With the end of May in sight it’s time for another Inspiring Genealogy Blogs post. The following are a collection of posts that I’ve read over the past month, that I wanted to share with you. This time it’s a bumper list this month and all worthy of a read.

In this edition of Inspiring Genealogy Blogs we cover everything from DNA to letters, instagram, sharing without plagiarizing, old movies, shaky leaves, as well as the deluge of genealogical information and much more.

So grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee, get comfy and enjoy some great reads.

As I mention every time, I find that reading blog posts helps me keep up with the latest news, products as well as what’s happening in general in the world of genealogy. And if you happen to already follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and to some extent Google+, you already know that I like to share with you the interesting things I read.

Understanding Patterns of Inheritance: Where Did My DNA Come From? (And Why It Matters)
Your DNA contains a record of your ancestors, but you aren’t a carbon copy of any one of them. The particular mix of DNA you inherit is unique to you. This chart helps illustrate how different segments that might have been passed from your grandparents to make your DNA different. Read the full article …

The Matter of the Genealogical Suitcase
James Tanner writes about being stopped to open the door for a lady at a University Library who dragging a large rolling suitcase and carrying a load of books and files in her hands. He realised that this was him several years ago – carrying around big piles of notes and research, but  today he wasn’t carrying anything, not even a flash drive. My days of lugging around piles of paper and notes were definitely and completely over.” How portable is your genealogy files? Read the full article …

Ancestors in Motion: Lights, Camera, Action!
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But what’s the value of a film? Michael Dyer of the Family Sleuther blog writes about several grainy film reels which he’d recently had digitized and that show various family outings over the past six decades, and show two of his second great-grandmothers. While a photo is fabulous to have, can you imagine seeing your ancestors ‘in action’? Incredible. Read the full article …

Photographs in the Archives
Archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, libraries and museums often have photograph collections. Melissa Barker is an archivist, and here she shares tips with you about finding old photos of your family in archives, including looking beyond those that are named and identifiable. Read the full article …

Dealing With the Deluge of Information From a Genealogical Standpoint
In another post from James Tanner on his Genealogy’s Star blog, he writes … “Genealogical research is based on examining historical documents. Millions upon millions of those documents are constantly being digitized and added to online programs every day. How can we possibly know whether or not the particular information we are seeking is already online or has been recently added?” So it’s so very true. Read the full article …

Ancestry Shaking Leaf vs Genealogy Brick Wall
We all know about Ancestry’s shaky leaves, and how all too often, they seem to link to others that are irrelevant. So it was nice change to read Nancy’s story of how a shaky leaf smashed her brick wall. Read the full article …

Maximizing Family History Discoveries with a One-Name Study
Ever thought of doing a one-name study? No. Well Susan C. Meates explains just how beneficial  it can be for your research. Read the full article …

Making Letters Come Alive
When you are reading and sharing your family letters, it will be a much richer experience if you take the time to understand the context in which the letter was written. Mary Kircher Roddy gives some fabulous suggestions to get you started in researching the context.  Read the full article …

How to Share Without Plagiarizing
Roberta Estes of the DNA-Explained blog cover a very important topic … sharing and plagiarizing. Social media is made for us to share links and photos, but there is a right way and a wrong way when doing this, and Roberta explains this clearly. Read the full article …

4 Tips for Using Instagram in Your Family History Research
If you think Instagram is only about sharing your quick snaps, think again. There’s a number of ways that it can be useful for your family history , here’s just four. Read the full article …

Happy reading.