And there was an article on the 40 best blogs for genealogy.

And my blog is listed under “Story Time”!!

Yippee!!

You can check out all of the other great blogs on the list here.

I was set back a bit by the data loss.  I still technically have all of the information.   The documents are there.  It’s the transcribing and entering and citing that is gone.  And it has been discouraging to know that I need to re-do it.

But 2013 is a new year.

I have reset the folders that are being backed up online and made sure that I have the CORRECT genealogy folder being saved {that was the issue – I had the wrong folder being saved}. I’m anxious to get back to where I was in my researching and I’m hoping to set aside some time each week to get that done.

I also plan on being back on the blog again – I know that I’ve been quiet for a while.

I still haven’t decided whether or not I’m going to head to the NGS Conference in Las Vegas this year.  It’s technically within driving distance {even though it’s still quite a ways from El Paso – NOTHING is close to El Paso}.  Just trying to decide if I have the money and time to do it.  I would love to take some classes and meet up with fellow geneabloggers – and go to Vegas.   Are any of you attending?

My laptop crashed and burned a couple of weeks ago.  One night, I turned it off and the next morning it wouldn’t come back on properly.

It was the computer I used for EVERYTHING – genealogy, pictures, iTunes, etc.

My husband couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it (and either could I for that matter).

I wasn’t horribly worried, because I have all of my pics and iTunes library on my external, and the rest of my stuff backed up on Mozy.com

Or so I thought.

After a few days of going through computer withdrawals, I went in and got myself a new desktop.  The screen is larger and it’s so much easier to use with a full-sized mouse.

Then I had the very daunting task of re-installing all of my programs and making sure I still had all of my files.

And that’s when it hit me.  My genealogy files were gone.  GONE.  The latest Legacy backup on my external was from October.  I hadn’t done it since then, because I had Mozy.com set up.  That is, it was backing up my genealogy files until about a month ago.  That’s when I switched my membership to a smaller file size.  When I did that, I somehow managed to choose the wrong file to be backed up.  So, I had a genealogy file being backed up daily, but it wasn’t my important genealogy file.

My 13 yr old daughter miraculously got  the laptop up and running again, minus all of the files that were on it.  How she managed to do that is beyond me.  I guess it takes a teenager to get a dead computer running again.

I’ve been running a file recovery program, but Ellie had been playing around on the computer for a while after she fixed it and I can’t seem to find my file anywhere. It’s most likely gone for good and I’m having a very hard time coming to terms with that.

The bad news is that I’ve lost 3,000 people out of my database.  And all of those people had information painstakingly entered in about them.  Census records, will transcriptions, source citations.

The good news is that my media files are all saved and so I have all of the jpgs of pictures and records and along with emails and papers I have here, I can eventually piece together the work that was lost.  But it’s going to take a long time. 

I now have double and triple checked that the correct files are being backed up.  It was a very hard lesson to learn.  And it just kills me that had my computer died a month or two earlier, none of my files would have been lost.

It stinks, but I guess that means I’d better get to work!  The summers here in El Paso are way too hot for me to handle, so staying inside and working on genealogy sounds like a good option to me.

I don’t mean your Great Aunt Bessie that you see every few years at the family reunion.  I also don’t mean fellow researchers who are also seeking you out in hopes of sharing information.

I mean people who don’t have any interest in genealogy.  That might be leery about you contacting them.

Have you ever done it before?

I have been in contact with numerous distant relatives who were fellow researchers, but I have never contacted someone who wasn’t also doing research.

Since I’ve been doing genealogy for almost 13 years now, it is abundantly clear to me that many family treasures and stories are probably lost each year.  There are people who are not active in research who might have an attic full of family pictures.  Who could solve some of the family mysteries.

Through the power of the internet and especially Facebook, it’s easier and easier every day to find distant relatives.  I’m interested to hear if any of you have had good experiences in contacting distant relatives for information.  I’m hoping that maybe the people I contact would also be interested in what I have to share with them…

Even though I didn’t get a chance to do any searching yet, I did manage to do a little bit of indexing.  It was easier than I thought it would be and I plan on doing more – even if it’s a little every day.

I can’t wait to hear about all of the great finds and small mysteries that are solved through this census!

Mocavo is the world’s first and largest genealogy search engine.  Google is great and serves its purpose, but it often gives too many search results, many of them not relevant to family history. Sometimes it’s hard to wade through all of them and find the ones that actually pertain to your ancestor – I can attest to that.

Let’s see how it performs by doing a couple of searches.  With the free edition of Mocavo, you are able to do basic searches, but the plus version has an advanced search panel with names and dates.  I will be using the advanced search.

I chose one of my husband’s ancestors, Joseph David Hollingsworth to start out with.  I entered his full name and his birth and death years.

I only got 2 results.  I decided that maybe I was making my search too narrow with the years and pulled them out for the next search.

This search gave me many more results and the majority of them were the person I was looking for.

There is a little button you can push at the end of each result, stating whether the person is the one you’re looking for, maybe a good match, or not who you’re looking for.

Even though I had 25 results, many of them were in fact, written by me.  That’s a problem that I usually come across when I use Google also.

Mocavo has a great little box on the side of the page, where you can exclude all results from a certain source (you can enter in a number of different ones).  I excluded my blog address and came up with much better search results. I love my blog, but my own posts aren’t going to help me in my research.

Besides doing a number of searches on different ancestors, I also uploaded a tree to the website.

Now, I get emails when new results have been found.  Here is one I received about my Brittain ancestors:

Another thing that I wanted to check is whether I had control over the trees that I uploaded.   I deleted the tree just to make sure that it was possible to do so.  It worked.  I’m glad to know that, because we all make mistakes and sometimes include things in our gedcoms that we don’t want to share with the entire world.

So, after about three weeks of use, I’m very happy with Mocavo.  It is a definite addition to my arsenal of genealogy tools.

Here are some of the occupations listed on one  page of the census :

Bone turner -I believe may have had something to do with making things out of bone on a lathe – please correct me if I’m wrong
General chandler – I believe this was someone that was a retailer of supplies, groceries, etc. although a chandler could also be a candlemaker
Scholar - sounds so much nicer than a student
Walking Stick Maker – now that’s a specialized trade!
Carpenter and joiner – I believe this is my husband’s ancestors (it runs in the family too!!)
Book Binder
Parchment Maker
Laborer at Docks
Hammersmith
Laundress – With 5 kids, I often feel like this is my job!!
Carver

I’m not sure what year she graduated in, but she was born in 1915, so probably in the early 30′s.  She went to Tonganoxie High School in Tonganoxie, Leavenworth, KS.

I got this idea from Amy over at the wonderful We Tree blog.    Head over there to read her interesting searches.

War of 1812  
This is probably one of the most popular search terms that brings people to my site – and that scares me.  I have no expertise and little advice on War of 1812 research.  I do have an ancestor who I think served, but I have yet to prove that.  Sorry.  I guess maybe I should do some more research and study so that I can write a proper post about this war since everyone seems so interested!!

Where Hungarians lived when they immigrated to America
I am so sorry if you came to my site looking for information on Hungarian research. I’m not sure why you were directed here, but I have NO Hungarian ancestors and no knowledge of Hungarian research.

Drank himself to death
I do have an ancestor that appears to have died of drink.

Book-a-holic website
I am a book-a-holic for sure.

I am sorry you have lost a branch off your family tree.
How sad. How on earth did you lose a branch off your tree??  I’m sorry too.

Setting of Don Quixote.
I do have an ancestor who lived in the region of Spain where Don Quixote was based.

Where is Niagara Falls located on a map.
You are much better off using Google Maps for this question.

Vapor Bath 19th Century
I did in fact mention vapor baths in one of my Shopping Through the Ages posts.

The building where cookie monster lives
I’m not kidding. I don’t ever recall talking about cookie monster. Or where he lives. And he’s definitely not in my family tree – although I do really like cookies.

Old West Mini Roulette
Sounds like fun!

Greek Family Tree including Atalanta
I don’t have any Greek roots (that I know of) and I definitely am not related to the Greek Gods.

bicentennial baby girl
That’s me!!

in every family is there some one famous?
I suppose eventually there is.

happiness is a warm puppy
My mom passed this book on to me and I’ve always loved it.

reading Chinese gravestones
Can’t help you there. I could probably help with Russian ones!

spain basque farmer clothing
Huh?

treasures in walls benton county iowa
I wonder what treasures might lie in the walls of Benton County, IA. Who knows what might be found!

what happened to the moorman slaves of virginia
I do have Moorman ancestors who lived in Virginia and owned slaves. I’m more than happy to share what little info I have on them!

dutch police handcuffs
I’m baffled. No answer here.

i am my ancestors
Yes, we are all part of our ancestors.

diaper 11 yrs
Hmmm. Is this an 11 yr old diaper or an 11 yr old in a diaper? Either way, I’m not sure why google sent you here.

How My Great-Great Grandma Lost Her Arm

I have been wondering about the details of my great-great grandmother’s accident since I was a little girl. IView full post »

Tombstone Tuesday: Getting Muddy is Better Than Getting Shot

This is the story of how I found my great-great-great grandparents graves and lived to tell the tale. This storyView full post »

Tombstone Tuesday: The surprise at the end of the muddy trail

This is a continuation of last week’s Tombstone Tuesday, in which Ellie and I very bravely ventured down a muddyView full post »

A Glimpse into my Grandma’s Life: 1941

Besides the wonderful picture that I was reunited with last week, the woman who contacted me also gave me a glimpse intoView full post »

The interesting life of Rev. John Peter Hogstad, Missionary to Madagascar

When I began my genealogical journey 12 years ago, I never imagined that I’d have any kind of connection toView full post »

Bloggers’ Dinner with FamilySearch

Eating out at a Southern BBQ would have been great in itself.  Real macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, and of course lotsView full post »

NGS 2011 Charleston – Day One

We were up bright and early for our first day of the Conference.  I felt like a kid on the first day of school. View full post »

Charleston NGS 2011: Day 2

Day One was all excitement.  I took tons of pictures.  I met lots of people. I entered tons of raffles (still waitingView full post »

A Peek at Charleston

Ellie and I made it to Charleston Sunday night and were able to spent two wonderful days sightseeing with my friend andView full post »

Genealogy for Kids: Cemetery Scavenger Hunt

I have to admit that while I was creating this scavenger hunt, my husband was kind of creeped out.  And he was warningView full post »

Newspaper Find: People View Night Blooming Cereus

Listening to Geneabloggers Blog Talk Radio last Friday, I was pointed in the direction of a great site which has manyView full post »

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: The Three Sisters

We went to visit my husband’s grandma while we were staying in Kansas. She is almost 96 years old, which I thinkView full post »

Introducing: Genea-Comics, #1 The Court Record Lift

My daughter Ellie likes to draw, so I’ve commissioned her to start a series of genealogy related comics. GenealogyView full post »

Genea-Comics #2: The Brick Wall Buster

Here is the second installment of Genea-Comics from my daughter, Ellie.  I have come up with most of the ideas and sheView full post »

In Print

I finally got the latest issue of Family Tree Magazine in the mail a couple of days ago.  For some reason, my friendView full post »

Monday Madness: Solomon M. Hattery’s Accident

This is a stretch for Madness Monday.  No, he wasn’t crazy, but he was drunk and acting crazy. I found this inView full post »

Having a Slight Panic Attack

I’m a seasoned Army wife and am getting very used to packing up and moving every couple of years. It doesn’tView full post »

Treasure Chest Thursday: Meet Dee, My Security Blanket

This is hard for me to admit to the whole genealogy blogosphere, but I was a little Linus.  I carried around thisView full post »

Children of Carl Magnus Klarstrom, Part Ten: Charlotta Eugenia Viktoria Klarström

Charlotta Eugenia Viktoria Klarstrom, (or Eugenia as she was called), was my great-grandmother. She was the tenth (andView full post »

Shopping Through the Ages: 1903

Join me this week as we shop though the 1903 Sears, Roebuck, & Co. catalog. You can find the catalogs online if youView full post »

Oh, and please bear with me for the next few days as I make some modifications to my blog design.  I have some work to do on header design and such and thinks might look a little awkward until I get it fixed.

1. DAR Membership: I think that I have finally gathered all of my needed documentation.  I now need to print out my information on the fancy paper, send my application in, and keep my fingers crossed that I get approved!! I was close to getting my DAR paperwork finished.  I made copies of needed documents.  Then we moved from Savannah to El Paso and I put it on the back burner.  I attended a DAR meeting here in El Paso a couple of months ago, and I plan on pursing this before we move yet again in June.
2. I plan on getting a month-long Genline membership and working on my Swedish roots for a while. The records here are great and I know that there are ancestors just waiting to be found!  I didn’t get a Genline membership, because Ancestry ended up having the Swedish records I needed.  I worked on my Swedish line for about a month last year, especially tracing the life of my great-great grandfather, Carl Magnus Klarstrom and his children.
3. Get John Edwards’ Civil War Pension File.  I’ve just sent a letter to the VA and am hoping that I receive a response sometime in 2011!!  I may need to  call and remind them that I’m waiting.  It’s been about 8 years since I originally ordered it from the NARA and I WANT THAT PENSION!! I won’t take no for an answer.  I just FINALLY received the pension in the mail a few days ago.  I’ll be posting about that later this week.
4. Find out what happened to Ella Jane Hattery (my 2nd great grandmother).  I need to do some serious research on her.  I am going to try tracking down some living relatives that might be able to answer some of my many questions about her very interesting life. I made a little headway on my very elusive great-great grandmother.  I found a couple of more marriages for her, but I still don’t know when or where she died.  I’m hoping that the 1940 census will give me some much needed clues this year.
5. Find out what part of Kentucky John Robertson was from.  I need to take the information I learned about researching common names and apply it to this problem.  Searching for John Robertson in Kentucky, before 1850 is going to be difficult, but I think that I can do it! I found out that John Robertson is most likely from Breckenridge County, KY.  Still need to pursue this though.
6. Attend the NGS Conference in May and learn a lot of new things to help me in my research. I went to the NGS Conference in Charleston and had a blast!!
7. Write out my children’s birth stories, before they end up being distant memories. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t get around to doing this.
8. Interview my parents about their early lives – and actually take notes or record them this time. Nope.
9. Start researching my brother-in-law’s family in earnest.  I’m excited about doing some Italian research! I did begin research on my brother-in-law’s line and it’s been a lot of fun starting with some new names.
10. Contact my Papa’s 2 living siblings.  See if they might have any old pictures or stories they are willing to share. No.
11. Find out how to access the Leavenworth County, KS probate records and order/search for John C. Davidson’s will (and other Davidson family members also). I found that the probate records are available through the Family History Library and I’m hoping to order them at my local Family History Center. 
12. Talk my husband into taking another genealogy-related trip somewhere.  Maybe back to Virginia?  New Jersey?  Missouri?  Iowa? I’m not sure where yet.   We’re moving to El Paso this summer and we’ve decided that we’re stopping in Maine on the drive over.  We are the only people I know that could possibly fit Maine into a trip from Georgia to Texas. The possibilities for genealogical stops are endless…  I did manage another genea-trip.  I went to Woolwine, Va and found my ancestors’ gravestones.  Then I did research in Washington, Keokuk, Mahaska, and Ringgold counties Iowa. 
13. Do a cemetery census of the Ulrich Cemetery in Douglas County, KS.  Take pictures of all of the stones and rubbings where necessary. I guess I ultimately failed in this goal.  I went to the cemetery and took pictures of my husband’s ancestors’ gravestones.  I also took pictures of many of the other stones in the cemetery, but I didn’t to a census of the entire cemetery.
14. And finally (and this is a huge one) get all of the info I have in my big Rubbermaid container actually entered into my computer program so that I don’t waste my precious time by searching for it again. It didn’t happen, but I have started.  I’ve been scanning and then entering in data and will continue until it’s done!

And here are my goals for 2012 (some will be last year’s goals that I didn’t finish):

1. Scan, scan, scan.  I want to get all of my documents (including about 10 Civil War pensions) digitized.
2. Enter, enter, enter.  I also need to get all of those documents entered into Legacy.
3. DAR membership.  I hope to get this done before we move from El Paso.  If not, then I will get started on it at our next duty station.
4. Write out each of my children’s birth stories.
5. Interview my parents, my husband’s parents, and my aunts and uncles to glean further family stories and details about relatives I never met.
6. Continue researching my brother-in-law’s family and be able to give him a nice report on his line by next Christmas.
7. Put together a “book” for family about the descendants and ancestors of Nicanor Gonzalo Sanchez-Tereso.
8. Make another genea-trip this year.  This is all going to depend on where we’re moving to in June (and we wont’ know where we’re going for a few months).  I will most likely make a stop along the way if I can.  Places I’d like to go: Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Virginia, New York, or maybe even Salt Lake City.
9. Attend local genealogy meetings regularly.
10. Find out what happened to my great-great grandmother, Ella Jane Hattery.  Hopefully the 1940 census will give me some clues.
11. Keep up with my genea-blogging on a regular basis.
12. Organize my digital pictures and documents.  Make back-ups of them.  Share them with family.
13. Start a research log and fill it throughout the year.
14. Continue to work on my Swedish line – search through the parish records to find further ancestors.
15. Attend a conference of some sort – that will all depend on where we’re living and if I have child care.
16. Become a Find a Grave volunteer and take some pictures for people who request it.
17. Do some indexing on FamilySearch.

I think that sounds like enough to keep me busy this year!!

I thought I’d do a short post, listing some of the new last names I’ve added to my searches….

MONTAGUE

BOTTARINI  (Italian roots, something new for me!!)

JOHNSON

HOLLAND

KNIGHT

LEACH

RICHMOND

COUCH

BRETT

WHEELER

You get a picture of yours truly instead…

Yes, I was possibly the chubbiest baby on earth.  4 months old and 18 1/2 pounds.  According to my mom, she couldn’t button up the back of my dresses since my neck was so big.

And I have to add that I’m feeling quite old since my baby photos are starting to fade!!

We made the trek from El Paso to Kansas and back within 3 days.  It was 16 hours each direction and man am I exhausted!!

We had Pukefest 2011 in the car on the way back.  No exaggeration.

Three kids with a stomach bug on a 16 hour car trip is not pleasant, in case you wondered.  You can’t even begin to imagine how happy I was to pull into our driveway!

I’m still glad that we made the trip.  It was nice to be able to say goodbye to her and to visit with family that we don’t see very often.

I {of course} took pictures.

Here are my 5 rugrats…

My husband and his dad…

Our kids and Andy’s cousins’ kids.  It was really hard to get all 8 of them to look the same direction.  My youngest {on the right} is making such a strange face!

I think it’s going to take us all a week to recover from the 30+ hours in the car and the stomach bug.

{this is my son, upset about something, but I’m not sure what.  I couldn’t help but take a picture of that face!}

I had planned on joining the next ProGen group.  I was really excited about the opportunity to further my genealogical education.  It sounds like such an amazing group.

But then reality hit me like a ton of bricks…

I homeschool 4 children every day.  And I have a 3 yr old running around underfoot on top of that.

I have three daughters in three separate Girl Scout troops.

I try to keep current on both of my blogs.

I’ve joined a photography club and a Bunco group and I’ve been attending the local genealogy society meetings.

I’m trying to get my rear end to the gym or on the treadmill on a regular basis.

I actually have real live friends here and they want to do real live stuff – which is cool!

I have floors to clean, dishes to do, laundry to wash, and dinner to cook.

I have genealogy research to do!!!  And lots of papers to scan and file.

I have a long list of places I want to visit while we’re here in the SouthWest.

I have a husband who is in a military academy all day and taking college classes for his Master’s Degree a couple evenings a night.

And the conclusion I came to after realizing all of this was that there was no way on earth that I could fully commit to the study group.    If I do something, I want to be able to give it my all. It will have to happen during a different season in my life.

We celebrated a day early, so here are some of my fireworks pictures…

I’m using my wireless card, but the cell service out here is almost nonexistent.  I am not going to be able to post some of the picture-heavy things I had planned (like my Shopping Through the Ages for 1900) because I can’t download or upload pictures very quickly on “one bar” of my cell phone.  Heck, I feel like I’m watching paint dry when I’m trying to do something as simple as opening my email. Plus, we’ve been under a tornado warning (the joys of Kansas!)   I saw that I had more than a bar this evening and decided to jump on the chance to blog!

I am, however, having a great time visiting with my husband’s family.  I celebrated my baby’s 3rd birthday yesterday (time is flying!).  My husband has a birthday this weekend also, so we’re really enjoying our family time.

Here are some of the flowers at his grandma’s house after one of our many rainstorms this week.

I interviewed his 96 year old grandma today and was able to record her (something I have always forgot to do in the past).  I’m hoping to get a chance to ask her a few more questions this week.  She is still so spunky. I will be posting her birth story in the next week or two.  It is so cool!!

I have plans to visit a local farm cemetery and take pictures. My husband’s ancestors are buried there.  They were amongst the first settlers in Douglas county, Kansas in 1854.

I have also talked Andy into making a quick trip up to Mt Ayr, Iowa for the day.  I skipped it on the way down, because I was missing my kids a lot and I really didn’t want to do another night in a hotel.  He’s agreed to go with me and I think it will be a fun trip – as long as the weather cooperates with us!  Don’t I have a great husband??

And if you didn’t get a chance to listen to GeneaBloggers radio last night, Ellie and I got to talk with Myrt!  It was very exciting.

It did arrive though.

And it was very cool to see my blog “in print”.

I had to post here to show my mom – since the magazine isn’t in stores yet.

The only thing that makes me nervous is packing up my genealogy stuff.  Documents.  Pictures.  Heirlooms.  Papers.

I absolutely hate seeing it put into boxes.  Boxes that I will not be personally carrying. I have this fear that I might never see them again.

What if a train derails or the crate gets flooded? Or some family in Hawaii gets my box of Civil War pensions???

I know I’m being a tad irrational.  Our household goods have been moved from San Antonio to Copperas Cove to Monterey to North Pole to Savannah.  I’m sure they’ll make it to El Paso too.  But you just never know….

I’ve been digitizing my stuff when I have time.  I have my own little “scanfests” occasionally on the weekends.

But I’m nowhere near being done.

And the scanner isn’t working right now.

And the movers will be at my house in exactly one week.

And I have a zillion other non-genealogy things to get done in that week.

{Panic attack sets in.}

I am really hoping that I can get my husband to get the scanner up and working in the next day or two.  Then maybe I could at least scan what I think is most important.  It would ease my mind a bit.

Part of me wants to hand carry a couple of boxes of stuff that hasn’t been digitized.  But then I have to tell myself that it will be much safer in a crate on a truck to Texas than it would be in my SUV – especially since I’ll be homeless and traveling for about 25 days before we get there.  I think the chances of someone stealing my vehicle are greater than something happening to it in the crate.

How do you deal with your genealogical data during a move??

P.S. Yes, I actually blogged about this one short year ago when we moved from North Pole, Alaska to Savannah, Georgia.  The posts are almost identical, because I’m having exactly the same fears. And yes, my stuff made it here okay.

I just returned home from 5 days in Florida.  Disney World.  The Everglades.  Key West.  The beach.  All of it was very exciting.

But I was even more excited to learn that I was on the list of the top 40 genealogy blogs in Family Tree Magazine – in the new blogs category!!!

I started this blog almost exactly a year ago and have had so much fun with it.

I love having an outlet to share my finds, think through my brick walls, find others researching my families, and connect with other genealogists.

I am humbled and honored to be on the list with so many other great new bloggers.

My good friend Cherie, of Have You Seen My Roots? is on the list also (yeah Cherie!!).  As are Cynthia from Heritage Zen, Brenda from Journey to the Past, and Lisa of Old Stones Undeciphered. And that’s only the “new blogs” category.

There are 35 other great blogs on the list also.  If you haven’t read the list yet, head on over to Family Tree Magazine and check it out. Congratulations to all of those listed – and all who were nominated!

Happy Blog  Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday Dear Climbing My Family Tree!  Happy Blog Birthday to me!

My blog is one year old.  She’s had 265 posts in that year.

It’s hard to believe.  They just grow up so fast.

She’s still a baby, but she’s done crawling and is getting the hang of toddling about.

Another year and she’ll be up and running.

I thought I’d post some more ads from the Sears, Roebuck, & Co. catalog. Most of these are from 1897, with the exception of the last one which was 1915.

Wouldn’t these make a lovely gift? I personally like the emerald heart charm.

Read this book before writing your love letters.

Maybe he’s going to pop the question on this special day!

These would make a lovely gift.

Perfume is always nice…

If you’re completely clueless this Valentine’s Day, maybe you should read these before making a move…

A good rule to remember.  You can never, NEVER, go wrong with chocolates.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥Hope you all have a LOVE-ly day!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

We’ll announce our best blog posts from the previous year (in this case, 2010) in the following 5 categories: Best Picture (that would be a photograph), Best Screen Play (story you would make into a movie including the cast), Best Documentary (investigative research), Best Biography, Best Comedy. Write up a blog post with links to your best articles in these categories and submit it to the COG! Feel free to use the iGene graphic if you’d like. The deadline for submissions is February 1st

The best of 2010!

Best Picture:
This year’s “Best Picture” award goes to 1900′s Schoolroom.  It is a beautiful old postcard-type photograph of some very well-behaved elementary school children.  Hands clasped and in their Sunday best in a small town Minnesota school.

Best Screen Play:
I would love to see a movie made from my Papa’s WWII experiences. He earned 18 battle stars and a purple heart while serving as a Marine on the USS Cabot in the Pacific.  I can’t even imagine what he went through.  His ship was hit by a kamikaze, which is when he was wounded.

Best Documentary:
The “Best Documentary” award goes to Those Places Thursday: Herencia, Ciudad Real, Spain.  It documents the history of this small Spanish town during the time period that my ancestors lived there.  I still have a lot of unanswered questions, but I learned a lot by doing some simple research.

Best Biography:
Looking through my posts, I realized that I’m severely lacking in full-up biographies of my ancestors.  Something to work on, definitely.  I chose a post entitled “Madness Monday:Hedger Pierce“.  I have still yet to find who his parents are, but I did finally find his death date!!

Best Comedy:
My Life is Laundry won for best comedy – although it’s true and I don’t know that I find it very funny!