It's Back ... October is Family History Month ... Focus on Your Genealogy!

Note: This post was originally made October 5, 2017, at 9:56 p.m. ET. We've added some additional information.

How did so many pages of the calendar flip? Time is flying by because it is once again October -- which means it is Family History Month in the United States! 

As you know from years past MCGG encourages everyone to do something for his or her own genealogy this month! Though we are a little late this year mentioning our favorite hobby's "month of honor" you can do something each day or week using cues inspired by other national or international days of honor. Whether it is a bunch of little tasks, a couple larger tasks or some of each take time this month to do something for your genealogy.

Keep in mind that there are often many genealogy "free-access" and sale offers in honor of this month so stay tuned here and keep an eye out for them yourself. But do be careful: know what you are accessing/buying and from whom.

For those October days that have passed already, do the inspiration task suggestion on another day if they inspire you more than another day's suggestion. 

October 1 - 31 -- Family History Month in the United States.
It is also Computer Learning Month so check out a book or watch a webinar on how to use one of your genealogy-related programs ... or your computer; and it is American Archives Month so plan a future research visit to your state or local archive.

Additional month of October observations are:  Polish-American Heritage Month, German American Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15), Filipino American History Month, LGBT History Month, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Dyslexia Awareness Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15), and National Work and Family Month to name just a few. So take sometime to research the Polish, German, Filipino, Hispanic branches in your family tree. And/Or take inspiration from the other month long observations to focus on some aspect of your family's history this month.

The week of October 1 - 7 (the first full week) is Mystery Series Week, plan to focus on the mysterious ancestors in your tree. Take another try at finding those elusive ancestors. The week of October 2 - 8 is National Carry A Tune Week, plan to focus on those ancestors known for their musical talent. The week of October 2 - 8 is Spinning and Weaving Week, plan to focus on those ancestors who were spinners or weavers. 

October 1 -- National Homemade Cookies Day. It's not genealogy related or is it? Bake up a batch of grandma's or great grandma's cookies from a passed-down recipe. If grandma is still living, visit or call her and talk to her about her -- informally interview her. International Day of Older Persons. Visit or call and talk to an older relative about his/her life and memories -- do an informal interview.

October 2 -- National Name Your Car Day. Scan those photographs with your ancestors and their cars, or write down your car memories of your own. 

October 3 -- National Techies Day. Spend sometime organizing the files on your hard drive and backing up your hard drive. Learn a new program or simply enter into your genealogy program that information you have been meaning to do. 

October 4 -- National Tacos Day; National Golf Lover's Day; National Vodka Day. Use today to research/focus on your Mexican/Spanish, Scottish, or Russian ancestors. National Pumpkin Seed Day (first Wednesday in October.) Write down your Halloween or farm harvesting memories. National Walk to School Day (first Wednesday in October.) Write down the memories of your and your children's first days of school and/or how you/they would get to school. Ask an Archivist Day. Sponsored by The Society of Archivists, use your Twitter account to ask your archive question using the #AskAnArchivist hashtag. 

October 5 -- National Do Something Nice Day and National Apple Betty Day. Use today to share something with a relative, or to research/focus on a Betty (Elizabeth) in your ancestry. National Rhode Island Day. Spend some time researching your Rhode Island ancestors. World Teachers Day. Spend some time researching relatives who were teachers.

October 6 -- National German-American Day. Use today to research/focus on your German ancestors. National Mad Hatter Day. Got a hatter in the family? Use today to research that relative. National Noodle Day. So many nationalities are known for noodles, pick one and research your ancestors of those nationalities or who lived in those countries. World Smile Day (first Friday in October.) Scan some of those ancestral photos (even those without smiles) or print out some of your digital photos. 

October 7 -- International Frugal Fun Day. Spend some time researching on your favorite or a new-to-you free genealogy website. International Newspaper Carrier Day. Use today to investigate digitized newspapers for your ancestors. Or re-read your newspaper finds to see if you missed something.

October 8 -- National Pirogi Day. Use today to research/focus on your Polish ancestors. Clergy Appreciation Day (second Sunday in October.) Research your clergy ancestors today and appreciate those in your life today.

The week of October 9 - 15 is Healthcare Security & Safety Week, plan to focus on those ancestors who worked in the healthcare or police/security fields. The second week of October is National Newspaper Week, plan to focus on those ancestors who worked in the newspaper field or research your ancestors in digitized newspapers.

October 9 -- National Leif Erikson Day. Use today to research/focus on your Nordic ancestors. National Native American Day (second Monday in October.) Use today to research/focus on your Native American ancestors. Curious Events Day. Try investigating a mystery in your family tree. Columbus Day (second Monday in October.) Use today to research/focus on your immigrant ancestors. Thanksgiving Day in Canada (second Monday in October.) Use today to research your Canadian ancestors, or those that lived there for a time. 

October 10 -- World Post Day. Use today to investigate your postal carrier ancestors. Or to transcribe some family letters. National Cake Decorating Day and National Angel Food Cake Day. Use today to research/focus on your baker ancestors, or to concentrate on finding any birth records you do not already have for your ancestors. Or write down your memories about family gatherings like birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, etc.

