Halfway Through July

— And I a very happy camper! I'm feeling truly productive because something positive has been happening almost every day. Nothing huge has occurred — no brick walls have fallen in and I am still mainly involved in clean-up work.

There are over 3500 names in my original database; almost everyone of these names has at least one source attached (a very few are currently memory only); and most of the sources are more"valuable" than the three "springboard" sources that built the core of that database when I began serious work in genealogy almost 10 years ago. About 100 of these names have been copied into my newer, companion database. This leaves a long list of un-transferred data.

Now that the framework of basic procedures is in place, transfer of information is done smoothly and with reasonable speed. The instructions on procedures are clear to my genealogy heirs; if I don't finish this task, they will be able to do so — if they wish to follow up on all these people. As to "reasonable" speed: I'm not wasting time on statistics, but my worksheet indicates that I am transferring from one to three people most days.

 I transfer each person "by hand" — copying each data set by direct keyboarding into the newer database. I proofread the data in each database to be sure that they agree with each other and to remove any typing mistakes. (A review of some early correspondence indicated that this was attitude from the very beginning of my work; I still feel that it has served me well.) This "hands-on" approach also frees the creative side of me to come up with new suggestions as to areas of approach. It is a slow approach, but I feel that accuracy is more important than speed.

The first half of 2017 was devoted to organization: I did no research and I was not active in learning experiences. Now I am freeing up time for both these activities: life has some added sparkle to it. At this time, most of my learning is solo work. There are finer points concerning the use of both databases. I need to learn about these. And there are those areas Thomas MacEntee has us working on. So I'm reading the on-line manuals for both databases and viewing presentations about these techniques. And I'm following various discussion groups that are centered around the data bases and others that are centered around the more general techniques. I am LEARNING NEW techniques (she says, skipping around the room).

As to advancing my research: in the course of working on my first self-appointed task, I am making GREAT advances — in cleaning house! Somewhere in this house I am saving a copy of my original birth certificate (long form, no longer being issued by the state), a copy of my college transcript, and a large photo-portrait of my father's parents which was created before I was born. I know where these were originally stored, but they appear to have been moved — WHERE are they now?

I went to those two two-drawer files where I had originally stored these important papers. One file drawer at a time, I am emptying all the contents, piling the hanging-file folders in a stack on the guest bed beside a plastic bag of the loose materials found in that drawer. The contents of one drawer have been sorted, mostly discarded, and the few "keepers" have been filed. I am now about halfway through the second drawer.

What I am finding is financial records from the 1980s: checks, bills, account statements. I have found between 5 and 10 papers worth saving, either for nostalgic value or for genealogy purpose. Not much research here, but it IS a good housekeeping move. I have two more drawers to clear in this part of the house. If I am still missing the papers, my husband and I will scour the rest of the house looking for those "check these out later" boxes and bags that procrastinators are so fond of. We shall probably have recycled tons of paper (a hundred pounds?) by the time I do find these missing materials.

I work on relatively small tasks at each sitting, but there is variety in my work which makes me feel better. Tiny steps, but they add up to jobs having been struck off my ToDo lists (and they also add new ideas to those ToDo lists for later action). Some jobs are "on hold" but no area feels "stuck"; I know that I am making progress and I know what next thing to do in order to keep things moving.