The phrase “Ring out the old, ring in the new” represents the idea of cheerfully saying goodbye to opportunities missed and welcoming in new opportunities for change and hope. It is something on almost everybody’s mind as a new year comes around. You may have plans to be healthier, get a better job, or be more devoted to safeguarding and strengthening your family. I’m going to take some creative liberty here and suggest that perhaps this year may be a good one to think about also ringing in the old.
Family history is probably something a lot of us have said we’d like to do, but with our busy schedules, don’t find the time to do it. Perhaps you have set a goal to “ring in the new” by taking some time this year to discover your ancestors and learn something new about them this year.
Though this may be something new in your life, you will simultaneously be ringing in the old. Family history is a way for you to look into the past and bring your ancestors back to life, for you and for others in your family. Here are a few ideas of goals you can set to help ring in the old in 2016.
Add 10 new names to your family tree.
Use the Hints feature in FamilySearch and discover new records with names of people that may not be on your family tree yet. Each month FamilySearch adds millions of new record hints to their database, so if you don’t find a hint for someone, come back a month later and you may find some new hints show up on their record. Look for your hints in the Research Helps pane of the details page. It’s a quick way to find records you may not even know existed.
Add 10 new family photographs to your memories page.
Go through your boxes and photo albums that you have stashed away in your closets. Check out some of the old pictures you haven’t seen for a few years. If you have pictures of your ancestors that you think others would enjoy seeing, post them on the Memories tab of an ancestor’s page and they will be there, safe and sound for everyone to see. What a great way to share old family photographs quickly and easily.
Write 5 memories that you have of your parents or another family member and add them to your memories page.
Take just a few minutes and think about some of the especially fond memories you have of people and places in your life. Now, write something about them. You don’t have to write a lot, but be sure to include enough information that the reader will get a good idea of these people and places you remember. Then add those written memories to your Memories tab on your details page on Family Tree. Your posterity will love reading about those moments that were so memorable for you.
Attach 10 new document sources to 1 or more individual records.
If you have important documents such as certificates for birth, marriage and death, wills, deeds to your home, or any other documents that would be of interest to family members, scan them and add them to a person’s details page in the Memories tab. This year, make it a goal to scan and attach 10 important documents to someone’s (or your own) details page.
Using FamilySearch Indexing site, index 5 batches of records.
If searching records or adding photographs and stories of ancestors isn’t for you, you can still be involved in a family history project that is vitally important. Make it a goal this year to learn how to use the FamilySearch Indexing website and index 5 batches. Most batches contain only about 20 records so it’s not a huge commitment. And you may find that it’s a fun activity for you to get involved in. Remember, each name on a record is someone’s ancestor and by indexing those records, you make it possible for them to be found.
Find a name on your family tree that needs at least one ordinance completed and take that name to the temple.
If you haven’t already, use this year to focus your efforts on finding an ancestor on your family tree that still needs their temple work done. Clear their name and personally take their name to the temple.
Teach someone else how to find a name and clear that name for temple work.
Last year we introduced you to the concept of Find, Take, Teach. It’s the idea of learning how to find a name on your family tree, take that name to the temple and then teach someone else how to do it. Now that you know how to do it, you can make it a goal for 2016 to personally teach someone else how to find a name in FamilySearch and clear that name for temple work. Once you’ve done that, challenge them to pay it forward by teaching someone else how to do that. What a great way to keep the effort moving forward.
The new year of 2016 has 12 months. That’s 52 weeks; 364 days; 8,760 hours. That’s a lot of time! During this coming year, take a few hours and try to do one or more of the goals we’ve listed above. Let’s make 2016 a year you do something new; something that will touch someone else’s life for the better.
