Follow Friday: Friday Finds: Favorite Blog Posts this Week

It's been a really busy week for me.  My work schedule changed a little which seemed to throw me off schedule somewhat.  My cousin Elaine (Herrin) Knight came to visit me on Monday and she brought a tote bag full of photos and family files.  I was thrilled to browse through her albums and view some photos which I plan to add to my collection!  I told her she brought me a years worth of work, so I'll be scanning, scanning, scanning, lol! 

I've made contact with two of my distant cousins and fellow Simmons researchers, Emmitt Simmons Jr and John E. Simmons, who I first met at the Simmons Memorial Dedication Ceremony 13 years ago!  I'm looking forward to hearing more from them- perhaps they have new information on our Simmons line. 

Mississippi State Flower- Magnolia

Now on to some of my favorite posts by other genea-bloggers this week: 

Need a good laugh?  Check out How NOT to Jump-Start Your Genealogy at Greta's Genealogy Bog.  This post tickled my funny bone!

Deb Ruth at Adventures in Genealogy points out the importance of sharing our family research on Tombstone Tuesday-Why Share?  By sharing her information on Find A Grave, she helped a fellow researcher find their family.

A beautiful poem, My Memory Library, was posted at My Heritage Happens.  The poem is a loving tribute to her deceased mother.

Read the original Civil War news articles posted in Harper's Weekly!  A post on Tangled Trees led me to the site which is great!  

Thanks to Dr. Bill at Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories for sharing a great snapshot in Those Places Thursday-Maytag Store in Coon.  I love old town photos!

I enjoyed reading Andrea's post at How Did I Get Here?  My Amazing Genealogy Journey about her grandpa Harold Murrell's arrival in America- check her story out here.

My most favorite post of this week is *drum roll*.... A Hobbyist's Genealogy Manifesto, posted by Bart Brenner at Stardust 'n' Roots, giving his take on how and why he pursues genealogy with such a passion and sharing his own principles and practices while doing family research.   A great read for genea-bloggers!

I'm going to wrap this post up at that and return to my business of scanning, scanning, and more scanning!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Follow Friday- Friday Finds: Blogs and Favorite Links

I'm so thankful to have my "quiet time" back.  Not that I don't enjoy company, especially that of my grandsons, but after a week and a half I was ready for my house and my thoughts to be back in order!  It is in those moments of silence that I can write best- I'm sure most of you agree.

Serenity at Loch Ness, Scotland

On to my Friday Finds:

How many of you have an "Ancestor Tree"?  I'm talking about an actual miniature tree decorated with photos of your deceased loved ones- complete with miniature lights, ribbons and/or other ornaments.  Gini at Ginisology created a beautiful ancestor tree which she kept out all through the year in 2011.  What a wonderful tribute to her ancestors!  I think that I may just create an Ancestor Tree for my beloved ones as Christmas approaches this year.  

Deb Ruth at Adventures in Genealogy posted her 2011 Top 10 Adventures in Genealogy recently.  My favorite of those she listed is SNGF- Signs You Have GOCD.  That post suggested some of the potential signs you may exhibit if you have Genealogy Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Oh my, what a great tummy laugh I had while reading that- thanks for sharing Deb!  By the way, I have a hopeless case of GOCD!

I thoroughly enjoyed the creative post on Cat Genealogy and Dog Tags, posted by Jacqi at A Family Tapestry.  Jacqi is the "Best of the Best" when it comes to creative writing and journalism skills.

  

Dawn breaks over Sardis River, Mississippi

I've added a few links to my favorites for research in Southern Mississippi:

Perry County, MS GenWeb provides a thorough listing of cemetery transcriptions in the area as well as a list of marriages and the history of Perry County from WPA records.  Many of my surnames are included in their list of First Families of Perry County. 

Mississippi Genealogy Trails, part of the Genealogy Trails network, also has multiple records of cemetery transcriptions in Lamar County as well as a thorough listing of court records.

For general information on the state of Mississippi, Awesome America/Mississippi offers web site visitors information on the state parks, attractions, historic sites, resorts and more.  Their photo gallery is filled with beautiful photos from our southern state. 

That wraps it up for this Follow Friday.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Follow Friday: Friday Finds: Family Research Blogs

My favorite finds on the web this week:

Amy Coffin at The We Tree Genealogy Blog published a post in 2009 listing 52 ideas to Jump Start Your Genealogy Blog.  I plan to incorporate some of her great ideas into my future blog posts.  Her blog is full of useful information and creative ideas for anyone doing family research.  

Jacqi at A Family Tapestry has been writing a series about the Stevens family, using old letters as the foundation for her posts.  I love her eloquent writing style and the way her story flows from one post to the next, like the chapters of a great novel.  

I enjoy reading about historical and important events at OnThisDay.com and have added it to my daily reading list.

There are so many genealogy related blogs and web sites available these days which makes it  much easier  to do family research.  I sort of miss going to the library and digging in to all the books there.  On the other hand, most of my reading and research is done at night while I'm awake and most everyone else is sleeping- another reason I'm grateful for all the online resources available now.  

Follow Friday- Friday Finds: Software- The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding

While "snooping" around the web I came across an interesting find.  The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding (aka TNG) is a program that can publish one's family history online.  After browsing some of the family history sites that use this program I was really impressed with the layout and structure of the family trees and databases.  The TNG program is inexpensive but requires one to have a web domain if they plan to publish their family history.

I decided on a web hosting site last night and created my own domain name then I purchased the TNG program.  It comes in a zip file so it must be uploaded to my domain before I can begin using it.  It's going to take some time for me to learn how to use WordPress and the TNG structure but will be worth it if I can share all my family research online.  Most of my family members don't have access to my family tree on ancestry.com.  With the TNG program, my family will have free access to our history.  I will post updates here as I progress with the program.