What's the Plan for 2026?

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Happy New Year! Ah, there's something about a fresh start. I have my shiny, new hardback notebook/planner, my favorite black Pilot pen, and I've been thinking about what my genealogical priorities should be for 2026. 

After reviewing what I accomplished in 2025, here are my ideas for this year: 

Genealogy Projects

• First is a project on my 2x great-grandmother Maria Jane Darragh with a research goal to discover more about her cause of death: "acute mania."
• Complete research begun on my aunt's ancestors. I recently researched her ancestor Bruno Albaugh, who served as one of Lincoln's bodyguards during the Civil War. There are more goodies in her family lines with surnames Laughlin and Phillips in Ontario, Kelling and Schuber in Lorain County, Ohio, Albaugh and Rittenour in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and more. Can't wait to finish the research and share it with her.
• Research discoveries found in my ancestors AR-2 Alien Registration Forms. There were several fascinating tidbits I discovered after receiving these forms, such as my great-grandfather's military service in Austria-Hungary, and his wife's membership in Jednota, a Slovak fraternal organization. I want to understand more about these and other discoveries.
• Continue focusing on the women in my tree...an ongoing project. 

Writing 

• Leaves on the Tree - Of course, posting weekly on this blog is a top priority. My goal is to continue mixing posts on family stories, archive closet finds, new discoveries, methodology, and more. 
• Spread out my research by offering articles for society publications in my research locales. I've never been told "No" when offering an article to editors, as most publications are looking for content. This not only helps the publication, but it also serves as a resource to others researching the same lines.

Education

• This is the first time in about five years I have not planned to attend a year-long course, conference, or institute. That may change, but for now I am focused on attending webinars aligned with my research priorities, such as on immigration, Canadian record sets, women, etc. I've already gone through the Legacy Family Tree webinars 2026 list and registered for several pertinent webinars.
• Participate in the Research Like a Pro 14-Day Challenge. This was just announced today and I immediately signed up. I love the focused time to take on a relatively simple research question. 
• Attend Connections at the Denton Public Library. My genius friends Laura Douglas, special collections librarian, and library volunteer Kathy Lawrence created a wonderful discussion program called Connections a few years ago. Held once a month, the group discusses articles from the Texas State Genealogical Society's journal Stirpes, patterned after the NGSQ study groups. Laura and Kathy choose articles, formulate research questions and a topic resource guide, and facilitate the monthly discussions. I plan to attend as many as I can this year. It's a great way to share knowledge with other like-minded family history sleuths. (If you are in Texas, your TxSGS Partner Society can participate in the Stirpes Study Group, which uses the same materials from Connections. More info here: https://www.txsgs.org/stirpes-study-group/)
• Participate in Roots Writers, our area genealogy writers group. Our wonderful small group has been meeting for a few months, sharing progress on our individual writing projects, offering resources, and cheering each other on. It's something I look forward to each month.

Volunteering

• I've served as the Texas State Genealogical Society's (TxSGS) District B rep for the past year. This year, I'll take on a larger geographic region as District 1 rep in a newly updated district configuration. I'm looking forward to getting to know my new societies and hope to be a helpful resource to them.
• I'll continue contributing one blog post per month to the Denton Public Library's Genealogy & Local History blog, covering library resources, new books, and events.
• I'll finish my tenure as the Denton County Genealogical Society's newsletter editor in May. It's been wonderful to guide this publication over the past four years, but it's time for someone new to step in and put their own stamp on it. 

Clean Up Tasks

• Oh, the archive closet is still my "nemesis." Focusing on photos is a task that will help clear out some closet contents. And I'm hoping the Hubs can help with this (Pretty please?). Two heads are better than one, right?

Room for Serendipity

I won't forget to leave room for a little genealogical serendipity. As 2025 proved, you never know what opportunities the year will bring and where life will lead. Best to leave room at the table!

This might seem like a lot, but honestly, there is overlap between these goals. For example, doing the RLP challenge will produce some writing for my blog. Reports for research projects can be turned into articles for society publications. Webinars can give me ideas for library blog posts. Archive clean out and photo organization will likely produce more items to focus on for Leaves on the Tree. It's all connected.

Here's wishing you luck with your own goals. I'll be sharing what I learn through the year, right here.

Until next time... 

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2026. All rights reserved.