Assessing April

Some months are great and some are just mediocre. April was mediocre as far as finishing my to do list. To be honest, I spent too much time fooling around in the 1940 census, then writing blog posts about what I found; too much time fretting over the upcoming new Blogger interface; and plenty of time scanning, transcribing, and writing about Ellis's Civil War Pension File. Can you tell I sometimes get waylaid? Even when the main road is straight and direct I can find meandering paths with many interesting views. Hence, my lack of overwhelming success in April.

Below is the April to do list with accomplishments under each item on the list. Maybe May will be better.

Post my to do list for April and review the list at the end of April/beginning of May

• To Do in April
• Assessing April
  

Finish scanning and transcribing Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File

• Success! I finished near the end of the month (but did not transcribe his widow's file). I wrote only one post, DEAD - Military Monday.
  

Rename and organize another batch of photographs into family groups

• Done.

Index at least four 1940 U.S. Census pages

• Done plus some. I know some other GeneaBloggers are going gangbusters through indexing the census. I'm not one of them. I transcribed 11 pages (one from Delaware, one from Pennsylvania, and the rest from Ohio), with a steadily increasing agreement rate from 95% and 99%. I'm getting better.

Search for my Pennsylvania ancestors in marriage and birth records at FamilySearch

• Not done.

Maybe watch at least one genealogy webinar, read at least one Skillbuilders

• Not done.

Maybe investigate RootsMagic. IF my Pennsylvania death certificates come in I'll have incentive to use RootsMagic

• Not done.

To Do in April

To Do in April

• Post my to do list for April and review the list at the end of April/beginning of May
• Finish scanning and transcribing Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File (Really. Really!)
• Rename and organize another batch of photographs into family groups
  
• Index at least four 1940 U.S. Census pages
• Search for my Pennsylvania ancestors in marriage and birth records at FamilySearch
• Maybe watch at least one genealogy webinar, read at least one Skillbuilders
• Maybe investigate RootsMagic. IF my Pennsylvania death certificates come in I'll have incentive to use RootsMagic.
  

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Review of March

Why, oh why, did I decide to post my family history goals online this year? What was I thinking? I did so much better when I just did family history instead of thinking ahead about what to do and trying (too often unsuccessfully) to do it. I'm not sure I'm doing myself any favors but I'll finish the year as planned and see if I can succeed.

After a successful February, I faltered in March and now I'm already behind with my April to do list. I went a little easier on myself in March and still I accomplished less than I hoped. Ah, well. There are more days to come but isn't there always more to do in a day than there is time?

My evaluation of March:

Post my to do list at the beginning of the month and my successes (or lack thereof) at the end of the month

• Behind but Marching On - To Do List for March
• Review of March
  

Scan and transcribe the rest of Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File

• The scanning and transcribing are still in progress (and are very slow going) but are nearly half finished. Of his wife's file, I've decided to transcribe only those pages with family history information.
• Reading the Doctors' Handwriting relates to the Civil War Pension File.
  

Write one book review

• Women Triumphant was posted on March 5.

Rename and organize at least one batch of photographs

• I completed this goal on March 8, though only a few were older family photographs.

Update and publish one surname variations post for Surname Saturday. This will be an ongoing post which I will update as I find new surname variations for each of the surnames I'm searching.

• Surname Variations #2 was posted on March 23.

Publish four posts for 1940 U. S. Census Ambassador

• 1940 U.S. Census Community Project, posted on March 2
• Any Day But Friday, posted on March 11
• Practicing for April 2, posted on March 20
• From the National Archives, about the 1940 Census, posted on March 25
• Prepare to Find Your Family on Census Day, posted March 29
  

RootsMagic: get on it!

• STILL undone! This was carried over once already.

Watch at least one genealogy webinar, read at least one Skillbuilders

• Undone

I'm hoping to do better in April!
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Behind but Marching On - To Do List for March

The month is one quarter over and I've only just decided on what I hope to accomplish in March! I'm late, I'm late!

My to do list:

• Scan and transcribe the rest of Ellis Bickerstaff’s Civil War Pension File. I thought it would work to scan a little every month but this file has become a monkey on my back. If I do only a document or two each month I would still be at it next year at this time. So this month I'm going to dive into the project and do as much as I can.
  
• Post one book review. I've already posted an article about The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women. Because this book is so descriptive of the physical, cultural, and financial environment of the United Kingdom in the early 1800s, I think that if one has ancestors from that time period and location, the time reading it will be well-spent.
• Rename and organize at least one batch of photographs. I tell myself to just keep working on this project and it will eventually get done.
• Update and publish one surname variations post for Surname Saturday. I've always searched without a written list, trying to remember all the ways I've seen a surname spelled. I think having a the variations on a written list will allow me to make better use of my search time.
• Publish 4 posts for 1940 U.S. Census Ambassador.
• RootsMagic. This is another monkey. I don't know what my problem is but I need to just do it. I tend toward perfectionism but there are some tasks and projects that I know won't come out perfectly no matter how much time or effort I spend on them. I am persuading myself that imperfection is not usually a life or death situation. If I don't get things right in RootsMagic the first time, they can be changed, removed, improved. I just have to do it.
  
• Watch/listen to at least one webinar or other educational program; read at least one Skillbuilders article
  

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Accounting for February - the To Do List

All things considered, I think February was a successful month even though I didn't complete everything I intended to do. I'll post March's to do list in a day or two.

Below are my accomplishments (or not) for the month:

Post my to do list at the beginning of the month and my successes (or lack thereof) at the end of the month

• High Hopes for February: To Do List -- Motivation Monday
• Accounting for February - the To Do List
  

Watch one RootsMagic webinar and put what I learn to use (from January)
undone - for the second month in a row

Transcribe at least one page of Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File (carried over from January). In total I scanned and transcribed 7 documents, combined into 2 posts.

• Claim for Disability Pension - Civil War Pension File
• Invalid Pension: $8.00/month - Civil War Pension File
  

Rename and organize at least one batch of photographs (20-50 images scanned on the same date)

• Feb. 29 - barely done in time to attribute to this month
  

Participate in Abundant Genealogy at least two weeks in the month

• Life Experiences Week 5: Life Experiences - Abundant Genealogy Week 5
• Heirlooms Week 6: Family Heirlooms - Abundant Genealogy Week 6
• Historical Documents Week 7: Historical Documents - Abundant Genealogy Week 7
• Genealogy Collections/Libraries Week 8: Genealogy Collections at Local Libraries - Abundant Genealogy Week 8
  

Share one Tuesday's Tip

• Tuesday, Feb. 7: The 50 Questions in the 1940 Census - Tuesday's Tip
• Tuesday, Feb. 21: Pennsylvania Certificates Online - Tuesday's Tip

Publish one Surname Saturday post. This will be an irregularly updated list of surnames and surname variations

• posted on Feb. 18 - Surname Variations included Armitage and Bickerstaff

Continue my educational efforts

• watched RootsTech live on Thursday, February 2, through Saturday, Feb. 4
• listened to DearMyrtle's RootsTech 2012 Review on Monday evening, Feb. 6
• read & posted on Feb. 20-21: The Genealogical Proof Standard at the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) website
  

Also completed

• Feb 7: signed on with Google Webmaster Central as suggested by a RootsTech presenter. Doing this enables me to see traffic analysis, search terms, etc. To do this I had to add an html tag in the design code of my blog to verify ownership (which was really scary for a non-techie like me!).
  
• Feb 14: in newly opened Pennsylvania Death Certificate Index I searched for, found, and ordered death certificates for Tressa Froman Doyle, and Fredrick K. Gerner; on Feb. 18, I found and ordered certificates for Catherine Saylor Froman, Lucille Hepler, and Edward Gerner
• Feb. 17: installed RootsMagic onto a flash drive
• Feb. 18: went to OHS, found 2 newspaper articles about Abel & Ann Armitage filing suit against the city of Steubenville in court of common pleas, Abel Armitage - Alive Another Year
  
• Feb. 18: searched for and found an obituary for Anna Reeves Armitage as a Random Act of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK)
  
• Feb. 22: found and subscribed to Michael Hait's blog, Planting the Seeds
  
• Feb. 22: read article Censuses - Often-Overlooked Basics by Elizabeth Shown Mills at Board for Certification of Genealogists Skillbuilders.
  
• Feb. 22: looked for Eliza Hartley Armitage at Rootsweb BMD. Found 2 possible candidates.
• Feb. 26: Became a 1940 U.S. Census Ambassador. Posts include 1940 U. S. Census Ambassador and If You Know Where They Lived in 1940....
• Feb. 27: wrote letter to Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Jefferson County, Ohio, to request information about obtaining the file of a court case
• Feb. 28: read Citing Your Sources by Elizabeth Shown Mills at BCG Skillbuilders.
  

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High Hopes for February: To Do List -- Motivation Monday

Stephanie at Corn and Cotton: My Family’s Story has invited bloggers to share our goals (or in my case my "to dos") either each week or each month. Thank you, Stephanie. The idea is that making these public will help me feel more committed and sharing them among a group of other bloggers doing the same thing will increase motivation and mutual support.

Having not completed everything on my list in January, I have high hopes for February's list. I want to get "caught up," yet I don't want to overload my expectations to the point that I have to keep carrying over more and more each month. I guess I'll go easy on myself this month.

To Do in February:
● post my to do list and the beginning of the month and my successes (or lack thereof) at the end of the month
--- to do list posted on Monday, February 6

● watch one RootsMagic webinar and put what I learn to use (from January)

● transcribe at least one page of Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File (from January)

● rename and organize at least one batch of photographs (20-50 images scanned on the same date)

● participate in Abundant Genealogy at least two weeks in the month

● share one Tuesday's Tip

● publish one Surname Saturday post. This will be an irregularly updated list of surnames and surname variations which will include where and when the variations appeared in documents

● continue my educational efforts
--- watched RootsTech live on Thursday, February 2, through Saturday, February 4
--- listened to DearMyrtle's RootsTech 2012 Review on Monday evening, February 6


That's enough for February.

