Most Viewed Blog Posts of the Year

As 2010 draws to a close, all of the media seems to be doing a "year in review" and I thought it would be interesting to see what blog posts on LongLostRelatives.net had the most views during the year - at least since the time that Blogger began tracking this information in May.

It was no surprise to me that the posts that were most popular with my readers were not those about my family or my discoveries or success stories, but rather those posts that were of more general interest to the genealogist-at-large. Product reviews seemed to get the most readership on this blog.

Coming out at the top of the list, tied with the same number of views, were the two-parts of my review of the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner. About one fourth of the people who viewed these posts were referred via the link to this blog from Flip-Pal's official site.

Flip-Pal Review - Miracle in Minutes - Part 1

Flip Pal Review - Part 2

Several weeks ago, I changed the focus of my Follow Friday blog posts to what I call "Around the Blogosphere." Each week, I label my favorite posts in my Google Reader, review each of those posts on Friday and select the ones I enjoyed the most to share in this feature. The post receiving the most views in this category was from the December 24 edition. This was clearly due to the fact that Randy Seaver of Geneamusings took the week off from his "Best of . . ." series and referred people over here and to Greta's Genealogy Blog. Thanks, Randy! I also appreciate it that Randy always spells my last name correctly! A good trait for a genealogist!

The next two most viewed posts had to do with my enthusiasm for using the Kindle e-Book reader for genealogy:

The original post, Kindle for Genealogy appeared in September and last week, I posted Kindle for Genealogy Redux when I discovered another use for the Kindle so that I can carry my charts and family group sheets - and photos - on my Kindle.

Another Follow Friday post that received a lot of traffic was my review of five of Family Tree magazines best free web sites. That was a fun task for me - to test drive some web sites I had not visited before, see what they had to offer and share my findings with blog readers.

Next on the list was an article I wrote about managing and organizing digital files. I need to re-read that one myself because it seems like I have files and folders all over my various computer drives the last couple months. I need to take my own advice!

Another in the most visited list was my post on the first blogiversary of LongLostRelatives.net. I worked on this post for several weeks because I knew it would be a one-time post and I really wanted to include the highlights of the year. So many incredible things have occurred this year in my genealogy and blogging world and I wanted to share my excitement and enthusiasm with my new found friends. My thanks to everyone who read the post and left their congratulatory comments. Those really meant a lot to me.

A post I wrote called Why Do Singles Do Genealogy? also created some great discussion among blog readers.

Where do readers of LongLostRelatives.net live?

Don't worry. Blogger doesn't tell me WHO you are or specifically where you live. It just provides statistics on the countries of origin of site visitors. Also not surprising is that the overwhelming number of blog readers reside in the United States, followed by the U.K., South Korea, Russia, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Malta.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Many blog readers wind up here by clicking on a link from another site. Topping the list of referring URLs is my own domain, LongLostRelatives.net - no surprise there.

Next, I once again give a tip of the hat to Randy Seaver of Geneamusings for sending visitors my way. I appreciate that Randy includes a link to my Around the Blogosphere list each week, but even more exciting is when Randy selects one of my posts for his "Best of . . ." lists. I've made that a time or two this year, so getting Randy's seal of approval is always a thrill. Thanks, Randy!

I've already mentioned that the Flip-Pal mobile scanner web site's link to my review of their product brings a lot of traffic to the blog.

The next site that sends readers my way is Geneabloggers. I am forever grateful to Thomas MacEntee for all he does for the growing community of people who write genealogy blogs. He is always available to answer my questions - especially those having to do with his area of expertise - technology and social networking. He is also a lot of fun in person. Thanks, Thomas, your support has really meant a great deal to me this year.

Last, and certainly not least, in the sites sending traffic here is Family History Expos. I was honored to have been selected as a blogger of honor for the Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City in July. It was an amazing opportunity to meet my fellow bloggers and make new friends. Holly Hansen and her team do a great job with these regional genealogy conferences and I'm looking forward to meeting up with the gang again in Overland Park in 2011. Thanks, Holly, and FHE!

2010 has been a wild ride and I am thankful for everyone who reads LongLostRelatives.net - whether it be on a regular basis or for that one post that strikes your fancy. It's truly a labor of love and I'd do it even if I was the only one reading it. Knowing that something I've written has helped inform or educate another person makes this truly rewarding. And, of course, there were those numerous long lost relatives with whom I connected this year. That was the best part of all.

Thanks again to readers of this blog. I look forward to another eventful 2011!

Midwest Family History Expo - Day 2

The Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City is already a week behind me and I must make good on my promise to post the highlights of the sessions I attended on Saturday, July 31.

Establishing Your Own Migration Trail
Michael John Neill
http://rootdig.blogspot.com/

You may know Michael John Neill from Casefile Clues. A very entertaining presenter, Michael John Neill provided great tips on how to create your own migration trail for your ancestor. No, this was not a session about maps, as he emphasized (several times!). He offered ideas about discovering why your ancestors moved - based on many factors such as economics, politics, family, friends and occupations. He encouraged his audience to read historical books to get an idea about what was going on at the time your ancestors changed locations. He used a term that was new to me: migration chains. This refers to the process and period of time that it may have taken a family to relocate. A few members of the family may have moved to a location and over a period of years or even decades, the remainder of the family, extended family and friends followed suit.

Finding Your Irish Ancestors
Marci Despain
http://www.familysearch.org

Before jumping the ocean to Ireland to research your Irish ancestors, it's essential to know the county of origin. She discussed the jurisdiction hierarchy and some of the differences between civil parishes and religious parishes.

Web site recommendations included:

IrishTimes.com
Library Ireland
Ireland Townland database
Roots Ireland

Finding Your Female Ancestors
Lisa Alzo
http://www.lisaalzo.com

Lisa's presentation on finding your female ancestors was one of the highlights of the Expo for me. Her own inspiring search to find her roots is a remarkable tale.

Her five strategies are:

1. Check all records for the husband
2. Consider more than one marriage as well as multiple burial markers
3. Naming practices and variations
4. Spelling variations and transcription errors
5. Create a timeline in historical context

County Histories and Your Families
Janice Schultz

Mid-Continent Public Library

The best piece of information from this session was learning that about 90 per cent of U.S. counties have published histories and most of these are available online. Google Books, here I come!

I again want to take this opportunity to thank Family History Expos for the privilege of being a Blogger of Honor for the Midwest Family History Expo. I'm hoping our paths will cross again soon.

Sentimental Sunday - Getting to Know My Grandmother

Sina Bellinger Kelly, age 17

I was quite moved and motivated by Lisa Alzo's presentation on "Finding Your Female Ancestors" at the Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City this weekend. One of her comments really resonated with me:

"Give voice to the stories of the silent women from our past."

Last Sunday, my fellow blogger Barbara Poole posted a photograph of herself with her grandmother, sharing an everyday moment sitting at the kitchen table. It's a touching photograph and as I studied it, I realized that I don't have any photographs of myself with my Grandmother Sina Bellinger Kelly.

That really shouldn't be too surprising because I don't have a lot of photographs of Grandma Kelly anyway. She didn't like having her photo taken and was always taking scissors to her image and cutting herself out of photographs. To this day, I have a family photo with a big circle cut out of it.

Lisa's journey about researching and writing Three Slovak Women got me thinking about how little I really do know about Grandma Kelly. I was only five years old when she died, but I've always had good memories of my time with her. I know that she used to babysit me when my folks went out for the evening. I remember making her play "Jingles" to my "Wild Bill Hickok" (an old TV show you folks under 50 probably never heard of). My parents have told me that Grandma Kelly and I used to listen to baseball games on the radio together. I have no recollection of that, but it would be no surprise if we did. Her brother and Grandpa Kelly were both baseball players for the Greenwood, Nebraska team.

About the only other thing I know about Grandma Kelly is that she had a tendency to fall down, clearly a trait I've picked up from both sides of the family! I've heard the stories of how she'd be walking down the street and say, "Wait a minute! I'm going to fall down."

Another story was about a mean old rooster. I remember him well. I used to keep a yardstick handy so I could shoo him away when I went from our house to Grandma's house across the road. Apparently, one day she'd had enough of this old rooster, picked up a charcoal briquette and tossed it at him. Grandma Kelly could not have hit the broad side of a barn, as the story goes, but she hit the rooster right in the head and killed him outright. Chicken was on the menu that night.

Grandma Kelly always kept cookies in a bottom drawer of a cabinet in her kitchen. I always knew there would be something good waiting in that drawer for me.

I know that Grandma Kelly played piano by ear. Mom told how she and her friends would sing a popular song from the 1940s to Grandma and Grandma could sit down at the piano and play it immediately. I wish I would have inherited her musical ability!

I haven't even verified the location of her birth yet. Some sources say she was born in Greenwood, but her funeral card states she was born in Fremont, Nebraska. I know when she and Grandpa Kelly were married. I know she had five children, the first of whom died as an infant and before the surviving four were born. I know where she's buried.

These little vignettes are all I know about Grandma Kelly. I want to fill in the gaps. I want to learn more about her, about the kind of life she led. I want to pull together the pieces of her story.

The first step in the process will be a visit to the Nebraska State Historical Society's microfilm collection to begin perusing the old issues of the Greenwood Gazette. Surely, that small hometown paper will help me bring Sina's story to life.

Thank you for the inspiration, Lisa.

Midwest Family History Expo - Session Highlights - Day 1

Now that I've covered the social aspects of the Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City, it's time to get down to the business of providing a few highlights from the sessions I attended.

The FHE folks compiled a wonderful syllabus (can you say 360 pages?) for the event. What's nice about this is that the web sites and resources the speakers referred to in their presentations are already in the book for later reference. I was able to use my net book computer for taking notes in many of the sessions, so as a speaker talked about a web site, I could access it and add it to my bookmarks right on the spot. I just scrolled through those bookmarks and I have a LOT of sites to visit and search. And that doesn't even come close to everything in the syllabus.

Day 1 - Friday


Sources and Citations: Just Do It
Carol Cooke Darrow, CG
http://www.unravelingyourpast.net/

Carol emphasized the importance of identifying your sources and compared primary information and secondary information. One of the books she talked about was Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Mills, a book I have in my personal library. It was also interesting to learn ways to document online sources.

Mapping Madness
Ron Arons, Author
http://www.ronarons.com/

Ron is a very entertaining presenter - I loved his sense of humor! He compared the differences between Google maps and Microsoft's maps (Bing).

One of the online tools he discussed was MapCruncher by Microsoft. This allows you to layer maps to emphasize or make comparisons in an area you want to show. For example, a historical map can be layered on top of a contemporary map for a comparison of then and now. Here are some examples of what this tool can do.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Footnote.com
Justin Schroepfer
http://www.footnote.com

One thing I learned from this session is that genealogists are forgiving people. It's a little tough to do a live presentation about an internet web site when the wireless connection isn't working. But Justin was a real pro and continued to inform and entertain the audience about his product until web connectivity was restored. As a presenter myself, I know how frustrating it can be when the technology doesn't cooperate. Justin - and the audience - handled it all very well.

That said . . . I chose this session because I've been a Footnote subscriber for more than a year and have found their search and navigation a bit cumbersome. And I am far from being a web novice. One thing Justin did was to give me a better feel for the type and breadth - and volume - of information that is on the site. The information that I'm looking for most likely is there; I just need to look deeper and refine my search methodology so I can find it.

He shared information about setting up pages about our ancestors. I'd done a few pages in the past. When I came across information on deceased relatives, I added some photographs. Most of my online genealogy activity is on Ancestry, but I can see the value of adding pages to Footnote, just to throw the net out over a wider area.

Colonial Immigration Genealogy
Beth Foulk
http://bethfoulk.wordpress.com/


You know what it's like when you buy a new car, then suddenly it seems like all you see on the streets is that make of car? I'm beginning to feel that way as new (new to me, anyway) sources of genealogy resources keep showing up again and again.

One of the resources Beth mentioned is one that entered my life in the last week. That is the vast amount of information on colonial immigrants available at the New England Historic Genealogical Society library. This source is definitely becoming one of my new best friends. Another recommended web site waiting for me to explore is http://www.greatmigration.org/

Combining Historical Research with Your Genealogy
Gena Philibert Ortega
http://yourfamilyhistoryresearch.com/

Gena's session was a great way to end the day! She is an enthusiastic and engaging presenter. And she overcame the adversity of a very loud air conditioning system in the meeting room to share a wealth of information with eager learners. Her book, Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Images of America) is one I definitely want to read.

Gena focused on techniques to help us fill in the spaces between those major life events by studying the history of the times our ancestors lived in and understanding how history effected their lives. One of the books she recommended was Hidden Sources (much of which is available on Google Books).



My summary of Saturday's sessions will be in a separate post.

Midwest Family History Expo - Blogger Paparazzi!

Tami Glatz and Diana Ritchie

Midwest Family History Expo - Focus on the National Archives in Kansas City

When you do a Google search on NARA - Kansas City, the top hit is a sushi restaurant. But for genealogists, NARA in Kansas City means the National Archives and Records Administration.

Lori Cox-Paul, Director of Archival Operations at NARA Kansas City, opened the Midwest Family History Expo with a keynote address sharing information about many of the services NARA makes available to genealogists.

Start by exploring the NARA web site for the central plains states. The Kansas City location houses records from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. There are also a few records from North Dakota and South Dakota. This repository of the National Archives moved to a new location about a year ago and is now located near Union Station in downtown Kansas City.

Records available at the Kansas City location are all Federal government records. They house homestead records, military records, naturalization records, tax records - these are just a few of the many record groups available through online indexes.

Begin exploring the web site on the Research Tools page. The quickest way to find information on your ancestor is to type a surname in the Search box at the top of any page. After the Midwest Family History Expo, I plan to explore this site further for my ancestors who, fortunately, lived in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. I'm hoping to locate some information on those elusive Long Lost Relatives right here in Kansas City!

Midwest Family History Expo - Beacon of Bloggers

Here are a few more photographs of the Geneabloggers attending the Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City this weekend.

Nebraska was represented at the Beacon of Bloggers by myself (left) and
Cheri Hopkins of Alliance, half of the You Go Genealogy Girls team.

Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers, Susan Petersen, Lisa Alzo
of the Accidental Genealogist, Cheri Hopkins

Dr. Bill Smith tells an ancestor story!

Diana Ritchie of Random Relatives doing some blogging.

Jenna Mills from Desperately Seeking Surnames and Susan.

I've met several of the other bloggers at the conference - just haven't gotten photos of everyone yet! One thing is for certain: I am leaving my 300+ page syllabus in the hotel room today. My bag is getting too heavy with all of the goodies I'm accumulating!

Midwest Family History Expo - Day 1

Wow! What can I say? Wow! What a day. My day began at 4 a.m., so don't expect either a long or coherent post this evening!

This was my first major genealogy conference and the Family History Expo folks really know how to do things up right! The conference facility offers great exhibition space and the session rooms are comfortable. Having planned some conferences myself, I know that the #1 thing people will complain about is the facilities - too hot, too cold, blah blah blah.

I did find myself opting for sessions that had tables in the rooms because I can actually type my notes into the computer a lot faster than I can write. And because of that, my typed notes tend to be in complete sentences. My handwritten notes are usually much more cryptic. This was also my first time taking a laptop to a conference. What I enjoyed about that was when a speaker was discussing a web site, I could go right to it and add it to my bookmarks immediately. Oh yeah,  my bookmarked pages grew a lot today! And I'll be sharing some of those recommend resources on this blog over the next few days.

The speakers are top-notch. Kudos to Gena Philibert Ortega who ended the day on a high note - she's an energetic speaker who did a fantastic job on her session about infusing American history into your family history. She presented some great ideas and resources.

While I really enjoyed all of the sessions, the best part, by far, was meeting in-person many of my Facebook and Geneablogger friends. Now we are real-life friends! I kept telling them it was so nice to see them somewhere other than in a 1" by 1" photo! None of these people seemed like strangers who I'd never met before. It was like seeing old friends. And what fun to be able to share the passion we all have about our hobby. Everyone has stories to tell - and they are all interesting. I'm not sure I want to go back to "real life."

