Follow Friday Starring The Educated Genealogist

It's the end of the week and you know what that means? Follow Friday!

This week's recommendation is one of the first genealogy blogs I read. This person has a great writing voice (and her sultry real voice isn't bad, either). She's smart, honest and very funny. Who is she? Sheri Fenley aka The Educated Genealogist, of course!

Any time Sheri goes to a big genealogy event, she blogs about it. She's known for her "Sheri Goes to Samford" series where she gives a play-by-play of her experiences. Here are the links to 2008 and 2009.

She also writes the popular "The Year Was..." series for Shades of the Departed and is instrumental in the production of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.

I hope you enjoy Sheri's blog as much as I have. She puts the fun in genealogy and is a great asset to the blogging community.

Follow Friday Starring Genea-Musings

There's a custom on Twitter that every Friday, you give some publicity love and a little shout out to your favorite folks, followers and friends. Recently, the tradition has gravitated over to the blogosphere. I've decided to play along and will spotlight a favorite blog or web site (almost) every Friday.

I've decided to start the series with one of the first genealogy blogs I ever read. Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings is one of the more prominent genealogy blogs out there (Randy will argue that, but it's true). I know he has a large list of followers because whenever he mentions my blog, I get a spike in traffic. When Randy talks, people listen.

And what does Randy talk about? Everything! He likes technology and is always the first to try new online toys, software, etc. He offers honest commentary and numerous screenshots of the genealogy products or services he's testing. I'm not a fan of reading instruction manuals, so Randy's reviews help me make decisions and cater to my short attention span. I trust his opinion.

Randy also talks about his own genealogy adventures. He's active in his local community societies and describes their events. He's also a California native and I enjoy reading his historical take on my home state. Lastly, Randy often speaks lovingly of his family and I admire that. When I met his wife in Burbank this past June, I felt like I was meeting a celebrity because he's talked about her so much. (I think all genealogy bloggers are celebrities. I need to start collecting autographs).

If you only have time to read a few blogs, you can't go wrong by including Genea-Musings in the mix. You'll learn a lot, and Randy may even show you his funny t-shirts.

Welcome, Podcast Visitors

I've seen a spike in traffic of visitors from Lisa Louise Cooke's Family History #40 podcast, Why You Need a Blog and How to Do It, Part 1. I'd just like to say welcome to those who clicked through.

Thank you for stopping by my little blog! Let me tell you a little bit about the place: it's a multi-subject genealogy blog. Sometimes I talk about techy things and their relation to genealogy. Sometimes I talk about the personal research I'm doing in the hope that someone else will be looking for the same ancestors. Sometimes I just talk to myself because I like to talk about genealogy.

Hopefully, Lisa's podcast convinced you to start your own genealogy blog. If you feel that you can't measure up to other bloggers, allow me to prove that anyone can blog with the following examples:

1. You don't need to be a master of fine grammar.
I write like I speak, straight from the hip in a conversational tone. I make up words like DARing, which is a verb. It is the act performing research in the DAR databases.

2. You don't have to have a fancy blog layout.
Look at this blog, people. It's got all the color and pizazz of a hotel sheet. I could improve it, but I just haven't had the time. This simple white action gets the job done for now.

3. There are no rules, unless you want rules because it's your blog.
My rule is that I can do whatever I want because it's my blog. I don't have a specific theme because that's not how my genealogy adventures roll. My research is all over the place and so is my blog. I have fun with it. Hopefully others do, too.

4. Genealogists are the nicest people in the world.
The will welcome you, support you, and follow you. All you need to do is take the first step of starting a genealogy blog.

Hopefully my exposure as the least-exciting village idiot of geneabloggers will give you the boost you need to launch your own blog. In all sincerity, the friends I've met, the research strides I've made, and the family tree advancements I've accomplished have made this one of the best experiences of my life. I love what I do. I love writing this blog. And I'd love reading about yours too.

Drop me a line, or leave a comment when you're blog is up and running so I can add it to my Google Reader. Thanks again for visiting We Tree. I hope you'll stick around and see what new discoveries I find and what words I can make up next.

