Sunday, May 1, 2011

Best of the Genea-Blogs - 24-30 April 2011

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Hundreds of genealogy and family history bloggers write thousands of posts every week about their research, their families, and their interests. I appreciate each one of them and their efforts.

My criteria for "Best of ..." are pretty simple - I pick posts that advance knowledge about genealogy and family history, address current genealogy issues, provide personal family history, are funny or are poignant. I don't list posts destined for the genealogy carnivals, or other meme submissions (but I do include summaries of them), or my own posts.

Here are my picks for great reads from the genealogy blogs for this past week:

* Breaking News: Scientists Pinpoint the Origins of Piles of Genea-Crap by Kerry Scott on the Clue Wagon blog.  Spewingly funny.  Genea-manic.  Priceless.  True!

BLM federal land questions by Pat Richley-Erickson on the DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog.   Ol' Myrt answers reader Diane's question about ordering a BLM land patent, noting that there is a lot in the homestead entries.

Who do they think we are? by James Tanner on the Genealogy's Star blog.  This post addresses the now-public perception that genealogists can solve every research problem in one hour, just like Perry Mason did on TV years ago.

Jasia’s Technology Review for 2011 by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog.  What a great review of Jasia's genealogy and life technology units and applications.  I wish others would do something similar so that I could upgrade my own technology.

Did the U. S. Federal Government Register Births? by Linda McCauley on the Documenting the Details blog.  Linda had a federal birth record for her father, and found out why and how.  Interesting.

The Search for Number 16, part 1 and part 2 by Amy Coffin on the We Tree Genealogy Blog.  Amy found her last great-great-grandmother, with a little help from her new online friends.  This is a great example of collaboration with and cooperation by researchers in another country.

Using Land Records to Solve Genealogical Problems -Summary of William Ballenger's Military Warrant File by Michelle Goodrum on The Turning of Generations blog.  Michelle summarizes her Military Warrant study - excellent research and analysis.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning (A Very Good Place to Start) by Leslie Albrecht Huber on The Journey Takers blog.  Leslie has advice for beginning researchers and writers - a wonderful list.

Local Knowledge–the Kind that Solves Difficult Pedigree Problems by Arlene Eakle on Arlene Eakle's New York Genealogy Blog.  Arlene found a treasure on the shelf at the FHL recently, and now better understands the local history of the NY/MA/CT Berkshires area. 

Several other genea-bloggers wrote weekly pick posts this week, including:

Genealogy Round Up, April 28 by Megan Smolenyak on the Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak Roots World blog.

Follow Friday Newsletter: 29 April 2011 by Greta Koehl on Greta's Genealogy Bog blog.

Follow Friday: This Week’s Favorite Finds by Jen on the Climbing My Family Tree blog.

Best Bytes for the Week of April 29, 2011 by Elizabeth O'Neal on the Little Bytes of Life blog.

I encourage you to go to the blogs listed above and read their articles, and add their blogs to your Favorites, Google Reader, RSS feed or email if you like what you read. Please make a comment to them also - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me! I am currently reading posts from over 860 genealogy bloggers using Google Reader, but I still miss quite a few it seems.

Read past Best of the Genea-Blogs posts here.

5 comments:

DearMYRTLE said...

THANKS for noting my federal land entry blog posting. It has been fun learning to use this record group, and exhilarating to note several DearREADERS are also sallying forth to look at these as well.

Linda McCauley said...

Thanks for the mention!

Kerry Scott said...

Thank you for the mention!

Michelle Goodrum said...

Thanks for the shout out Randy. I learned a great deal by going through William Ballenger's land file and plan to do more.

Amy Coffin said...

Thanks for the mention, Randy!