52 Weeks of Genealogy for 2018

As I type this, I am enjoying 80 degree weather in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. Scott and I have been here almost a week, having come down to spend some post-Christmas time with our daughter, Caitlin, her two boys, her husband and his family. Tuesday, it’s back to Connecticut where the temperature has been hovering between 5 and 10 degrees.

It’s been a great, relaxing, and fairly technology-free week. I must admit to having a small degree of  genealogy withdrawal. I haven’t done any writing since leaving CT on Tuesday. Grammarly, my online grammar checker, even scolded me – sending me an email that I haven’t made any writing progress this past week – geez!

So, I guess it’s back to business as usual.  This year, I plan to attempt another go at the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge, sponsored by Amy Johnson Crow. This first week, the topic is “Start.”

I actually do have a new venture that I am starting. Thanks to the encouragement of my friend Cheryl, I will be teaching four genealogy classes for our local Adult Education Enrichment program. I have no idea if I will have any students, but I think it’s time to dip my toe into the world of semi- professional genealogy. Following in the footsteps of Thomas MacEntee (of Abundant Genealogy) and many others too numerous to name, I do believe it is important to share what we have learned. Hopefully, there will be a few people who will find value in what I present.

2018 looks to be a productive year for me genealologically speaking. In addition to teaching the Enrichment classes, I am attending Rootstech for the first time ever. As it is possibly the biggest genealogy conference in the world, I am quite sure it will be amazing! I won a pass to the conference courtesy of Devon Noel Lee (of Family History Fanatics) so I invited Cheryl to join me.

Cheryl has been instrumental in assisting me with a project that “should” be completed in 2018. After more than 2 years of research, I have finished the draft of “Opulent in Aliases  – Who was Catherine C. Fitzallen?” (working title) Researching and writing about the life of my husband’s great-grandmother has been an eye-opening experience. Not exactly a typical woman of the late 1890s, Catherine was divorced from her husband in 1889 and went on to spend the next 10 years running con games, breaking into homes, and, occasionally, spending a bit of time in local jail cells. Cheryl is convinced the story has all the makings of a Netflix movie, but I’ll settle for sharing the story in book form!

In July, Scott and I will be joining my sister and her SO on a river cruise. We added three days at the end to explore Vienna, Austria, the birthplace of our mom. We plan to visit sites important to our family’s history. That should prove to be a fabulous heritage trip.

Looks like I’m off to a good “Start” in 2018! See you next week,