There are 15 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:

Anne’s Family History
http://ayfamilyhistory.blogspot.com.au
Blog type: Australian genealogy, Individual family history

Expanding from the tree and trying to tell some of the stories behind the names and dates I have collected. Main families are Champion de Crespigny, Boltz, Cudmore, Cavenagh-Mainwaring, Manock, Dana, Young, Cross, Plowright, Sullivan, Gilbart, Way.

Branches, Leaves and Trees
http://branchesleavesandtrees.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

I am a twenty something (okay a lot lot older than that lol) woman who likes working on her famly tree, scrapbooking, crocheting, and country music. Things I don’t like? Doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom, anything that requires manual labor. My guilty pleasure is watching the Bachelor/ Bachelorette reality tv series. I started this blog with the hope that I will learn more about genealogy and connect with some other people searching my surnames.

Every Stone Is A Story
http://everystone.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Researching these surnames; Baker/McCollum; Fosher/Hayes; Denby/McMaster; Pollack/Skeen; Jones/Miller; Skidmore/Mossberger; McDaniel/Otts; Dawson/Morrison.

Family History and Other Things
http://wilsongenealogy.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

This blog is about the genealogy of my family, including the surnames Wells, Belknap, Gisel, Wilson, Oakes/Ochs, Moore, Bolt.  What led me to this is an inheritance of old family photographs.  There are some great pictures of relatives I know well and ones I had never even heard of.  I wanted to put some of them and their stories up on the web in case any long lost cousins out there would like to share.  I’ve also put up some photos from some genealogical journeys my family and I have made.

Gran’s Family History
http://gransfamilyhistory.com
Blog type: Individual Family History

I love history! I am one of those people, you know the ones who want to pull over at every historical marker while on a road trip.  I was smiling while writing that because of the many times I had my husband back the car up because he went flying past a marker! He eventually learned.

I nearly drove my kids crazy when we vacationed in England for three weeks in the summer of 2006. Everyday as we were driving I was yelling at them to quick look out the window and see that Norman church or that Roman aqueduct, or that beautiful manor house, etc., etc. They would look and then roll their eyes, and say, “Mom, we know!”

My love of history is a big reason why I love genealogy and family history research and traveling. I don’t just want to collect facts about my ancestors, I also want to know their histories, their hardships and triumphs and failures. None of them were saints, they were real flesh and blood people with hopes and desires for the future. There were some “bad” characters and some “good” that tried to make a positive impact. I think most were pretty common, honest and hard-working. There are a few ancestral Royals in our line and we have a cousin-connection to the current Royal family, but most of our “people” were of the ordinary type that persevered through immigration, exile, economic and physical hardships, some more graceful than others, but they have all left their impact on the world through their descendants today.

The world is a big, wonderful place, full of amazing people, places and cultures and this blog is my attempt to share some of our family’s contribution to it!

My name is Teresa (Hamilton/Pepper) Rust.  I’ve been married to Brad Rust for 37 years and we have four children ages 17 to 27, two lads and two lasses.

Our eldest daughter is married, and she and her husband have given us our beautiful grandson, Aidan, our first grandchild!

I have spent nearly 36 years, off and on, researching my family history.  My ancestry is primarily Scottish, Irish, and English, with some German and a small amount of Swiss and French thrown in! A typical American ancestry!

Besides my family…my other interests include: writing, history, traveling: especially Scotland, Ireland and England, Jane Austen, classical literature, and knitting.

Granpa’s Family History
http://grandpasfamilyhistory.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Welcome to Grandpa’s Family History where the ancestry of Grandpa Rust will be shared for all of the family to enjoy. I am Teresa Rust aka “Gran” and I am the keeper of our family history and so I will be posting on his behalf, because, quite frankly, I know more about his ancestry than he does.

This blog will primarily feature Grandpa’s: RUST, BOETTNER, PAGET and BOOTHBY surnames with their lateral lines such as WHITE, MILLER, HILTON, and so on.

Sign up with your email address to receive updates!

Grandpa Rust is first and foremost a family man! He has been married to Gran since 1975 and is the father of four amazing and diverse children, currently aged 17 to 27.

His eldest daughter and her husband are the parents of his first little grand-baby and so that is where the “grandpa” comes in to play, literally, play with Aidan…

Grandpa is also a hard working Soil Scientist on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in beautiful Northern California.

