My Google Blogs

My Google Blogs

For a long time I have maintained six blogs on Google. Two are used for genealogy, two for personal thoughts, and one for links to other webpages of interest and one for private note keeping.  The frequency of posting to the blogs is random.

Once you gain access to one of the blogs you can use the sidebar on the right to find links to the other public blogs. 

If you are one of my Facebook friends you can access my About page where there are hot links to some of the blogs.

If you find what I post to be of interest you might want to learn how to set a swich to be notified when I create a post. It has been so long since I thought about this, I no longer recall how to do it.

Dick Henthorn

8 May 2020

Email Subscription Test

This is a test post to see how I might use Google Feedburner and a button at the bottom of this blog's display to automatically send Email notices to subscribers.

Thank you for your understanding as I learn more about blogging options.
24 September 2012

New Genealogy Blogs September 8, 2012 | GeneaBloggers

New Genealogy Blogs September 8, 2012 | GeneaBloggers:

Do you use the GeneaBloggers site?  The post for September 8, 2012 lists thirteen newly discovered genealogy and family history blogs.

Are you working on genealogy?  Have you considered creating a blog and posting information about your projects?  There are many easy ways to do this.  I recommend trying either Google's - Blogger or WordPress.

'via Blog this'

Personal Publishing: HTML for Genealogy Bloggers

Personal Publishing: HTML for Genealogy Bloggers:

'via Blog this'

Blog Your Family History

Personal Publishing: Blog Your Family History | TechTips | FamilySearch:

'via Blog this'

A very nice article on the Family Search website about using blogs to share your genealogy information. If you are reading this blog you already know that I have been doing this with two Google blogs for a number of years.

16 September 2011

Mr. Dickie

Little Black Pickup

Gerald Henthorn writing about his Little Black Pickup

It's just a click away.

Deep pockets Not Required

Deep pockets not required: (By Mary Cain Minton)

In all my years of chasing clues to my family’s history, I’ve tried to keep a close eye on expenses. I grant you, it is sometimes necessary to fork over a few dollars for that critical document, or to join an organization with emphasis on your research area. Or even to save up for a trip to the home turf. But still … this enthusiasm of ours does not have to break the bank.

I did tentatively accept a subscription to a major for-profit genealogy firm once, but trying to cancel at the end of my “trial” period was a real headache (no phone number! no address!). Sometimes membership offers are so confusing you think you’re getting one “tier” of records and really you’re into more money for another group you don’t even need. Then too, some outfits appear on the horizon for a few years (or months) and then disappear, leaving their members in the lurch, completely out of luck or tacked onto the subscriber list of some other irrelevant service.

By now the big players are pretty well established, and if you are so inclined, fee-based memberships can provide quick and easy access to certain types of documents. (As well as some rather questionable “family trees.”) On the other hand, there are many free and low-cost ways to find much of what you are seeking.

I live in a California county with a library system that provides home access to Heritage Quest for its card-carrying patrons. That means indexes and images for many (though not all) US census records, a way to search over 28,000 family and local histories, access to the PERSI index to articles in many genealogical publications, and more. On site at any of the library branches, I can also log onto the “Library Edition” of Ancestry.

Another resource I use almost daily is the FamilySearch website, that well-known Mormon entity. Their religious emphasis on posthumous baptism has inspired the creation of the world’s largest collection of genealogical materials. And their Family History Library in Salt Lake City is a genealogist’s dream -- open to all, no strings, no subtle pressures or proselytizing. They are presently underway on a mammoth project to place online their millions (literally) of microfilmed records from all over the world. With the help of an army of trained and supervised volunteers, they are making new material available over the Internet just about every day -- and their indexing is of the highest quality.

One of the features that really helps me is their indexing of virtually all census records, in a “fuzzy” way that brings up “sound-alike” surnames -- something you don’t get with Heritage Quest. So I am always sure to check both indexes when a family member is eluding me.

