Are Genealogy Blogs Still Relevant?

Years ago, I followed and browsed hundreds of genealogy blogs each week. Some focused on the blogger's own family's history; some explained technical aspects of genealogy; some discussed researching specific geographic locations or ethnic groups; some examined old family photos; some documented particular cemeteries; some profiled military ancestors; and on and on. 

I didn't read every post, but I skimmed whatever caught my eye and sometimes found myself marveling at somebody's unexpected discovery. Found myself cheering for bloggers who found elusive ancestors, following along as bloggers visited graveyards or ancestral villages in search of new connections, hoped bloggers would finally get their hands on something that confirmed long-held hypotheses. 

From genealogy bloggers, I learned so many new tips and tricks that helped me with specific websites or software or research resources or translation challenges. Along the way, I enjoyed getting a sense of each blogger's personality, interests, and family history background. 

That was then, this is now

Today, after removing bloggers who haven't posted anything at all in 2023, my feed is down to just 45 genealogy blogs--some of which have only a handful of posts so far this year. In addition, I periodically dip into selected blogs written by Geneabloggers members. But here again, some bloggers have ceased posting in recent years or post quite irregularly. 

I know there are bloggers who've transitioned to videos and podcasts rather than writing individual blog posts. Also some have chosen a deep dive into more interactive social media and cut back on blog posts. 

Meanwhile, the world of social media has been fragmented in recent months by the ongoing turmoil on Twitter/X and the emergence of competitors such as Mastodon and BlueSky and Threads and ... [fill in the blank with latest and greatest]. Thankfully, Facebook genealogy groups continue to offer advice and assistance when participants need local knowledge or research suggestions. Although I'm not on Instagram, some genealogy folks love the platform. I'm on Pinterest but only to pin my blog posts. 

Why read? Why blog?

Despite all the alternatives, I believe genealogy blogs are still relevant. In fact, I hope blogging (or family history websites) will be making a comeback. The genealogy community is strong and vibrant and generous with help and ideas. I can't count the number of times I've learned about a new technique or specialized resource from a blogger, and as a result, made a fresh discovery or gained fresh insight. 

With a genealogy blog, I can write what I like, whenever I feel like writing, and it's available for you whenever you feel like reading. Nobody is restricting the length of my blog posts or the topics or how many posts I can write. Nobody is throttling your ability to follow my blog or read any post. I get blogging ideas from my own research, from the brickwalls I face or the discoveries I make, from posts by other bloggers, from comments by readers, and from prompts such as the #52Ancestors series from Amy Johnson Crow.

As I've said in the past, for privacy reasons, I don't name living relatives. If I want to mention a relative who's alive and kicking, I might refer to "Cousin B" or "Philly Cuz." My personal choice is to avoid posting family history info that might cause distress or harm to someone still living. So far as I know, there are no bigamists or murderers in my family tree, but if I discovered one and a descendant was still alive, I wouldn't blog about that situation. 

And, as a reader pointed out in a comment, blogs are excellent cousin bait, today and tomorrow. Posts are available 24/7 whenever anyone is searching for a surname or ancestral town that I've mentioned at any point in the past.

I've been on this genealogy journey for 25 years, and blogging about it for nearly 16 years (my Sweet Sixteen blogiversary is in a few days). If you're a genealogy blogger, I thank you for helping me along on this journey and inspiring me to keep digging. If you're not blogging, maybe this is a good time to begin?

Fave Genealogy Channels on YouTube

YouTube is a really fun, informative resource for genealogy education, news, and opinion! 

Five of my favorite channels for genealogy, in no particular order, are:

• Family History Fanatics - Updated weekly or more often, lots of hands-on demonstrations and insightful examination of topical issues.
• Amy Johnson Crow - Updated weekly, focusing on practical techniques, research resources, and contemporary concerns.
• Allen County Public Library Genealogy - Regular updates with engaging 45- to 60- minute videos about a broad range of topics.
• BYU Family History Library - Meaty genealogy content for all levels, including how-to for genealogy technology.
• Genealogy TV- Updated weekly, with a wide variety of useful genealogy content plus lively expert interviews.

Five more go-to YouTube channels: Family Search, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Find My Past, and WikiTree. 

There are more genealogy-related channels on YouTube, but these are among my very favorites because of the solid content. Whether you choose to subscribe or just watch a couple of videos to gain knowledge about a particular aspect of genealogy, do take a peek at these channels.

If chat is available, try scrolling through . . . often there will be interesting Q&A or additional comments.

Hashtags + Family History = Fun

Many weeks, I have fun participating in Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors blogging challenge, writing something that loosely fits the week's theme. Each theme encourages me to look at my family's history through a slightly different lens. Theme-related posts are on her Generations Cafe FB page and also tagged as #52Ancestors on Twitter (find her at https://twitter.com/AmyJohnsonCrow). 

In addition to that hashtag, I watch Twitter for #Genealogy and #FamilyHistory tags, not to mention the regularly-scheduled chats tagged as #AncestryHour on Tuesdays and #GenChat on alternate Fridays (including tonight, July 2, 10 pm Eastern). This is NOT a complete list--many other fun chats can be found on Twitter.

# Hash Tag Party 

Today happens to be the monthly #ArchivesHashTagParty, when archives near and far post photos and commentary based on the month's theme. 

For July, the theme is #ArchivesSignature. I've had fun reading tweets and seeing signatures held by archives including the Danbury (CT) Museum (Marian Anderson's signature), Connecticut State Library (Civil War enlistment signed by X), the History Center in Tompkins County (George Washington), the Smithsonian Archives (James Smithson, who else?), and many more. 

My post was the signature shown at top. On June 22, 1906, my immigrant great grandfather Moritz Farkas (1857-1936) signed the oath to become a U.S. citizen. It was a proud moment in his life and I am so delighted to have his signature on the naturalization document from 115 years ago. 

Great-grandpa's signature is part of my personal family history archive. By sharing his signature on Twitter, I'm honoring his memory and joining the fun. 

The Perils of Researching Pauline

 

It took a village to overcome a number of perils in researching Pauline Jacobs, who sadly died at a very young age.

Pauline, my 1c2r, was a daughter of paternal g-g-uncle Joseph Jacobs (1864-1918) and g-g-aunt Eva Micalovsky Jacobs (1869-1941). She was a younger sister of Flora Jacobs, whose life I wrote about yesterday.

My first actual document recording Pauline's death (see above) came from the cemetery where she's buried, Mount Zion in Maspeth, New York. The cemetery has a handy "interment search" where I located Pauline, her sister Flora, and her parents and grandmother, all buried in the Plungianer Unterstutzungs Verein plot. They copied and sent me Pauline's interment record, shown at top of this post.

Even with this information in hand, I still faced four perils in researching Pauline!

Peril One: Details Count 

If I had not seen the cemetery record card with my own eyes, I might have believed the incorrect death index for Pauline, shown at right, which indicates 1908 as her year of death. There is no access to images of the actual index, just this transcription. In general, I prefer to see for myself, not blindly trust transcriptions.

My guess is that the actual death info was received by New York City in 1908, since Pauline died just two days before the end of 1907. But I believe the cemetery got the year correct and the index/transcription was incorrect. Therefore I searched for Pauline's official death cert with the assumption she died in 1907.

Peril Two: Limited Access to Images

Searching on FamilySearch.org, I could see that Pauline's death cert was in fact in the database. However, images of many vital records are accessible only at a Family History Center. The pandemic has mostly closed these down for the time being. 

Happily, I knew from social media that a few volunteers regularly visit FHC parking lots and access the database wirelessly to pull images by request. It's impossible to say enough good things about these volunteers, who are incredibly generous with their time and energy.** 

A kind parking lot angel saw my FB request for Pauline's death cert (I provided full details, including the cert number from the index and my belief that the year was 1907). Within a few minutes, she had accessed and sent me the image, for which I am truly grateful. 

The cert says Pauline had been treated for 3 weeks at Willard Parker Hospital in New York City (specializing in communicable diseases). The cert also solved the medical mystery of Pauline's untimely death at the age of 7. Well, it would have if I could have deciphered the cause of death. 

** During 2021, Family Search is offering a remote lookup service that takes the place of parking lot angels. I've had very good luck using this service! Try it.

Peril Three: Handwriting and Medical Jargon

The cause of death was handwritten...and I couldn't decipher what it said, let alone what it meant. More eyes were needed. I took a screen shot of the cause of death and posted on Twitter with a request for #Genealogy help. And I got out my tissue box, ready to cry.

Within moments, answers began pouring in. Not only did these savvy folks know that the cause of death was scarlatina (scarlet fever), but they read the rest of the details: 24 days, sepsis. Scarlet fever can be treated today but it was quite perilous in the early days of the 20th century, well before antibiotics, making me tear up. 

Thanks to the helpful Twitter community of genies, I knew a lot more about Pauline's fate. But I still needed one more piece of the puzzle for a better picture of Pauline's life.

Peril Four: Finding the Right Jacobs

My next quest was to obtain little Pauline's birth certificate. I clicked to the Italian Genealogical Group's New York City vital records databases and searched for births of "Jacobs, Pauline" after 1899 and before 1902. Jacobs is a fairly common name, of course. I began with her name as recorded on the cemetery and death documents. I would have tried "Jacob, Pauline" if no decent possibilities showed up--because different official records showed "Jacob" OR "Jacobs" for this family's surname at different times. 

I was able to narrow down the list of possibilities, as shown above, from the ItalianGen database results. In my opinion, the most likely is the second on the list, Pauline Jacobs, born on June 26, 1901. I decided it was worth paying $15 for this record and I ordered online from New York City, saving a week or more in the long waiting time for a response. 

