I thought I'd end this year with a quick review of how things have progressed with my family history research, and this blog, over the past twelve months - which basically consists of me looking at all my blog posts and seeing how many things I said I'd do, and whether I have actually achieved them, or not!
The previous year had ended with a family get-together, which reminded me of "the need to focus on my own family history again - the unwritten stories, the wider research possible now that record availability is so much better than it was when my parents began their research in the 1980s, the opportunities that DNA provides in tracing more distant or 'lost' relatives...." (January)
There's been very little visible progress with this, since my focus has still been on other things for most of the year. However, I did make a start on sorting out my various family trees in FamilyTreeMaker (private, working, & public, etc), and hope to get that process finished, and the relevant trees synced online, in the early part of 2026, so that I can then build on them, when I (finally!) deal with my parents' research paperwork.
In January, I noted that I had 345 DNA matches on Ancestry in the "4th cousins & closer" category. While I haven't yet added this year's entries to my file, in order to produce a comparable graph, I do now have 376 matches in that category. So the numbers of closer matches are still steadily increasing.
Also in January, I wrote about my need to catch up with the best tools for working with DNA matches now, since I hadn't been keeping up with such things over the previous few years, especially since I had recently taken out the Ancestry "pro-tools" subscription. Again, I haven't made much visible progress with that. However, in October, I did attend the DNA seminar organised by the Guild of One-Name Studies, at Oadby, in Leicestershire. That was an informative, and useful, day, and I shall be attempting to apply some of what I learnt over the next year.
In February, I mentioned DNA and pro-tools again, after receiving a couple of DNA matches who are likely to connect to me through my NAYLOR ancestry. I still haven't written the post I originally planned to write, using data from my first and second cousins, to illustrate how useful it can be to see the quantity of DNA shared between shared matches - so that post has become a 'priority' for next year.
But I was able to confirm the information about the NAYLOR monuments that I mentioned in February, adding photographs of them in March. The NAYLORs are a family that I will certainly be posting more about over this coming year, - their line was one of the larger branches that I needed to add to my FTM files, and, in October, I was also able to photograph a couple of the churches, in and near Hull, where the earliest known events in the family occurred. I'll obviously be including the photographs, when I write about the events.
As well as the post about the NAYLORs in March, I had a little 'rant' about incorrect information that had been supplied to my Dad, some years before, relating to our JONES & SAUNDERS family in Breconshire, and also shared a bit about a different JONES family who, together with the HENGLERs, were involved in firework making and displays. Major failure here, in that I still haven't finished writing the article about them that I mentioned, for the local Family History Society. (Despite undertaking Janet FEW's course, "Are You Sitting Comfortably? Writing and Telling Your Family History" with Pharos Tutors, in the meantime! This is definitely no reflection on Janet, or the course, which was very good, and gave me several ideas on aspects I hadn't previously considered. But I deliberately chose not to do the assessed version of the course, and the year reinforces my experience, from several episodes in the past, which have demonstrated that I am not very good at meeting deadlines, even when I set them myself! I think I prefer my experience after the Guild Conference this year, when I wrote a post about the Conference for my one-name study blog, and was pleasantly surprised to then be asked if it could be included in the Guild's Journal - definitely a less stressful process for getting something published. ☺)
In July, I took a look at Ancestry's 'clustering' and demonstrated how necessary the genealogical research still is, and identifying as many of your matches as possible through that, rather than relying on the clustering. Clustering is not a 'magic bullet', and can be misleading, if considered on its own. Using pro-tools to look at how shared matches are related to each other, and using that information to build out their trees, is a much more important tool, in my opinion.
Although one could be forgiven for thinking I had dropped off the face of the earth after July, considering the total absence of posts here, a cursory glance at my two other blogs would demonstrate I was still alive and well.
But I do want to bring about a better 'balance' between the three blogs next year, since they each relate to areas that are important to me, and which I want to see progress in. So, just as I have done with my one-name study blog, I am setting a 'pact' for myself - that I will try to make at least one post each month here, in my 'family history and DNA' blog.
Family trees to bring up to date, and shared/synced as appropriateWork through, scan, and clear, parents' paperworkImprove family history 'administrative' documentationFinish the 'firework makers' article
1c and 2c DNA sharingGraphing numbers of close matchesThe NAYLOR family events
(and making at least one post per month - current ideas for posts include: my current 'brickwalls', whether I have identified my first case of bigamy, an annual "% of my tree completed", and continuing with 'in depth' posts on particular ancestors, or couples.)
Use of AI toolsWATO and BANYAN, tools for analysing DNA relationships and complex genealogiesCheck out Zotero, a tool I have seen recommended, to help manage references,
Finally, if I compare what I have written above, which includes several 'failures', to what I think other people achieve during a year, it would be easy to feel a bit down.
But Ancestry recently told me that I am a "Hint Hero!"
So I thought I'd record their figures and, if they produce another set at the end of 2026, it will be interesting to see how they compare!
I had 1,935 new hints, 188 of which came from new collections.
I have viewed 2,679 records during the year.
Clues from my tree supposedly helped 30 other people this year.
Their Regions update uncovered new detail in 6 new regions
They rate my tree as 'good' (at 7.7)(which I know isn't really that good!)
And I had 1,240 new DNA matches!