25 Great Ideas for Genealogy Society Blogs

Maintaining a blog for your local genealogy society is an economical (often free) way to publicize your group and attract new members. Blogging is very easy and minimal technical knowledge is needed. In fact, the biggest challenge is keeping blog posts fresh and current. Here are 25 ideas to get your society’s genealogy blog up and running:

1. On the first of each month, list the society’s upcoming events.
Remind members what’s on the calendar and advertise to potential members what your society is all about. This subject provides at least nine posts if your group takes summers off, and twelve posts if your group meets year-round.

2. Invite youth genealogists to be guest bloggers. This blogging idea is win/win--your society gets a fresh look on issues and youth genealogists are brought into the organization. Having a bi-monthly guest blogger you give you six posts of new material.

3. Spotlight a current society member. Give a little love to a long-time member or stand-out volunteer.

4. Write a tribute to a society member no longer with us. Use your blog to preserve some of your society’s history. Write about a deceased member who helped make your society what it is today.

5. Share descriptions of your society’s events. This is your chance to spotlight the fun and informative happenings in your society. Warning: may attract new members!

6. List volunteer opportunities. Use your blog to recruit volunteers.
Many folks are under the impression that a volunteer gig takes a lot of time and special expertise. Announce some of your society’s opportunities and see what happens.

7. Share the table of contents and/or brief descriptions of your society’s newsletter. Show potential members all the informational treasures to which they would gain access if they became members.

8. Highlight an item in your library’s collection. Don’t have a collection? Describe an item that would be helpful for society members to know about.

9. Use your blog as a forum to get member feedback. If your society has ideas forming in the pipeline, blog posts are a good way to get opinions. If you feel such an open forum could lead to heated debate, comment moderation can be used.

10. Publicize your society’s events, meetings or booth location at upcoming conferences. This is a great way to advertise your group and reach out to others who will be at the same event.

11. Publicize local events outside the society that may be of interest to members. Show blog readers that your society is on the pulse of what’s happening in the genealogy world.

12. Report on genealogy conference attendance. Wrangle up members who attend regional or national conferences and have them share their experiences, new ideas, etc.

13. Give tips on genealogy conference attendance for first-time attendees. Encourage others to attend local and regional conferences and give them advice on how to make the most of their time.

14. Share photos of your society’s events. This is an easy, fast way to show others the great work that goes on in your society.

15. Share old photos and comment on them. Use photos from your library or invite members to share old local photos. Provide comments, stories and/or memories of the past in your area.

16. Prepare mini-histories of local buildings, houses and landmarks. Locate old buildings in your society’s area and describe their history. This is a great way to attract potential new members. Share your historical blog posts with local press and maybe you’ll get even more publicity for your group.

17. Talk about major historical events and their impact on your local area. The way to get others interested in history (and genealogy) is relate events to their lives.

18. Reminisce about old businesses and restaurants in your society’s area. Remember the old diner? That store that sold that candy? This is another great idea to get others interested in local history (and new members to boot).

19. Write about celebrities and notorious folks from the area.
Important people all come from somewhere. Talk about yours!

20. Share surnames of society members. When you’re running low on blog ideas, offer up some member surnames. Provide details on location and scope of search and see if there are any distant cousins out there.

21. Have an advice column. Do society members approach officers with research questions? Use your blog to publish the answers.

22. Present genealogy brick walls and invite readers to assist in solving the research problems. This is an easy way to get readers involved in your blog.

23. Offer research tips and tricks. There’s always something new to learn with genealogy research.

24. Highlight local cemeteries. Each cemetery is unique as are the people buried there. Discuss some of the unique characteristics of the location and the people.

25. Interview an elderly local citizen and preserve history. This is a fantastic way to honor our elders, preserve their stories and draw the attention of potential society members.


These 25 ideas are enough to give your blog about two posts a month. If you use these topics more than once, you’ll get even more material and more opportunities to reach out to current and potential members.

These tips are available in document format for distribution during genealogy events. Please contact me (email address is at the top right of this blog) for permission to use and access to the file. Thank you.

Oh Yeah, I Went There: A Case for Genealogy 2.0

During a lull at the Texas Library Association annual conference today, I browsed around on the Internet and read an amusing blog post on the unreliability of genealogy blogs. Don't you see? It was a blog post on why blogs are bad sources for information. Hello pot? Kettle calling. Do you know where I was when I read it? At a library presentation put on by professional researchers titled, "Genealogy and Web 2.0." I can't make this stuff up, folks.