John Hamilton, Scottish Prisoner of War
http://johnhamiltonofscotland.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history, Military History blog, Scottish genealogy

We are a group of Hamilton descendants working together, via the Internet, to gather as much information as possible about our immigrant ancestor, John Hamilton.

We’ve been researching and sharing together at our Yahoo Group since 3 October 2007 and find that we now need a permanent location to document our ancestor and to be able to share with newcomers in an easier fashion.

It will take a few days, weeks, and probably months to get all of our current documents and photos etc. uploaded here from our Yahoo Group site. Stay tuned, and subscribe to our blog so you’ll receive future updates! Thanks!

Lowcountry Roots
http://www.lowcountryroots.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history, South Carolina genealogy

Sharing information and learning about my ancestors from the South Carolina Lowcountry. I have always been fascinated by the past, from learning about my ancestors to just knowing how daily life was for people who lived centuries ago.

New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Blog
http://newyorkfamilyhistory.wordpress.com
Blog type: Genealogy society blog, New York genealogy

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Blog gathers news items, program announcements, and tips to help you in your New York family history research. Click on the News You Can Use Archive to see past postings about newly available New York record sets, newspapers, and other resources. Visit our website www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org for numerous resources that benefit people researching families connected to New York State, including the New York Family History School calendar of education programs offered by the NYG&B and our partners.

Our Lineage
http://our-lineage.com
Blog type: Individual family history

I have been researching my ancestry and helping others research since 1994.

I have a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and am a VP of Client Technical Services, managing a team of talented IT developers.  I also help folks get started in Genealogy – how to document, research, and most importantly, get hands on experience.

My engineering degree, coupled with my IT/computer related experience has proven quite useful when it comes to the organization and documentation of family facts, photos, and memories.  I started my research because I felt that I had no real family.   Was I wrong!  I have been able to find many ancestors as well as connect with many cousins along the way.

I am the current Website Chair of both the Illinois Genealogical Society and the Will Grundy County (IL) Genealogical Society, and am a current member of the Polish Genealogical Society of America and the Wisconsin Historical Society, among others.

Roots and Blood
http://rootsandblood.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Genealogy how-tos, biographies and research into ancestry and family trees for Maynard, Sinks, Norwood, Yarbrough, Kelly, Hursey, Bass and associated families.

Scottish Prisoners of War
http://scottishprisonersofwar.com
Blog type: Military History blog, Scottish genealogy

I am a descendant of a Scottish prisoner-of-war from the Battle of Dunbar in Scotland on 3 Sept 1650. My direct ancestor survived the battle, forced march, imprisonment in Durham Cathedral and the trip to the New World where he began a new life. My father carries the Y-DNA of this man that I just began to learn about in 2007.

His name was John Hamilton, and as far as we know he was probably about 17 years old that day in Dunbar 1651. He never returned to his home and we don’t even know from where in Scotland he was born or raised.

Many times I have thought it would be mutually beneficial for us, as descendants of the Scottish prisoners of war from the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester, if we were to coordinate our efforts to find information about from where in Scotland our ancestors came and how they ended up on the battlefield that day.

We have a specific point in time and a specific place where these men’s lives became intertwined in ways they never could have dreamed of.

I don’t know much about my 12th Great-Grandfather John Hamilton but maybe by learning more about the group of men he fought with, survived with, and began a new life with in the New World will help me get to know him better?

This website/blog is an effort to bring together the known facts of the men that have this shared history and hopefully to some day be able to find John’s home in Scotland.

Their Child
http://www.theirchild.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

My blog Their Child is about my passion for genealogy, history and storytelling. It includes posts about my genealogical research that is interwoven with American history. I have also been learning about new digital storytelling platforms over the last few months. As I experiment with these platforms I post the results to my blog.

Visiting Family Links – A Genealogical Journey
http://visitingfamilylinks.blogspot.com.au
Blog type: Australian genealogy, Individual family history

The iTinerant Explorer. After looking at my interests I believe this sums up what I like or would like to do in my spare time. I have always been fascinated by my family stories, love to travel and take photos of family, people and new places.

Will and Ruth
http://willandruth.wordpress.com
Blog type: Diary blog, Individual family history

This is the story of William Gray and Ruth Barrell. They began writing to each other in 1894, while Ruth was away at school. They were engaged in 1897, and married on January 25, 1899. Will and Ruth had nine children, and lived in several homes throughout New Jersey and New York. They were my husband’s great-grandparents. His grandfather was their oldest child, William Jr.

Almost all of these letters are from Will to Ruth. Most of the return letters did not survive. To read in chronological order, you will want to start from the very first post. The letters jump forward in time rather quickly, since there were long periods of time where no letters were written. Other times, while Will is away, the letters are daily.

Ruth also received several letters from her family while away at school in 1894. I have included a page with family tree information to help keep people straight.The Barrell and Gray families lived close to each other, and obviously shared the same social circle. I have included pages with these additional letters and photos. Several letters, particularly from friends and siblings, mention Will and the Gray family. Some are quite funny, and offer a nice insight into their lives.

We have so many letters because of the traveling Will did for work, so here is a brief history of his employment:

In 1895, Will left his job at his father’s shoe store to work for the Fall River Line, a steamship company in New York City. In 1896 he became a clerk for Iron-Clad Manufacturing company (also in New York City). He eventually got involved in marketing and designing of advertisements, and was still working here for the first year of their marriage. He had an hour long rail commute from Summit, NJ to Manhattan and sometimes spent the night. In December of 1899, Will began working for Berlin and Jones Envelope Company of New York. He was chief clerk by 1901, promoted to Secretary by 1905, and eventually became the General Manager. In 1910 he became the president of General Paper Goods Manufacturing Company of Newark. In 1922 he founded the Gray Envelope Company, of which he remained president until his death in 1927.

A special thanks goes to my father-in-law, Russel Moe, who worked to compile this history for his wife’s family.

I hope you will enjoy their story.

© 2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee

There are 7 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:

Bev’s Genealogical Vitals
http://bevsgenealogicalvitals.blogspot.com
Blog type: Research blog

When searching for vital information for my family, there are often many others listed who are not my family.  Those obits, marriages, deaths, etc. are entered on my blog.  I also index history (local and otherwise) books I’ve read that don’t already have an index and add these to my blog.

Climbing Greenwood
http://climbinggreenwood.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Climbing Greenwood follows my research into my maternal grandmother’s family line.  My Nanny left me with a short family history that I mine for clues.  And I frequently find that her stories are untrue.  But for me, this is all part of the fun of discovering how my ancestors fit into the past.

My research takes me to western Massachusetts (turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century), Quebec (1638-1860s), New Brunswick (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries), the Isle of Miquelon (eighteenth and nineteen centuries), and occasionally to the present as I wrestle with research issues, false leads, and an unfamiliar past.  I would love company and suggestions as I share my adventure.

Jenneology
http://jennealogy.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

I’m Jennifer Dunn and I’ve been researching my family history since I was 14. As a child, I couldn’t get enough of my parents’ and grandparent’s stories about the past. I could only imagine picking cotton, visiting those strange places called “outhouses,” or a time when girls were barred from wearing blue jeans to school. As I grew older, my rapt attention to stories of the South’s past grew into a love for history, and I have formulated my own theory that history scholars are simply adults who never grew tired of bedtime stories.

I went on to earn a B.A. in American History (in pursuit of more stories) and now I work to tie my own family’s story to the American story. Nothing makes me happier than realizing my relatives would have traveled down the Old Federal Road in pursuit of land or finding a personal connection to a momentous event, like World War I or the Spanish Flu Epidemic. (As morbid as that may sound!)

When I’m not researching my family history, I’m a writer and own Social Street Media, a digital marketing agency.

If you’re a connection, or have questions or comments about my “Big Questions” then feel free to Contact Me.

Michael Tormey’s “Legacy Blog”
http://legacy-blog.com
Blog type: Genealogy education blog

Drawing on his 33 years of experience with genealogy and historical research, Michael Tormey shares insights and advice on how to research a personal family history.  Particular emphasis is placed on discovering and documenting a family’s “legacy”, as opposed to simply outlining family relationships.

Samuel Goodwin Family Genealogy
http://goodwins.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

This site contains genealogical information pertaining to the descendants of Major Samuel Goodwin and Elizabeth Willard, who settled Dresden (formerly Pownalborough), Maine, in the 1700′s. Related families include Twycross, Johnson, Bailey, Bodfish, Goud, Bowman, Houdlette, and Lilly. Any corrections, additions, or further information greatly appreciated.

The Family History Social
http://familyhistory.so
Blog type: Genealogy industry blog, UK genealogy

Latest views, news and general observations from the world of genealogy, keeping you up to date with new developments in the world of family research.

Young Gene
http://younggene.wordpress.com
Blog type: Australian genealogy, Individual family history

Emma Crameri is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Indexer for FamilySearch and the Queensland Family History Society.

Image: Group Blog, after J. C. Leyendecker via Flikr –  Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com used via Creative Commons License.

© 2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee

There are 11 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:

Ahnentafel – Genealogically Speaking
http://agnette.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

I was born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho.  A nerdy kid, I loved nothing better than to read…constantly. I still love to read but manage to intersperse this passion with other interests. Like collecting cookbooks.  I’m over 800 now, but I hasten to point out that I count each one separately, even if they are little leaflets, so that’s much better.  Right?

Another of my passions, er, addictions, of course, is genealogy. I would hang on every word as my grandparents told me stories of their lives during the 20s and 30s, but it was not until I was about 14 that I stumbled upon genealogy as something concrete and structured.  That was when I found a family history one of my cousins had put together as an anniversary present for his grandparents.  I was fascinated by what he had uncovered and the stories he had detailed; a number of years later I was able to contact him directly and use his work as the starting point for my own research.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Speaking of history, I eventually left Idaho; I obtained both a BA and an MA in Medieval Studies and am now living in Waynesboro, Virginia.  In addition to all the aforementioned addictions, I also play country and old-time music in a band with my brother and some friends.  Our band name, naturally, has a genealogical theme.  The Corn Hog Association was a Depression-era government relief program where my maternal grandmother worked.

Oh yes, and did I mention the piebald brindle dachshund?

AncesTrees
http://ancestrees.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

I’ve been leafing out my family tree for a long time and believe this is almost as much fun for me as walking along a sandy beach looking for sea shells. I love discovering hidden treasures both places.

Genealogy is a fun and challenging hobby for me. It fits in nicely with my profession as a writer. I’m looking forward to sharing family history and collaborating with others researching members of my family tree.

I’ll be posting about ancestors and welcoming comments as well as requests from other genealogists. I use Family Tree Maker and am a member of the Ancestry.com Aces Program.

Surnames I’m researching include:

Reed, Gotto, Mullett, Fromm, Brownlee, Trostle, Thein, Stitz, Pollard, Ewing, Rankin, Hamilton, Hallett, Massong, Dostert, Junemann, Thompson, Dodds, Gray, Cunningham, Shields

Hutchison, McGill, Munson, Dahms, Lewis, Isenhour, Lierman, Mulhall, Hendricks (Hendrix), Gunning, Bailey, Grizzle

Conversations with Grandma
http://conversationswithgrandma.wordpress.com
Blog type: Australian genealogy blog, Individual family history

This blog was created to celebrate the wonderful relationship I had with my maternal grandfather and still have with my grandmother who is 97 years young. I spent a great deal of time with my grandparents and my grandfather took me everywhere as his little shadow. Under his guidance I was introduced to local and family history without really knowing it. I absorbed stories of bush rangers and met people who held artifacts from the bush ranging era. I sat at the kitchen table of my great grandmother while my grandfather went through photos with her and made her write on the back of them. I watched breathlessly as my great grandmother pointed out a water mark on a wardrobe that was in a house flooded to at least five feet in 1917.

I was told endless stories of the history and heritage of the place where they lived. I restored old furniture and picture frames with my grandfather, all the while with him telling me the provenance of the item. I was constantly submersed in the wonderful world of the history and the heritage of the family. After 28 years formally researching my family history and many more absorbing it by osmosis, I’m trying to put just a little down in writing.

Family Stories
http://sridgley.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

A blog of stories of our families.  Sanders-Hollingsworth-Hawk Whiteside.

Finding your Past: Genealogical Gleanings in Albany
http://findingyourpast.blogspot.com
Blog type: New York genealogy

A blog aimed at discussing all aspects of local history. Areas of focus to include research, documentation, ethnicity, genealogy, cemeteries, cultural events, and historic landmarks.

PlinkBox
http://plinkbox.wordpress.com
Blog type: Genealogy vendor blog

Do you Plink? Plink your photos and give every person a voice and every photo wings. Tell the stories hidden in every photo.

Searching for Ancestors and Stories!
http://geniepam.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Stories have always captured my attention–whether ones from ages ago–or ones from today!  Genealogy could be considered stuffy, boring, or even strange–to want to know about people who are long-gone, from a time we can’t remember; nor do we have any personal experience with.  However, if you once hear a compassionate and fascinating tale about your own ancestors–one with heart, with unforgettable characters–some funny, some brave, maybe even some unsavory—you will be hooked!  Ask any “genealogist,” whether they are an accidental genealogist or a professional one, as soon as you begin to discover clues to the why’s and intricacies of stories and people’s lives, you will begin to understand the lure and mystery that calls us!