Reviewing January

I'm reviewing my January To Do List and evaluating my success (or lack thereof). We won't call it failure (because I hate to fail.) What I didn't get done in January I'll carry over to February's List. I hope I won't have to do that too often and what I especially hope is that I don't have to carry over the same thing more than once.

January has been a busy month in other areas of my life. There were some non-genealogy deadlines which couldn't be postponed and some activities that took longer than I anticipated. Family history didn't play as large a part of my life in January as I hope it will in February and the rest of the year.

That being said, here's my review for January:

Done! -- Organize Ellis Bickerstaff's pension file into chronological order

Undone. -- Transcribe one document in the pension file.

Done! -- Write and post about his pension file. The CWPF posts were Civil War Pension File: First View; Civil War Pension File: Inventory; and Civil War Pension File: Chronological Overview of Papers Pertaining to Ellis.

Undone. -- Watch one RootsMagic webinar and put what I learn to use in RM with my own information.

Done! -- Write and publish two Tuesday's Tip posts. These posts were U.S. Census Information: Sites for Details and Once a Miner, Twice a Breaker Boy.

Done! -- At FamilySearch, look for new Ohio resources; search any that look helpful.

Done! -- At FamilySearch, look for new Pennsylvania collections.


I'll post my February To Do List in a day or two.

To Do List, January 2012

Maybe writing down and publishing my to do list will help me stay on track and accomplish more.

• Organize Ellis Bickerstaff's pension file into chronological order (as much as is possible).

• Transcribe one document in the pension file.

• Write and post about his pension file. (With 70+ pages in the file, this may become a brief series.)

• Watch one RootsMagic webinar and put what I learn to use in RM with my own information.

• Write and publish two Tuesday's Tip posts. (One is already done!)

• At FamilySearch, look for new Ohio resources; search any that look helpful.

• At FamilySearch, look for new Pennsylvania collections.

Too much to do in a month? We'll see.

Share your January, 2012, to do list/goals at Corn and Cotton: My Family's Story.

No Goals for 2012

I've been reading others' blog posts about their goals for 2012. It's made me want to go back to bed and cover my head with a pillow until the middle of January when that subject will have been overtaken by newer topics. (Except it won't because Stephanie of Corn and Cotton has invited bloggers to write monthly --monthly!-- goals and publish them as Motivation Monday posts.)

I know that for most people setting goals helps them accomplish objectives but my experience has generally been that when I set goals life gets in the way, the goals go out the window, and I feel like a failure. I do make daily "to-do" lists which I generally complete. And I do have ideas of things I'd like to accomplish. Instead of goals, I'm going with to-dos this year.

• RootsMagic (RM). I bought RM when it was on sale a few months ago and received a free upgrade in December but didn't have time to install it. I want to learn more about the program and continue to enter data. James Tanner of Genealogy's Star has written numerous posts in which he encourages his readers to choose some other genealogy program than Personal Ancestral File (PAF). I'm comfortable with PAF but as I learn more about genealogy I realize that PAF's offerings are rudimentary and limited. RM was my program of choice because it syncs with NewFamilySearch and makes working with that website easier. I have a lot to learn about the program before it becomes comfortable. The RM website has a series of webinars where I can learn about specifics and I know Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings has written a series of posts about about various aspects of the program. Surely with those excellent guides I can make progress.
  
  
• Organize my family history photos. Many are scanned and organized; just as many are still in the files the scanner puts them into when I save them. It makes it hard to find them. I've bookmarked several posts about organizing photos. I'll dig those out and read what others have found successful, unsuccessful, and what they recommend.

• Continue learning. Brigham Young University offers free online courses, 10 of which are family history/genealogy courses. "German Research" looks like it could be helpful since I have ancestors from several areas in Germany.
  
  I will investigate others opportunities to learn, including webinars, books, and online sources.
  

• Continue searching for my ancestors, both online and at libraries, archives, and family history centers. I haven't been to FamilySearch for a while and I know they've added new records. The Family History Centers (FHC) also offer free access to some of the paid sites. And of course, their library catalog is online and I hope to find films that will be helpful and which I can rent copies to be sent to the local FHC.

• Transcribe Ellis Bickerstaff's Civil War Pension File. This arrived in December, a month earlier than I anticipated. I perused it when it arrived and I'm looking forward to delving into it and learning more about Ellis and his situation toward the end of his life.

• Continue blogging. I'm such a tiny minnow in a sea of whales, and yet I continue to enjoy the blogging experience, both writing and reading. I hope to keep that up this year.

• Maybe (just maybe) I'll participate in Amy Coffin's meme, Abundant Genealogy. I'm not much of a memer (I may be a little too independent) but this looks helpful.
  

That's it. That's my big to-do list for the year. Now maybe I can break those down and consider monthly to-do lists to participate in Stephanie's Motivation Monday.