Greater Portland Chapter

       Looking for some challenges and prompts to inspire you to move forward with your genealogical research--Here are some suggestions:

Genealogy challenges: non research related 

• Try a food from your ancestors homeland. (Find family recipes from ancestors)

• Watch old family movies

• Record a favorite family story

• Write about one family tradition: do you know how it started or by whom and when?

• Do you have an ancestor who played a musical instrument? Were they in a band?

• Write the stories about a family trip and include photos

• Create a cost of living comparison with a living relative

• Create a genealogy deck of cards - play with family members. Cards can have photos and short bio on them https://www.creativefamilyhistorian.com/design/family-history-game/

• Start the story of your life to be added to your research

• Search for church directories for your female relatives

• Find a family history blog that is related to your research

• Declutter your family photos. Choose those attached to your research (add a variety of ages)

• hoose an artifact or object from an ancestor. Write about it and that ancestor.

• Choose a relative and learn about their leisure time activities: did they fish, write, volunteer, quilt, etc.

• Organize your paperwork you are holding on to ie birth, death marraige records

• Record a family member telling a family story....save that recording to your family tree.

• Plan a research fact finding trip! Where? Why? What information are you searching for?

• Which family members were involved in sports? is there a trend in your family? Any stars?

• Do you have a colorful ancestor? Write their story.

• Do you have a relative who had a scary event happen in their life? Tell that story.

• Is there a family profession? if so what is it and which relatives followed this path.

Genealogy challenges: research related

• Pick a relative and research their schooling records - what kind of student?

• Learn about the origins of the odd name in your tree.

• Write about the relative that traveled on a ship to this country. Learn more about the ship and it's conditions.

• Locate a letter or postcard written by an ancestor.

• Send an email to one of your DNA matches.

• Search Facebook based on surname for a family genealogy group.

• Pick a relative and create a timeline for them.

• Clean up your family tree - create a research to do list for those members who are missing information.

• 1890 census brickwall buster - search for land records surrounding the 1890 date.

• Choose an area your relatives have lived and look for a Plat map to locate where they lived in the county.

• Take a trip to a family cemetery and photograph family headstones.

• Create a family honor roll for those who served.

• Watch a YouTube video on a new topic in genealogy, share what you learned with someone else.

• Start indexing your research, creating a system that works best for you.

• 1950's census - help check names and help edit : https://www.familysearch.org/getinvolved/my-opportunities

• Choose a relative that you don't have information on and find 3 documents related to them.

• Order civil war records of your relatives from the National Archives. https://eservices.archives.gov/orderonline/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEPostnRowId=1-29XS&SWEView=GPEA+Product+Catalog+Category+Detail+View+FFO&SWEHo=eservices.archives.gov&SWEPostnApplet=GPEA+Product+Catalog+Category+Form+Applet+FFO

• Create a list of research goals for the fall.

• Start a family newsletter to be sent out to family members to share your research - a great way to update relatives - tree, newest collected information, choose one relative to highlight - send annually (think those Christmas family newsletter cards)

• Which family member left the general area that your ancestors settled? Why and where did they go?

• Create a residence record file - include address, photo, taxes, mortgage record, maps/survey, probate and related census records.