52 Ancestor Reports in 2025

2025 Project

This year, rather than a "re-do," my plan is to follow Elizabeth Shown Mills and Yvette Hoitink's advice to create research reports for each person investigated, while also inspired by Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors challenge in my own remix:

Starting with my parents, in ahnentafal order write about my direct ancestors, beginning with my daddy, Ted Cowan. The list below will be an index by the end of 2025, when the posts are linked to the list.  

My Ancestors in Ahnentafal Order

  1. Valorie Cowan
  2. Ted Cowan - in progress. Click name to read or comment.
  3. Lola McBee
  4. Tom Cowan
  5. Elsie Schell
  6. Harvey McBee
  7. Anna Baysinger
  8. Walter Scott Cowan
  9. Annie McPherson
  10. Charles Käll/Schell
  11. Selma Andersdotter
  12. Samuel McBee
  13. Nancy Jane Booth
  14. John Alfred Baysinger
  15. Minnie Disney
  16. Walter Scott Cowan
  17. Margaret McPhail
  18. Alexander McPherson
  19. Jane McPherson
  20. Carl Axel Frans Jonsson Käll
  21. Maria Svensdotter
  22. Anders Gustaf Andersson
  23. Ulrika Karolina Danielsdotter
  24. William McBee
  25. Louisa Smith
  26. Anderville Booth
  27. Mary Ann Robertson
  28. Elias Henry Baysinger
  29. Sarah Maria Goosic
  30. William Briggs Disney
  31. Mary Catherine Walters
  32. Walter Cowan
  33. Jean "Jenny" Scott
  34. James McPhail
  35. Janet McIntosh
  36. Donald Dhu McPherson
  37. Catharine Ann McPherson
  38. Duncan McPherson
  39. Mary Forbes
  40. Johannes Jonasson Käll
  41. Lena Andersdotter
  42. Sven Andersson
  43. Helena Lena Jönsdotter
  44. Anders Andersson 
  45. Anna Lena Andersdotter
  46. Daniel Danielsson
  47. Anna Cajsa Romlin
  48. George Henry McBee
  49. Martha "Patsy" Willis
  50. Isaac Abner Smith
  51. Elizabeth _____
  52. William Waggoner Willis 
  53. Lavinia Davidson


The Research Reports

I have extensively researched some of these ancestors, and some hardly at all. Some of the reports will be long and detailed, and others a long list of suggested next steps. Newly inspired by an old Youtube by Devon Noel Lee of Family History Fanatics, Writing Your Way to Becoming a Better Genealogist, I will transcribe each record I have found, turn that into a basic narrative, and mark that up with questions. I think that this will super-charge even the barest research report.

I hope all are valuable to the research, and that much will come to light during the process of writing, checking and analyzing what has already been found. Just closely examining the records to see what I missed before will be great!

I hope to "finish" one report per week, and either post it here in part or summary. Beginning a new report each Sunday is now on my entire 2025 calendar. Parts of the reports may end up linked to Ancestry and FamilySearch profiles, and I hope to improve the Wikitree profiles as well. I'll add Geni too if I can fit it into each week. No deadlines or pressure to a weekly post; just a weekly research report started.

There will be at least one post that will not include everything in my own copy of the report, because of the possible damage to living people. Most of the posts will have a link to the Google Doc version of the report, and will allow comments. 

Please comment on the blog posts. 

Thanks for starting this journey with me! 

Valorie

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