Web 2.0 tools, including blogs and wikis, are designed for collaboration which is a welcome gift to the genealogy world. Without jumbled technical code and computer languages, non-techy people can now put out their information and reach audiences world wide. This is a great time to be a genealogist.

True, a small fraction of information may be inaccurate, and all information needs to be verified, but why dismiss these tools outright? Junk comes through the mail. Does that mean we throw out everything in the box without a glance? No. We sort the junk from the valid correspondence and take what we need. The same actions happen with thorough researchers who utilize the tools provided in blogs and wikis to further their pursuits. Ignoring the information put forth by these tools is akin to sticking your head in the library door and saying, "nothing here for me" without walking the stacks and checking the catalogs.

Blogs, wikis and other fancy networking options are new to the genealogy world. They are not new to the broader research and academic worlds. Way back in the ancient Internet time of 2001, I spent two years and several thousand dollars attaining a graduate degree in which I honed online research skills and studied the latest methods of information organization and preservation. The discussion on the validity of these tools was brief as students and professors alike saw the value in their use then. Why dismiss their use now unless the reason is that you don't know how to properly use them?

To say blogs are bad for genealogy is uninformed and irresponsible. You are either looking in the wrong place or not looking at all. If Web 2.0 tools are not valid for research and collaboration, then you need to inform Case Western Reserve University, Washington State University, UConn, and Johns Hopkins University that their wikis are not qualified venues for sharing information. You also need to tell the head of the largest library school in the United States, this well-respected digitization expert and Dear Myrtle herself that Second Life is not an appropriate learning environment. While you're at it, tell President Obama to stop his Twittering, as it is clearly an ineffective way to communicate.

I realize I am probably preaching to the choir, but I do not want to see the genealogy discipline left behind because of a refusal to test and and embrace the latest tools to organize and share information.

Arguing about the invalidity of Web 2.0 tools is like arguing about the need for one of those newfangled telephone lines. The debate was over long ago and now you just sound silly. If you really want to look like you're hip with the times, argue over Web 3.0 technologies and get back to me never. I'll be here doing my part to move the genealogy field forward.

In the Spotlight: Ernie's Journeys

I don't normally play favorites in the blog love department because each blog deserves attention for all of the hard work that's put into it. However, I'm going to make an exception and move Ernest Margheim to the front of the class.

He is the author of the Ernie's Journeys blog. He is also a great storyteller sharing bits of his life from the last 87 years. Yes, I said 87 years.

I encourage you to put Ernie's Journeys on your list. It's like a living history book only funner and with better pictures.

Get Yourself a Google Reader

I know there are some family and friends out there reading this blog that check it several times day to see if I have updated.

I personally read about 200 blogs. Not all of them are updated daily, but there's no way I'd ever have the time to check each one individually to see what's new.

Google Reader keeps track of my blog subscriptions and tells me when they are updated.

This tool isn't hard to use. You just have to take some time to figure it out. Fortunately, there's a blog post out there called Google Reader for Beginners. How did I find out about this handy lesson? It came through my Google Reader, of course.

Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog. 52 Ideas. 52 Weeks. Part 2

There are so many ideas, this piece is divided into 2 parts. Begin with Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog, 52 Ideas. 52 Weeks. Part 1, then continue to ideas 27-52 below:

27. Visit the graves of local celebrities. Talk about their lives. The word “celebrity” is used very loosely here. Just do some research and you’ll find some fascinating people buried within. Tell your readers about these past lives and they’ll be hooked on your blog.

28. Write about the genealogy software you use. Comment on any tips, tricks or complaints you may have about the product.

29. Write about your favorite genealogy web sites. It seems like a new web site pops up every day. Tell us about the ones you like best.

30. Write about your experiences with social networking tools for genealogy purposes. Do you use MySpace, Facebook or Twitter? Are you a wiki kind of person? None of the above? Tell readers about your experiences with these tools and watch your own social network grow.

31. Have a family member be a guest blogger. Let a family member take the reins and provide a different perspective for a post or two. If you can’t find anyone to take the job, interview a relative and spotlight the person yourself.

32. Update older posts. If you find more information related to a previous post, create an update post. Link to the older posts to refresh readers’ memories, then give us the details on new discoveries.

