5 New Year's Resolutions for Genealogists

Last year, I made a New Year’s Resolution to regularly work on Taiwanese and Chinese genealogy. The effort sputtered out by March, completing just 1 project (see The joys and challenges of researching a spouse's genealogy). This topic was too daunting, requiring a lot of research and translation.

So this year, I’m scaling back to do something that is easier to accomplish: making digital scans of old family photos. A device I purchased last year - the ScanSnap iX1300, shown above - lets me quickly scan about a dozen photos at a time and save them to my hard drive.

If you’re interested in taking on a New Year’s genealogy resolution, here are four more ideas:

Interview an older family member

Interviews are critical to unearthing information that may not be available in any printed or digital source. Sometimes, interviews lead to insights that can break down brick walls, and take your research to times and places that you never even knew existed.

If you can’t visit an older relative in person, just pick up the phone today and start talking! You can also make it an activity to do with younger family members - see our free interview PDF for kids.

Organize and annotate files from a single family branch

If you have a box with old letters, photos, and other documents from your great aunt that you have barely glanced at, it’s time to revisit them. Extract details and stories for your software or paper charts, annotate the backs of documents or photos where appropriate, and place the records in acid-free document sleeves and a clearly marked binder for that family branch.

Unearth court records using FREE Full-Text Search

FamilySearch launched a revolutionary search tool in 2024, and if you haven’t tried it yet now’s the time to get started. Because Full-Text Search can unearth so many court documents, deeds, and even international records, it’s best to start with a single person or family unit and carefully sift through the results.

Plan at least one genealogy road trip

While a lot of research can be conducted from the comfort of your home, some of the best results are gleaned the old-fashioned way: going to cemeteries, libraries, county archives, and local historical sites in person. Bonus if you can meet up with relatives who are still in the area! See 5 tips for successful genealogy road trips for practical advice.

Happy New Year everyone!