My 99 Genealogy Things

I found this list on the Bayside Blog via Tonia Kendrick’s blog, Tonia’s Roots. I thought it was fun, so I decided to share my experiences with everyone, too :)

Key:

Things you have already done or found – bold type

Things you would like to do or find – italics

Things you have not done or found /don’t care to.

99 Genealogy Things

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Joined a group on Genealogy Wise. (I'm not familiar with this website?)
3. Transcribed records. (Almost every day! haha)
4. Uploaded headstone pictures to Find-A-Grave or a similar site
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference. (I still have yet to attend a genealogy conference.)
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference. (I'd eventually like to overcome my fear of public speaking and talk about Hungarian genealogy.)
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society/local library’s family history group. (Repeat of 10, no?)
12. Joined the National Genealogical Society.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication. (I do enough for Hungary Exchange to fill TONS of publications.)
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants. 
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet. (I've since deleted every trace of them that I possibly can! There are a lot of thieves out there!)
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it. (Who hasn't? :)  )
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research. (It's how I make a living!)
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items.
33. Performed a record lookup.
34. Took a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space. Hiram Howell definitely was from outer space!
36. Found a disturbing family secret. (Several, in-fact.)
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion and/or obsession not a hobby. (Oh, it's definitely an obsession.. and my occupation!)
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person.
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
    
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure. (Many many years ago when I first began, yes. But not since. Thankfully.)
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.  (I've found TONS of cousins way more distant than 4th cousins, especially on my Hungarian side!)
45. Disproved a family myth through research. (Does proving it count? haha)
    
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
    
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. (I translate records for clients and friends all the time.)
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record. (I've been able to find every single passenger manifest for all my European lines, with the exception of Martin Domagalski.. stop hiding!)
50. Used microfiche. (You're not a true genealogist if you haven't.)
    
51. Have researched in church records.
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. (Hopefully someday..)
53. Used Google+ for genealogy. (Definitely. I found a cousin through G+.)
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy. (I'd love to teach a class on Hungarian research.)
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century. (Without others' previous research, yes.)
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. (Without others' previous research, yes.)
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (Without others' previous research, yes.)
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (Most definitely!!)
60. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
61. Have found many relevant and unexpected articles on internet to “put flesh on the bones”. (I actually haven't found too many newspaper articles and such relating to my family.)
62. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. (I need to get a copy.)
63. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
64. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
65. Have an ancestor who came to America as an indentured servant.
66. Have an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or Civil War. (Many!)
67. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
68. Can “read” a church record in Latin. (I could do this in my sleep!)
69. Have an ancestor who changed his/her name, just enough to be confusing.
70. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
71. Created a family website.
72. Have a genealogy blog.
73. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
74. Have broken through at least one brick wall. (I found you, Ellen Hovis!!)
75. Done genealogy research at a court house.
76. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center(s). (You can't call yourself a genealogist if you haven't.)
77. Found an ancestor in an online newspaper archive. (That's how I found out about my great-grandfather's previous marriage!)
78. Have visited a NARA branch. (I actually need to. There's one actually 20 minutes from me.)
79. Have an ancestor who served in WWI or WWII.
80. Use maps in my genealogy research.
81. Have a blacksheep ancestor.
82. Found a bigamist amongst my ancestors. (My great-grandfather was quite the bastard.)
83. Attended a genealogical institute.
84. Taken online genealogy (and local history) courses.
    
85. Consistently (document) and cite my sources. (This is something I really need to start doing, although.. 99% of the research I have been doing is in church records from Europe. So if you can't figure out where the information came from with the town name, religion and date.. then you shouldn't be doing genealogy.)
86. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors. (The only other country I've been to is The Bahamas.)
    
87. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (Seconds?)
88. Have an ancestor who was married four times. (I think the most was three.)
89. Made a rubbing of an ancestor’s gravestone.
90. Followed genealogists on Twitter. Follow me! @nickmgombash
91. Published a family history book.
92. Learned of a death of a fairly close family relative through research. (It's quite sad how you have to find out about your great-aunt's death from searching around the internet.)
93. Offended a family member with my research. (All the time. People really need to loosen up and realize it's the 21st century. If someone wants your information enough, they will find it. And no, I've never put their information online. Do you all know there's a database on Ancestry to find your address and birth-date? Yep. It's there. Go look.)
94. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
95. Have a paid subscription to a genealogy database. (Been there, done that. The majority of my research is in European church records, which are not online. And if they are online, they're freely accessible.)
96. Submitted articles for FamilySearch Wiki.
97. Organized a family reunion.
98. Used Archives in countries where my ancestors originated. (Online archives count, right? I use the Hungarian archives' databases all the time!)
99. Converted someone new to the love of all things genealogy.