I strongly suggest joining genealogical and/or historical societies in the states or counties of interest, too. That will often put you in touch with individuals who can help with your specific issue. Another place to look is local public libraries in your research area. They often have local history collections and may have old newspapers in their holdings. Go online first, and see what their catalog shows. Then send a note or email to the reference department. I’ve had good results from queries about old obituaries, land records, and other local information. Costs are usually quite low, or non-existent (but send them something anyway! They need it!).

There are far too may free and low-cost sites to name here, but I’d like to remind you of one more: Find a Grave. In their words, it is “a resource for finding the final resting place of family, friends, and ‘famous’ individuals. With millions of names and photos, it is an invaluable tool for the genealogist and family history buff.” I’ve had considerable luck finding names there and even photos of family gravestones, and after registering (free) was able to provide additional information and an image for one Civil War solder’s resting place.

So the next time someone tells you she thinks 'doing genealogy' is too expensive, just smile -- the same way you do when people say their family history is 'complete.'

Comment: This is a blog posting from one of the blogs I follow. I wanted to see if I could share it with you from Google Reader where I read the posting. There's always more to learn.

Mr. Dickie, 20 June 2011

Henthorns Rest

Henthorns Rest:

"Welcome to Henthorns Rest - Named for one of the first pieces of property bought by Henthorns in America."

Blog of Rodney D. Henthorn.

Family Lines: The curse of the unfinished project ...

Family Lines: The curse of the unfinished project ...

From a blog I'm following.

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog:

Genealogical news from Spokane, Washington, USA, and the Inland Northwest.

Here's a genealogical society blog you might enjoy visiting. On 16 Feb 2010 there was a posting about three genealogy related television programs of interest.

Obituary Posting

Yesterday and today I posted several obituaries to my "Obituary" blog. I can easily find obituaries in my RootsMagic files provided I tagged them with the word "Obituary."

NARAtions

NARAtions:

"In response, we’re introducing a specialized series here on NARAtions. This new set of posts, called DC-area Researchers, will be a new online gathering place where you can talk with NARA staff about what’s happening at Archives I and II. We hope that you’ll add your ideas, concerns, and comments to the discussion!"

National Archives blog.

Madness on Monday Genealogy Research Chatter

Susi's Chatty Performances on Genealogy: Madness on Monday Genealogy Research Chatter

The other day Susi created a thought provoking posting on her blog. As of the 6th of January the post generated eight comments from folks following Susi's blog.

I was one of those who made a comment so I thought I'd point to Susi's blog. Maybe you'll want to contribute to the conversation too. Blogging would be more fun if more readers took the time to actively participate.

Mr. Dickie

Susi's Chatty Performances on Genealogy: My Accomplishments with Genealogy

Susi's Chatty Performances on Genealogy

Susi's Accomplishments with Genealogy

I thought you might enjoy reading what my friend Susi wrote today about her genealogy accomplishments.

Mr. Dickie

Gene@pedia

Gene@pedia:

"Welcome to gene@pedia: everything you ever wanted to know about blogging and genealogy but were afraid to ask! gene@pedia is a communal information resource directory for the genealogy community that anyone can edit!"

Genealogy Blog Finder | Recently Updated Blogs

Another genealogy blog finder. Thumbnails of each registered blog are shown at the left.

My "Obits" blog is registered on this one.

Genealogy Blog Finder | Recently Updated Blogs

What Is GeneaBloggers?

GeneaBloggers

People interested in genealogy are now creating and posting to their own genealogy blogs. If you wondered what blogging is all about and if you've ever considered whether blogging is something you might enjoy as part of the genealogy hobby I recommend you pay a visit to this site.

After you've set up your genealogy blog you can register it at GeneaBloggers and others will be able to quickly find your blog via the sites search box. You can find my genealogy "News" blog and the new "Congers Worldwide" blog with the search.

The link below will take you to the "About" page rather than the "Home" page. Use the buttons on the gray toolbar to move around the site.

If you want to start blogging I suggest looking at WordPress or Google Blogger. I'm using Google. Job Conger chose WordPress for "Congers WorldWide."

Have fun with your genealogy.

What Is GeneaBloggers? | GeneaBloggers