Jill Ball, aka ‘GeniAus‘, sets genealogy bloggers the annual challenge of reflecting on their past year. As my blog is not quite a year old I am most excited to be taking part for the very first time! Genealogists are by nature a positive bunch of people – we live in eternal hope of knocking down every brick wall and finding every ancestor who tries to evade us. Therefore, the ‘Accentuate the Positive’ theme comes rather naturally!
So here are my answers to the ‘Accentuate the Positive’ questions Jill posed:
1. An elusive ancestor I found was…Letitia Capewell (1807-1883). Census records had her birthplace as Hull, but Capewell was a Midlands name and I could find no corresponding baptism. This one took digging through Poor Law records to find the answer. Her father was actually from Hagley in Worcestershire. There’s quite a story in this one and a probable blog post, so I won’t elaborate further here!
2. A great newspaper article I found was…a rather detailed account of the manslaughter trial of my great-great-great-grandfather, Edward Girling. Trial reports in many newspapers were almost gossipy in their tone and dripped with multiple juicy details not to be found in more formal documents.
3. A geneajourney I took was…my Genealogy Roadtrip. This was a two-month journey around Europe, which encompassed three conferences, much tramping through graveyards and eight countries.
4. I located an important record in…the Society of Genealogist’s library in London (oh how I wish I could pop in more often!). Only one day was spent there but I found copious notes on my extended Swinbourne family and an obscure tome detailing my early Fetherstons. I also found a beautifully presented book on the Nokes family of Bromsgrove, which isn’t my family, but my first cousin descends from them. And much much more…! 
5. A newly found family member shared…old family photos from their branch and a detailed descendancy chart. A wonderful Christmas surprise.
6. A geneasurprise I received was…winning my entry ticket to Rootstech London! It was wonderful to have one less thing to purchase on the road trip.
7. My 2019 social media post that I was particularly proud of was…the blog on my ancestor Cornelis Drebbel. Until then I had been mainly focussing on advice on genealogy research or resources. Although I’d talked about the importance of stories, I hadn’t really shared any of my own. I wasn’t sure if anyone outside my family might be interested. It has been my most popular post so far, and I have begun to include more of my family stories into my blog as a result.
8. I made a new genimate who…made me realise what a fabulous community the genealogy world is. That new genimate is not one person. It is actually the many, many new friends I made along the way on my genealogy road trip.
9. A new piece of technology or skill I mastered was…blogging! I’m not sure if I could be described as mastering the skill yet, but I’m certainly enjoying the journey.
10. I joined…the Society of Genealogists and the Guild of One-Name Studies. I’m already a member of several family history societies and had often thought of joining both of these groups too. Spending time with people who were members helped me take the plunge.
11. A genealogy education session or event from which I learnt something new was…the three conferences I attended on my roadtrip – MyHeritage Live, Unlock the Past and Rootstech London; as well as the DNA Downunder day that was held in Melbourne just prior to my departure. I cannot pick just one presentation from one of these – I am constantly learning and I think I picked up something from every session.
12. A blog post that taught me something new was…oh goodness, that’s difficult! Blogs detailing new features of genetic genealogy tools such as DNA Painter are extremely useful. I love to see the tools applied to real situations, complete with screenshots, so I can get an idea of how I might also use them.
13. A DNA discovery I made was…no major breakthroughs this year, just a lot of layering on of further evidence as new matches came through on already confirmed lines.
14. I taught a genimate how to…this one is driving me nuts! I know I introduced someone I respect hugely as a professional genealogist to a source that I regularly use but she was unaware of. It stuck in my mind because I was so pleased to have been able to help her…and I do not remember now what the source was!
15. A brick wall I demolished was…two more generations of the Girling family of Derbyshire, including a will revealing that the mother of Charles Girling’s children was his housekeeper, which explained why her maiden name was always stated in the baptism register.
16. A great site I visited was…The Hartlib Papers, discovered while digging for further information on the Kuffeler family. It is not a site containing a wide range of genealogically useful information. On the contrary, it is very specific, but extremely useful if you are seeking information on scientists in London in the 17th Century. The site contains digitised copies of the correspondence of Samuel Hartlib, a scientist himself.
17. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was…’Tracing Your Ancestors Through the Equity Courts‘ by Susan T. Moore. Inspired by a fascinating presentation on the genealogy cruise to dabble a bit further in Chancery records, I picked up this book at Rootstech. I’m armed and dangerous now.
18. It was exciting to finally meet…Blaine Bettinger, who I had admired for the past decade as a fantastic fount of knowledge on DNA. It was lovely to discover that he was not only smart and helpful but also one of the genuinely nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.
19. I am excited for 2020 because…2019 was a year of many new beginnings, so 2020 will be a year of consolidation of what was achieved then. And true to its name – a year of clear vision to move forward.
20. Another positive I would like to share is…more and more genealogical resources are becoming available, both online and offline. We are spoilt and it’s just getting better and better. There has never been a better time to research your family tree. Accentuate the Positive and step into 2020!
Wow! You made a lot of family discoveries this year and were able to travel through Europe, too. On my bucket list is a visit to Slovakia and Germany to walk in the footsteps of my paternal ancestors and my husband’s paternal ancestors.
Linda, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a wonderful feeling to know you are where your ancestors walked, as well as enjoying it from the simple perspective of just seeing a new and wonderful place. The context it can give you to know where their home was in relation to other landmark addresses around them helps you to get so much more of a feel for their daily life!
Thank you so much for taking up this challenge and sharing some details of your geneajourney. What wonderful roadtrip it was. Sorry we didn’t geet much time to talk at Rootstech London – it was crazy. Please keep blogging and sharing your stories.
Jill, it was a pleasure and lovely to gather all those thoughts into one place to look back upon too! Rootstech was indeed crazy but fantastic! So many people I wish I had been able to spend more time with. But there’s always more events to look forward to, isn’t there?