My Ancestry Year-In-Review

Ancestry.com is really good at providing metrics for users to know how many people they've added, how many hints they've saved, etc. I'm not a fan of the notification bell lighting up darn near every time I save something. In general, I don't find the "suggestions" useful and I summarily dismiss them (extra unnecessary clicks as far as I'm concerned, but I get it, they want user engagement...). I do, however, really like the metrics they provide on a weekly basis. 

Sometimes it's hard to quantify all the hard work we put in on our trees. Weekly updates help me realize while I may not have finished researching as many people as I'd like, or made it thru as many hints as I'd prefer, the work really does add up...and pays off...even if some of my branches still end in a brick wall. If the numbers are low, I can reflect on what kind of research I was doing the previous week. Some records, like census and obituaries, take me much longer to mine all the facts than say a public records hint with just address/residence information. Records with images take me longer to review than indexed only records. It's a quick and easy way for me to mentally analyze the work completed the previous week.

Ancestry just sent out a Year-In-Review email with more impressive stats! I do have to keep in mind I did a lot of work on a adoptee tree I started for a friend this year, and the numbers most definitely reflect this. For the adoptee tree, I absolutely took time to review each record, but I didn't add all the detailed and custom facts or transcriptions I use on my main tree. The adoptee tree was created for a singular purpose - finding the grandpa and grandma of a friend. With this in mind, my main tree probably only accounts for a quarter to a third of the counts listed in the image above, but I'm still pleased! 

One on-going task I completed for my tree this year was adding all the names from a trusted (and generally accurate) family history originally compiled in the 1930's and updated regularly over the years. This was no small undertaking and I'm glad it's completed. While this only strengthens one specific branch of my tree, and I still have tons of records to add as backup, it definitely makes the research path easier on the branch. I also started the DNA Academy course so I can better work with my DNA matches. I'm still working on my studies. There's a lot I need to learn and making sure I'm understanding and not just plowing through is important to me.

Just seeing my stats for the past year was invigorating! I'm really stoked as we prepare to move into 2024. I have a feeling it's going to be a very good year for genealogy! With my focus solidly back on my main tree for now, I'm excited to see what the new year has in store. If you've received the Year-In-Review email, or pay attention to your weekly stats, comment on one of my socials....I'd love to hear the successes you've had this year!