Resolutions

The last prompt of the year in #52Ancestors is RESOLUTION. I don't typically make New Year's Resolutions. They are usually impossible to keep, and I always fail.

I do set goals every year. In the past, when I was working, these were usually only work-related goals - projects I wanted to accomplish, classes to take, etc. When I retired, I was happy to be carefree and have no goals. 

But after a couple of years, I realized I needed more direction and started creating goals each year. These eventually ended up in four categories: Writing and Research, Education, Organizational, and Personal and Health Goals. Interestingly, I do quite well in the first two categories but tend to fail pretty miserably with the third and fourth set of goals.

One of my writing goals has been participating in the #52Ancestors in #52Weeks "Challenge." In the past, I've dropped out by the end of January. But this past year, as part of my overall goal to write more, I decided to set the goal to write at least two a month. That made it much easier - I didn't have to worry about a topic that didn't speak to me - there was always the next week. And I've more than met that goal in 2024. So, that will be my goal again in 2025.

I've also set a weekly goal to write at least one biographical sketch. And I've got a short list of potential articles to send off for possible publication. I belong to a writing accountability group, and I want to attend at least once a week -- that should help push me along.

Education goals are usually simpler. I'm already signed up for SLIG 2025 and SLIG Spring. (New England and French Canadian research.) I will also look at GRIP and IGHR - I've got my eyes on a couple of courses. I'll continue with my NGSQ Study group. It is a fun group of people, and reading other people's articles helps me think about how I want to write (and how I don't want to write.) I usually attend at least one webinar a week and always look for other interesting educational opportunities. As a member of APG, I keep track of my education hours. Education is important to me, and I try to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. 

My other goals are more personal - things like walking more, cleaning out a closet, scanning photos, losing weight, etc. Most people will recognize those goals - almost everyone has them on their list.

So, how do I manage these goals throughout the year? Each month, I sit down, look at my annual goals, and build a list of monthly goals. I check the previous month and carry over things I didn't accomplish. I treat my goals more as guidelines. But I am always happy to cross them off the list when I've completed them. I remain flexible as things change during the year.

I've stopped beating myself up for things I don't get accomplished. After all, I'm retired, right? 

Chosen Family

As a genealogist, I spent many years working on my family and my son's family. My American lines are all southern, and my sons are Polish and French-Canadian. Some years ago, for a birthday present, I agreed to research my neighbor Steve's family, which started me off in a new direction.

His family was interesting and very different than mine. His mom was a war bride from England, and his paternal lines were from New York and New England - places I'd never researched. It was really fun and led me to start thinking about a career as a professional genealogist when I retired.

I started working on my Certification Portfolio and became a Certified Genealogist almost two years ago. Although my goal is to do professional work, I decided not to take on paying clients. I was having too much fun working on various projects when I wanted to without any time or contractual constraints.

That leads me back to my chosen family, starting with that work I did for Steve. At some point, I started researching his wife Sharon's family. It turns out that her family and mine were in the same place - Simpson County, Kentucky, in the early 1800s. Our families may have known each other back then. Lots of Missouri and Iowa research required learning more about those areas.

Steve and Sharon asked me to do research for one of their close friends as a gift to her. That led to new areas of Iowa and South Dakota. It also provided me with great practice writing up a KDP. 

Next came working on Steve's sister-in-law's family. That required learning something about Jewish genealogy. Then Steve's childhood friends from New York were added to my project list. I had to learn more about New York and DNA because one of them had an unknown parent - who turned out to be Jewish - so more Jewish research.  I took institute courses on New York and Jewish research to help with the research. I encountered Mayflower families and Salem witches.

I worked on Sharon's sister-in-law's family. She had families that became my Case Study and KDP for my BCG portfolio. Much of this work included more research on Minnesota and Iowa and spread back into Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina. One of the families was Quaker, which led to a Quaker institute course. 

More of Steve and Sharon's friends came into the mix. Sharon's childhood friend from Iowa has presented some fun and engaging challenges in Iowa and Pennsylvania. 

The step-daughter and husband of the first friend wanted info on their families, which led to more New York research and researching Hispano families in New Mexico and Colorado - something totally out of my wheelhouse (and, of course, led to another institute course). I've also researched the step-daughter's husband, which is more New York Jewish research.

One more connection to my chosen family - when their daughter-in-law's father died, I ensured the information he had gathered on My Heritage was preserved and started building on his excellent research. More  Minnesota and Wisconsin research, Pennsylvania, German, and Swedish.

I do have a couple of projects I work on (besides my own family) that aren't related to my neighbors. I started researching my daughter-in-law's family, which included Minnesota relatives. This was more work in Minnesota, a state I've lived in for many years and hadn't researched. Turns out she's distantly related to my neighbor Sharon.

I work occasionally on another neighbor's genealogy problems, especially mystery parentage in early Virginia for someone connected to Daniel Boone. I've worked on a friend's family after he asked whether he was related to someone in early Minneapolis history. He was distantly related, but that led to more Minnesota and Iowa research and has included learning about Loyalists in the Revolutionary War. and hotels on Lake Minnetonka. 

My list of projects I can work on at any given time is long, and most of it connects back to my Chosen Family - who happen to live next door. Because I've taken on these projects, I've learned so much more about doing research, writing, resources, etc. I've expanded the areas I'm comfortable researching and have grown as a genealogist. And it all points back to that original birthday present years ago. Thanks, Steve!!

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This week's #52 Ancestors prompt was Chosen Family. 

Handed Down Names

Many of us have "handed down" names in our family, passed down from father to son, grandmother to granddaughter. It's sometimes how we end up with families using the same names over and over again. It's common in most nationalities. 

But what about the other names that often puzzle us as genealogists that aren't family names at all. Where did they get handed down from?

Many of us have relatives named Lorenzo Dow. The first time, I was puzzled - who in the family was he named after? But after I'd seen it several times,  I found out where it came from. 

Lorenzo Dow was a traveling preacher who was really popular in the early 1800s. Born in Connecticut, Lorenzo Dow traveled to Ireland and England, he traveled around New England and New York -- and traveled as far away as the Mississippi Territory. He preached to large crowds and seemed to have been everywhere before he died in 1834. People all around the country knew about him, heard him preach, read his book, and named their children after him.

I recently encountered another name that puzzled me -- Elmer Ellsworth McClaran. I could find no other Elmer's in the family. There were no connections to an Ellsworth. So where did that name come from? 

Elmer's father, John T. McClaran, was a Union Civil War veteran, and that was my first hint. Elmer Ellsworth was the first Union officer to die in the Civil War. Because he was a close friend to Abraham Lincoln, his death was highly publicized and "Remember Ellsworth" was a call to serve in the Union Army. While I don't know for sure who Elmer Ellsworth McClaran was named after, it's a good bet his name was "handed down" from this Union hero.

Other "handed down" names can provide clues to the political leanings of ancestors. Most of us have encountered family members named after various presidents, particularly George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Jackson. But if you encounter someone named after Robert E Lee, the family was likely to have been Southern sympathizers. Someone named after DeWitt Clinton likely had New York roots. 

When looking at your family's names, consider the outside sources that prompted naming - and what it might tell you about your family. These are all hints that help us flesh out our family! 

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This week's topic for #52 Ancestors was "Handed Down." Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for putting together 52 prompts!!