The end of May is closing in with June just around the corner, so it is time for the next edition of my Inspiring Blog Posts, and since I didn’t get one out for April – we have a two month batch here, covering those I’ve read in April and May.
In this edition of Inspiring Genealogy Blog posts we have posts that cover: copyright, modern photos, common surnames, lack of paper trail, indexing, education, oral history, genealogy societies, genealogy conferences, going local, disaster planning … and a whole heap more!
Get yourself a coffee, and 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.
I Have a Complaint Concerning Many Genealogists
Dick Eastman shares his opinion of people who complain about freely available records being added to pay-sites, then having to pay for them. Using water as an analogy, he puts forward an argument, that few could argue with. Read the full article …
3 Ways to Find Ancestors Who Didn’t Leave a Paper Trail: What to Do When There are No Records
As researchers we do tend to rely on the paper trail. But what do you do when there is no paper trail? Where do you look then? Will Moneymaker from AncestralFindings.com tells us that just because there are no records, doesn’t mean you can’t find out more about your ancestor and his or her life and family. You simply have to get creative. In this post he shares three proven methods that will help you find them. Read the full article …
Can I Legally Use Online Photos in my Family History?
Kimberley Powell tackles the important question of photographs, and copyright. She says that “Genealogists love images—photos of their ancestors, historical maps, digitised documents, historic photos of places and events… But can we legally use the fabulous photos that we find online in a published family history? A genealogy blog? A research report? What if we only plan to distribute the document that we are creating to a few family members, or are not planning to publish for profit? Does that make a difference?” Read the full article …
Genealogy Unplugged: Getting a Local Perspective
Lisa reminds us the real value of unplugging, and actual visiting by sharing a story that gave her information that she never ever would have found online or in a book! Read the full article …
Who Have you Told?
You just never know when that serendipity moment will happen for you. Someone might overhear you talking about your family, and realise that the names sound familiar – and in fact turn out to be connected to their family. It happens!! Just read Helen’s article on how she finally found a convict ancestor! Read the full article …
The Most Photographed Generation Will Have No Pictures in 10 Years!
This post comes from a photography blog, and he’d being in the photography business Mike Yost would be a person who would know a thing or two about photos. He writes that “it’s been estimated that in the past 5 years, more photos have been taken than all the prior years combined. So what will become of all the pictures that are being taken today?” It is a sad fact that only 1 out of every 100,000 are likely to be printed out. Digital images are no longer important enough to most people to actually keep them in printed form! Read the full article …
Five Dangers of Only Doing Genealogy Online
We all know that “we can’t do it all online”, but did know that doing it all online can is also dangerous for your health? Yes, truly. That is number one in this list of five dangers mentioned in this post of wise words. Read the full article …
How Indexing Can Make You a Better Genealogist
Courtney tells us indexing can make you a better researcher. Not only do “inexperienced genealogists skip over great records all the time, indexing is a fast and fun way to learn about genealogical records. The little things you learn while you’re indexing can be worth years of experience”. She give readers tips on how to make the most out of indexing. Read the full article …
Shhh! A Secret List of Reasons to Attend Your Local Genealogy Conference
In this post Heather has compiled a list of reasons that she used as reasons to NOT attend local genie conferences. You know, one like it’s too far away, I can do everything online, I’m disabled, I don’t have vacation time and a whole heap more. She’s not alone in thinking these are reasons to not attended, however she’s realised that none of these are valid reasons, and tells us why you SHOULD attend your local genie conferences. Read the full article …
The Dead Can be Very Fattening
I had to read this post based on the title … wouldn’t you? In it Nancy writes that she needs to make some fat “disappear from the waistline” of her family tree. She says it needs “to lose weight; become more lanky and taller instead of wider.” But that might be easier said than done. Read the full article …
What Part Must We Play in Our Genealogy?
Pat Richley-Erickson writes an excellent post on the need for educating ourselves. She write how we cannot rely on the helpers at the archive officer to help with our specific need in understanding a particular record. They are there to retrieve records, so we need to educate ourselves – it is our responsibility. She gives readers plenty of links to ways and places they can further their genie education. Read the full article …
Never Assume! Always Confirm!
The title of this pretty much speaks for itself. Sharon writes about an instance of updating her tree, and finding that over 20 trees on Ancestry had the wrong immigration details for an ancestor … and how she found the right one. Read the full article …
Some Thoughts on Oral History
James Tanner relooks at oral history, and all things related. While browsing around online he found that more “guides to oral history” were so out of date, they just weren’t useful. He tells you what he uses for recorded interviews, and gives a number of links that he says are worth checking out for oral history. Read the full article …
Sharing is Caring: Introducing Your Ancestors on Social Media
This article starts off with “If you’ve ever tried – and failed – to hook your family on family history, now is the time to introduce your ancestors on social media.” Melanie suggests sharing “bite-size” pieces of family history – a vintage photograph, a newspaper article, an anecdote and so on. All of these things will help to stir interest in family history for your relatives. She gives readers a number of great suggestions. Read the full article …
An Open Letter to Genealogy Societies
In this post written by Susan Petersen, I believe that she expresses what many feel in that they have been long-time members of various genealogy groups, but has found that they really aren’t getting anything out of certain ones, so choose not to renew their membership. She gives a number of reasons as to where societies fall down by not ‘supporting’ members. This is a worthwhile read for everyone. Read the full article …
All Papers Are Not Created Equal
The Library and Archives Canada blog writes about archival papers in this post. They as the titles suggests, tell us that not all papers are equal (even archival ones). So if you are wanting something to last, it does pay to get good quality, acid free, archival paper. Read the full article …
Copyright Issues Raise Their Ugly Head Again
Copyright seems to be topic that’s been raised for the past few months, and Lorine from the Olive Tree Genealogy blog writes about it here, and what you should do if you find someone copying your blog posts. Read the full article …
Will Genealogy Societies Always Just be There? Not Necessarily
I love this article written by David Pike who is President of a genealogy society in Canada. He writes that “genealogists are well aware that family history and genealogical societies are valuable sources of information and expertise that we can draw upon while pursuing our own individual research. Unfortunately it is also often the case that people are not well acquainted with the struggles faced by genealogical societies. Occasionally accompanying this situation is that some people seem to assume that these societies will always just be there, not necessarily realising that the societies rely upon the generosity of members and donors merely to exist, let alone to thrive.” I recommend that everyone should read this article, as it puts the whole society issue into a new light. Read the full article …
If They Wrote it, Why Don’t All Genealogists Read it? Helping Ourselves
Paula writes about indexes, and collections … and how more than likely some of our ancestors are in various indexes, but how are likely to know if they are or not? Putting it simply … by reading, by attending meetings, by communicating and educating ourselves. Read the full article …
Any Tips for Tracing an Ancestor With a Common Name
”I would like to know if you have any advice on how to trace one’s family with a common surname such as Smith or Jones. Any help is greatly appreciated.” This is the question that was asked, which sparked this blog post. Henry Louis Gates Jr comes up with a great list of ways to tackle this issue. Read the full article …
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Linda wrote this post in response to seeing a number of posts about genealogy being much better in the “old days”. She believes that there is the good, the bad and the ugly to be considered. Read the full article …
If You Thought Genealogy Was Boring …
Lisa nails it with the scenarios which make genealogy so compelling that it’s addictive. And you ask any researcher – they will tell you that real life is far more interesting than any tv show or movie!! Read the full article …
Plan Ahead: Protect Your Genealogy From Disaster
It goes without saying that everyone should have a disaster plan for their genealogy. If you have minutes (if that) to up and leave will you lose your genealogy in the process? Josh Taylor writes about how to safeguard your home, how to backup, safeguarding family heirlooms, what to do when disaster strikes, and to plan ahead All very wise words, and one that everyone should read and take heed of. Read the full article …
Happy reading 😉
