2018 Genealogy Goals

This week's 'Saturday Night Genealogy Fun' challenge was to create at least one genealogy goal for 2018. Thanks to DearMyrtle's Wacky Wednesday on Bullet Journaling, one of my goals for 2017 was to learn to use a Bullet Journal. I can truly say that I've accomplished that goal since I've been planning my 'journal' for 2018.

In the process of that planning, I've written several goals in my genealogy journal. Knowing that I need specific goals that I can check off (i.e. SMART goals), I have broken them down into smaller steps. Below are some of  my broader goals:

• Get my tree indexed on Ancestry!
• Reduce number of shaky leaves on Ancestry
• Use RootsMagic's link to FamilySearch to add sources for my direct line ancestors
• Connect with cousins on Facebook by sharing family photos
• Blog about my ancestors 
• SCAN -- I still have some photo albums to scan
• Clean up files (sadly I have duplicates of some photos and others that need re-scanned)
• DNA -- update my spreadsheet of matches
• Finish doing visual phasing with my brother's DNA results and then hopefully add a cousin or two 
• Attend a genealogy conference 
• Participate in genealogy study groups and round-tables

Perhaps I need to add a goal of tracking my progress!

RootsMagic Source List Bloat

My list of sources has a LOT of duplicates. The vast majority of these duplicated sources are coming from Ancestry.

My DNA Story

Ancestry recently made some changes to their Ethnicity display. I first became aware of this change during a webinar. I was reminded of this change this morning when I read "Ancestry Updates DNA Ethnicity Presentation" on The Genes Blog.

Thus, I decided to check out my Ethnicity screen.

The 'new' part of the presentation is the time line. As I began clicking thru the time line, it showed the migration from Europe to the United States.

I still need to learn about these maps and how they can help me with my paper research!

Learning to Use RootsMagic Research Log

My first 'research logs' were paper based and I was fairly consistent about keeping those records. However, when I started using software to manage my family tree, my diligence in recording what sources I had used began to slip. My software of the time, The Master Genealogist, had the ability to maintain a research log but I incorporated that tool into my research process.

Recently, webinars and blogs that I follow have emphasized the need to maintain an accurate log of sources used. Knowing that I was lacking in this area, I decided to try the tools within RootsMagic to see if I could improve my research process.

I first tried this logging process while on a trip to the Midwest Genealogy Library. I transferred data from my TODO spreadsheet into tasks on RootsMagic.

During my visit to the library, I was able to mark the task completed and transfer it to the Research Log. With the Research Log window open, I then entered the bibliographic information and transcribed data directly into the log.

At the end of the transcription, I noted where the images were stored.

I recently started using the IOS app, iScanner. This app allows me to group all images from a source into one folder. I can export the images as a .pdf file or as individual .jpeg files.

By using the Research Log in this way, it is harder for me to loose track of research notes. Once ready to input the data into RootsMagic, I can just copy/paste the transcription info and attach the .pdf file or individual media files.

Oct 31, 2017 -- This issue has been confirmed by RootsMagic support. Contrary to my theory, they found that the note stuck to the FIRST event. Until the update comes out, the suggest was to transfer these notes one event at a time.

Renaming Ancestry Tree & TreeShare

Historically, I have published most of my genealogy research under 'Heartland Genealogy'. When RM introduced TreeShare, I was having trouble getting a new tree established with that name. Thus, my TreeShare name is currently called 'Crawford-Briles'. For the sake of consistency, I would like my old tree name back. Thus, I asked the Facebook community if it was possible to change the name.

So, I'm going to try to change the name of my tree. I have closed my tree in RM and backed it up. Dropbox is in the process of syncing both the file and the backup.

On Ancestry, I opened Tree Settings and changed the name of the tree.

I then re-opened RootsMagic. In RootsMagic, my file is called Crawford-Briles. Hopefully, it will still link to my renamed tree on Ancestry - Heartland Genealogy. To test that, I clicked on the TreeShare icon. Thankfully, it is telling me it is connected to my Heartland Genealogy Tree.

RootsMagic TreeShare / Event Notes

Due to my tree not showing in a search on Ancestry, I'm learning more and more about how TreeShare works.

One of my observations is that I often have a 'note' at the bottom of my sources on Ancestry. One of those notes was a 'burial' note. Most of the time, they are titled, 'residence note'. Pictured is such a note on the record for George Mentzer in my Crawford-Briles tree.