, I have established the parameters for the next few months of this blog.  One of the first things I did was to revamp my "Surnames and Locations" page to place the surnames more specifically into the states and counties that are relevant to my research. I will be adding my "Research Toolbox" within the next week, as well as defining my stand more clearly on copyright and links to these pages.

Content coming in upcoming weeks will include the following:

Military Monday
Civil War Papers of Lemuel Tucker and David Cozart
Information regarding ancestors in World War II

Local Events in History in Newspapers and Other Media
Discuss events in history that affected the Tri-State area, such as the 1937 flood, 1925 tornado, and the Civil War

Serendipity Stories & Breaking Brick Walls 
Times when the heavens parted and all fell in place as well as the stories of recent brick wall discoveries AND the walls I still need help climbing

Courthouse Conquests 
My catchy theme for courthouse finds

Stories From The Road 
Ancestral Homes, Businesses, Places important to my family directly and by means of living in the area, social history related information

Character Sketches 
This idea comes straight from a recent webinar conducted by Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist . I would like to add these once or twice a month. This will force (make me- smile) to write the narratives I need to on my ancestors and add the sources correctly.

The Writings of Those Before 
It has been sometime since I quoted the entries from the 1911 journal of my great-grandfather, John James Raley. I would like to get back to those. In addition, there were some other members of my family who have written journals, books, etc. and I would like to add those writings at times to share.

Research Strategies & Tips 
The title is self-explaining

Of course there are other entries to continue with, including Tombstone Tuesday, Surname Saturday, Treasure Chest Thursday, and all the other themes that are described on Geneabloggers and suggested by fellow bloggers. I am excited about the possibilities for this blog, and expanding the options to not only include specifics about my family, but to also add more information about the Tri- State area and also the other areas relative to my ancestors.

Midyear Updates

I decided to take a moment and look back at the goals I made in January for 2011 since we are halfway through the year in order to ensure that I am staying the course and this is what I discovered:

1) Scan as many of the photos and documents in immediate family members possessions as possible

This is a continual process, but I am having success. I've attended Scanfest, and borrowed papers, and photos from family to ensure copies of all items are dispersed over several households.

2) Catch up and stay current in my ProGen Class

I continue to struggle with this

3) Continue to follow leads on the McDaniel/Munsey side of my family

This was a large brickwall in my family that is finally opening with trips to Posey County, Indiana. More trips are needed to see what records can be copied and studied for further study.

4) Visit White County, Illinois and Ohio County, Kentucky

Spent 3 days in Ohio County in March and should be back there for 2 days next week to do research and connect with some relatives we have met. White County will be later in June or mid July.

I feel fairly well about those at this point in the year, and have accomplished other steps as well:

I have taken several other courthouse trips for records throughout southern Indiana
Ordered some films from Salt Lake City
Attended  local workshops on history and genealogy topics and many webinars
Obtained military records from the Civil War and service records from St. Louis
Located a few naturalization records (Finally!)
Continued the process of the dream my mother has of joining the DAR

Sometimes I think we spend so much time spinning as we go about the process of "getting" that we (or at least I) forget to take a moment to breathe and really study what I actually have in order to put my family in perspective and treasure them even more. Taking a moment to see where I stand really can be inspiring.

Now it's time to get back to enjoying my family more and focusing on obtaining those goals.

My Intentions for 2011

  After reviewing the successes and mis-steps from my 2010 Genealogy Goal Plan, I spent the past several days deciding what I would write on this blog as my 2011 Genealogy Plan, knowing that once it is out into the netherworld, reality must play a role.

I kew I didn't want to write a book or make too many goals that were beyond sanity, so I decided to change this up a bit, and am going to break it up into quarters. So, for the first part of the year, these are my goals:

- Scan as many of the photos and documents in immediate family members possessions as possible
- Catch up and stay current in my Pro-Gen class
- Continue to follow the recent leads on the McDaniel/Munsey side of my family
- Visit White County, Illinois and Ohio County, Kentucky


If my health will cooperate and the good Lord deems appropriate, in about 3 months I will come back with an update on this list and make another set of goals for the next 3 months of 2011.