33. Highlight the good work of others. List your favorite posts of the week/month/year. This is an easy way to give some blog love and write an easy post. You can use this idea as little or as much as you want.

34. Share a photo that conjures mixed emotions in you. Explain why this is the case as you detail the who/what/when/where/why of the subject matter.

35. Talk about an orphan picture containing people you do not know. Provide comments on your best guess about date, place, subjects.

36. Talk about military battles and your ancestors’ connections to them.

37. Talk about historical events and your ancestors’ connections to them.

38. Talk about natural disasters and your ancestors’ connections to them.

39. Did your ancestors come by boat? Talk about the documentation that records their departure and arrival.

40. Discuss on your ancestors’ land records. Where did they live? Who were their neighbors?

41. Talk about any unusual occupations your ancestors had.

42. Campaign for the politicians in your family tree. If you don’t have one, research the political leaders in your ancestors’ city, county, or state and share the information on your blog.

43. Go directly to jail and talk about your ancestors in the slammer.

44. Dig around the patent office. Talk about your creative ancestors and their inventions. You can also pick a patent and research the registrant.

45. Extra, read all about it! Do you have an ancestor featured in a newspaper article that wasn’t an obituary? Share the article (or a bit of it if there are copyright concerns) on your blog.

46. Comment on obituaries in your collection. Obits come in all shapes and sizes. Share some of the stand-outs with readers.

47. Seek help for records that don’t make sense. Do you have a census page or family record that contains information that just doesn’t add up? Discuss it in your blog and see if readers can help.

48. Open up the ancestral military and pension files. Talk about the records contained within.

49. Use your blog like a sounding board for research plans. Sometimes it helps to write down what you want to do, so you can plan how to do it.

50. Ask questions on your blog. Get answers from readers. Need to find a record? Need to know the parking situation at a big repository? Throw the questions out there and see what happens.

51. Talk about the email discussion lists to which you belong. Are they great? Too quiet? Informative? Let readers know.

52. Discuss your favorite genealogy publication. Why do you like it? Is it worth the money? How would you improve it?

There you go! 52 blog writing ideas for 52 weeks of the year. Use these prompts for times when you’re stuck about something to write about. Hopefully, genealogy blog writing will evolve from a resolution to a wonderful habit that’s automatic.

[Edit: Due to spammers targeting this particular post, I've had disable comments here. I am very sorry for this. If you'd like to comment on this post or have questions, feel free to email me using the address listed on the side of this blog. Thanks!]

Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog. 52 ideas. 52 weeks. Part 1

As quick review of genealogy blogs shows that many bloggers have made resolutions to write more about genealogy in 2009. Yes, you should blog more about genealogy! Carve out a little time for yourself (that means make an appointment for YOU and put it on your calendar). If you have a little writer’s block, don't worry. Help is on the way

Below are some genealogy blog prompts to jump start your brain. There are 52 in all, one for each week of the year. These are not intended to be done in order. Skip around and repeat all you want, so long as you have fun!

1. Upload your favorite picture and talk about it on your blog. Answer the who/what/when/where/why of the subject matter and explain why it is your favorite.

2. Participate in carnivals. A blog carnival is a showcase of bloggers’ posts on a given topic. Genealogy bloggers LOVE carnivals because there’s something for everyone. To learn about when these showcase-type events are happening, read others’ genealogy blogs. Someone’s always talking about a carnival.

3. Participate in weekly blog themes: Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, etc. Many genealogy bloggers post photos of grave stones on Tombstone Tuesday or a photo worth 1,000 silent words on Wordless Wednesday. Participate in these informal events or invent your own.

4. Take a genealogy day trip and blog about it. Discover the local history and genealogy in your area. Take a trip to a cemetery or other historic location. Describe the day, what you learned, where you went, how it looked, how it sounded. Armchair genealogists will love the mini travelogue.

5. Talk about your genealogy adventures while on vacation. Doesn’t everyone plan a little genealogy visit during vacation? Take your readers along for the ride.

6. Let readers in to your kitchen. Discuss your family’s favorite foods. What was a typical Sunday dinner in your childhood house? What did grandma make that had you coming back for more? Were there any dishes that the dog wouldn’t even eat?

