How did I do on 2008 Genealogy Goals?

I posted my genealogy goals for 2008 in my post here.

Here is my accounting of how I did during 2008:

1. Pursue original source material for my brick wall ancestors - especially Thomas J. NEWTON (ME), William KNAPP (Dutchess County NY), Russell SMITH (RI?), Hannah SMITH (Brookline NH), etc.

Grade: D: I found some original source material for the Russell Smith family, but nothing more on his parents or his spouse. I did not search for original source material for William Knapp, Thomas J. Newton, or Hannah Smith.

2. Obtain more probate records, land records and town meeting records for my ancestors of Alma Bessie RICHMOND (and finish Rhode Island if possible!).

Grade: C: I found (on FHL microfilm) quite a few probate records for this group of ancestors, but did not explore land records or town records to any great degree.

3. Add family history information to my genealogy databases as I obtain it from traditional and online resources, with adequate source notes.

Grade: C: I found some significant family history information on some of my ancestors both in online and repository resources. I'm afraid that I still haven't mastered writing adequate source notes although I am trying to do better.

4. Complete editing my Seaver surname database in order to make the notes and sourcing consistent.

Grade: F: Big Oops here [note to self: review your goals sometime during the year to see what you should be doing]. Do I get an F+ for adding good source citations to about 1,000 persons in my Ancestral database? It's a long process!

5. Complete my term as President of Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) with energy, vision, wisdom and patience.

Grade: B: My term as President is complete, and I like to think that I led with energy, wisdom, patience and vision. OTOH, we're doing pretty much the same old thing, but we're doing it well!

6. Create at least three new presentations and deliver them to CVGS and other Southern California societies.

Grade: B: I made a "Finding Your Elusive Ancestor" presentation to CVGS in April, a "Internet Genealogy 101" presentation to CGSSD in September, and a "Genealogy Web Sites You Can Use" to SDGS in November. The last two were essentially the same presentation with updated information.

7. Take at least one genealogy research trip this year to visit ancestral homes, nearby repositories and distant cousins.

Grade: F: We didn't go anywhere for a genealogy research trip (unless one day at NYPL counts).

8. Enjoy at least one genealogy cruise this year with my wife (she likes the idea!).

Grade: A: I successfully maneuvered us onto the Wholly Genes Genealogy conference and Cruise - from New York City to St. Kitts, Antigua, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. I really enjoyed the conference, I'm not sure Linda enjoyed NYC or the cruise.

9. Attend at least one major genealogy conference this year.

Grade: B: I didn't go to the NGS or FGS conferences (because we were going on the cruise). I did go to the SCGS Jamboree in June and had a great time. Is that a "major" conference? I think it almost is.

10. Post quality research articles and notes on Genea-Musings that help other researchers, including my society members, pursue their genealogy and family history.

Grade: B: I'm sure that in the 970 odd posts (well, some weren't odd...) I published in 2008 (on Genea-Musings, there were more on the other three genealogy blogs!) that some of them helped other researchers in their addiction, er, genealogy work. My sense is that I didn't do as many "original thinking" posts this year. Part of the reason is that I was on travel often during the year to take care of the grandsons (6 trips to Santa Cruz).

11. Help family, friends and colleagues pursue their genealogy research as requested.

Grade: A: The major effort here was my friend Ed - I successfully connected him with his step-siblings and found his ancestry in the process. I did smaller projects for several other friends and colleagues.

12. Stay abreast of developments in the genealogy world and pass information to my colleagues and readers.

Grade: A: How can I help but not do this, I'm reading almost 400 blogs and scouring the Internet for new databases and software. This blog doesn't publish every news release, but it tries to analyze the major announcements asking the question "how does this help me, and my colleagues and readers, in their research? What does it mean for us?"

So - the self-graded summary is 3 As, 4 Bs, 2Cs, 1 D, 2 Fs. That averages out to be a B- if all 12 items are weighted equally.

There were more genealogy activities in 2008 than I set goals for - such as evaluate new genealogy software packages, improve my professional knowledge and capabilities, get DNA tests done, and find more distant cousins.