Question of the Week: What draws you to genealogy blogs?

Question

Do you follow genealogy blogs?

Which ones are your favorites? Why?

(Are you all sensing a slight theme here? :-) We're putting together a little bit of a directory for this week's question and the last two -- webinars and podcasts.)

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Update: It seems that there may be a bit of confusion about what a blog is, exactly. 

What I'm referring to here is a website that contains articles written about genealogy. An example would be the WikiTree Blog where you'll find articles about the Photo of the Week Winner, Weekly WikiNews, our Meet the Members feature, etc.

Another example is Vita Brevis, a blog from the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which has a variety of genealogy-related articles.

Think of a blog as an online magazine. The difference is that they can be written by anyone; although, the more useful ones are written by someone who has done their research and is usually an expert in their field of interest.

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Comments

I like your connection with famous people. During the day my time is  to look and learn is short, and   breaks and batteries aren't enough for longer 20 to 30min long you get in to it and you have to pick it up later.  I do like nature versus nature what makes me who am I?  Why do I like winter is it  my DNA?.  I am most interested in people search since I'm was adopted any tips.

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Me again mostly I just don't have the whole social media bug. I don't have the time to devote to it ,I see the value in lt

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I welcome your blogs. I find them most useful in looking for info on a past family member.  They're also helpful in trying to figure out how to correct an entry I've made.  

A problem I have is if I receive a message from a member with useful information, I post a reply with answers or further questions.  Only, I never know how to find the original question or forthcoming responses.

Still, I like them.  Thanks, Loretta McGinn McDermott (McDermott-880)

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I agree.

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Sorry, I do not.  I have limited Internet access.

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I do check out Genealogy blogs on Pinterest but I don't follow any of them

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Try going to looking for bio parent. They also have a dna test finding my family it might work'

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I'm wondering if it might be useful to define what a "blog" is?  I don't think we are all using the same definition here.

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That's a great idea, Vicky ... I'll update the original message.

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I follow over a dozen blogs on Feedly and am always looking for new ones that meet my needs. In general blogs are current and information, providing all sorts of information relevant to my research.

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E -- Do you have any favorites we could add to our list??

Answer 1

Content. There are a few I follow daily, but mainly I find new or interesting blogs based on a search or a question I need to have answered.

Mags

Comments

Mags -- do you have any favs you want to add to the list?? Besides, of course, Grandma's Genes? ;-)

Answer 2

I don't follow any, but I do click on interesting blog articles that show up on my Facebook Feed.

Answer 3

The absolute need to know. As a traditional person, it is essential to me to be able to explain to my kids where our family came from.

Answer 4

Genealogy Blogs? Nothing.

Blogs in general? Nothing.

Answer 5

Was looking for a way to easily search records that are in the public domain without having to pay an outrageous annual subscription.  or paying for for a software program that suddenly decides to go unsupported.  FTM

Answer 6

My favorite blog is www.jeaniesgenealogy.com aka The Family Connection, but I am a bit biased because it's mine.

Comments

That's awesome, Jeanie!! :-)

Answer 7

I don't usually follow blogs.  Sometimes if I am researching something I will read a blog.

Answer 8

I love The Genetic Genealogist by Blaine Bettinger. He doesn't send out messages too frequently (which I appreciate), but what he does send is really useful.

Answer 9

Funnily enough, I don't follow any genealogy blogs regularly, but it was a blog post that introduced me to WikiTree in the first place!  This one.

Answer 10

NO, I do not follow any.

Answer 11

My favorite blog is  GeneaDiva's History, Genealogy and "Stuff". 

Additional blogs I enjoy are  Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver. He shares information about various databases including ancestry, familysearch.org and My Heritage. He always has the latest information on webinars, seminars and other genealogy related events. He provides step by step demonstrations regarding his research process. His blog is the one I read if I only have time to read one blog.

DearMyrtle's Genealogy Blog is another blog I find very helpful.

GeneaBloggers created by Thomas MacEntee, is a one stop for genealogy blogs. 

 Cyndi's List has a nice genealogy blog category which provides links to many blogs as well as information on how to locate and subscribe to blogs.

 

 

Answer 12

It's not just Genealogy Blogs, I can't understand what any Blog is trying to say. Social Media makes no sense to me. They write with strange abbreviations that confuse me. I don't speak Emoji. The entire content seems to be in a dialect that I never learned. It seems to me that those who do understand all this, want to create a sub-language. They do this, I believe, so they can scoff at those that don't understand them. Ayn Rand in "Atlas Shrugged" had a group who hoped to bring order out of the chaos. They had a private language that allowed information to pass between two people at an incredible rate. This I would applaud. But to create a language just to cause embarrassment is wrong.

Comments

Hi, John --

Most of the blogs that I read and/or follow are very well written. I think you just have to be picky and find ones that work for you.

You might want to take a peek at some of them listed here. They might surprise you. :-)

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I personally find out a lot of information from a mixed variety of blogs that help me to understand what is new in DNA what others have discovered and what information will help me now and in the future.

Answer 13

I'm looking to be educated in this field.  Articles pertaining to the latest in DNA.....articles that actually help you break brick walls....education type of articles....Also...I LOVE WIKITREE!

Comments

Fantastic!

We are working on pulling together a list of webinars, podcasts and blogs that were recommended by this Question of the Week and the last two.

Hopefully, at least one of them will help you find what you're looking for! :-)

Answer 14

I follow several:

Eastmans Online Genealogy Newsletter - https://blog.eogn.com/

The Weekly Genealogist - from American Ancestors - https://www.americanancestors.org/index.aspx

Vita Brevis - http://vita-brevis.org/

Irish Family History Centre - https://www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com/

Generally, I use them to keep updated on trends and topics, always hoping to find something to help me break down one of my several 'brick walls' in my genealogy research.

Comments

Thank you, George! These look great!

Answer 15

1. Vita Brevis is a blog of the New England Historic Genealogical Society
2. The Legal Genealogist blog of Judy G. Russell, JD, CG℠ , CGL℠
3. Genealogy At Heart by Lori Samuelson, a genealogist in the process of getting her certification
4. Worldwide Genealogy, "a blog, written daily by someone different everyday from across the globe."
5. Family Folklore Blog by Sue Adams, especially her series on receiving and processing the papers of William "Bill" Henry Lawrence (1915-2009). Bill was the husband of Gwendoline Brown, Sue's 1st cousin once removed.

These things are required for me to follow a blog:

1. I prefer longer, well thought out, grammatically correct posts
2. The person writing the blog needs to teach me something, with sources to back up their thoughts, and do so in a (to me) entertaining way.
3. The blog has to have a rss feed enabled. I tend to read blogs using the "Pocket" app on my iPad when I don't have an internet connection. Blog posts get in to the app via the feed. No feed means it's not there which means it doesn't get read.

Comments

I second your recommendations for Vita-Brevis and The Legal Genealogist, as well as your requirements for well-written, well-sourced blogs.  

I often revisit The Legal Genealogist for my own reference or when helping a friend with a question.

I'll have to look up the others on your list!

Answer 16

Not really

Answer 17

I've written some genealogy-related blog posts, but they currently are not available online. I got a domain name to give them a new home, but I've not posted them yet. Not sure about where to put the pictures, for one thing. Someday I'll put them back up. The domain name is largelyforgotten.com. But there's nothing there yet.

Comments

Good luck getting that rolling again, Elizabeth!

Answer 18

I follow James Tanner Genealogy's Star,  Eastman's online genealogy News, and The Ancestry Insider.

Answer 19

I follow The Genes Blog, the Legal Genealogist , Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, DNAeXplained, Essex Record Office uk Blog , the National Archives. gov.uk and others when required

Answer 20

No because I'm new at this and just beginning.  So any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks