What About Twitter and Mastodon for Genealogy?

Having enjoyed the genealogy community on Twitter for 14 years, I'm tentatively keeping my account there despite the chaos that ensued after the new ownership began in October, 2022. For the record, I don't agree at all with the new policies and actions, nor do I like the changed atmosphere. UPDATE NOV 2023: Still don't like the atmosphere on Twitter, supposedly known as X these days. In fact, I had 100 bots a week follow me on Twitter, so I've taken my account there private. No more bots. 

But I very much like the genealogy people I've met on Twitter, and I get a lot out of participating in various genealogy chats. Every other Friday night is the US-based #GenChat (10 pm Eastern). Tuesday afternoon (Eastern time) is the UK-based #AncestryHour. UPDATE: #AncestryHour has been on hiatus since Twitter imposed limits on the number of posts that can be viewed without paying, mid-2023. However, #GenChat is alive and well.

Exploring Mastodon

As a possible Twitter alternative, I joined Mastodon late in 2022. With my interest in family history, I joined via a server (known as an "instance" in the platform's terminology) that is primarily focused on genealogy. It's called Genealysis.social, and you can read more here.

My Mastodon account is: @MarianBWood@genealysis.social (see image at top--with me in one of the MyHeritage AI Time Machine portraits).  

I highly recommend Daniel Loftus's YouTube tutorial on how to use Mastodon. He was an early adopter and knows the ins and outs. TY to Daniel for the master class! The tutorial helped me get up and running while I gain experience. Still, Mastodon is not yet as interactive as Twitter, and other social media platforms may emerge that are even better alternatives.

I'm delighted that there is a list of genealogy and family-history #Geneadons as a pinned toot on Mish Holman's Mastodon account. TY to Mish for making this available on Mastodon, so I can find and follow my family history friends.

As of May, I haven't yet noticed a high volume of genealogy conversation on Mastodon, not anywhere near as much as used to be on Twitter prior to October, 2022. Happily, #GenChat is now on Mastodon, with a small but interested group.

UPDATE NOV 2023: Although Mastodon has not at all become a hotbed of genealogy conversations, #GenChat has definitely picked up steam and attracts a different crowd on Mastodon, especially participants from Europe and down under. It's been fun and worthwhile, though fewer are joining the conversation compared with what used to happen on Twitter.

Happy Family History New Year!

 

On December 31, 1914, this colorful penny postcard was mailed to the Cleveland, Ohio home of my husband's uncle, Wallis W. Wood. The children seem to be unwrapping a lucky "pot of gold" for the new year, 1915.

Now, 108 years later, let me wish you a new year of health, happiness, and peace, with a lot of lucky ancestor discoveries!

Looking Ahead to 2023 Genealogy Priorities

The year 2023 will be the 25th year of my genealogy journey! In my final post for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors prompts for 2022, I look ahead to genealogy priorities for the new year.

• Continue writing bite-sized ancestor bios. During NaGenWriMo in November, I blitzed 70 ancestor bios onto multiple genealogy sites, some bios about people on my tree and some for my husband's tree. I'm still adding bios of spouses and in-laws, and still doing a bit of fresh research when I focus on an ancestor I haven't looked at for a long time. I never know what additional details I may find! By posting bios, I'm sharing what I know with the wider world and keeping the memory of these ancestors alive for the future. Addendum: Also paw through files to curate notes, digitize what's needed, discard what's not needed.
• Resume my photo album project. I slacked off on moving photos from archival boxes to archival albums, after a strong start earlier in 2022. Now I want to get back to curating and moving photos, digitizing and adding captions where needed, so future generations will know who's who. This is also a way to make old family photos more accessible "on demand" (when a relative shows even the slightest interest). 
• Research ancestors and FAN club members of particular interest. My tree and hubby's tree have lots of branches and leaves after so many years of genealogical research. Now I'm going to concentrate on people who are particularly important or interesting in my family's history, such as Hinda Ann Mitav and her husband, Isaac Chazan. They hosted my grandfather in Manchester, England, en route from Lithuania to North America in 1901. Hinda is almost certainly a sister of my great-grandma, Necke Gelle Burk.
• Genealogy presentations. I use Fold3 often but the browse/search functions are not intuitive, so my new talk will share practical tips for navigating the site to find military records and much more. I'll also be showing how and why to create memorial pages on Fold3 for men and women who served in the military. I've retired my talk about social media for genealogy, because of the ever-changing situation on Twitter and my learning curve on Mastadon (I'm at @MarianBWood@genealysis.social). See a list of all my presentations here.
• Genealogy education. I'm furthering my genealogy knowledge by subscribing to Legacy Family Tree Webinars and attending RootsTech, as well as by continuing my membership in genealogy groups near and far so I can access their programs. Going into my 25th year of genealogy fun, I know enough to know there's a lot more I could and should know.

Readers, wishing you an enjoyable and productive year of genealogy in 2023!

Merry Christmas Penny Postal Greeting

This penny postal greeting card was received by my husband's ancestors 110 years ago.

The colors are still bright and so is the greeting to you, dear readers!

Here's a hearty greeting from me and mine,

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas time. 

Donate Your Family History Materials in 2023?

Will 2023 be the year you share your family history with the wider world? 

My good friend Mary just finished indexing the genealogy book her husband wrote about his Brown ancestors. Once it's printed, it will be sent to family members and donated to selected repositories, enabling researchers and relatives to learn more about this family's background. 

The index and sources are important elements, showing at a glance who's mentioned in the book and citing specific resources as evidence. The original materials remain with Mary's family, to be passed down to future generations.

Who wants your family's history or artifacts? 

If you're thinking about donating some or all of your family history materials or artifacts, consider repositories in geographic locations where your ancestors were born, died, married, lived, worked, or frequently vacationed/visited. Also consider major genealogical institutions that have a broader scope.

Check each institution's specific requirements and ask permission  to donate before sending or bringing anything to any repository!

Above, the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana) emphasizes that donated family histories, including family record pages from family Bibles, will be preserved and available for other researchers. It welcomes both print and digital materials.

Below, FamilySearch.org actively invites donation of genealogies and genealogical materials, if they meet criteria as shown here. Donated family histories will be digitized and available for viewing online.

Don't overlook local repositories

Many local libraries and historical groups want donated family histories and artifacts, as well. Browse their websites or call to ask.

Above, the Henderson public library (Henderson, Nevada) outlines what it accepts, and provides both email and phone contacts for the library. Maybe your local library or historical museum or genealogical society would be interested in your family's materials, but you'll never know until you ask.

LOCKSS

Remember, LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe).

Especially if you have no heirs for your genealogy collection, donating copies and/or originals is a practical way to preserve your materials. Keep family history out of the recycle bin in 2023 and beyond!

For more ideas, please see my popular guide, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, available from AmericanAncestors.org and from Amazon (US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia).