Want To Share Your Family History? Blog It.
By Esther Yu Sumner
When T.K., the granddaughter of Rosmer Pettis Kerr and Evelyn Elvina Hauer, found two old, unlabeled photographs of a large burned-out building among her grandparent’s belongings, she wanted to know more. What were these buildings, and what made them important enough for her grandparents to hold onto the photos? After a little genealogy sleuthing on the Internet, she was able to identify the photos and bring a small episode from the lives of her grandparents to life. Based on her research, T.K. believes that the photographs are likely of the Wadsworth Manufacturing Company Fire that occurred in 1919. She concluded that her grandparents had saved the photographs because the building was likely just a couple of blocks away from their home at the time.
When T.K., the granddaughter of Rosmer Pettis Kerr and Evelyn Elvina Hauer, found two old, unlabeled photographs of a large burned-out building among her grandparent’s belongings, she wanted to know more. What were these buildings, and what made them important enough for her grandparents to hold onto the photos? After a little genealogy sleuthing on the Internet, she was able to identify the photos and bring a small episode from the lives of her grandparents to life. Based on her research, T.K. believes that the photographs are likely of the Wadsworth Manufacturing Company Fire that occurred in 1919. She concluded that her grandparents had saved the photographs because the building was likely just a couple of blocks away from their home at the time.
We know about her research and conclusions, including links to websites she visited, images of the original unlabeled photographs, and images of the newspaper photo she used to verify her findings, because she has shared them on her personal family history blog, which she calls “Before My Time,” at http://krentz.blogspot.com/.
T.K. also adds in the conclusion of this 8 April 2008 blog, “I hope someday a reader of this blog will be able to confirm or refute my identification of these two photos. Please leave a comment if you can add any information.” K.T. has used blogging as a way to share her research and collaborate with other genealogists.
What is a blog?
Blogging is a relatively new form of recording, and sharing, history through the use of an online journal. Blogs allow an individual with little web experience to author his or her own website, complete with personalized headlines, photographs, and even video clips. Bloggers simply use a template to post entries that then appear on the site in chronological order, with the latest entry at the top of the webpage. Readers of the blog can then read the author’s post and enter comments, which the author has the option to delete if desiredAccording to the blog search site Technorati (http://technorati.com).
Who blogs?
There are currently more than 70 million blogs in existence, and more than 1 million posts added to blogs each day.
News stations, politicians, entertainment icons, and more use blogs to reach the public. Though most blogs are geared toward a blogger’s family and friends, a lot of genealogy companies, genealogy associations, and well-known genealogists have blogs that reach a wider audience.
Just a sampling of these bloggers include
Blogs allow individuals to post their genealogy research on their own private webspace, for free and with little technical savvy. If you’ve ever posted on an online message board, you can blog.
Blogs are a good way to get family members talking about both family history and current family events. Without realizing it, a vast number of the individuals in the “blogosphere” are developing family histories online by journaling about their lives and families. Think of it as a Christmas newsletter where you share family news, but as often as you want. Blogs often announce births in the family, funny stories about things their children did recently, tributes to deceased loved ones, and more.
Many genealogists’ blogs go a step further though, like T.K.’s Wadsworth company post. They share their recent research activity and encourage other researchers to contribute. This allows researchers looking for the same ancestors to compare notes and find each other online.
How do I get started?
There are several well-known blog companies that help individuals ready to start their own blog. One popular source is www.blogger.com because it is easy to use, provides attractive templates, and is free. Bloggers simply sign up for a blog using their email address, select a template, and then begin posting. The posting form is similar to Microsoft Word in many ways— just enter text, bold or italicize words, then post the entry. Bloggers typically choose to also use the easy upload feature to enhance their posts with photographs and videos.
To start a blog on Blogger.com, just click the orange “Create Your Blog Now” button from the Blogger.com homepage, then follow the instructions to complete the short form. You can also click the blue “take a quick tour” button for additional insights. Another good option for free blogging is the site Live Journal at www.livejournal.com.
Blogging allows room for error. While you’re getting started, most blogging sites allow you to “hide” your blog from the public so it is only viewable by invitation. With some blogging companies, including blogger.com, you can also edit your posts after they are live if you change your mind about what you want to share.
Check out some genealogy blogs now
Before you get started, you might have some fun looking at other genealogy blogs. You might find a distant relative that has been blogging about the research of one of your ancestors. Try searching for blogs at the Genealogy blog finder at http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/, or Google’s blog search at http://blogsearch.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wb. You can also find an index of most of the popular genealogy blogs athttp://genblogs.worldvitalrecords.com/. Happy blogging.
Esther Yu Sumner is a freelance writer and Web usability specialist. You can reach her at esumnertime@gmail.com.
Back »
This article ran in the Family History Bulletin for WorldVitalRecords.com on 21 April 2008. You can find it in their online archives.
When T.K., the granddaughter of Rosmer Pettis Kerr and Evelyn Elvina Hauer, found two old, unlabeled photographs of a large burned-out building among her grandparent’s belongings, she wanted to know more. What were these buildings, and what made them important enough for her grandparents to hold onto the photos? After a little genealogy sleuthing on the Internet, she was able to identify the photos and bring a small episode from the lives of her grandparents to life. Based on her research, T.K. believes that the photographs are likely of the Wadsworth Manufacturing Company Fire that occurred in 1919. She concluded that her grandparents had saved the photographs because the building was likely just a couple of blocks away from their home at the time.
When T.K., the granddaughter of Rosmer Pettis Kerr and Evelyn Elvina Hauer, found two old, unlabeled photographs of a large burned-out building among her grandparent’s belongings, she wanted to know more. What were these buildings, and what made them important enough for her grandparents to hold onto the photos? After a little genealogy sleuthing on the Internet, she was able to identify the photos and bring a small episode from the lives of her grandparents to life. Based on her research, T.K. believes that the photographs are likely of the Wadsworth Manufacturing Company Fire that occurred in 1919. She concluded that her grandparents had saved the photographs because the building was likely just a couple of blocks away from their home at the time.
We know about her research and conclusions, including links to websites she visited, images of the original unlabeled photographs, and images of the newspaper photo she used to verify her findings, because she has shared them on her personal family history blog, which she calls “Before My Time,” at http://krentz.blogspot.com/.
T.K. also adds in the conclusion of this 8 April 2008 blog, “I hope someday a reader of this blog will be able to confirm or refute my identification of these two photos. Please leave a comment if you can add any information.” K.T. has used blogging as a way to share her research and collaborate with other genealogists.
What is a blog?
Blogging is a relatively new form of recording, and sharing, history through the use of an online journal. Blogs allow an individual with little web experience to author his or her own website, complete with personalized headlines, photographs, and even video clips. Bloggers simply use a template to post entries that then appear on the site in chronological order, with the latest entry at the top of the webpage. Readers of the blog can then read the author’s post and enter comments, which the author has the option to delete if desiredAccording to the blog search site Technorati (http://technorati.com).
Who blogs?
There are currently more than 70 million blogs in existence, and more than 1 million posts added to blogs each day.
News stations, politicians, entertainment icons, and more use blogs to reach the public. Though most blogs are geared toward a blogger’s family and friends, a lot of genealogy companies, genealogy associations, and well-known genealogists have blogs that reach a wider audience.
Just a sampling of these bloggers include
- WorldVitalRecords.com (http://blog.worldvitalrecords.com),
- Ancestry.com (http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/),
- Everton Publishers (http://genealogyblog.com/),
- Genealogy Roots Blog (http://genrootsblog.blogspot.com/ ),
- The California Genealogical Society and Library Blog (http://calgensoc.blogspot.com/),
- Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter(http://blog.eogn.com/),
- Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak(http://megansrootsworld.blogspot.com/)
Blogs allow individuals to post their genealogy research on their own private webspace, for free and with little technical savvy. If you’ve ever posted on an online message board, you can blog.
Blogs are a good way to get family members talking about both family history and current family events. Without realizing it, a vast number of the individuals in the “blogosphere” are developing family histories online by journaling about their lives and families. Think of it as a Christmas newsletter where you share family news, but as often as you want. Blogs often announce births in the family, funny stories about things their children did recently, tributes to deceased loved ones, and more.
Many genealogists’ blogs go a step further though, like T.K.’s Wadsworth company post. They share their recent research activity and encourage other researchers to contribute. This allows researchers looking for the same ancestors to compare notes and find each other online.
How do I get started?
There are several well-known blog companies that help individuals ready to start their own blog. One popular source is www.blogger.com because it is easy to use, provides attractive templates, and is free. Bloggers simply sign up for a blog using their email address, select a template, and then begin posting. The posting form is similar to Microsoft Word in many ways— just enter text, bold or italicize words, then post the entry. Bloggers typically choose to also use the easy upload feature to enhance their posts with photographs and videos.
To start a blog on Blogger.com, just click the orange “Create Your Blog Now” button from the Blogger.com homepage, then follow the instructions to complete the short form. You can also click the blue “take a quick tour” button for additional insights. Another good option for free blogging is the site Live Journal at www.livejournal.com.
Blogging allows room for error. While you’re getting started, most blogging sites allow you to “hide” your blog from the public so it is only viewable by invitation. With some blogging companies, including blogger.com, you can also edit your posts after they are live if you change your mind about what you want to share.
Check out some genealogy blogs now
Before you get started, you might have some fun looking at other genealogy blogs. You might find a distant relative that has been blogging about the research of one of your ancestors. Try searching for blogs at the Genealogy blog finder at http://blogfinder.genealogue.com/, or Google’s blog search at http://blogsearch.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wb. You can also find an index of most of the popular genealogy blogs athttp://genblogs.worldvitalrecords.com/. Happy blogging.
Esther Yu Sumner is a freelance writer and Web usability specialist. You can reach her at esumnertime@gmail.com.
Back »
This article ran in the Family History Bulletin for WorldVitalRecords.com on 21 April 2008. You can find it in their online archives.
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