Motivation Monday - June 29, 2015

It's hard to believe it's been nearly six months since I've posted  anything to Conversations and as I stated many times both here and on Georgia Black Crackers, I can't promise this time is going to be any different but I pray and hope that this is finally the turning point where I return to my research and blogging.

Since today and tomorrow are the final days of the month for June, I'll just go ahead and move into the goals for July 2015.

If you've been reading the few posts that I've done this year on Georgia Black Crackers, you know that this past month, I've been steadily working on getting my office back in order, so my first goal for the month of July is to finish this project (Goal Date: July 31, 2015). Believe it or not, I've made tremendous headway in getting the office organized but still feel like I have a long way to go. When you are finding papers dating back to 2004, you realize that this is going to take longer than expected. I've filled my recycling bin to the brim three times now (it only gets picked up every other week) and still have more to add.

Other goals for the month are as follows:

• Post about 2014 research trip to Everetts, NC. (Goal Date(s): Weeks of 06/29/15 and 07/06/15) 
• If I complete the overall office organization, began the organization of genealogy files plus spruce up the file cabinet that contains much of my research information (Goal Date: 07/31/15).
• A minimum of one blog post per week even if it's a meme.
• Contact Virginia Union Alumni Association to determine if my grandfather attended school there (Goal Date: July 4, 2015). Since I've not been blogging, you don't know about this potential find. Hopefully, one of my blog posts will bring you up to speed on it.
• As, with the maternal side of the family, determine exactly where I was in my research the last time I was seriously researching and develop a plan for the next research steps. (Goal Date: July 18, 2015).

Hope to see you later this week!

Goals for 2015

It's so hard to believe that another year has ended and new one has begun and I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing next year at this time. The older you get, the more time just seems to fly by.

Even though, I didn't get much blog posting or research done, 2014 was a some what productive year. So here are a few of the happenings from 2014 (both genealogical and non-genealogical)

• After living in my home state for the bulk of my life, I finally made the trek to eastern North Carolina to visit the ancestral home county. The ancestors had been calling me to do that for awhile and while I really didn't gain any new knowledge on this trip, there were a few exciting moments.

         I'm also reminded that I never did a post(s) about my research trip, so that is goal #1 for 2015.

• This leads me into one of the more exciting finds from 2014 and it happened right as I was getting ready to go on that research trip. I discovered quite a few newspaper articles that mentioned my Great Grandfather, Peter Everett, and my Great Grand Aunt, Goldia Everett Johnson Hyman Benton. Once again, no great genealogical gems but since, until then, I had never come across any of my ancestors in any newspaper articles, it was the thrill of a lifetime.

          So, goal #2 for 2015 will be to blog about those newly discovered newspaper articles.

• 2014 was also filled with sadness. Just as I was finally starting to come out of the genealogical funk that I had been in ever since my dad died in March 2011, I was once again back there as I lost my beloved companion of 14 years.

Shelby (2000 - Oct 28, 2014)

• I did manage to get through 2014 without any new crazy health issues. Just a lot of follow-up on the 2013 issues, which caused me to go through a lot of sick time. So, from a health perspective, I need 2015 to be a sane year.

So besides the 2 goals already mentioned, what are the remainder of my genealogical goals for 2015. The usual ones - 

• Get back to blogging and researching
• Get the nearly 30 years of research I've done organized. One of these days I hope to hand all this off to  someone and I would like for them to be able to figure out what I've done.
• Plan a trip to the NC State Archives, which is another one of those you would think that I would have done a trip there by now but I haven't.
• Plan a family reunion for the descendants of Peter and Eadie Everett (great grandparents).
• If time and funds allow, attend a genealogical conference, seminar, or class.
• And most importantly, because life is so fragile and so short, do a better job of staying in touch with my family. 

I'm really looking forward to 2015 and hope that you are, too.

Motivation Monday - September 2014 Goals

Since my father died in 2011, I've really struggled to get back to the research and the blogging. In the past 3+ years, I've declared on several occasions that I was ready to get back to the research / blogging only to disappear, again. I won't make any promises that this time will be different but I do find myself doing things that hopefully mean I'm finally finding my way back.

So, once again, I find myself writing a list of monthly goals to get me started. Since my research trip to my paternal ancestors home county is coming up next week (no I'm not ready), I'm thinking I'll get a few of these goals accomplished and hopefully before the trip. So here goes

Blogging

1. Write a minimum of 2 posts for the month of September. I hope to be able to do more than that but I'm also trying to be a bit realistic also.

Organization

1. Most of the goals in this area are the same as those found on Georgia Black Crackers. The only additional goal is before the research trip to make sure the information I have for paternal grandmother's side of the family is organized and properly cited.

Research

1. Make a list of the goals I hope to accomplish during my research trip and what records I plan to view in an attempt to reach the goal. Goal Date: September 6, 2014

Motivation Monday - April 2014 Goals

Nothing much has happened during the 4 months since my last post. I think I've finally gotten through most if not all of the health issues that derailed me last year right after I declared I was again motivated. I'm not making any guarantees that I'll stick around this time time but I'm trying to make an effort to get back to the research and blogging.

So, I'm hoping that if I set some goals for myself, this will help.

Most of these are just a rehash of the goals I posted on Georgia Black Crackers but I'm still praying that it will help to repost them here, also.

Blogging

1. Write a minimum of 1 post per week.

Organization

1. Organize and makes sure that citations are in order for my folder, mom's folder, and dad's folder. As state in previous posts I keep folders for individuals as well as families but I need to better organize these and make sure that that citations are done correctly, etc. Goal Date: April 19, 2014
2. Get office / craft room back in order. This room has been in a upheaval since last year when I had new flooring installed. I can barely move around in this room much less get things out to do research. Goal Date: April 26, 2014

Research

1. Write a research plan for determining / confirming the last owner of my 3rd great grandparents, Frank and Venus Everett. Goal Date: April 12, 2014

Reflecting on the Past and Forging Ahead

Three years ago, when I returned to my research, I always felt like the ancestors were working as hard as they could and drawing me in 50 zillion directions. I remember commenting on it at the time and thinking it was like they knew time was of the essence. To a certain degree it frightened me because I was always wondering what they knew that I didn't.

But being connected to the ancestors as I am, I now realize that they knew that dad's life was drawing to a close and while they realized that dad could not or perhaps would not impart much information, they also realized that he was also one of their last links and I had to stay at to get as much as I could before it was gone.

And so beginning in 2009, thanks to the digital age coupled with the "archaic" ways, I finally started unearthing a few more bits and pieces of my paternal heritage. And while daddy never fully understood why this was a driving force in my life, he was always commenting how I knew more about his family than he did. And of course, dad's biggest contribution to this effort was his DNA, that the ancestors will forever be alive as a result of.

This past year has been a tough one, but as I stated on Georgia Black Crackers, I am finally feeling like the petals of a flower feeling the warmth of the spring sun and little by little the petals are opening back up and leading me to rejoin this game called life.

So, in addition to the 2012 goals mentioned on Georgia Black Crackers, I also hope to accomplish / complete the goals I set for myself in 2011 for the paternal side of my family. They are as follows:

1. A research trip to Martin County with 2nd cousin C. Curtis as my trusty assistant.
2. Finish scanning the pictures in the album I inherited from Aunt Martha and distribute them to my cousins.
3. Finish transcribing the newspaper articles from another Album I inherited from Aunt Martha.
4. Blog more!!

Goals for 2010

2010 is coming to a close and I must apologize to the readers of Conversations With My Ancestors. I’ve not done nearly enough blogging this year about the research on the paternal side of my family. I even had some successes on the research front. Unfortunately, I never managed to get them posted to the blog.

My plethora of excuses for not blogging include: 1) For whatever reason, I had a problem with a spammer on this blog that sort of deterred me a little but probably the biggest problem is 2) on my paternal side, I simply don’t have the family stories as I do on the maternal side of family. That’s partly due to having grown up around the majority of my maternal aunts, uncles, and cousins while my much smaller paternal side was scattered. It’s also due to the fact that yes, that side of my family simply did not talk about the past. I’ve refused to use that as an excuse in my research, so it definitely will should not be an excuse for my blogging.

With regard to my research for my paternal ancestors, I only have three goals for 2011.

1. A research trip to Martin, Pitt, and Bertie Counties, NC.
2. Scan all the pictures I inherited from Aunt Martha and distribute them to my cousins. 
3. Blog more!!!!!

September's in the Rear View Mirror

As noted on Georgia Black Crackers, I wasn't very productive during the month of September. I didn't even meet my blogging goals on Conversations with my Ancestors.

That being said, I do think I unearthed a set of 3rd great grandparents on my grandmother's line. I just have to do a bit more work, to build a case for that being them.

Hopefully, I can get more accomplished during the month of October.

Genealogical Goals for the Remainder of September - Paternal Lineage

September Goals

Hopefully, this month or shall I say what's left of the month, I will do a better job on the goals for the paternal side of the family.

Research

The first goal is one I'm bringing forward from last month. Actually it's been on the to do list for several months. Praying that I finally get it accomplished this month.

1. 
   
   One of my geneabuds gave me the name and phone number of one of her husband's friends who happens to be a Ewell. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not called him, yet. So, I plan to call this week. There doesn't appear to be a familial connection but you just never know.
2. 
   
   Write Martin County, NC public library for obituaries for Sandy Ewell and William Ewell (great grand uncles), Pennie Ewell Tyner Eley and Mattie Ewell Gorham (3rd cousins twice removed), and Goldie Everett Johnson Hyman (grand aunt).

Blogging / Writing

1. 
   
   Not including today's goals post, three posts to the blog, one of which has to be a written one.

Miscellaneous

Listed on September 2010 Genealogical Goals - Maternal Lineage at Georgia Black Crackers.

August Goals Revisited

I'm feeling like I didn't get as much accomplished on the research on the paternal side as I had planned for. So, let's see.

Research

1. Request probate records for Jesse M. Ewell, Joshua L. Ewell, and Randol Ewell (Martin County, NC). I believe that one or possibly all 3 of these men (father and 2 sons) might have been my Ewell ancestors slave owner(s). Although two of them died after slavery ended, I'm still hoping that their wills, if available, can provide some clues.
2. One of my geneabuds gave me the name and phone number of one of her husband's friends who happens to be a Ewell. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not called him, yet. So, I plan to call this week. There doesn't appear to be a familial connection but you just never know.

1.
I did send away for probate records for Jesse M. Ewell and Joshua L. Ewell. I decided I would wait to request probate records for Randol Ewell. Surprisingly, there were no probate records for Joshua L. Ewell. I've not heard back on my reqest for records for Jesse M. Ewell.

2.
Unfortunately, I've still not managed to get a call to my geneabuds friend. When, I have time, I seem to never think about calling and when I don't have time, I do.

Blogging / Writing

1. Two posts to the blog, one of which has to be a written one.

I did manage to get this accomplished.

Miscellaneous

1. Declutter Office
2. Clean and Repaint my "new to me" legal-sized file cabinet. (I got this from the Habitat ReStore a couple of weeks ago, and it's sepcifically for my genealogy research).
3. Rearrange Office to accommodate said file cabinet

No, I didn't manage to get any of this items accomplished. Hopefully, I'll get more accomplished this month.

Goals for the Month of August (Paternal Ancestors) - Week 2

Nope, you didn't miss Week 1 because there was no Week 1 post. As I'm already into the last third of the year (Where did those first seven months go?), I've decided to revamp my strategies somewhat for hopefully achieving some of my goals for this year. I've seen some of my fellow geneabloggers state their monthly and / or weekly goals on their blogs. I'm not a crowd follower but when I come across a possible great idea, I do run with it.

Earlier in the year, I had been doing monthly and weekly goals, but did not post them to my blogs. Hopefully by stating them here, I will get most accomplished.

There are three full weeks left in the month so I'm hoping to start small  and have a head a steam build up by the end of the month to get back into the research and blogging, at least until the next busy season, which should occur some time around Thanksgiving.

So, goals for this week for research, etc. on the paternal side of my family are

Research

1. Request probate records for Jesse M. Ewell,  Joshua L. Ewell, and Randol Ewell (Martin County, NC). I believe that one or possibly all 3 of these men (father and 2 sons) might have been my Ewell ancestors slave owner(s). Although two of them died after slavery ended, I'm still hoping that their wills, if available, can provide some clues.
2. One of my geneabuds gave me the name and phone number of one of her husband's friends who happens to be a Ewell. I'm ashamed to admit that I've not called him, yet. So, I plan to call this week. There doesn't appear to be a familial connection but you just never know.

Blogging / Writing

1. Two posts to the blog, one of which has to be a written one.

Miscellaneous

1. Declutter Office
2. Clean and Repaint my "new to me" legal-sized file cabinet. (I got this from the Habitat ReStore a couple of weeks ago, and it's sepcifically for my genealogy research).
3. Rearrange Office to accommodate said file cabinet