Genealogical Goals for 2015

I gave up on resolutions years ago. I simply have To-Do lists and Goals now. The goals listed here are personal records. These goals have nothing to do with any clients – current or future – except obviously to work on their goals and wants. So, without further ado, here are mine:

Tweek it! By that I mean, go through folders – online and physical – and make sure all info is included in both places. Then sync FTM (Family Tree Maker) and Ancestry.com and make sure info updated, especially sources.
Utilize social media more efficiently concerning genealogy. This includes being more active with #genchat!
Blog daily using GeneaBlogger prompts.
Blog daily using my #OnThsDay prompt.
Write a My Family Calendar This Week post each Sunday.
Participate in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crow.
Write e/o month at Worldwide Genealogy! (Scheduled to begin in February).
VanHorn line – confirm George’s parents. Were they John & Jane or Nicholas & Catherine?
Also VanHorn line – dig deeper into Benjamin’s CW service/POW time.
Still Line - Who fathered George David Still, son of Margaret Still?
Keating Line – Was Anna Keating Walsh really a member of the Molly Maquires?
O’Flaherty line – Where did Dennis come from in Ireland? Did he die/stay in Shenandoah?
Find and confirm remaining 2x great grandparents: the mothers of Frances Skrabalak and Mary Kilpatrick.
Hruszczak, Matys, Kurenda & Skrabalak Lines -- Research what it was like when Daddy's family immigrated and what Prusy, Austria and Sambor was like in the 1904 - 1913 range.
Find obit for John Petro, who died 1/1/1989
Eckman line – How did Charles Eckman die at the age of 27 on 26 August 1887?
Miller line – Find out more about Socrates Miller CW service.
Deyoe line – When did Daniel die? Was William Parker Deyoe (adopted son) related?
Find and confirm remaining 2x great grandparents for Glenn’s side: Louise Sharp’s parents and Apolina Morrill’s parents.
Longnecker line – decipher birth records from Bible page (sign of the …).

Whew! I plan on combining the various prompts with the individual person/family goals. This is of course in addition to work for others and things that just kind of pop up and grab my interest through the year! I also want to pay more attention to the living this year!

With that said, Happy New Year. Good luck on YOUR goals this year ... and please feel free to leave comments on the various posts from time to time.

Coatesville's First Serial Killer

Young Alexander Meyer was a disturbed and angry young man with some major issues. He had failed sixth and seventh grade, and instead of having to repeat eighth grade again, he finally gave up on school. At age 16 he quit Downingtown Junior High. Meyer is not a relative, nor are his victims (that I am aware). I stumbled upon young Alex while reading Tortured Minds: Pennsylvania's Most Bizarre - But Forgotten - Murders by Tammy Mal. On 11 February 1937 Alexander Thweatt Meyer killed young Helen Moyer as she walked home from school in Coatesville along Modena Road. She was not his first. The jury was out only three minutes after hearing Dr. Michael Margolis' testimony on the death of Helen Moyer. The jury determined Meyer had murdered Moyer and should be held for first degree murder. The jury also condemned the parole system which had released Meyer back into the public, after having served just 14 months in Huntingdon Reformatory, for the murder of two other girls - Anna Blasc...

Thaddeus Stevens at the Lancaster Convention Center

Within the Lancaster Convention Center (Lancaster, PA) is a small section dedicated to Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith. The section is known as the Stevens & Smith Historic Site. It is scheduled for development this year. At the moment one can only get a glimpse of it through the Convention Center or by peeking in from the outside. Here at Queen and Vine Streets in Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Thaddeus Stevens had his law office. Stevens was an abolitionist. An abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery. Stevens was born 4 April 1792 to Joshua Stevens and Sarah (Sally) Morrill in Danville Vermont. One of four children, he attended Vermont University from 1810 to 1812 when the War prompted its closure. He then went to Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1814. He then studied law and found himself set up in Gettysburg, PA in 1816. He practiced law there until 1828 when he...

52 Ancestors: Remembering the King

Today is Elvis’ birthday. He would have been 80 today. I was only eight when he died so obviously I am too young to have seen Elvis perform. However, when I hear his music, I go back in time. I am once again that young girl dancing in the living room to Elvis and other greats with my father. Back then girls learned to dance by dancing with their fathers not some video of scantly dressed people doing all sorts of things young ladies should not be doing in public! What is YOUR favorite memory - either of your father or of Elvis? 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a weekly genealogical challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small . Look for my weekly posts each Thursday! © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

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