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!