Sunday, September 14, 2008

Best of the Genea-Blogs - September 7-13, 2008

Several hundred 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:

* Whose Relatives? -I and Whose Relatives? - II by John D. Reid on the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog. John poses two puzzles asking readers to identify the Canadian political associated with well-known or celebrity relatives. I haven't tried to solve these - I wonder if anyone has yet?

* County Histories - Checking the Facts by Sheri Fenley on The Educated Genealogist blog. Sheri analyzes an entry in a County History book for one of her ancestors to determine if they got the facts right. It's something each of us should be doing routinely for our ancestors. Sheri followed up on several of the facts and received much more information about her ancestor.

* Tuesday Tales from the Road - Vermont by Mary Mettler on the California Genealogical Society and Library blog. Mary's travels takes her to Westford, Middlesex and Barre in Vermont. She visited some family places and some repositories.

* OMG! The most amazing thing just happened and KENNEDY vs. UPSHAW and another, Supreme Court of Texas, June 18, 1886 by Ruth Stephens on the Bluebonnet Country Genealogy blog. Ruth tried out the new Google News Archive Search and found a Texas Supreme Court document about the estate of her 4th-great-grandfather. Share her joy, and read her document - what a great trove of family history!

* Truth or Goof? Where's the Proof? by Mary Penner on Juliana Smith's 24/7 Family History Circle blog. Mary wrangles with "facts" and "truth," then analyzes a death certificate to determine if it is an original or derivative source, primary or secondary information, and direct or indirect evidence. But what if the information is incorrect?

* Beyond the Naturalization Index by Juliana Smith on the 24/7 Family History circle blog. Juliana writes an excellent article about naturalization records and the USCIS genealogy program recently announced by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

* Naked Ladies in the Hill Country Redux by Terry Thornton on the Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi blog. I still don't know what a "naked lady" is - all I see is flowers on Terry's posts. Where oh where are they all? Actually, I just want the hits I'll get on this post from Google searchers. I think that's what Terry wants too!

* Remembering 9-11-01 by Terry Thornton on the Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi blog. Terry's memories almost parallel my own. He also provides a nice list of other genea-bloggers posts on the subject.

* Pennsylvania Wanderings blog by Bonnie Jean MacDonald. Bonnie's entire blog is about her current research trip in Pennsylvania. This week, she went from the FGS Conference in Philadelphia, to the State Capital in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania State Library in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg, the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, and the Northumberland Historical Society in Sunbury. Her posts have pictures and many excellent comments and advice about researching in this part of Pennsylvania.

* What I learned at FGS 2008 by Anne Mitchell on the Ancestry.com Blog. Anne watched people using the New Search features on Ancestry.com at FGS 2008, and came back with some insights. Not enough for many readers, though - read the comments.

* Genealogical Round up (11 September) by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak on the Roots Television: Megan's Roots World blog. Megan's roundup covers FGS, RootsTV, DNA, Facebook, and much more. A nice list.

* Meet My Avatar by Lidian on The Virtual Dime Museum blog. Lidian has a favorite photograph that she uses for her "About Me" picture (I've always figured that it was a picture of her in Victorian dress!), and the card says the woman's name is Carrie Bullowa. Lidian is hunting for more information about her.

* Are You a Transitional Genealogist? by Christy Fillerup on the GenealogyandFamilyHistory.com blog. Christy covers the Transitional Genealogists Forum (TGF) mailing list, the TG Study Group (TGSG) and the ProGen Study Group, all of which I participate in on a monthly basis. If you are interested in participating in professional development like this, join the TGF mailing list and contact the LGSG and PGSG leaders.

* Friday from the Collectors- September 12 by Joe Bott on footnoteMaven's Shades of the Departed blog. Joe discusses how he got started collecting old photographs and starting his www.DeadFred.com web site with mystery photographs just waiting to be identified.

Thank you to all genealogy bloggers for an interesting and informative week. Did you notice some new blogs on this list? I hope so!

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!

3 comments:

Lidian said...

Thanks for the link, Randy! Alas, it is not a picture of me - but the amazing footnoteMaven found some info on my girl, and I am posting a follow-up on Monday.

I do rather identify with that photo though, I must say! (though do not wear a tutu or any sort of hat)

Terry Thornton said...

Thanks RANDY, for the links. Yes, a blogalanche by Seaver is sure to come! And Randy, another CA blogger tells me California naked ladies are around and about. You just have to look for them!

Thanks, Terry

Kathryn Doyle said...

Thanks, Randy, for another acknowledgment of Mary Mettler's series. She's been a great partner to the California Genealogical Society and Library blog.