2011 Goals and Resolutions

With 2011 starting tomorrow, now seems like the perfect time to plan and reflect.  2010 was a great year in terms of genealogy research for me and I'd love to just keep that momentum going into 2011.  I can't really think of any other genealogy resolutions for next year besides staying on the same path.  Here are just a few of the things I got to cross off my genealogy bucket list in 2010:

• Went to my first conference and had tons of fun (and can't wait until I get to go to another).
• Broke down one of my longest standing brick-walls and learned the names of my great-grandfather's parents (Matteo Lapiccirella and Carmela/Carmina Scarano).  I have my FHC and the wonderful folks at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library to thank for it!
• Joined several genealogical societies.  My only regret was that I wasn't able to get as involved in their activities and events as I had wanted to.  That is something I'd definitely like to do more of in 2011.
• Met many new "cousins," enriching my genealogy database at the same time.  In fact, I've heard from so many new cousins that I'm drowning in e-mails and terribly behind in responding (apologies to anyone still waiting on a reply from me!).

I also accomplished a lot that I can't really put into words.  I've learned so much and changed and expanded my approach to genealogy research so much in the past year that I hardly recognize the researcher that I was before.  Looking back on the year, I think this has been my biggest and most unexpected accomplishment

In terms of things that I'd like to happen in 2011, my list is very much the same as in years past:

• Find Heman Doyle's parents.  I now know he had a half-brother in Buffalo in 1840 but that hasn't proved very helpful as yet.
• Find (Maria) Nicoletta Riccia's parents.  My great-grandmother is such a mystery and the only thing I learned about her in 2010 was that she wasn't from the village she said she was from.
• Go further back with my Lapiccirella and Scarano lines.  I'm lucky that they lived in a village in Italy that was good about keeping records and that those records have been microfilmed.  Now I just need to spend more time are my FHC!
• Go further back with Priscilla Mason's parents.  I'm hopeful that the mtDNA tests my mother and I took will be helpful in this area but we'll see.  As I've said before, Priscilla (and by extension her mother) are haplogroup K with a rare 16265G mutation.  I only did the HVR1 but my mother did the full test so hopefully when her results come in we'll know even more about this line.  I am hoping to learn where this line might have originated and find a cousin or two.
• Find some information on my Allen ancestors.  My birthday present this year was for my father to take a Y-DNA test.  We're are awaiting the results and some of us (okay, just me) are a bit more excited than others.  There is an Allen group and it appears that R1b is the most common haplogroup.  I'm hoping to find a cousin or two since my Allens have only been in this country since the 1850s, before then we don't know where in Scotland they originated.

One thing I'd also like to mention that is pretty huge is that there is a new genealogy buff in my family: my mother.  I talked her into attending a few sessions at the California Family History Expo in October and she has been interested ever since.  She isn't as interested in it as me but I think one more shove gentle push and she'll be on her way.  Her interest in genetic genealogy has especially surprised me and I think is a big reason why I am as interested in the subject as I am.

I hope everyone has a happy, safe and prosperous 2011!  May your brick-walls come crashing down and your genealogy resolutions come to pass in this new year!  And, a big thank you to everyone who has stopped to read this blog in 2010 - you guys really did make my year!