The Results of Checking an Item off your Genealogy Bucket List

You know how people have their “Bucket Lists” of things they really want to do or see; well I will be able to tick one of those items off my own list this year. I have the amazing opportunity of going to Salt Lake City to spend time researching in the Family History Library.

Since most of my research time is spent on client work my own family history has suffered a little over the last few years. In preparation for this trip of a life time I have been going through all my family history files (computer and paper) and genealogy database so that everything can be updated and at the same time creating research plans.

The trip has been the impetus for me to organize my own research but I can highly recommend doing this for your own family history, even if you are not going to Salt Lake City. Over the years I have occasionally found bits of information and just stuffed it in the appropriate family file or in the general family name file for safe keeping.

Since going through the information in these files some treasures I didn’t remember finding have come to light. While updating information and creating research plans I have also been putting together the pieces that were saved in my files.

Some of these pieces have filled in blanks that I had been stuck on for a while. A few have broken down a brick wall. On the other hand some have also created a brick wall and made me rethink my research. These are all good things and will benefit my research in the end.

This process started just before the New Year and it has basically been my weekend project. The difficulty has been that I get so involved with it that I don’t want to stop. My enthusiasm for my own family history research has returned with a vengeance and I love it.

©2010 – Blair Archival Research