Genealogy Blogging Beat – Monday, May 20, 2013

genealogy blogging beat

Today is Monday, May 20, 2013, and here is what’s available in terms of Daily Blogging Prompts and other related events in the genealogy blogosphere:

Items of Note

Daily Blogging Prompts

Amanuensis Monday – An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin – some we never met – others we see a time in their life before we knew them. A fuller explanation can be found here.


Madness Monday – create a post with the main focus being an ancestor who either suffered some form of mental illness or an ancestor who might be hard to locate and drives you mad. This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Mappy Monday – do maps, deeds and land records factor in to your family history? Join us for Mappy Monday where you can post map images and how they relate to your research or discuss other aspects of land ownership and your ancestors. Several members of GeneaBloggers suggested this type of theme and in fact Holly Spencer of Ravenna Area Historical Society Blog has been using this theme since March 2009.


Maritime Monday – Post about anything to do with the sea: ancestors who were sailors, shipwrights, fishermen, or coastguards including images, records and links. Maritime Monday is an ongoing series created by Ros Haywood at the GenWestUK blog.

Matrilineal Monday – Post about the female line of one of your families you are researching. Matrilineal Monday is an ongoing series by Jennifer Geraghty-Gorman of ‘On a flesh and bone foundation’: An Irish History.


Military Monday – We all have ancestors who have served in the military. Military Monday is a place to post their images, stories and records of their service in various branches of the military. Military Monday is an ongoing series by Cindy at Everything’s Relative – Researching Your Family History.


Mobile Monday – Do you use mobile applications on a SmartPhone to assist with your genealogy research? Post a review of any applications you’ve used or post about what you’d like to see in a mobile application related to genealogy. This is an ongoing series created by A.C. Ivory of the Find My Ancestor blog.

Motivation Monday – do you have a set of genealogy-related goals you want to tackle? Do you have tips on getting motivated? Whether you want to lend advice or you need advice, participate in Motivation Monday at your blog and tell us what’s on your genealogical plate. This is an ongoing series created by Dionne Kurti at Finding Josephine.

Mystery Monday – Closely related to Madness Monday only these missing ancestors might not cause madness! Mystery Monday is where you can post about mystery ancestors or mystery records – anything in your genealogy and family history research which is currently unsolved. This is a great way to get your fellow genealogy bloggers to lend their eyes to what you’ve found so far and possibly help solve the mystery. Several genealogy bloggers have been using Mystery Monday as an ongoing series including Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings, Kathleen Moore of The Misadventures of a Genealogist and Betty Tartas of Betty’s Boneyard Genealogy Blog.

To ensure that your blog post is included in the “roll-up” widgets below, include the name of the blogging theme in your post title. Examples: Black Sheep Sunday – Honey Dijon; Tombstone Tuesday – Ida Slapter.

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If you would like your event or Daily Blogging Prompt included, please contact Geneabloggers at geneabloggers [at] gmail [dot] com.

©2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Blogging Beat – Sunday, May 19, 2013

Today is Sunday, May 19, 2013, and here is what’s available in terms of Daily Blogging Prompts and other related events in the genealogy blogosphere:

Items of Note

  • Jim Sanders at Hidden Genealogy Nuggets has started a weekly blogging prompt series entitled Genealogy By The States. Click here to read more. This week’s prompt: Mississippi.

Daily Blogging Prompts

Black Sheep Sunday – create a post with the main focus being an ancestor with a “shaded past.” Bring out your ne’er-do-wells, your cads, your black widows, your horse thieves and tell their stories. And don’t forget to check out the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists (IBSSG). This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

NEW! Census Sunday – State & Federal census sheets are filled with information for genealogists. Both the population & non-population schedules give us insights into the lives of our ancestors. What have you found that is Surprising? Reassuring? Bewildering? Census Sunday is a daily blogging prompt suggested by Colleen Pasquale of Leaves and Branches.

Church Record Sunday – describe a specific church record or a set of records held by a church or denomination and how they can assist genealogists. This is an ongoing series developed by Gena Philibert Ortega at Gena’s Genealogy.



Sentimental Sunday – discuss a sentimental story or memory about an ancestor, or maybe even a family tradition that touches you. This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers and was suggested by Renate Sanders at Into the Light.

Sunday’s Obituary – if you have obituaries of family members and ancestors, consider posting them along with other information about that person as part of Sunday’s Obituary. This is an ongoing series developed by Leslie Ann at Ancestors Live Here.

To ensure that your blog post is included in the “roll-up” widgets above, include the name of the blogging theme in your post title. Examples: Black Sheep Sunday – Crystal DeCanter; Tombstone Tuesday – Emma Grate.

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If you would like your event or Daily Blogging Prompt included, please contact Geneabloggers at geneabloggers [at] gmail [dot] com.

©2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee

New Genealogy Blogs May 18, 2013

Newly-Discovered Genealogy Blogs at GeneaBloggers

There are 6 newly-discovered genealogy and family-history related blogs that we’ve located this week. Remember to try and help out these new blogs by:

  • using any follow feature listed on the blog
  • adding them to your blog reader
  • adding a comment on their blog saying “hi” and “welcome”

Here are this week’s new listings:

aunt kate

Aunt Kate
http://auntkatefirmin.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

This is a family history blog that focuses on my Firmin family research, beginning in east London in the late Georgian era.  Not only do these musings relate my attempts to get past my “brick walls”, but they explore a bit of the fabric of daily life for my ancestors and the blog allows me to post and answer questions of interest while incorporating visuals, maps and links.   Also, it’s not as messy as sewing, beading and paper-making!

I am working on a book that will feature Aunt Kate’s correspondence with her English cousins starting in the post-war years.

The primary family names (so far) are Firmin, Hall, and Kenning.  I’m happy to hear from you whether you are a distant cousin or simply a “friend of the family”.

The header is from a portrait of Kate Maud Firmin, my great aunt.

knowing william

Knowing William
http://williamparkfamilyhistory.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

A genealogy study of Irish immigrant to Philadelphia turned Civil War veteran, William Park. In getting to know William, we will explore different record types and research strategies for your family history including immigration, military, census records, and house history. In each blog post I will cover new discoveries or case studies and a corresponding “how to” to help you build your family tree. I am so excited to become a geneablogger and I cannot wait to connect with long-lost cousins!

posts about dead relatives

Posts About Dead Relatives
http://genepoolneedschlorine.com
Blog type: Individual family history

My most recent obsession is genealogy. I was adopted at birth and have spent forty years searching and eventually finding my biological family. I also have researched my adopted family and even some other unrelated (to me) families. It is the thrill of the hunt that keeps me interested in genealogy.

Genealogy is a puzzle. It is exciting to find new pieces that fit and to read our ancestors’ stories. I especially love digging up newspaper articles and photos.

Along with genealogy, I mainly enjoy sedentary activities. I play bridge, read, play games online, etc. I have tried to use the computer while riding on a stationery bike, but either I or the computer would always fall off. The one daily physical activity I perform is walking my Rat Terriers, Gomez and Tito.

Through the genealogy, I have joined Daughters of the American Revolution and The Mayflower Society. I also joined Mensa many years ago and have attended events in Cambridge, Nottingham, London and Orkney (Scotland). The British Isles are very comfortable to me as that is where the majority of my DNA comes from. I’ve tested my personal DNA on both familyfinderdna.com and 23andme.com.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Reisterstown Lutheran Community Cemetery

Reisterstown Lutheran Community Cemetery
http://reisterstowncemetery.blogspot.com
Blog type: Cemetery blog, Maryland genealogy

A few years ago, I photographed the gravestones at the old Lutheran Community Cemetery in Reisterstown, Maryland to contribute to the Find-A-Grave website.  Along the way, I did some basic genealogy research on the nearly 700 people buried in the cemetery.  So now, using that research, I’m doing a monthly blog about the families interred in there.  As part of this project, I’ve included a copy of my cemetery transcription.

stirring the pot

Stirring The Pot
http://kkgenealogy.com/blog-2/
Blog type: Australian genealogy, Individual family history

KKGenealogy is proud to offer our family history to those interested in learning more about their ancestors than just birth, death and marriage dates.

We have spent years researching various lines of our family and delving deeper and deeper into the real stories behind the names.  This hard work has been very fruitful in piecing together the day to day lives of each ancestor.  We are now happy to announce that we feel so confident in our research that we are ready to share it with interested descendants.

Our aim is not to say that we have the complete story, but to offer a richer knowledge of our ancestors, in the hope that other genealogists will continue the stories based on our research.

tracing my roots

Tracing My Roots: Who Do I Think I Am?
http://betsysfamilyroots.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Who am I? That’s the question I ask myself all the time. I didn’t grow up in any one place as I was a Navy brat. I was born in Connecticut, but that was just a starting point. In order, I’ve lived in Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Connecticut, Florida, California, Washington, Maryland, and Washington (where I’ve been living since 1994). This blog is all about my journey in tracing my family history. I think when I finish, if that’s even possible, I’ll find out that I’m related to everyone.

© 2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee