Love That Blogging

One of the obligations of a family historian or genealogist is to preserve and share their research. This can be a daunting expectation since in my experience the majority of those out there doing this type of work, are beginners. Source citations, creative writing, research skills, all come into creating a genealogical product that the experts will approve.

So, I am not going to appeal to the experts. I want all those family historians out there to consider sharing and preserving their family stories on a blog. Now, I know what you are thinking.....how will I know whether the information on their blog is accurate? You don't. But like so many records that we use, such as "Mug" books (aka County History Books), obits, tombstones, and others research, we have to use the information as a clue to find further documents and evidence that may support the information. And one thing that the experts will not have is our family tales and traditions. I have journals from family members of their memories, and in some cases some old letters. These are going to make my "stories" really become their story.

I have been inspired by Thomas MacEntee to blog. I use Google Blogger and find it so easy its almost painless. I separate my blogs by surname and geographical origination, cause that is how I separate my family trees for ease of researching within a given area. At present I have 8 blogs;  GeneaGunkie about All Things Genealogy but not my Trees, AbbottAncestry, ErvastiTree from Finland, JuhlinFromSweden, MyLarueLinks, PloegerPast from Germany, RiedellRoots from Prussia/Silesia/Posen, and StreseStories from Germany.

This is how I also have scanned and saved to files those photos, documents, etc. that will pertain to the blog. I named these Scanned Files the same as the blog. Makes it so easy to go back and find what I need for the blog.

Remember this. A blog is personal and expresses my personal opinions and experiences. You may want to disagree with my opinions, and that is your right. But, my experiences are uniquely mine, and you cannot disagree with them, as "they are what they are, and they are mine!"

I'mmmmm Baaaaack!

I know. I have been gone too long. Busy with family, society, job etc. And I thought I had nothing to talk about. But, after a Winter Recess from my Blue Hills Genealogical Society-Barron County, Inc. found a new burst of creative energy! Amazing what a break can do for you.

BHGS is getting things re-organized to better serve and spread the work around to more member-volunteers. A really great genealogical society, in today's world needs to be inclusive, relevant, and ACTIVE!!!! If you are not growing....you are dying.

So, we have worked on my mantra about committees. NO COMMITTEES OF ONE. Ask someone to work with you. Get volunteers to work on one simple aspect of your committee. If someone is a new chairperson, help them to develop a goal and agenda with procedures in place.

For Example, I have been serving as the Program chair for our society. This is not the way to do it, as I am as President an ex-officio member of all committees and that has me spread way to thin. A program chair basically only needs a computer and a phone to set up the programs. Therefore, they actually can be a member who lives out of area. Which is what we got. A member was transferred out of state but agreed to serve as our 2013 Program Chair. It did not hurt that of the 10 Monthly Programs for 2013 I had already planned 8 of them. [ I am a big fan of planning way out in front of an event, so that we can better advertise it.] All we needed on her committee then was a couple of people to announce the Program the night of, arrange any film, screen or projector needs for the night, and print out any handouts that a speaker may wish to provide. The new chair actually recruited her own committee members so that is all set. Wahoo!

Got a new arranged committee for the Newsletter, which made our Editor really happy. And all this reorganizing should lessen the load for our volunteers. Which left me with some time on my hands, so I have gone back to advocating for sharing and preserving ones family history/genealogy through blogging.In case you did not know, Thomas MacEntee is one of my heroes!

I had already created 2 blogs. This one, and MyLaRueLinks about my paternal line. I have now added 2 new blogs for my maternal line. My mom's paternal line is at http://RiedellRoots.blogspot.com and her maternal line is my newest blog, at http://PloegerPast.blogspot.com.  I am excited to share this new aspect of genealogy with my society members. I use Google Blogger. An easy template and free. Great way to share with others interested in any of my lines. Cheaper than printing a book. And a lead in to more complicated sharing and preserving formats such as Google Sites where I have put out 2 first websites on my Juhlin line and my husband's Ervasti line.

There are so many avenues to pursue in genealogy! Such fun and so rewarding.

Working Alone or in Groups?

I love genealogy. I love everything related to genealogy. I love traveling for research, attending conferences, old photos, you name it. But, maybe what it really comes down to is that I love associating with other people who also love genealogy. They simply have similar interests, experiences, and I always come away with some new piece of information that will improve my genealogy.

Just recently I read the book, the Journey Takers by Leslie Albrecht. It was recommended by a member of my local society. Lovely use of her genealogy to describe her ancestors in humanizing terms. Not just the data a genealogist collects, but the stories, descriptions, and "what ifs?" of her family. This all lead me to remember to include the stories, memories, newspaper articles, letters, and personal writings of my family into my PAF files on family. I can get so involved in finding the hard data, that I can forget to include those things that will make my ancestors more human. So "Note to self"...tell the story; do not only record the data.

If you read my blog, you will notice that I have a bias. It is that for the best results and rewards of this hobby, that you should find a local genealogy society to join. If they have a few meetings that are open to the public, attend a couple. See what the general atmosphere is going to be. While I love love love doing my own research. And generally speaking it is not a team sport. I have found some collaborators through the Internet over the years. But, it is through my local society, that I have made friends for weekly walks, travel, visiting museums, sharing gas, going out to lunch etc. and yes, talking about genealogy. If you feel that their programs are not relevant, then maybe you can help them develop or implement some programs that will be useful/entertaining to members.

Now I have to get back to seeing who else would like to share gas to this years Gene-A-Rama. And maybe share a room? Could save us both a bundle!

Great Programs.

Since I am the President of my local genealogical society, I have my hand in a number of our programs. Planning and implementing them is always an issue. But, the most important ingredient is having your antennae up and listening and looking for what your membership and the public WANT.  I am a firm believer that a large number of members and non-members who attend our regular monthly meetings, generally want tips to improve their research results. And, I have found that where ever we can actully lead them through a hands-on process they tend to obtain better results.Where ever you decide to hold your monthly meetings, make sure you have wireless capabilites. It will allow for so many more meeting program possibilities.

So, at our last meeting we invited everyone to bring their laptops. If they did not own one, we would sit them alongside someone who had one. Then, our program speaker, who is also a member of our Society and the Director of the Local FHC began. I have a projector, so was able to hook up to her computer, while she got FamilySearch.org up on the screen.Then we showed only one part of what FamilySearch can do for their research. Finding the catalog and looking at what films can be ordered was the focus. There simply are to many items available through the FHL loan to FHC's that any researcher who wants any kind of results, simply cannot ignore this resource. Then, since the ordering and paying for microfilm rental must now be done from the patrons home/computer, we helped the attendees to set up their FREE accounts and showed them how that worked.  Since our Local Barron FHC is only about 5 blocks from our society meeting and research room location and from our county courthouse, we can offer the best research repositories in very close proximity for the county. This is a wonderful advantage to researchers.

Our full meeting room, with at least half of those attending from the BHGS non-member population was an indicator that the subject matter was relevant. It also let us know that since we had so many attendees from the general public, that our use of Facebook, website, and publicity in local media was successful and is being viewed by the public. Great meetings and really good advertising creates interest, attendance, membership and these are all great things for a society.

Our April meeting is our 10th Anniversary and Society Elections. We plan to celebrate. Our May meeting will be planning a genealogical research trip with a session from Tronhiem in America President, Robert Fossum (who is also a member of our Society) on the related issue of planning for attending a Norwegian stevne. June will find members out in one of our county cemeteries, where we continue the project of photographing the tombstones while creating abstracts of those cemeteries as our dedication to preserving local records. Its going to be a GREAT year for our Society.

Whats New for 2012.

I have been elected to the post of the NW District Representative for the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society. This is a position I held for a very short time until health issues made me resign from that commitment. So, now I am back again, promoting what I love, genealogy and their societies. One of the best tools available to  a genealogist is membership in a good genealogical society. Whether it is local (which I highly recommend as at least one of your memberships) or through a subscription to one at a distance. These groups of people simply can offer so much more than one person could find on their own.  So, find your local. Join the State Society. Or if you do not have a local, ask WSGS for some simple steps in getting your own group up and running!

What's a Webinar?

A webinar, is a online seminar. The ones that I have watched have been narrated PowerPoint presentations on different genealogy related subjects or on how to use online tools in my genealogy or society business. Genealogy Gems,  Legacy Family.com, Roots Magic.com, Geneawebinars have schedules for some of these. I generally view those that are free, and I make sure to check the archived copies, if I am busy when they are shown live. I may miss out on the door prizes and the Q&A sessions, but can still listen to them as recorded material. Google Docs and Google Forms by Thomas MacEntee, along with his others on Create a Genealogy Toolbox and Backup for your Genealogy Data were excellent and eye opening to me. The pod casts and videos on Genealogy Gems are thrilling. I am working on absorbing all the information that Lisa Louise Cooke provides in her presentations, and especially with search tips and tricks and Google Earth to enhance genealogy. If you are only looking for databases, you may sometimes feel like a gerbil on a wheel. You need to enhance your skills to get more and better information. So use these tools. They save you gas, can be fit into your personal schedule and are providing the public with great tools.

Keep It Interesting!

Most genealogy people are always looking for their ancestors, searching for new databases and all those things to fill in the Birth, Marriage and Death information on them.  But, I have also found that genealogy people are also very interested in learning the best ways and different ways to enhance their computer use. To this end, six members of my Blue Hills Genealogical Society-Barron County, Inc. are taking a Photo Restoration class through our local Technical college. It is 3 consecutive Thursday evenings, price is under $25 for most of us and only $4 for those over 62 years of age. We are getting a chance to use PhotoShop CS3 and related usage to PhotoShop Elements. What fun as we all work on our old or damaged photos.

When you get tired and hit the brick walls in your research, try looking for your local society. Maybe they can help with the brick wall OR you may even find some fun things that they are doing and it enhances your personal genealogical hobby!