Best of the Genea-Blogs - December 28, 2008 -January 3, 2009

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:

* My Top Ten Genealogy Favorites for 2008 by Lisa Louise Cooke on the Genealogy Gems News blog. Lisa has some interesting favorites - check them out!

* Are we forgetting to buy tomatoes? by Pat Richley on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat has sage advice for those researchers who are looking for records in all the wrong places.

* Looking Back at Content Added During 2008 at WorldVitalRecords.com by Whitney Ransom McGowan on the WorldVitalRecords.com blog. I wish that all web sites did this every month or every quarter, don't you?

* When Times Change by Donna Pointkouski on the What's Past is Prologue blog. Donna laments and celebrates the passing of an old friend, and reminds us that we are the old timers of tomorrow.

* Article about Graveyard Rabbits in Monroe Journal by Terry Thornton on The Graveyard Rabbit blog. Terry gets well deserved publicity about the Association of Graveyard Rabbits in his local newspaper.

* 9 Genealogy Predictions for 2009 by Mark Tucker on the ThinkGenealogy blog. Mark's crystal ball is working overtime - I sure hope he's right!

* Tuesday's Tip: Organizing Digital Research Notes, Emails and Reports by Miriam Midkiff on the Ancestories: Stories of my Ancestors blog. Miriam continues her series on being a digitally organized genealogist. This series should be a magazine article or two!

* Getting the Most out of your Genealogy Society Speaker by Gena Philibert Ortega on the Gena's Genealogy blog. Gena has great suggestions for societies and attendees about program speakers.

* Draft as Many Versions as Needed for Clarity, Part 1 and Part 2 by Emily Aulicino on the Writing Your Memories blog. Emily continues her series about EDIT with two posts about the D word - Draft.

* New Year’s Eve by Craig Manson on the Geneablogie blog. Craig reviews 2008, and hands out his own Kudos awards. I really like this list!

* Genetic Genealogy in the News - January 1, 2009 by Blaine Bettinger on the Genetic Genealogist blog. Blaine has a roundup of recent articles and blogs about Genetic Genealogy.

* Finally Get Organized: January 2009 Check List by Pat Richley on the DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog. Pat shares her updated organization list for January - this is a keeper (at www.DearMYRTLE.com/09/JanuaryOrganizationChecklist.pdf).

* Drilling a little deeper in the Illinois State Archives online by Harold Henderson on the Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog. Harold covers the Illinois State Archives site like a blanket, and shows us some of the hidden jewels.

* United States Vital Records Online by Gena Philibert Ortega on the Gena's Genealogy blog. Gena provides an up-to-date list of online resources for vital records.

* Carnival of Gernealogy, 63rd Edition by Jasia on the Creative Gene blog. Forty genea-bloggers share their New Years resolutions/goals. The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: A Winter Photo Essay.

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 - all bloggers appreciate feedback on what they write.

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

Have you noticed that I created a blog category for all of the Best of the Genea-Blog posts in the Labels below this post? Click on it if you've missed earlier editions of BOTG-B.