52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy - Week 1

Amy Coffin of The We Tree Genealogy Blog has done it again, come up with a weekly challenge to help us hone our genealogy skills. You can read up on challenges from previous years at Geneabloggers.

Hopefully, participation in the weekly challenges will help me to get back on track with my research. I'm only one week behind, so I should be able to get caught up quickly.

The challenge for week one is as follows:

Week 1 - Blogs: Blogging is a great way for genealogist to share information with family members , potential cousins, and each other. For which blog are you most thankful? Is it one of the earliest blogs you read, or a current one? What is special about the blog and why should others read it.


Back in 2009, when I renewed the search for the ancestors, blogging about my research was the furtherest thing from my mind. First, up until I started blogging, I just never really got the whole blogging thing. When I say that, I'm talking blogging in general not just a particular subject.

But as I got back into my research, I came across this wonderful medium thanks to Luckie Daniels of Our Georgia Roots, which sadly no longer seems to be up, and Our Alabama Roots. Three years later, I can't exactly tell you how I came across Luckie's blogs our what drew me in but I remember I enjoyed reading them and slowly began to think I can do this. So, within a few short months I begin blogging about my own research with Luckie's encouragement.

Once I begin blogging, I discovered oodles and oodles of other genealogy bloggers, so many in fact that I can't possibly keep up with all the blogs, even with Google Reader, which I guess is Google+ something now (I really need to get caught up on all the 2011 happenings with Google that I'm out of the loop on).

There are many blogs that I enjoy reading and for various reasons, so it's hard to pick ones that have had the most influence but here are three that I always seem to turn to when I've had a significant lull in my blogging and research and am trying to get back on track.

1. The African-Native American Genealogy Blog - Angela Walton is a wealth of information on African-Native American families and communities. Angela just doesn't tell the history of her family but that of communities. I always seem to learn something that I didn't know when reading Angela's blog. In fact, thanks to Angela, I've learned so much in this area that I was able to assist my BFF with her research.
2. Geneabloggers - when I've been away for awhile, I always check out Thomas MacEntee's Geneabloggers. I can quickly find out what's going on in the geneablogging world through his calendars and posts. I can find out about new blogs, get reacquainted with old blogs, and learn about any concerns or issues going on in genealogy.
3. Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter - not exactly a blog but always like checking out Dick's review of various products, new products, and happenings around the country.