Accentuate the Positive 2014 Geneameme

Accentuate the Positive 2014 Geneameme

The following are my positive thoughts on my Genealogical year for 2014. It is based on the Accentuate the Positive 2014 Geneameme from Jill Ball at Geniaus. To participate you respond to the  statements/questions in a blog post writing as much or as little as you want or just answer a few questions. Feel free to check out Geniaus blog for the full instructions and join in to the geneameme.

I think this is only the second geneameme I have taken part in so here goes:

1.  An elusive ancestor I found was Hannah Wyard my 4th great grand mother. I have some sources and are planning to search for more to verify this further.

2.  A precious family photo I found was not a real photo. It’s a digital reproduction of a newspaper of my paternal grandfather, Charles Adolph KITTO (DOB 1881) on PapersPast. I was pleased to find this as it was an improvement on previous ones I had found and I have no real photographs of my grandfather.

3.  An ancestor’s grave I found was my great grand fathers grave site, Francis Kitto (DOB 1853) and his second wife Esther ROE (DOB 1867), not my great grand mother.

It had been a little difficult to find in the site in a couple of previous trips to the cemetery.  Problems like their names being listed as Kitts on the old cemetery plan, that the older graves have not been added to the database and the hilly nature of the Taita Cemetery were overcome by Sylvia a worker who helped us  (Mr TG was helping again) as she had a few tricks and found the grave site location for me.

What did we find? The grave has been covered by a large tree which had subsequently been chopped down and other plants. There are no grave markers and a surround only on the top side of the steep hillside. It is difficult to see if they have been removed, disintegrated or were never originally added.

4.  An important vital record I found was that of my great grand mother Jane Frances GIBSON’s death certificate. I had been hunting in UK records when I learnt from a cousin she had actually died in New Zealand while visiting from the UK. She had only been in NZ about 9 weeks. She is buried in an unmarked grave – Jane Frances DAWSON Death, Widow, 70 Years, Died 2 June 1925.

5.  A newly found family member shared – I share lots of my findings with my cousin living in the USA.

6.  A geneasurprise I received was winning my RootsTech 2014 registration costs from Geniaus.

7.   My 2014 blog post that I was particularly proud of was any post that I did. I am always super pleased with myself when a post actually gets finished and posted.

8.   My 2014 blog post that received a large number of hits or comment, for me, was National Library of Australia Genealogy e-Resources written for NFHM2014 challenge.  Keeping the positive tone here, I have completed many more of the NFHM2014 tasks and will not moan that they do not have associated posts. Completing them is the important task.

9.  A new piece of software I mastered was EverNote Pro.  It means I have access to, while out on the road or at home, a searchable collection of images of certificates, notes, transcripts and loads more for the weight of an iPad and not a number of folders with paper originals and copies. Plus it syncs., between my devices and computer making the managing of additions, deletions and amendments super easy.

10. A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was Google+ in 2014.  Feel free to follow me Fran AKA TravelGenee. I have grouped the genie people I follow so that I can quickly check out any updates from these VIPs. A few years ago I decided that I did not need to see every post, tweet, pin, instagram or other social media posting so only visit when I want to and have time. I decided that if it was important the person would contact me personally and directly.

11. A genealogy conference/seminar/webinar from which I learnt something new was RootsTech 2014 – here I learnt more of the basics such as research logs, maps, how to perform better Ancestry searchs, etc to more recent family history trends such as DNA. Read about this here –  RootsTech report.

12. I am proud of the presentation I gave – N/A

13. A journal/magazine article I had published – N/A

14. I taught a friend how to blog.

15. A genealogy book that taught me something new was ‘Voice of the Past: Oral History by Paul Thompson, 2000. It is one of the readings for a course I have started on Family History at the University of Tasmania. I am only part way through the book so look forward to learning more about oral history interviewing.

16. A great repository/archive/library I visited was the NZ Archives in Wellington. The people there are so helpful and even know the questions you should be asking instead of the ones you do ask so give more help and guidance than you could hope to get from your initial question.

17. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was really a magazine. I started a subscription with Inside History. At the following post you can find out about reading magazines on my iPad compared to reading the actual copies.

18. It was exciting to finally meet Lisa Lousie Cooke. I love Lisa’s podcasts, blogs and more so I just had to get my photo with her even if the bags under my eyes showed my lack of sleep from the very bad cold I was suffering from. After seeing on of Lisa’s talks I am an even bigger fan. She has a great way of sharing technology, tools and methods with her ” genealogy gems” to aid your family history travels.

19. A geneadventure I enjoyed was RootsTech 2014.

20. Another positive I would like to share is this year my goals were based around becoming more active in the Australian and global genealogical community, learning more about the basics and focusing on a big tidy up of my family trees, notes and materials. With the friendly help of many  others welcoming me and helping me I have achieved my goals.  Family history is not a finite adventure with an end in sight so I am happy with my positive progress and look forward to 2015 as another year of growth.

2015 bring it on! Do you have any achievement you are especially proud of for 2014?

Save

Save

Save