Time Slips Away...

I cannot believe that it's been over three years since I've posted on this blog! There's a song that says, "Ain't it funny how time slips away?" But, really, it's not funny at all.

I am a master procrastinator, and I can ignore a task or project like nobody's business. In the world of genealogy, that means lost opportunities for research during a visit to my family in Maryland. Or a lost chance for a side trip when we're traveling in our motorhome. Or missing out on an "interview" with an older family member to glean personal knowledge. The standard reason: I'll do it next time, or I'm not prepared so I don't know what to look for.

This coming Tuesday, 7 October, will be six months since my Mother died. I'm thankful for the conversations we did have about her life and about her family, but I know there was so much more to learn about her 97 years on this earth. She was the last of her generation - both in her family, and my father's.

I attended a seminar today, put on by the Pima County Genealogy Society. The speaker was Lisa Louise Cooke. She gave a wealth of information and that alone made it worthwhile. But I'm using it as a source of motivation, to get me off dead center and back on the serious research trail.

I want to get my genealogy goals figured out and come up with an appropriate research plan before any more...  Time Slips Away

A New Genealogy Group Is Born . . .

. . . and I was there to see it!! The Pima County Genealogy Club (which may be re-named as part of the start-up process) had it's first organizational meeting on Saturday, 16 July. Over eighty people - that's EIGHT-ZERO - attended. There will be another organizational meeting in August - which I won't be able to attend :( and then the first regular meeting should be in September. I foresee good things!!

Getting Ready for Research Trip

Last weekend there was a reunion of the decendants of my paternal grandparents. I wasn't able to be there - another lost opportunity!

I'll be visiting family and friends in Maryland soon, though. While I'm there I plan to take some time to do some research. I know I won't be able to do anything in-depth, but I hope to spend at least one day in the Maryland Room at the library. I'm also going to visit a few cemeteries and photograph headstones.

Before I leave I want to have a rough plan so I'll know what I need to be looking for. I have a few facts to verify, a few gaps to fill in, and a couple of brick walls I'd like to get past. Any small successes will be celebrated!

Slow But Steady

I'm finding that my research is moving much slower now. That's because I'm working at checking sources and getting documentation as I add each name to my tree. As I've reviewed information I gathered over the years, I've found several items that I have no idea where I found them. As I re-input individuals and facts this time around, I am making sure that my sources are cited.

I've made another change,too, by switching back to RootsMagic after a year or so with Family Tree Maker. It's too soon to say for sure, but I think this will prove to be a good move.

Stepping out on the limb of the family tree!

I got into genealogy several years ago, but I never really got serious about it. I'd do a little research, then forget about it for months and months! Even when I was back in my hometown, I couldn't take advantage of being close to all those historical records because I was never prepared.

So now I've gone back to the beginning. I've been taking some classes from a couple of SERIOUS genealogists. As far as my records are concerned, I am starting again from scratch - with me - and making sure I have all the facts and sources annotated correctly.

As I go along, I will be able to see where the "holes" are in my records. This will give me something to work with when I do my online research and when I am visiting my family in Maryland.

So here begins - yet again - my genealogical journey to research my Relative Lines!