RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 1 January 2021

 I last updated my Genea-Musings readers on the "numbers" in my RootsMagic genealogy family tree database in My RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 31 December 2019, and before that in:

*  My RootsMagic Genealogy Database Statistics Update - 31 December 2018
*  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 1 January 2021:

Here are the "numbers" from 1 January 2021 in my RootsMagic database (with increases from 31 December 2019):

*  60,768 persons (+ 5,069)
*  24,773 families  (+ 2,116)
*  193,834 events  (+ 14,951)
*  11,255 Alternate names (+ 2,693)
*  14,894 places (+ 2,364)  
*  2,080 sources ( + 125)
*  130,958 citations (+ 17,170)
*  1,555 Multi-media Items (+ 123)
*  3,212 Multimedia links (+ 12)
*  39,638 Persons matched to FamilySearch Family Tree persons (+ 5,700)

In the past 12 months, I've averaged adding 13.8 persons, 5.8 families, 40.7 events and 47.0 source citations each day.  I try to work at least an hour in the evening adding content and sources to the database, although baseball, vacations and the holidays intervened on a lesser scale due to COVID.

 Consequently, I've  managed to improve my  citations/person from 2.04 to 2.15, and my  citations/event from 0.636 to 0.676 this past year.  Obviously, I don't have a citation for every event, name or relationship, and in some cases I have more than one citation for an event, name or relationship.  At this rate, to reach 100% in citations/events will take about 8 more years!  

I added 5,069 persons to my database in 2020, some in my 5th great-grandparents' descendant lines (including lines to DNA matches with known common ancestors), some in my one-name studies, a few in my grandchildren's trees (Danish and Italian too!), and some from further and ongoing research on my ancestral families.  My one-name studies include Seaver (with variations Sever, Seever, Sevier and plurals), Carringer, Auble, Vaux, Dill, and Buck in my tree, and McKnew in my wife's tree.  

I "mine" new Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, and FamilySearch databases and use RootsMagic WebHints for my ancestral and one-name study surnames, and add content and source citations.  I correct name, relationship, date and place 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 near-daily 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 every week 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 uploaded a new MyHeritage tree in January 2020 and need to do that again.  I need to add a new Findmypast tree.  I review and manually add records from Ancestry Hints, MyHeritage Record Matches, Findmypast Record Hints, anf FamilySearch Record 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 seventh year in 2020, 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 up to #574, in the seventh great-grandparents, at the end of 2020, doing them in ancestor chart number order.  When I post a new biography, I add the Notes and Sources to the FamilySearch Family Tree profile for that person.  I will continue this weekly meme because it helps me focus on one specific ancestor, and their family, each week and improves my database and my family history.

I did not visit a physical repository (e.g, Family History Library, local FamilySearch Library, or a regular library) this year to perform genealogical and family history research.  My life situation precludes being away from home for more than two hours.  I did lots of online research in commercial record providers (Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast, Fold3, Newspapers, GenealogyBank, AmericanAncestors, etc.), and free record providers (FamilySearch, Find A Grave, Billion Graves, RootsWeb, USGenWeb).  Since many Family Search Library catalog items are not available from home online, I have a to-do list for the local FamilySearch Library in order to use the digital microfilm that I cannot read at home, and will need to visit the local FSL when the COVID restrictions are lifted. 

There are only so many hours in my genealogy day - usually 8 to 11 hours, but sometimes 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 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.  The Seaver/Seever/Sever/Sevier(s) one-name study really blossomed this last year!  It is all a lifelong task, I think!  I truly need a genealogy clone or assistant.  I doubt that Siri, Alexa, Google Home or any other virtual assistant is yet capable of doing genealogy research, source citations, etc.  

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