Shaking the Tree
http://suzysu.wordpress.com
Blog type: Individual family history, New Zealand genealogy

I’m a migrant. I’ve spent most of my life half a world away from my extended (and sometimes, nuclear) family.

Cut off from the rhythm and security of the tribe, the clan, the whanau – and without the rituals of Christmases and birthdays that familial ties tend to engender, I also grew up with no real sense of my place in the world, and an overwhelming need to create my own rituals and celebrations.

It didn’t help that as well as moving countries, we also moved house regularly and so by the time I dropped out of school three days into the sixth form, I’d lived in about nine different houses in five different locations and was on my sixth school.

This isn’t a “poor me” story. I’m a big girl now, responsible for my actions and emotions and for making my own choices. One of those choices has been to research my family’s history.

I’m not quite sure quite how it began; and there is probably no single explanation, but a constellation of small things. My grandmother’s death a few years ago severed the last link with a generation, and while I felt I knew her well, I regret I didn’t’ ask her more about her life.

My brother and I outside our first house in New Zealand, probably around 1968.

My mother has always been a great storyteller and I rely on her for so much information, but that’s only part of the family and I’m a bit estranged from my dad.

Part of it is my age. I noticed when I first got excited about family history and started telling people about it, friends over forty were equally excited and often shared their own stories; the under 40’s kind of glazed over or looked furtively around for the exit.

Certainly the fact that I can access so much information on the Internet has had a huge impact. But however I got to this place, I’m happy to be here. I’m excited by the processes – detective work really, and I’m thrilled when I find someone new to add to my tree.  And as I’ve written about before, I am happiest of all when I can learn something about the lives of my ancestors – put flesh on their bones.

Part of that is my background and education. I have a MA in Sociology and a MIS (Master of Information Studies) in Librarianship. Most of my professional life has involved research and writing in some form or another and the sociologist in me needs social history – “the big picture” that for me gives context to my ancestors’ individual lives.

I also enjoy the community of family history researchers – both virtual and physical. I’ve joined the New Zealand Society of Genealogists, and have begun attending the wonderful workshops and seminars run by the librarians at the Auckland Libraries’ Research Centre.

Who will comfort the mothers, weeping for their lost sons? A collage I made based on the stories of two great uncles – one of mine and one of my partner’s.

Finding ways to tell my story is an important part of the process. I enjoy words, but I also have a need to make pictures. I’ve tentatively begun to make collages that include images and fragments of text that help me make sense of my past. I want to continue this process.

‘Shaking the Tree’ is important to me. It’s both the record of my work and a conversation I’m having with other people. Some are people I’m related to and who know the characters in my stories and may be inspired to share their own, but there are also many others – you perhaps – who might be interested in your family, and your stories. I won’t get to meet many (any?) of you in person, but I feel I know some of you already from the wonderful, funny, sad and poignant accounts you share of your past and the characters who peopled it.

For my mother: a reminder of the strong women who bore us and for whom we were named.

I intend to “keep shaking” my tree and sharing the leaves and fruit that fall.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Silver Branches
http://silverbranches.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

Silver Branches is a blog about genealogists providing volunteer research time for residents at nursing homes.  It’s a great way to serve others!

Union Forge Genealogy
http://unionforge.webs.com/apps/blog/
Blog type: Individual family history, Professional genealogy blog

Whether you need a little help organizing your family history or a full research project, we can lead you on the right path. Union Forge Genealogy provides research packages that meet everyone’s needs.  Your family becomes our family as we provide personal, one-on-one service.  Together, we develop a plan that suits your research goals.  At the end, we then present you our research in an organized manner with clear, accurate information.  Our research packages also make great gifts!

Walking It Back
http://walkingitback.blogspot.com
Blog type: Individual family history

This blog is for my dad, and interested relatives, about my project to document our family’s genealogy. It started when I offered to become the family keeper of my dad’s genealogy files and learn what he found — and what it meant to him — in his decades of searching for his background. I got hooked on the quest of “finding Henry,” Dad’s grandfather, who seemed to appear from nowhere with a brand new name and no background except “Norwegian.”

© 2013, copyright Thomas MacEntee