Be S.M.A.R.T. About Family History Research in 2026
By Beth Steury
www.bethsteury.com email: bethsteury@gmail.com
My part of the world is especially dreary in January and February creating the perfect time to delve deeply into all things relating to family history. Truth is, I rarely/never need incentive to peruse old family photos, dive into archived documents and records and memorabilia, OR pore over DNA results. Still, the arrival of a new year encourages me to reflect upon my genealogy agenda for 2026. Because I know that the more intentional the researching/digging/detecting/piecing together of clues, the more effective and successful said researching will be. And intentional pursuits require targets and objectives and strategies. You know, goals.
Whether you’re the “must set goals” type or a soul who flees from the very notion, the flip of the calendar can—if you allow it—create an urge to consider your genealogically-inclined pursuits.
SO, let’s look at how to be genealogically intentional in 2026.
· Begin with a mental review of 2025. Consider both PURSUITS—the goals you worked toward and activities you engaged in sans goals—and ACCOMPLISHMENTS—goals achieved, tasks completed, mysteries solved.
· Next, accept that facts are facts. Whether this review reveals an awesome A+ and you’re now doing a happy dance OR you’re staring at a dismal F and hanging your head in shame, it is what it is.
· Celebrate where appropriate, for sure, but choose not to sweat what didn’t get done. Consider that reflection’s purpose is to inform future progress, NOT to create a pit in which to wallow sorrowfully.
· Then, acknowledge that only YOU know if targets for 2026 should extend what took place, or failed to take place, in 2025. Maybe, yes. Maybe, no. It’s a different year, one that likely finds you in a different place, either in minor or major ways.
Now, on to the agenda for 2026. The S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting model offers a simple, practical approach for genealogy enthusiasts to strategize effective goals. Even for folks who shy away from the notion of goals. I promise.
· SPECIFIC
Generic objectives such as “research more” aren’t specific enough to be effective. But “research Grandpa Mullins parents” directs a specific course of action.
· MEASURABLE
Hone the specific goal into something tangible. Such as, challenge yourself to find confirmation of Grandpa Mullins parents’ names, children’s names, birth and marriage dates. OR, record all info you can gather in an hour/afternoon/day of focused online research.
· ACHIEVABLE
Think realistic, based on your available time and resources. If an hour of research fits into your schedule while an afternoon would strain your calendar and a day would leave you stressed out about what else wasn’t getting done, then an hour it is.
· RELEVANT
What person/question/mystery interests you most? Did Grandma have a husband before Grandpa as has been rumored for decades? What challenges split your maternal relatives when they set out for the Missouri Territory? The thing you most want to know—that’s where you begin in 2026.
· TIME-BASED
Time and again it’s been proven that deadlines work. An expressed timeline produces a sense of urgency that encourages structure which boosts focus and . . . voilà! You’re on the road to goal-completion success when your S.M.A.R.T. goals include a timeline.
If you’ve not tested your DNA, consider joining the 50 million people who’ve completed a DNA test. A wealth of information, answers, and potential connections are waiting to be discovered in the details of your DNA results. If you have specific questions or concerns, shoot me a message at bethsteury@gmail.com
The Children Who Raised Themselves
Kate Penney Howard katepenneyhoward.com
Child mortality in early America was devastating. But we talk less about what happened to the children who survived their parents.
Orphaned children were absorbed into extended family networks, apprenticed out, or bound to neighbors. Sometimes they were treated well. Sometimes they were exploited. Either way, they often disappeared from official records until adulthood.
These children show up in your tree as question marks. Birth records exist but nothing else until a marriage or military record decades later. No guardian listed. No inheritance mentioned. Just silence.
DNA can find them.
Genetic genealogy can reveal which family took them in, which children were actually half-siblings raised separately, and which surnames were adopted versus biological. DNA does not care about legal guardianship or apprenticeship contracts. It shows blood relationships exactly as they were.
If you have a child ancestor who seems to vanish for years, look at DNA matches carefully. The family that raised them may not be the family that claimed them.
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Thanks to Kate Penney Howard for sending this article to us!