* My Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2017
* My Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2016
* Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2015
* Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2014
I was curious to see how much progress I had made in the last 12 months.
Here is the family tree database summary from RootsMagic on 31 December 2018:
Here are the "numbers" from 31 December 2018 in my RootsMagic database (with increases from 1 January 2018):
* 51,984 persons (+ 2,669)
* 21,039 families (+ 1,192)
* 168,177 events (+ 8,516)
* 5,977 Alternate names (+ 1,507)
* 11,055 places (+ 726)
* 1,835 sources (+ 232)
* 99,591 citations (+ 8,533)
* 1,233 Multi-media Items (+ 71)
* 3,202 Multimedia links (+25)
* 28,451 Persons matched to FamilySearch Family Tree persons (+ 7,047)
In the past 12 months, I've averaged adding 7.3 persons, 3.3 families, 23.3 events and 23.4 source citations a day. I've been trying to work at least an hour in the evening (since baseball season ended) adding content and sources to the database, although vacations and the holidays intervene.
Consequently, I've managed to improve my citations/person from 184.65% to 191.58%, and my Citations/Events from 57.03% to 59.22% this past year. Obviously, I don't have a citation for every event, and in some cases I have more than one citation for an event. At that rate, to reach 100% in citations/events will take about 46 more years!
I added 2,669 persons to my database in 2018, some in my 5th great-grandparent's descendant lines, some in my one-name studies, and some from further research on my ancestral families. My one-name studies include Seaver, Carringer, Auble, Vaux, Dill, and Buck on my tree, and McKnew on my wife's tree.
I also mine new Ancestry and FamilySearch databases for my one-name study surnames, and add content and source citations. I have also corrected some relationship and date errors found while working on the database. I use RootsMagic to match my tree profiles to the FamilySearch Family Tree profiles, and exchange verified information both ways on a regular basis.
I added a new ancestral Ancestry Member Tree (AMT) on Ancestry.com in August 2017 with a new tree upload when RootsMagic was able to synchronize with it. I TreeShare almost every day now to keep the AMT up-to-date, which generates more Record Hints. I do not attach Record Hints to that Ancestry Member Tree because I know that it will be replaced eventually so doing that would be a time suck. I do review and manually add records from Ancestry Hints to my RootsMagic database to add content and sources to my family tree database.
Doing the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge for a fifth year in 2018, along with deciding to start with my great-grandparents and doing it by ancestor chart numbers, has greatly improved the events, source citations and notes for the ancestors I write about. I am now in the sixth great-grandparents at the end of this year, doing them in ancestor chart number order. I will continue this weekly meme because it helps me focus on one individual each week and improves my database and my family history.
My trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in late February added a few more ancestral records to enrich my database - in recent years they have been probate records and land deed records for my ancestors found on FHL microfilm. I did some research at the local FamilySearch Library but not on a regular basis. Since many Family Search Library catalog items are not available from home online, I have a long to-do list for the local FamilySearch Library more often in order to use the digital microfilm that I cannot read at home. I am also mining the vital, probate and land records now available on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, Findmypast and AmericanAncestors on a regular basis.
There are only so many hours in my genealogy day - usually 8 to 11 hours, but often only 5 to 8 hours. I spend one to three hours each day reading blog posts and answering emails, one to three hours writing blog posts, an hour or two doing online research, one to three hours adding content and sources to the database, and the balance of my time doing society support tasks, creating presentations, participating in or watching webinars, analyzing my DNA matches, or working on other projects. My genealogy life is varied, and definitely not boring (I gave up doing boring genealogy things like extended client research, or going often to libraries and archives - with some exceptions!). I'm having great genealogy fun, but have no clue how long I can go on like this due to health or family circumstances.
My conclusion is: I've made steady progress, and I'm still actively improving my database in both quantity and quality, but still have a long way to go to have a "fully sourced and accurate" family tree. It's better than it was, but it can still be improved. It is a lifelong task, I think! I truly need a genealogy clone or assistant. I doubt that an Amazon Echo, Google Home or any other Virtual assistant is yet capable of doing genealogy research, source citations, etc.
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Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver
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