Accentuate the Positive - Celebrating 2015!

Jill Ball who writes the blog, GeniAus, has issued her annual reminder to genealogy researchers to focus on all you have accomplished in the past year. I did this last year and really enjoyed it!  Those who participate in this challenge delete or modify the prompts depending on their personal circumstances so check out all her original ideas of things to celebrate! 

Here's a toast to 2015! It was a great year of genealogy!
On to 2016 and all the new things it will bring! 

A precious family photo I found was this picture of my grandmother, Fern Lyndell (Cotton) Carter (1922-2002), holding my father, Thomas Robert Carter (1939-__).

An ancestor's grave I found: I actually did more cemetery visits this year than previously. However, locating the Capen Cemetery was a highlight of my year. I knew my grandfather used to visit this small cemetery on private land. My dad lives nearby and talked to the landowners to find the cemetery and get permission to visit. 

An important record I found was the obituary for a student's father. This student had no connections to his family and knew very little about his family's story. He thought he would never be able to find anything because his father was dead and he was estranged from his mother and he had no extended family connections. Starting with his father's obituary, we were able to find 183 records and document 70 relatives. 

A geneasurprise I received was my Christmas present again! My family is sending me to NEHGS at the end of February for the Winter Research Workshop. 

My 2015 blog post that I was particularly proud of was One Maine Farm in 1860. The reason is that the prompt from Amy Crow inspired me to dig deeper into the agricultural schedule of the census and gain a greater understanding of what life was actually like for my ancestors. 

My 2015 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was Five Daughters Suddenly Gone. I think many people related to it because of similar family stories of hardship and loss in their own trees. 

A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was Facebook. Genealogists and bloggers especially are a great group. I enjoy all that is shared - personal stories of everyday life and the challenges of fitting our passion for research around the other demands of life, struggles and successes of research, tips and hints, and many great ancestor stories. 

A genealogy conference I attended and gained much from was NERGC 2015 in April. I saw great speakers, got to meet D. Joshua Taylor, Carol McCoy, and Judy Russell, and connected with many of those I "see" online. 

I am proud of the presentation email interviews I did for NERGC 2015. I was fortunate to get responses from two excellent presenters, D. Joshua Taylor and Casey Zahn.

I taught a friend a group of my students how to research their ancestors. You can read about their findings on my blog here.

A great repository/archive/library I visited was The New England Historical and Genealogical Society. It was an unexpected visit that came about when a school group needed another chaperone for the train trip to Boston. Just ride the train and the day in Boston was mine to do with what I pleased. I chose to spend it at NEHGS. 

A new genealogy/history book I am enjoying is The Great Migration Directory by Robert Charles Anderson. 

It was exciting to finally meet the New England Geneabloggers who attended the bash in September. It was a renewing of acquaintances with most. However, I had not met Pam Seavey Schaffner or Barbara Mathews in person until the bash. It was the first time I was able to attend and I look forward to more meetings in the future. 

Photographer: Vincent Rojo

A geneadventure I enjoyed was a road trip to Massachusetts in June. In one day, my husband and I visited The Balch House, the Saugus Iron Works, the Golgotha Memorial in Amesbury, and the Old Newbury Burying Ground and Founders Memorial. 

Another positive I would like to share is I am looking forward to making more connections with other genealogists and bloggers in 2016. I am going to work on Dear Myrtle's Finally Get Organized Challenge and Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over.  

A big thank you to Jill Ball for this annual tradition! 
Jill Ball's blog, GeniAus Accentuate the Positive Challenge

2014 Accentuate the Positive

Jill Ball who writes the blog, GeniAus, has issued her annual reminder to genealogy researchers to focus on all you have accomplished in the past year. I didn't write a post for last year but I decided I should do one for this year. Those who participate in this challenge delete or modify the prompts depending on their personal circumstances so check out all her original ideas of things to celebrate! 

An elusive ancestor I found was Ellen Pell who turned out to be connected to my tree in three different ways. 

A precious family photo I found was a picture of my grandparents that my cousin, Justine, sent to me. Later my mother went through her pictures and gave me a bunch to scan during the coming year. 

Clayton & Linona "Peggy" Blake

An ancestor's grave I found was that of Harriet May Blake, my grandfather's mother. 

An important record I found was my 5th great-grandfather's name on a list of Revolutionary War participants. He was a Revolutionary War surgeon and trained his son-in-law, my 4th great-grandfather. 

A newly found family member shared some DNA. Okay, maybe that is stretching the meaning of this one abit but I am thrilled to actually be getting some genuine matches on my Ancestry DNA. I also uploaded my results to Family Tree DNA and Gedmatch but I'm still trying to figure it all out. 

A geneasurprise I received was my Christmas present from my sons, daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law-to-be, and grandson. They paid for 2 nights in the Providence Biltmore with parking and my registration to the New England Regional Genealogical Conference! I am so excited because I didn't think I would be able to go but they thought of and arranged everything. 

My 2014 blog post that I was particularly proud of was The Importance of Family because it was so difficult to write about losing my uncle and little did I know that I would lose his younger brother, my favorite uncle, just a few weeks later. I still haven't been able to write about him but maybe this year. 

My 2014 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was Humphrey Atherton's Quaker Curse?

A new piece of software I mastered was RootsMagic. I'm not sure I've mastered it but I was looking for a program that was similar to Legacy but would run on a Mac. RootsMagic came out with a "bridge" version so I can run it on my computer. I still really love Legacy Family Tree but they need a Mac version. 

A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was Facebook because I get lots of comments there on the blog posts that I share, the groups for various genealogy topics, and it helps me find new connections to others researching the same areas or ancestors. 

 I am proud of the presentation  (direction) I gave to my students who chose to research their families for their end-of-the-year project in my U.S. History class. You can read some of their accomplishments in research in my post, Family History Project 2014. 

A genealogy book that taught me something new was A Storm of Witchcraft by Emerson W. Baker. I'm not finished reading it yet but many of my ancestors are part of the history of this time.  

A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was A Knock At The Door: A Mother's Survival of the Armenian Genocide by Margaret Anhert. It was painful to read at times but it was an important reminder of listening to the stories of our parents and grandparents and trying to understand them before it's too late. 

It was exciting (for my grandson) to finally meet my grandmother and to get a five- generation picture taken. 

Five Generations

Linona "Peggy" Blake, seated
Cameron Stephen Taylor, Pamela Carter, holding Samuel Owen Taylor, and Myrna White

A geneadventure I enjoyed was revisiting the Pemaquid Museum. I know now that John Cogswell, whose trunk survived the wreck of the Angel Gabriel at Pemaquid in 1635, is my 11th great-grandfather. 

2014 Visit

2012 Post

Another positive I would like to share is that I love the interactions with other geneabloggers! They are such a friendly bunch and so helpful. I really enjoy the inspiration they give me to continue to tell my ancestors' stories. 

Jill Ball's blog, GeniAus Accentuate the Positive Challenge