Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Introducing the 2015 '52 ..., er 32, Ancestors'

As I prepare my list of ancestors I wish to study in the coming year I realize there are many I know little about! That's good for this project. Sure I have my share of Patriots, pioneers and Mayflower passengers, but I have decided to focus mostly on brick walls and women. I have decided to leave 20 slots open (for now) in hopes of filling in with new ancestors as this project progresses. I may use the topic guide or I may not, depending on the ancestor and the information. I am squeaky-clean new at this, so it will be an interesting adventure. That I have chosen to share with you. May we all learn from it and have some fun along the way!

My Ancestors (in no particular order) are:
Jennie M Whitford 1835 - 1888 OH/MI
Martha McBride 1789 - 1845 NY/MI
Samuel Faulkner 1740 - 1811 NY
James O'Connell 1799 - 1877 IRE/NY
Mary Dempsey 1815 - 1899 IRE/MN
Agnes Irons 1902 - 1950 IL
Jesse Thomas Sr 1786 - 1842 PA/OH
Ella Burt 1850 -1902 OH/IA
Cornelia Curtis 1798 - 1885 CT/NY
Ann Sammon 1853 - 1910 CAN/IL
Frederick Colyer 1847 - 1928 ENG/IL
David Burt 1824 - ? NJ
Hackaliah Vredenburg(h) 1790 - 1869 NY/WI
Jennett Smith 1780 - 1827 MA/OH
Sarah Kniffin 1792 - 1870 NY/IL
Anna Merriman 1807 - 1877 MD/OH
Margaret Roberts 1803 - 1883 KY/IA
N.W. Bass 1775 - ? VA
Mathias Wisner 1728 - 1821 GRM/MD
Elizabeth Phillips 1762 - 1843
L. L. Faulkner 1902 - 1992 MN/IL
James Irons 1827 - 1877 Scot/IL
Harrison Faulkner 1825 - 1905 NY/MN
R. W. Thomas 1904 - 1955 IA/IL
Elizabeth Twining Potwin 1904 - 1985 IA/CA
Annie Beach 1790 - 1863 NY/IA
Samuel Beach
Hannah Loveland 1760 - ?
Sarah Williams 1745 - 1820 VA/MD
Thomas Sammon 1825 - 1873 CAN/IL
James Chalmers 1777 - 1830 Scot
William Faulkner 1700 - 1784 Scot/NY

Let the stories begin!!!
 



Tuesday, December 30, 2014

New Year's Eve Plans

Tomorrow I will be sequestered in the old Genealogy Cave to prepare for the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge AND the Genealogy Do-Over! I'm so excited! 2015 is going to be an EPIC year! I may never come out of the cave ......

Thursday, December 25, 2014

2015 A BIG Year!

I have decided to take on TWO genealogy challenges in 2015!

The first is the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. You can read about it here: http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/announcing-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-2015-edition/

What better way to really get to know an ancestor than to focus on ONE person per week? I'm not sure I will always follow the optional themes, but I will be charting my progress here so you can come along for the ride!

Here's to a very exciting and busy 2015!

And The Second Challenge Is .... Genealogy Do-Over!

 Genealogy Do-Over!! Yes! I'm IN! This is going to be great! I am so loving this idea!! I threatened to do the very same thing last year. I Talked about it. Asked advice from other genealogy peeps on how to go about it. I got overwhelmed. And scared of hitting "delete" on all my "family", even though much of it was added with gusto from other people's trees with not a lick of proof. Ah, the newbie years!

My material grandmother was a HUGE genealogy nut - president of her Society in CA - did tons of research. I have all of her papers and notations. My first attempt at genealogy was in the 1980's with her research. I built a little (paper) tree, played with it now and then, mostly left it alone.

When my dad died in 2007 and I inherited his research (there really wasn't much) I wanted to dig deeper and learn more about my paternal side. I spent the next 7 years hand building that line. Did it mostly right, corrected mistakes as soon as they were discovered and I feel really good about the work. Busted a few brick walls, found some new cousins and started a One-Name study. My mother's side is another story entirely.

Today I am getting a DNA sample from my mom and will craft my Do Over starting with her, using the DNA results, my grandmother's notes and my now more seasoned research knowledge. Still not ready to "delete" the old work, but I will store it with a different name and remove it from my main working tree.

Can't wait to get started!!

You can read about the Do Over here:
http://www.geneabloggers.com/announcing-genealogy-doover/