Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The 1940 Census Has Been Released

Boy is that exciting news to even an amateur genealogist. Even though both my parents were born after that census, it will still give me plenty of details and information that I am eager to have. Both my in-laws had already been born, so looking forward to finding out more about the Fahrbach side of the tree as well.

But for now until the census is fully indexed, it's still a matter of wait and see. While I could slog through the actual records and take my chances on finding what I want, I think I'll wait and take the easy path and search after they've been indexed.

In the meantime, I'm working my way through the Big 16 surname files (the gr-gr-grandparents of both me and my hubby), trying to re-acquaint myself with where I am at in my research. It's been so long since I've done anything with them that very little of the details are in my memory banks, so I have to rely on the written record more than I had to in the past.

Even though I thought I would begin that undertaking when I set up this blog, it never really got anywhere sadly. So, the challenge I'm faced with now is how to stay on top of it without letting it take over my life and overwhelm me. My plan at the moment is to work on one line per month. At this point I may only get a couple of hours per month to actually do any research so that seems quite do-able. It will mean that my progress won't be very speedy, but any progress is better than stagnation with nothing whatsoever to show due to inactivity.