I’m excited to choose my research objective for the upcoming 2025 14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge! It starts on January 21. As I look through my research questions and think about which one to tackle, I love seeing what I have learned from past challenges. I also asked in our Facebook group to hear what others’ learned. The structured daily approach has helped so many of us make breakthroughs in our family history research.
One thing I hear over and over is how the challenge helps with time management and focus. I totally relate to this – it’s so easy to get carried away and fall down those research “rabbit holes!” But knowing there’s another step to move on to the next day helps keep me on track. Lisa Glass recently shared how she’s using the challenge to get back to organized research after feeling scattered.
I’ve also seen how the systematic process really improves research quality. Melinda McRae put it perfectly when she said “The step-by-step process forces you to analyze what you already know and determine where and how to look for what you don’t.” Writing those formal research reports might seem daunting at first, but they really do help organize our thoughts and work.
Mariah (Keaton) Sadler Research
Let me share an example from one of my projects in a past challenge. In 2019, I decided to focus on discovering more about my 3rd great-grandmother’s siblings. I had recently discovered her father’s probate packet in Anderson County, South Carolina, which revealed several siblings’ names. For the 14-day challenge, I decided to trace one of her sisters forward and look for the marriage and children of Mariah (Keaton) Sadler. The probate papers mentioned Mariah and William Sadler. That was the only record I had about them. Because of the 14-day challenge, I made significant progress in uncovering the family structure of Mariah and William Sadler.
The 1850 census proved particularly illuminating, showing William Sadler’s household with his wife Mariah and four children: William and Isaac (teen boys), along with Lucinda C. and Elizabeth (females aged 12 and 7). These names and ages aligned with gender and age patterns from the 1840 census, though the oldest female child was no longer present in the household, suggesting a possible marriage. It was neat to learn that Mariah named a daughter after her sister, Lucinda (my ancestor). Although I was disappointed not to locate Mariah and William’s actual marriage record, I was able to narrow their marriage timeframe to between 1820-1824, since their first daughter was born about 1825. My research revealed that William Jr. and Isaac served in the Confederate army, William Jr. died in the war, Lucinda remained with her mother throughout her life until Mariah’s death in 1886, and Elizabeth may have married a Taylor.
The evidence suggests these were four likely children of William and Mariah, with a fifth likely daughter who was born around 1825 but absent from the 1850 household. The 1880 census confirmed that Lucinda was a daughter of Mariah, since they were living together. The 14-day challenge helped me achieve major portions of my research objective and establish a solid foundation for future investigation into remaining questions about the family.
Other Successful Projects
The success stories keep rolling in! One participant was thrilled to finally find their 2nd great-grandmother’s obituary and death date – information that even their great aunts had never known. Lisa Glass had an exciting breakthrough using AI search tools on FamilySearch, discovering an unindexed marriage license from 1888.
But you know what I love most? Even when we don’t completely answer our research questions, we learn so much along the way. As Melissa Foremny shared, “I love that, even though I have yet to answer my question, the practice helps me focus on areas I need better learning!” Each challenge helps us identify where we need to grow in our research skills and builds a stronger foundation for future success.
I can’t wait to see what discoveries await in the 2025 challenge! Who’s joining me in following the Research Like a Pro process? Sometimes the most unexpected findings come when we commit to those 30 minutes a day of focused research. Sign up for the challenge and receive free daily email prompts starting January 21: https://familylocket.com/challenge/.
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Thanks for the note!