7. Share your holiday traditions. How did you spend the 4th of July? Did the fire truck ever come to your house on Thanksgiving? Share your memories of all holidays, not just the December ones.

8. Talk about highlights and events from your local genealogy society. Most genealogy bloggers are members of several historical societies and love to hear about the events in other organizations. This is also a great way to attract new members.

9. Attend a local genealogy presentation and talk about the experience. How was the speaker? How was the venue? How did the event help your personal research? Talk about the day, but use caution when discussing the subject matter in detail. The information presented belongs to the speaker(s). Posting part or all of the presentation would violate copyright.

10. Attend a national conference and blog about it! Genealogists who can’t make the conference will appreciate the first-person account of the action. Exercise the same copyright caution as mentioned in #9.

11. Have a unique record filing system? Share your secrets! Every genealogist has a stack of paper and an individual way of organizing the pile. Share your way of tackling the record mountain and help others get organized!

12. Use your blog to break down a brick wall. Posting a name may ring a bell with a reader. Maybe you’ll make a connection in 5 minutes. May be it will take 2 years. Either way, asking for help is the first step to knocking down that wall.

13. Have expertise in a specific area of study? Share your knowledge! If you’ve lived in the same town for 60 years, you have something to share. If you’re a librarian in your day job, you have something to share. If you read Civil War history books for fun, you have something to share. If you’re walking on this Earth, you have something to share.

14. Talk about the different types of technology you use in your genealogy research. Whether it’s a new search engine, a special application, or anything else “2.0,” let readers know what you’re working with, and how it’s working for you.

15. List some vital signs. Talk about specific birth, marriage and death certificates. Topics may include misspelled names, fudged dates, other anomalies that stand out in your records.

16. Goals. Not just for resolutions anymore. Write down your genealogy goals. Then you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished.

17. Make a research task list. Posting these items to will help you get your tasks done, and may encourage readers to do the same.

18. Showcase a favorite blog or blogger. This is a great way to share some blog love and introduce readers to new genealogy writers.

19. Describe your favorite records repository. Why is it your favorite? What types of records does it contain? Do you have any advice for first-time visitors?

20. Talk about a least favorite records searching experience. Did you have a run-in with a cranky court clerk? Did you butt heads with an over-protective records manager? Share your pain on your blog and commiserate with others who have put up their genealogical dukes in the name of family history.

21. Lessons learned. Fess up to your research mistakes so others can learn from them.

22. Dish the dirt on your celebrity ancestors. Don’t have a movie star in the tree? Then talk about ancestors famous for other reasons. This is your chance to be an historical gossip columnist!

23. Talk about anything that’s haunted. Readers love spooky genealogy.

24. Document a genealogy event with photos and share in your blog. Show others how much fun your local luncheon can be, or how your genealogy field trip turned into a landslide of books. Don’t forget to get permission before posting photos of others.

25. Visit a cemetery and talk about your ancestors buried there. Bring their stories to life for your readers.

26. Visit a cemetery. Take photos and comment on unusual/unique grave monuments. Most cemeteries have at least a monument or two that make you stop and look, so do just that. Take a picture of the grave marker that made you pause and tell us why it did so.

On to part 2, ideas 27-52...

[Edit: Due to spammers targeting this particular post, I've had disable comments here. I am very sorry for this. If you'd like to comment on this post or have questions, feel free to email me using the address listed on the side of this blog. Thanks!]

DRT Blog

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas have a blog. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library is part of the Alamo complex in San Antonio, Texas.

Thanks to the Genealogy Round Table of the Texas Library Association (I am a member of both) for pointing out the DRT's blog.

Found Cameras and Orphan Pictures

The blog Found Camera and Orphan Pictures seeks to reunite found cameras, film and memory cards with their lost photographers. Often the "found" posts list hundreds of photos and describe vacations, weddings and other important events in one's life. It's sad to think of these people losing part of their history.

What I like about this blog is that there are a number of success stories and happy reunions of owners and their photos.

"We" Made the Blogfinder

This blog is part of the Genealogy Blogfinder now. Woo hoo!

Pick me, pick me!

I love the Genealogy Blog Finder. It's better organized than many of the directories I've seen in the library world.

I submitted this little blog for submission consideration into the index. I'd love to be part of the group.