Having overcome four perils of researching Pauline, I'll hope to see this birth certificate before the end of 2020. Meanwhile, I'm remembering this cousin who unfortunately died way too young, keeping her memory alive for future generations. 

-- This post is part of the Genealogy Blog Party "Virtual Research Trip" for July, 2021. 

At Family Tree Live!

Today and tomorrow I'm presenting at the new genealogy show in London, Family Tree Live. Sponsored by the UK magazine Family Tree, the show has dozens of lectures and workshops for genealogy enthusiasts at every level.

I can't wait to visit the exhibit hall and meet representatives from local family history societies all around the country, as well as top genealogy firms and genealogy buddies like mystery novelist Nathan Dylan Goodwin.

On Friday, my topic is "How to use social media for #genealogy and #familyhistory."

On Saturday, my topic is "Do you have a genealogical will?"

Also on Saturday afternoon, I'm joining Gill Blanchard and Diane Lindsay for a special panel discussion, "Crash course in writing your family story."

I'm planning to tweet (@MarianBWood) during the show, but won't have any recaps here on the blog for a little while.

Any comments left by readers won't appear for a few days. Thanks for reading!

See You at Family Tree Live in London, April 26-27

Family Tree magazine has cooked up Family Tree Live, a big new genealogy show in London on Friday and Saturday, April 26-27!

There will be more than 60 lectures, with three choices of expert speakers or panels per each time slot. For hands-on learning, the show also offers dozens of workshops, including a special track about DNA for genealogy.

You can buy tickets and prebook your seat in lectures and workshops right now!

It's new, it's live, and I'm thrilled to be on the program as a speaker and panelist during three sessions. Please say hello if you come to one of these talks:

• #Genealogy and #familyhistory: How to use social media for genealogy (at 12:15 pm on Friday, April 26) - I'll decode the hashtags and show you how to get the most out of using Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest for genealogy, whether you want to join the conversation or follow to lurk and learn.
• Planning a future for your family's past: Do you have a genealogical will? (at 10:00 am on Saturday, April 27) - After a brief overview of organizing genealogy files so they look like a legacy, I'll explain why and how to prepare a genealogical 'will' to keep old photos and documents safe for future generations.* 
• Crash course in writing your family history (at 11:30 am on Saturday, April 27) - Gill Blanchard, Diane Lindsay, and I will offer practical ideas and tips for writing your family's history so descendants will know the more about the lives lived by their ancestors--not just names and dates.

* You can find out even more by reading my best-selling genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Save the Dates: Family Tree Live 2019 in London

Have you heard about the new genealogy show--Family Tree Live--coming to London in April?

Friday and Saturday, two days packed full of interesting, informative, and entertaining talks and panels about #Genealogy and #family history.

Please take a look at the lecture program, downloadable and printable by day.

On Friday, April 26, I'll be presenting #Genealogy and #familyhistory: How to use social media for genealogy, at 12:15 pm.

On Saturday, April 27, I'll be presenting Planning a Future for Your Family's Past: Do You Have a Genealogical Will? at 10:00 am.

Then on Saturday at 11:30 am, I'm part of a panel talk: Crash Course in Writing Your Family Story. "Four experts in forty minutes! Get top tips from those who know in one crammed session."

Save the dates. Hope to see you in London in April!

Where Have All the Gen Bloggers Gone?

Do you remember that 1950s folk song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone? by Pete Seeger (read the story here)?

This mournful song came to mind today as I tested the links on every one of the dozens of genealogy blogs I follow. Where have all the genealogy bloggers gone?

• Nearly 3 dozen blogs haven't been updated in at least 6 months. Of these, at least 10 have been dormant since 2015. Most of the blogs had been active for a few years, on and off, and then activity dwindled to zero.
• Several blogs have transitioned to websites (and are still functioning, so I changed my "follow list" to reflect the new address). These are keepers.
• Inexplicably, 2 blogs are now "hidden" from view. Can't see what they are now, so I deleted them from my reading list.

Now I'm down to reading only 78 genealogy blogs. Since few bloggers post as often as, say, Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings, I can easily keep up with the blogs I like to follow.

But I really miss the meadow of genealogy blogs that once blossomed with information, education, and discoveries. I miss buzzing from blog to blog and enjoying the diverse voices and stories that these bloggers were kind enough to share.

Despite the shrinking population, I do not think that genealogy blogging is dead. Some bloggers have, I imagine, decided to focus on Twitter or Pinterest or both. Some are surely active on Facebook genealogy pages or Instagram. Most are probably busy living their lives and researching their trees. At least, I hope that's what happened. My 10th blogiversary is coming up in August, and I plan to keep blogging as I climb my family tree.

Let me thank all of you genealogy bloggers who are still posting, and encourage those of you who are new to add your voice and believe you have an audience. I look forward to seeing what you're doing, learning from your experiences and expertise, commiserating with you when an ancestor refuses to be found, and rejoicing with you when you smash a brick wall.