99 Things Genealogy Meme

I found this meme accidentally because Banai Lynn Feldstein, the Ginger Genealogist, had her blog hacked and some of her older posts, including the 99 Things Genealogy Meme, were sent out as new items.  I discovered that Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, which I use as weekly inspiration for posts, covered this topic, but in 2009, two years before I started blogging.  So I'm going to do it now.

Because my Jewish ancestry is a huge focus of my research, I'm using Banai's Jewish-focused version of the meme, although I do not agree with her logic on removing American Revolution, Civil War, and DAR as topics.  For several of the items, I changed "ancestor" to "relative" because not only did I not think it was realistic for all of those items to be for ancestors, my collateral relatives are also important in my research.  And I did a few edits just because I'm an editor and found things, and I couldn't help myself.

The list should be annotated in the following manner:
Things you have already done or found:  bold type.
Things you would like to do or find:  Italicize (color optional).
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to:  plain type.

1. Belonged to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records on site at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone photographs to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents).
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Helped clean up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the GeneaBloggers Group on Facebook.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Attended SIG/BOF meetings at a genealogy conference.
12. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
13. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter or journal.
14. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
15. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
16. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.  Because my father refused to ask for directions first.
17. Talked to dead relatives.
18. Researched outside the state in which I live.
19. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
20. Cold-called a distant relative.
21. Posted messages on a surname message board.
22. Uploaded a GEDCOM file to the Internet.
23. Googled my name.
24. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
25. Researched an unrelated family, just for the fun of it.
26. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
27. Earned a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
28. Wrote a letter (or e-mail message) to a previously unknown relative.
29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).
33. Performed a record look-up for someone else.
34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Was convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret.
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion, not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure.  More than once, in fact.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
48. Translated a record from a foreign language.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer.
51. Used microfiche.
52. Visited the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Visited more than one LDS FamilySearch Center.
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th century. [From Banai:  Removed 17th and 16th centuries for the Jewish version.  Ashkenazi Jews are not likely to go beyond the 18th.  There just aren’t records for us.]
57. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.
58. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
59. Know how to determine a Soundex code without the help of a computer.
60. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
61. Own a copy of Where Once We Walked.
62. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
63. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
64. Visited the Library of Congress.
65. Found at least two relatives who came over on the same ship on different journeys.
66. Have a relative who fought in World War I.
67. Have a relative who fought in World War II.
68. Took a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
69. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
70. Can read a metrical record in Polish, Russian, and/or German.
71. Have an ancestor who changed his name.
72. Joined a RootsWeb mailing list.
73. Created a family Web site.
74. Have more than one genealogy blog.
75. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
76. Have broken through at least one brick wall.  Well, I don't have any real brick walls, where I have exhausted every possible record and still haven't found an answer, but I did answer a longstanding research question.
77. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
78. Have done indexing for FamilySearch Indexing or another genealogy project.
79. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
80. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the “Psychic Roots” variety.
81. Have used Border Crossing records to locate a relative.
82. Used maps in my genealogy research.
83. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
84. Found a bigamist among my ancestors.  No, but I have found bigamists doing research for others.
85. Ordered records from the Polish State Archives, Ukraine, or German archives.  How about Swedish archives?
86. Visited an ancestral village in Eastern Europe and did genealogy research.
87. Found a cousin in a foreign country (besides Canada).
88. Consistently cite my sources.  I do this for my clients.
89. Visited a foreign country (i.e., one I don’t live in) in search of relatives.
90. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.  I used to be able to do this before I moved to Oregon.  I still don't have everything organized well since the move.  That'll teach me to tear a rotator cuff while moving boxes around.
91. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).  No, but I have found a cousin who did so.
92. Made a rubbing of an ancestor's gravestone.
93. Organized a family reunion.
94. Published a family history book (on one of my families).
95. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
96. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
97. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
98. Offended a family member with my research.
99. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

So I have done 84 of the 99 items.  There are eight I would like to do (a couple of which I could probably justify as putting in bold already) and seven I have no interest in.  Seriously, who wants to get injured on a genealogy trip or doing the genealogy happy dance?  Why are those even on the list?

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