Sweet dreams - of blogs, beads and barbeque.

Midwest Family History Expo - We're Here!

The Midwest Family History Expo is already off to a fantastic start! Folks from all over the Midwest are here to spend two full days learning about dozens of topics to help us hone our genealogy research skills.

The keynote speaker was Lori Cox-Paul, Director of Archival Operations at the National Archives in Kansas city. She shared a lot of information about the kinds of records that are available in Kansas City and the research assistance that can be provided by their volunteers. There are many online indexes on these record groups and I can hardly wait to check out my Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri ancestors and relatives!

The bloggers are also finding one another and gathering at the Beacon of Bloggers table in the exhibition hall. What fun to finally meet in person all of these great people whose blogs I've been reading and corresponding with for the last few months.

Lisa Alzo and Thomas MacEntee welcome Geneabloggers to the Midwest Family History Expo.

Dr. Bill Smith and Jenna Mills get together at the Bloggers table.

Diana Ritchie and yours truly - Born to Blog!

It's time to hit the exhibit hall! More to come. Wish some of the rest of our Geneablogger group was here, too!

Midwest Family History Expo - the 24 hour countdown

At this time tomorrow morning, I will be cranking up the car stereo to the sounds of Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again" and making my way down the Interstate to Kansas City for the Midwest Family History Expo.

I will be joining a group of Genealogy Bloggers (Geneabloggers) to relay information direct from the Expo on this blog and on Facebook. I can hardly wait to meet many of the fellow researchers I've come to know through their blogs.

One of those bloggers who will be at the Midwest Family History Expo is Lisa Alzo. Below, she is being interviewed by Lisa Louise Cooke at the 2009 Expo in Salt Lake City.



If you are anywhere near Kansas City and haven't registered for the Expo, do try to add attendance at the conference to your weekend plans. There are dozens of great sessions and great speakers to choose from. Hope to see you there!

Midwest Family History Expo - Sessions to Attend

Today, Dr. Bill Smith of the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories blog wrote about the sessions he plans to attend at this weekend's Midwest Family History Expo.





I have narrowed my choices down, but still have 2 or 3 sessions to select from before I make my final decision (which probably won't happen until after I walk in the door Friday morning).

But here's what my attendance options look like. The * indicates the most likely choice as of today.

Friday

9:00 a.m.

• Finding Your English/Welsh Ancestors
• Sources and Citations: Just Do It!
• Census Techniques and Strategies
• Midwest Research *

11:00 a.m. - I think this is where I win a door prize! :-)

11:30 a.m.

• Family History Books: Editing, Design and Publishing
• Civil War Provost Marshal Records
• Mapping Madness *
• The Last Muster: Photographs and Stories from the American Revolution

1:30 p.m.

• FamilySearch's Research Wiki, Forums and Blogs
• Trail of Tears *
• Hairsteria: Hair in the Family

3:00 p.m.

• Colonial Immigration
• Powerful Tips and Tricks for Family Search Record Search
• Best Resources for Civil War Research
• Have You Really Looked Everywhere? A survey of internet resources for genealogical research *

4:00 p.m.

• Genealogical Organization in the 21st Century *
• Virtual Tour of the Midwest Genealogy Center
• US Vital Records Overview
• Ready, Set, G.O.!

Saturday

8:00 a.m.

• Putting the Flesh on the Bones
• Read All About It
• Researching Historic Occupations *

9:00 a.m. - I win another door prize

9:30 a.m.

• Establishing Your Own Migration Trail *
• Maps Give Directions to Your Genealogical Research
• Finding and Obtaining Information from Military Records

11:00 a.m.

• Finding Your Irish Ancestors
• Ten Things to Do With Your Digital Camera *
• The Largest Genealogy Library in the World at Your Fingertips

1:00 p.m.

• Researching Back Before 1850 *
• Finding Your Female Ancestors

2:30 p.m.

• County Histories and Your Family
• Finding UFO Ancestors: Unidentified Family of Origin *

4:00 p.m.

