My Genealogy "Life" List

I am a very organized person.  I have my family history documents filed in notebooks with the spine clearly marked as to what family or family members the information in that notebook pertains to.  I have my household inventory in notebooks with photos, warranty information, user manuals, etc.  The scrapbook cabinets in my scrapbook room are clearly labeled.  I have a spreedsheet of the books I own and need to read.  Like I said, I'm organized... bordering on OCD.  Part of being organized is the use of lists.  I do like lists... and I do use them - somewhat.  I make them often, but rarely check anything off until days and days later.  So they don't keep me on track like I wish they would, but they are useful for jump-starting this feeble memory of mine.

I got the idea tonight from Jennifer at Sergeant Major Mom and Climbing my Family Tree of making a life list.  Some people might call it a bucket list.  A list of items you would like to do during your lifetime.

I decided to do a genealogy life list - things that I wish to do that are linked to my family and genealogy.  Some items are mundane; others are possibly pipe dreams.  But this is also a "wish" list, in addition to a being a to do list, right?   (Oh, and these are in no particular order.) 

1. Go back to Dublin, Georgia to do more research in their library's genealogy area... especially looking up obituaries and newspaper articles from Johnson County that pertain to my families.
2. Go to Poplar Springs Methodist Church cemetery outside of Adrian, Georgia to visit my Drake family graves.  
3. Visit Nail's Creek Cemetery in Jefferson County (near Bartow), Georgia.  I have a grand uncle and his immediate family buried there.
4. Visit Middletown, Connecticut to see where my Ranney family originated, and do research in the library there.
5. Visit Ohio, where my Ranney family migrated to the Western Reserve.  My Hesser ancestors are also from Ohio.
6. Go to the Rowland Family Cemetery in Chester, Georgia (south of Macon) to find my Aunt Irene's grave.  Done January 29, 2011
7. Learn how to do family history research in German records so that I could find the place where my Schwalls family originated and any information on them that is there.
8. Go to Oakwood Cemetery in Hilliard, Florida to photograph the graves of other Drake ancestors.
9. Go to Pickens County, South Carolina, and locate the Latham family cemetery there, where some of my husband's ancestors are buried.
10. Go to Alpharetta, Georgia to visit the graves of various ancestors of my husband's.
11. Sit down with my mother-in-law and see exactly what she has hidden away in her house as far as photographs and documents relating to my husband's family.
12. Research (for days!) at the genealogical library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
13. Label the family jewelry I have so that others will know what belonged to whom, and the significance of each piece.
14. Put together a package of pictures and a family tree for my cousin and mail it to him.
15. Attend a genealogical conference in Salt Lake City.
16. Return to school and get my second degree... in history.
17. Visit Michigan where my Ranney family migrated from Ohio.
18. Visit Iowa where my great grandparents Ranney lived when they were first married.
19. Find out the names of George W. Schwalls' parents, whether he had siblings and their names.
20. Scan every family photo and historical document in my house.
21. Scan my negatives and turn them into digital photos.
22. Get a VuPoint Magic Wand Portable Scanner (see here) to take with me to courthouses or relative's homes.
23. Interview my cousins and get current information (names, dates, places etc.) on their immediate families.
24. See Camp Blanding, Florida, where my uncles reported for duty during World War II.
25. Find out what I can about my Uncle Russ's service during WWII - the name of his unit, ANYTHING.
26. Call my grand uncle Kenneth Ranney's step-daughter.  Done January 2011
27. Interview my husband's aunts to get up-to-date information about their immediate families.
28. Try to order my grand aunt Alice Ranney Thornburg's birth certificate from Michigan.
29. Attend the NGS conference in Charleston, South Carolina in May 2011.
30. Order Otho Hesser's obituary from the Lima Public Library in Lima, Ohio.
31. Scrapbook all my family pictures, along with the stories behind them.
32. Get DNA testing done for my mother and me.
33. Transcribe the Schwalls land records I copied from the deed books in Johnson County, Georgia.
34. Visit Appomattox, Virginia where my great grandfather was when the Civil War ended.
35. Visit all the civil war battlefields where my great grandfather's unit fought.
36. Go to the public library in Marietta, Georgia and try to find an obituary for my uncle, Bob Plumlee.
37. Upon finding out where Uncle Bob is buried from that obituary, visit his grave.
38. Try to make contact once again with Uncle Bob's son in Arizona.
39. Go to the library in Swainsboro, Georgia to look for obituaries and newspaper articles related to my families.
40. Get a copy of Sidney and Mamie Lampp's marriage license and/or certificate at the Johnson County courthouse in Wrightsville, Georgia.

That is all I can think of at the moment, but I am sure I will be adding to this list often!

Please join me in making a genealogy life list... or just a general life list.  It's always good to have things written down.  :)