A Look Back

Thanks to other geneabloggers, I have recorded statistics for both my RootsMagic tree and my Ancestry tree over the past year.

Roots Magic Tree

Heartland Genealogy Tree on Ancestry

The numbers are 'nice' but for me to understand whether I have made progress, I have to compare them to where I was on January 1, 2018.


Roots Magic Comparisons

• Roots Magic People in 2018 -- 11,269 / in 2019 -- 12973 / increase of 1,704 people


• Roots Magic Families in 2018 -- 3,744 / in 2019 - 4,338 / increase of 644 families


• Roots Magic Events in 2018 -- 29,407 / in 2019 -- 36,454 / increase of 7,047 events


• Roots Magic Sources in 2018 -- 3,215 / in 2019 -- 3,692 / increase of 477 sources


• Roots Magic Citations in 2018 - 39752 / in 2019 50829 / increase of 11,077 citations

Ancestry Comparisons

• People in 2018 -- 11,257 / in 2019 12,608 / increase of 1,351 people


• Records in 2018 -- 1,753 / in 2019 7,071 / increase of 5,318 records

Have I made progress? My major accomplishment during the past year was to get my Ancestry tree, Heartland Genealogy indexed. Even though this achievement required me to be patient with Ancestry, it also required me to work thru the shaky leaf hints. Even though I added 5,318 Ancestry records to my tree during 2018, I still have over 20,000 shaky leaf hints for records.

I'm also celebrating that the Seneca Free Public Library was approved by Family Search as an affiliate library. Thus, I can visit my local library and view the 'locked' digitized microfilm in the Family Search catalog.

In August, I started using Scrivener to analyze sources. I've found this tool to be very useful for transcribing deeds and other documents.

I am getting more familiar with the Family Search tree and learned how to add 'memories'. I am grateful that Family Search is collecting and preserving family stories and memories.

In order for me to make progress with my research, I feel like I have to be a constant learner. During the past year, the following contributed to my continual development of my genealogy research skills.

• Mondays with Myrt hosted by DearMyrtle, Cousin Russ and others


• DNA Study Group hosted by Topeka Genealogical Society


• Brick Wall Study Group hosted by Topeka Genealogical Society


• Legacy Family Tree Webinars


• Blaine Bettinger posts and his FB group Genetic Genealogy Tips and Tricks


• RootsMagic Users FB group


• Fellow Genealogists willing to share via blogs, tweets, posts

I wish everyone

a great new year

with lots of genealogical successes!