Are we almost there yet?

If you're a parent, you've heard that before. My father used to say "Relax, getting there is half the fun!" In genealogy, I think getting there must be MOST of the fun. If it wasn't we should all give up in despair.

Have you ever thought about how close you are to "completing" your genealogy? This is part of why I love this hobby so much!

I have 2 parents. I know them both. So for the 1st generation, I am 100% complete.

I have 4 grandparents. I know them all. So for the 2nd generation, I am 100% complete.

It falls apart pretty soon after that.
Updated 04AUG1999

Generation # of Ancestors # KNOWN % complete Total Ancestors Total Known Total % complete
Parents 22100%22100%
Grandparents 44100%66100%
Great 88100%1414100%
2nd-Great 161488%302893%
3rd-Great 322166%624976%
4th-Great 641523%1266451%
5th-Great 1281814%2548232%
6th-Great 256218%51010320%
7th-Great 512408%102214314%
8th-Great 1024565%204619910%
9th-Great 2048914%40942907%
10th-Great 40961093%81903995%
11th-Great 819244.5%163824433%
12th-Great 1638414.1%327664591%

So I am less than 1% finished with my genealogy after 7 years of work!

Oh well, who wants a hobby that you can complete? What would you do next?

Progress report -- on the "old" 07SEP1998 version, I had reported a total of 355 ancestors, so in the past year I have "gained" 104 ancestors, or a 29% increase in ancestors in one year! (this includes "unlinking" some of the unprovens).

_-_
Gary