Sunday, April 20, 2008

Best of the Genea-blogs - Week of April 13-19, 2008

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

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

* "The Census Taker Cometh" by Michael John Neill on the Rootdig blog. Michael's article explains why census records for different years don't match names, ages, birthplaces, etc.

* "Google Trends" by John Newmark on the Transylvanian Dutch blog. John follows Kathi's post from last week with more charts and analysis about genealogy, ancestry, geneology, beer and sports teams.

* "FamilySearchWiki" by Jessica Hacken on the Genealogy Buds blog. Jessica discusses the new FamilySearch Wiki and how it may be used to provide a wealth of information about all aspects of genealogy. I agree!

* "Sources and Resources on the Southwestern Pennsylvania Frontier" by Arlene Eakle on Arlene H. Eakle's Genealogy Blog. Arlene has very useful information about the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Quarterly periodical - this is one of my ancestral areas!

* "Meeting David Wilson" by Jennifer on the But Now I'm Found blog. Jennifer summarizes the recent MSNBC show (now out on DVD), which I missed.

* "Friday from the Collectors - A Monumental Task" by guest blogger Terry Thornton on footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog. Terry provides some photographs from his local cemeteries and tells his methods of transcribing cemeteries.

* 'Then resumed the chaos louder than ever..." by Lisa on the Small-leaved Shamrock blog. Lisa's contribution to Poem in My Pocket Day is Walt Whitman's "The Artilleryman's Vision." Moving. Sad. True.

* "When Genie-bloggers Meet" by Juliane's granddaughter on the Two Sides of the Ocean blog. Jg tells about her talk on blogging at the Berrien County (MI) Genealogical Society and meeting Apple afterwards.

* "Treasure Chests," "Happy Exhaustion," "It Just Gets Better," and "A Bright spot in a Frustrating Day" by Charlotte on the Apple's Tree blog. Apple takes us along with her as she travels to Michigan to research in the Bentley Library in Ann Arbor, and meets two genea-bloggers as well.

* "5 Online Games for Genealogists" by Chris on The G-Files: A Blog For solving Genealogy and Family History blog. Chris highlights five games that can be played online or downloaded and played on your computer that are great for genealogy buffs.

* "6 worst things to do with a genealogy chart" by Janet Hovorka on The Chart Chick blog. Janet has some advice for what not to do, following up her earlier post on the "10 best things to do with a genealogy chart."

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

Did I miss a great genealogy blog post? Tell me!

2 comments:

Miriam Robbins said...

Randy, I always enjoy reading your "Best of..." posts, because I learn about new (to me) bloggers. Thanks!

Terry Thornton said...

Thanks SEAVER for the link. The Maven did such a good job showcasing my article. I think SHADES OF THE DEPARTED will become a major digital magazine. And I appreciate your linking to my work there.
TERRY