Just like that another year has flown by and this year ended quite different for me. Why? Because I am currently in France where I am living and working for the year. I wanted to seek a bit of adventure abroad and so I applied to work for a year teaching English here in France. Which means unfortunately, changing your life 180º is a sure enough way to get you to drop the ball very quickly — like writing on this blog! Nonetheless, now that I am getting settled more into a schedule (almost!) I have some more time to begin writing on my blog again.
So in typical New Year’s fashion I want to reflect on my goals for 2022 and get started on creating new goals for a new genealogical year!
If you want to read about my goals in 2021 – CLICK HERE! And like always, I will be answering each goal with “yes”, “some” (didn’t quite fully reach where I wanted) or “no” and explaining where I am with each resolution.
GENEALOGICAL REFLECTION OF 2022
1. Revisit the Mallorca Archives in Palma, Mallorca
No
I knew this goal was a stretch with the pandemic and everything going on with travel, but I put it out into the world to see if it would hold. Though it did not, living now in France I am hoping that I can spend some time researching in Mallorca before heading back to the states. This would allow me to further deepen the research I got started back in 2015!
2. Read Five Genealogical Books
YES
I am very glad I got this goal done! It was a great year overall for reading for me and so I am happy I was able to actually hit 6 genealogical books (and honestly without even realizing it) on my list. I count genealogical-themed books as books dealing with some type of genealogical connection to myself or to identity in general. Here you can see a mix of books from genealogical proof, slavery, keepsakes/heirlooms, the holocaust, and family stories. Two books were even written in French! These are the books I read in no specific order:
1. “Mastering Genealogical Proof” (Thomas Jones)
2. “L’esclavage raconté à ma fille” (Christiane Taubira)
3. “All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake” (Tiya Alicia Miles)
4. “My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me” (Jennifer Teege)
5. “Ancestor Trouble” (Maud Newton)
6. “Pacotille, l’enfant esclave” (Éric Coubeyran)
3. Research at the AGPR
No
I was very hopeful for this goal since I was actually able to visit Puerto Rico back in March 2022. However, given bad timing (partially my fault!) I was not able to actually visit el Archivo General de Puerto Rico (AGPR). I was a bit bummed because I had wanted to see if there were any passport or passenger records showing my ancestors coming into Puerto Rico from Martinique and Guadeloupe especially since now I had a smaller gap of time between 1861-1866. However, this is something I can always go back and revisit when I am on the island and hopefully with more research I can lessen that gap of time again!
4. Continue practicing French
YES
Or should I say “oui”! This goal is currently ongoing! I moved to France at the end of September 2022 and will be here until at least April 2023. I get to use French daily which is great and also learn young slang and words specific to the city I am in. Though it does take a lot of mental strength to live and interact daily in a language that is not my native one, I am excited to have this opportunity and to learn more of French on a daily basis.
5. Interview family members
SOME
Before leaving Puerto Rico during spring break in 2022 I sat down with my grandmother and interviewed her on camera. I got to ask her some questions about her childhood and upbringing, her adult life, living through the pandemic, and even talked to her about the future. I am glad I was able to interview her because she is my last biological grandparent alive and I wish I would have done this earlier with other family members. However, there are other people in my family I would love to interview so having finally started this, I am excited to continue!
6. Continue to explore my Dávila line
SOME
It took a while to crack this line and it is still taking some more time to fully crack the last (major) wall! Though I was able to add another document to the line (my 2nd great-grandfather’s baptism record!) I have not been able to prove via paper trail in Puerto Rico that my 6th great-grandfather is the man who I think I have researched correctly in San Juan del Puerto, Spain. I would need either his marriage or death record to help fully prove this is who I think it is (or some other type of record) but for now there is none proving his parents’ names in Spain besides the coincidences of generational names shared between San Juan del Puerto, Spain and the Dávila children born in Coamo and Maunabo, Puerto Rico. This was something I was hoping I could research in the AGPR as well but it will have to wait until next time.
7. Consider going ‘on the clock’ for BCG
YES
Though I have not gone on the clock yet I have done some consideration. I sat down and traced out all of the different parts of the portfolio I would have to fill out and I have potential case studies for each section. This is important because lines I have used for ProGen Study Group or Boston University’s program I cannot use for the BCG portfolio. With these different sections outlined I can almost certainly say that I am almost ready to get “on the clock”. The hesitation… well – it is a big commitment and overall nervousness is stopping me I guess. The good thing is that if I need to extend being on the clock, I can, but I rather go straight for it and not waste too much time on the actual clock for my portfolio.
8. Reach out to Quebradillas’ church
NO
There’s no reason for me not having picked up a phone last year and talking to the Quebradillas church! Like many things this hit the back burner last year and unfortunately never made its way back to the front. I am hoping that when I return to the US I can make that call and see if they have any records on my ancestor Juan Francisco Sánchez Flores.
9. (Re)Research my 2nd great-grandmother Amalia Rivera Rodríguez
YES
I am happy that I was able to revisit this ancestress and retrace her again via records and writing a genealogical post! Though at the end I still feel like I haven’t fully figured out the story behind Amalia and her life, the paper trail and genealogical work I have done seems to point to the correct person.
10. Take an “official” pro-bono client
NO
This goal is tied to going on the clock for BCG and I figured as well that if I put this into the universe, maybe it would get done. However, I did not go on the clock and I did not find a pro-bono client. Nonetheless, this is something that can easily be fixed and completed as well!
All in all, this is where my genealogical goals stand:
4 – yes
2- some
4 – no
And honestly, I feel okay with that. Only one goal I feel like I have no legit excuse for (calling the church) but everything else really depended on various factors that were sometimes a bit harder to control. Nonetheless, I enjoy setting goals for the new year and trying my best to complete them – I think this was officially my 5th year doing so! So here’s to 2023 and new genealogical goals!
Saludos. Soy Victoria Pinto Declet de Manatí PR. Quisiera encontrar mayor información relacionada con los archivos de Dominica y Guadalupe. Agradezco que haya compartido los archivos de Martinica. Busco el apellido Declet en estas islas (en las tres para salir de dudas) y como se relaciona con PR. Apreciaré infinita y eternamente su respuesta. Gracias.
Hola Victoria, te mandaré un correo para ver cómo te puedo asistir. Saludos, Luis