10 "Must Do" Genealogy Projects for September

Ancestry Findings recently published it's list of 10 Must Do Genealogy Projects for September.  A new month (day, week, year...) is always a good time to make a list and move forward.  This is a great way to revive your family history project and get some things done.  You can click on the link above to read the whole post, but here is the abbreviated list:


1. Organize Your Family Photos

With the kids back in school, this is a perfect time to get out those old family photos that have never been put into albums and/or labeled and organize them.


2. Review Your Family Tree for Sources

A good, professional family tree needs sources. You need to source every event to make sure there is proof it is correct. September is a perfect time to review your tree and add sources where you find them missing.


3. Send for New Vital Records

Chances are you’ve come across some new ancestors for whom you don’t have vital records yet, or have ancestors for whom you’ve never obtained vital records. See if any of them have birth, death, or marriage records online, and if they don’t, send away for them at the appropriate state or county vital records offices.


4. Interview Older Relatives

If your children are too young to take with you to interview older relatives without getting bored and interrupting you, this is the perfect time to do it, now that the kids are back in school.


5. Start Work on a New Line

Fall is the perfect time to begin research on a new line of your family tree, or give attention to a long neglected one. Chances are, you have plenty of choices in this regard, and it is always exciting to begin discovering new ancestors.


6. Go to the Cemeteries Where Your Ancestors are Located

Now that the weather is getting cooler, it is a perfect time to do some outdoor genealogy work. This means going to the cemeteries where your ancestors are buried and getting photos of their headstones. You can also write down transcriptions of what is inscribed on the stones. If some ancestors do not have headstones, use the local cemetery office or archives to get a map and find their location and get a photo of it to include in your family research files.


7. Clean Up Cemeteries

This is another good outdoor genealogical project that benefits everyone. If you know of any old cemeteries with no obvious entity keeping them up, September is a perfect time to go there and mow, pull up weeds, clear out litter of both natural and manmade things, and make notes of any stones that need to be repaired. Send these notes to the city hall to see if stone repair is something they do.


8. Work on Your Memoirs

Your own story is part of the genealogy of your family. You can start writing them even if you’re young. Adding to them every year ensures you keep them up to date. This is a perfect time of year to work on them.


9. Write Your Family History

September is also a good time to write a professional family history of one or more lines of your family, and either self-publish it or submit it for professional publication.


10. Organize Your Family Heirlooms

With the kids at school and out-of-the-way, this is a perfect time to organize, label, and store or display your family heirlooms, for yourself and for future generations.

-- submitted by Linda Mecchi