• 100 Acres, A Mortgage and Three Sisters
• Using Timelines and Historic Maps in Genealogy Research *

Do any of those pique your interest? There are about nine concurrent sessions during each time period, so there has to be something there you would like. It's not too late to make plans to be in Kansas City this Friday and Saturday!

I will be blogging and posting to Facebook throughout the conference, so be sure to check in for my on-the-spot reports!

Countdown: Midwest Family History Expo - Kansas City

The countdown to the Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City has begun! One week from today, the conference begins.

The preparations leading up to the conference have begun as I've been gathering up all the bits and pieces of Blogger Technology to take on the trip.

Blogger Checklist:

• Net book computer for blogging
• Spiral notebooks for note taking
• Markers and pens and post-it flags for marking up my syllabus
• Digital camera
• Flip video camera
• Digital voice recorder (not to worry - I know we're not allowed to record the sessions!)
• Garmin nuvi GPS system so I can get to and around in Kansas City (free maps from AAA are so passe! haha) - I just hope I figure out how to work the thing before next Friday.

Looking at what all of this will weigh, my guess is that I'll pare down the technology to the net book and camera. Just the thought of carrying around the 363 page syllabus is a bit overwhelming. Well, my doctor said she wants me to start lifting weights, so maybe I'll just split the syllabus in half and build up my muscles.

I'm really looking forward to meeting the other Bloggers and other Facebook friends at the Family History Expo. I have no doubt that a pleasant time will be had for all. The Geneabloggers really seems to be a great group of people and I'm looking forward to making some lasting friendships.

If you can make it, please join us. If you're already planning on attending, I hope we'll get to say Hello.

Midwest Genealogy Center - Independence, Missouri

If you're planning on attending the Family History Expo in Kansas City, add another day to your trip and spend some time at the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri.

Only Two Weeks Until the Midwest Family History Expo - Kansas City

It's only two weeks until the Midwest Family History Expo that will be held in Kansas City, Missouri on July 30 - 31!


Check out the agenda here. If that is not enough to tempt you, take a look at the syllabus for the conference. It's 363 pages, so be patient for the download to complete!

Sign up today!

Midwest Family History Expo - Blogger of Honor

I am very pleased to report that I have been invited to participate as a Blogger of Honor at the Midwest Family History Expo in Kansas City on July 30-31. The event will be held at the KCI Expo Center, 11730 North Ambassador Drive in Kansas City.

I'm making my list and checking it twice - items I need to pack for Kansas City:

• New net book computer for blogging
• Digital voice recorder for those spontaneous interviews (bought it four or five years ago and decided today that I'd better read the instruction manual)
• My FlipVideo camera to capture all of the Live Action! (so long as I can remember the difference between pause and record)
• Batteries for the aforementioned gadgets
• Notebooks and pens

This is starting to sound like an awfully heavy bag to tote around. And of all those items, what will I end up using the most? Probably the notebooks and pens!

Anyway, I am most pleased and honored to be invited to participate as a Blogger of Honor at the Expo - my first. I'm really looking forward to meeting the Rock Stars of the geneablogging world and many of the folks I've networked with through Geneabloggers and Facebook. Won't you join me in Kansas City?

08:13 PM UPDATE:

Family History Expos has announced the list of Bloggers of  Honor as well as other bloggers who will be in attendance at the event:

Our Midwest Bloggers of Honor are:

Lisa Alzo, The Accidental Genealogist

Cheri Hopkins, The You Go Genealogy Girls 

Thomas MacEntee, Destination: Austin Family

Jenna Mills, Desperately Seeking Surnames 

Susan Petersen, Long Lost Relatives

William L. Smith, Ph.D., Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories

Other Bloggers in Attendance at the Midwest Family History Expo include:

Arlene Eakle, Arlene H Eakle’s Genealogy Blog

Tami Glatz, Relatively Curious

Holly Hansen, Family History Expos Blog

Leland Meitzler, GenealogyBlog

Michael John Neill, Casefile Clues 

Gena Philibert Ortega, Gena’s Genealogy

These really ARE some of the Rock Stars of the Geneablogger world. I'm excited and humbled to be in your company!