Welcome August and a renewed opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished over the past month + what I intend to focus on in the coming month!
July was my first attempt at (officially) laying out three goals for myself and holding myself accountable. Being a Hobby Family Historian and Genetic Genealogist offers a unique set of challenges when real life in present time calls for my constant attention and I’d love to just dive into the past for hours on end!
The 3+3 approach offers me bite-sized goals and a formalized way to celebrate my accomplishments.
So far, so good.
So, let’s look at what I worked on and what I aim to work on in August.
July 2025 Accomplishments
- Gathered documents and details necessary for requesting my Maternal 2x Great Grandpa’s (Isaac C. Graves) Civil War Pension File. Submitted request to Gopher Records and received ICP’s full 400+ page digital file. Read about it here.
- Looked for any new DNA matches and reviewed past matches connecting me to my closest Maternal Mystery Match. No new leads or matches to triangulate from. I also sent an email to the family (my closest match and his nephew, also a match) inquiring if any new information has been found on their side since we last communicated a couple of years ago). No response yet.
- Began a new Heritage Journal spread (I had not touched this journal in many months, it was time to dive in again). I got some solid work done on my Paternal Grandma Jean’s spread. Read about it here.
August 2025 Goals
- Review Isaac C. Graves’ 400 page Civil War Pension File for any relevant information. His lineage cannot be proven beyond his father and his mother’s Maiden name is unconfirmed. I am hopeful there are some insights in those pages.
- Research A. Stanton in Medora, Illinois. My maternal great grandpa Dutch had a 1/2 brother listed in his Obituary and this is all I know about him. I would love to learn more as their shared father is a brick wall.
- Begin new Heritage Journal spread for my paternal grandfather, Arthur.
The first two goals may be like looking for needles in haystacks, but I remain hopeful.
The third goal is absolutely doable as long as I can carve out some quiet, creative time during peak season on the farm with a pre-teen not in school yet 😉
Do tell, how’s your research and documentation going? How are you approaching your family history goals these days? Are you carving out time and space to dive into your passions and curiosities? I sure hope so.
Onward,
Melissa