The end of this year has me looking back and looking forward. Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is over for 2021, and I have to say, it did get me in the habit of writing on a regular basis this year! That was my main reason for starting the challenge. I hope this year's stories have brought insight and surprises to my own family, as well as to others who also followed my blog during this challenge. I learned so much from those genealogical journeys too.
Looking back on 2020, when I started this blog, I ended the year with 35 posts. Granted, I did start writing on March 9th, 2020. But, at the end of this year, I had made 70 posts in 2021! I did not keep track of how many pictures I scanned, but I really barely made a dent in the boxes and boxes I have in my office. There is so much left to do.....
Looking forward I am writing down some specific goals for this project, so that I have a roadmap for the future, and so my family knows what I will be up to this year! As I have so many specific goals I am choosing not to participate in the 52 Ancestors challenge for 2022. Maybe next year...
These goals are not listed in any particular order of importance, but here are my own personal challenges for 2022!
1. Publish a family book on the Hurd Family with a family tree included (family members have requested a visual tree to look at...). I think I have researched this family enough to put the posts in book form and share. With the exception of William Hurd...my only brick wall at this point in time. That's a whole other project.
2. Finish scanning the Burrows/Hansen family pictures and complete family trees for each family. Pictures and documents need to be archived in boxes and binders, which I have started to do. I have a shadow box that I want to fill with WWII items and pictures to document the contributions my Grandfather and his brothers made in the war.
3. Keep plugging away on the Burrows Working Tree: I am working on transcribing family letters discovered this summer and sharing information with DNA cousins from England, Ireland, Australia and the US. This has been one of the highlights of this last year! We have made quite a bit of progress on discovering the Burrows in Sligo, Ireland and piecing together a working tree to connect dna matches.
4. Finish transcribing my grandfather's letters from his trip to Norway. I got distracted this year!
5. Finish scanning pictures from John Hansen's time in South America. I need to put his handwritten journal in an archival box. Once this is done, I would like to republish his journal with his letters and pictures in book form. I am close!
6. The King/Hayes Family! What can I say? I barely scratched the surface this year. I have a Crawford family Bible that needs some attention, my Great Great Grandfather's journal from his trip up the Nile to rescue General Gordon from Khartoum, and lots more San Francisco history to research. Plus, continued research on the Levers in Cornwall, and their connection to the Kings in Devon. This in itself is a huge project.
7. Finish scanning pictures from the Hayes/Hansen families and get them out of the cardboard boxes they are currently in (yipes!).
8. Finish scanning pictures from the Boothby side of the family and get them into binders. I would love to get those blog posts in book form, also, with family trees. I'm pretty close. However, the Italian research is not even on my radar at this point. I need Dr. Henry Louis Gates to come help me with that!
9. Visit some cemeteries! I have several on my "to do" list, located in Reno, Grass Valley, Nevada City and Dutch Flat.
10. Search for Affa Hayman....I would like to take a road trip to Heppner, Oregon and locate her grave in the Heppner Cemetery, as well as look at records in the courthouse pertaining to her suicide. The courthouse has been closed due to COVID, but hopefully will open back up sometime soon. Family members have expressed interest in coming along for the ride! Everyone needs genealogy buddies. (see my post from March 26, 2021 for the full story).
11. Continue research and documentation on the Bluetts in Cornwall and finish a family tree as far back as I can go with that family line. There is so much to explore there.
12. Visit the house on Jackson Street in San Francisco. (See my post from August 15, 2021 for the full story). The current owner invited my family to see the renovations her family is completing on the house; they should be done sometime in January. This discovery was one of my highlights from 2021!
13. Continue with my Boothby/Hayman research back to early New England settlement. There is some very rich history there that needs more exploration and documentation. There may be a connection to a Scottish Prisoner of War named Duncan Stewart that needs more research. Not to mention Royalist leanings during the Revolutionary War....sounds intriguing!
14. Visit Bower's Mansion (see my post from February 19, 2021 for the full story). I'd like to find the actual family heirlooms that were donated by the Hurds. COVID restrictions have eased, so it should be possible this summer.
15. Keep up with my Friday's Featured Photo posts. There are so many pictures to share!
16. As always, continue to share my research, stories and pictures with family and friends. This is why I started my blog!
These are some pretty lofty goals. Some may take a day to complete, some may take weeks to complete, some may take months to complete and some may never be completed. But I will always move forward with a deep feeling of being connected to my past that gives me such a unique place in the world. I hope I can pass that on to my family and future family generations to come!
*****************Happy 2022!**********************
I will miss reading your 52A/52W blogs in 2022, but I can see you have a lot on your plate! I follow your blog on Blogger and look forward to seeing more of your old photos in future posts.
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