October 11 -- National Fossil Day (on Wednesday of the second full week in October.) Use today to research/focus on your end-of-line ancestors. What sources have you missed in trying to research these ancestors? Are any now available online? They may not be indexed but they may now be accessible. Or research the life of your longest living relative. International Day of the Girl Child. Pick a female ancestor and spend some time today researching her. National Sausage Pizza Day. Research your butcher ancestors or your Italian ancestors. Take Your Parents to Lunch Day. Use today to research/focus on your parents. National Emergency Nurse's Day. Use today to research/focus on your ancestors who worked in the health care industry. 

October 12 -- National Farmer's Day. Use today to research/focus on your farming ancestors. National Gumbo Day. Use today to research/focus on your Louisiana ancestors. National Vermont Day. Research any Vermont ancestors you may have. Cookbook Launch Day. Use today to research your female ancestors. Or, create "family cookbook" of your own with treasured, passed-down recipes or more current family favorites. Make it a project and you'll have made a holiday gift item. Moment of Frustration Day. Re-examine one or more of your "brickwall" ancestors and create a plan to knock down that wall. There are lots of ideas for how to do something for your genealogy today. 

October 13 -- National Train Your Brain Day. Use today to learn something new. Watch a genealogy webinar, or read a genealogy book. National Yorkshire Pudding Day. Use today to research/focus on your English ancestors. Navy Birthday. Use today to research/focus on your naval/seafaring ancestors. International Skeptics Day. Take another look at those family branches that might be a little shaky. International Day for Disaster Reduction. Use today to shore up your genealogy's ability to survive in event of a disaster. 

October 14 -- National Dessert Day. Use today to bake a family favorite dessert. Or to work on your family recipe book. National Motorcycle Ride Day (second Saturday in October.) Scan photos of your relatives with their motorcycles or write your memories of them or your first ride on a motorcycle.

The third week of October is Teen Read Week and National Friends of Libraries Week, plan to focus on those ancestors who were librarians. Or search for your ancestors in digitized books.

October 15 -- National Cheese Curd Day. Use today to research/focus on your dairy farmer ancestors. National I Love Lucy Day. Use today to record your memories of your funniest relatives. National Grouch Day. Use today to record your memories of your grumpiest ancestors. International Day of Rural Women. Use today to research your female ancestors who lived in the country or on a farm. If your Mom grew up on a farm, informally interview her about it. National White Cane Safety Day. Research your ancestors/relatives who were or went blind. 

October 16 -- National Department Store Day. Use today to research or write about your ancestor/relatives that worked in a department store. National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day. Do exactly what the day says -- clean your desktop and organize your computer files! National Boss's Day. Research your ancestors who owned their own businesses. 

October 17 -- National Mulligan Day. Use today to "do something over." Revisit a problem or ancestor the eluded you once before. National Black Poetry Day. Use today to research/focus on your African American ancestors. 

October 18 -- National Chocolate Cupcake Day. Have a cupcake, with all this genealogy you need to keep your energy up.

October 19 -- National Kentucky Day. Use today to focus your research on your Kentucky ancestors. Evaluate Your Life Day. In the spirit of this day spend some time re-evaluating your research efforts on a particular problem. 

October 20 -- World Statistics Day. Even though numbers are not the goal of your genealogy, use today to see how many ancestors you know or how many sources you have in your genealogy. 

October 21 -- Sweetest Day. Use today to concentrate your research on finding any marriage records you do not already have for your ancestors. Or, as you show your "sweetests" you care, talk to them about themselves -- another opportunity to informally interview your relatives.

October 22 -- National Mother-in-law Day. Use today to research/focus on your spouse's mother's ancestors.

The week of October 23 - 29 is Get Organized Week, plan one or two days or an hour each day to organize your genealogy papers.

October 23 -- National Boston Creme Pie Day. Use today to research/focus on your Massachusetts ancestors. Swallows Depart from San Juan Capistrano Day. Use today to research/focus on your immigrant ancestors. Look again for those that are eluding your research efforts. 

October 24 -- United Nations Day. Use today to research/focus on an ancestor you put off researching because he/she is a nationality you have not researched before. 

October 25 -- International Artists Day. Use today to research/focus on your ancestors who were artistically inclined.

October 26 -- National Tennessee Day. Use today to research/focus on your ancestors Tennessee ancestors. National Day of the Deployed. Use today to research/focus on your military ancestors.

October 27 -- Navy Day. Use another day today to research/focus on your naval/seafaring ancestors. National Tell a Story Day in Scotland and the U.K. Try writing your memories about a particular relative. Or, write down those stories of your ancestors/family that you heard growing up. World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Use today to interview a relative or transcribe a previously recorded interview.

October 28 -- National Make a Difference Day. Use today to help someone else with their genealogy. National Chocolate Day. With all this genealogy, here is a reminder to buy some Halloween candy. Trick-or-Treat is just three days away.

October 29 -- National Hermit Day. Use today to research/focus on your ancestors who did not marry or have children. Sometimes the probates of those without direct heirs can be goldmines. 

October 30 -- National Speak Up for Service Day. Use today to research/focus on your ancestors who did a good deed. Look for them in digitized newspapers.

October 31 -- Halloween. Do some more cemetery research or research probate records for your ancestors today. And, take a little break from genealogy to pass out some candy tonight. You did remember to buy some trick-or-treat candy right? Girl Scout Founder's Day. Use today to write about your memories in scouting no matter if you are a boy or girl. World Cities Day. Research your ancestors in city directories.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE