New Year's Genealogy Resolutions for 2017

At the end of 2015 I wrote a blog post How Did I Do in 2015 and New Year's Resolutions for 2016

What were my 2016 goals and did I achieve them?

2016 GOALS & RESOLUTIONS

One of my goals in 2016 was to continue growing my Twitter profile with quality followers, and find time to work on Instagram and Periscope. But mainly in 2016 I resolved to continue to focus on my writing - both non-fiction and fiction.

DID I ACHIEVE THOSE 2016 GOALS

1. Twitter
I started 2016 with 10K followers on Twitter. I continued to work to grow that number with quality followers and as of December 2, 2016 I have reached 11.8K (11,800). Growing my Twitter reach is important to me but it was not my main focus in 2016, nor will it be for 2017

2. Instagram & Periscope
After a great deal of study and applying myself on both these Social Media outlets, I determined that, while they are fun, they are not a useful part of my business model. I believe Periscope could be but due to my limited physical mobility, the optimum way of using it is too challenging for me.

3. Writing Genealogy & Mystery Books

I'm very pleased that in June 2016 I published my first fiction - a genealogy mystery book about a middle-aged genealogist who has a penchant for stumbling on dead bodies as she researches her ancestors. In "Death Finds a Way: A Janie Riley Mystery" readers meet Janie Riley. Janie and her husband head to Salt Lake City Utah to research Janie's elusive 4th great-grandmother. But her search into the past leads her to a dark secret. She must solve the mysteries of the past and the present before disaster strikes.

Death Finds a Way is available as a paperback on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and the CreateSpace eStore  Also available as an e-book on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

As well as my venture into mystery novel writing, I completed and published several genealogy-history books in 2016.

2017 GOALS

My goals for 2017 are easy to formulate. I plan to focus even more on my writing. Presently I am 3/4 of the way through a first draft of Janie Riley's second adventure which I hope to publish in 2017. "A Grave Secret" and follows Janie's journey to the most haunted village in England as she searches for her 4th great-grandparents.

Of course I will continue my genealogy research as well. I look forward to new challenges and opportunities in the New Year!  What are your goals for the coming year?

A New Book in my New Netherland Series for Descendants of Albert Jansen

New Netherland Settlers: Albert Jansen & Elsjie Jans & Their Van Woggelum, Provoost & Van Loon Descendants  by Lorine McGinnis Schulze

New Netherland Settlers
Albert Jansen & Elsjie Jans &
Their Van Woggelum, Provoost &
Van Loon Descendants

Available on Amazon.com  and  Amazon.ca,

Albert Jansen married Hilletie Willems in Amsterdam in 1638. Soon afterwards he left Holland and sailed to the wilderness of New Netherland (New York). When he arrived in 1642, he settled in New Amsterdam, which was little more than a fort with approximately 270 people. Its gabled homes, the Dutch language being spoken, and Dutch laws would have offered some familiarity to newly arrived Albert. 

When Albert married Elsjie Jans in New Amsterdam in 1652, they were both widowers. Elsjie had been married to David Clement in Amsterdam in 1641. Albert and Elsjie’s had four daughters and a son, all named in the Orphanmaster’s records of New Amsterdam after Albert’s death. Eljsie married for a third time to Otto Grimm but no children are known of that marriage. Three of the daughters of Albert and Elsjie married into the Van Woggelum, Provoost and Van Loon families. 

This book contains details on the lives and adventures of Albert and Elsjie and their children. Documents and sources are included.

8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm)
Full Color on White paper
54 pages
Olive Tree Genealogy
ISBN-13: 978-1987938098
ISBN-10: 1987938097

The Problem of Family Not Wanting Your Genealogy Research

Several years ago I came to the realization that no one in my immediate family wants my 40 plus years of research on our genealogy. A few are mildly interested in hearing the more exciting stories of blacksheep ancestors or famous relatives or an intriguing mystery. No one but me does actual research into our ancestors. 

That means that my binders and file folders full of documents and charts are not something anyone is going to take and preserve when I'm gone. I'm sure many of you are facing the same problem. So...what to do?

My solution has been to create family books for each surname. I keep them short, no more than 30 pages for each book. Some surnames have multiple volumes and each volume is for one generation including children. These books are what I call "Coffee Table" books, meant to be picked up and thumbed through casually. Not all documents are included because that would turn into a book consisting of hundreds of pages! 

After publishing them on Shutterfly I give them as gifts at Christmas. That is one way the family stories and research might be preserved for future generations. If you are unfamiliar with Shutterfly I have a tutorial on using it on my Olive Tree Genealogy YouTube Channel.

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 1)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 2)

Creating a Memory Book in Shutterfly (Tutorial 3)

Another solution I use is to create books for sale to other descendants. Since I tend to research all siblings in a family I can often provide details, facts and documents on a large number of family members for each generation. I use Createspace for those books which then are made available on Amazon. See my list of books I have published here.  Money I make from these sales helps offset my expenses in subscribing to online companies for their databases. 

I also donate a copy of any books I create to local archives or libraries where the family settled.  This helps ensure that even more descendants will have access to my research in the future.

How have you overcome the problem of your family not wanting your genealogy records?