Some Genealogical Valentine Treats

Mrs. Harders, unknown location, to Rena Lerfald, postcard, c. 1909 - 1913, unpostmarked; Lerfald-Westaby Postcard Collection; privately held by Troy Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Vancouver, Washington, 2010.

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm a little late getting out my greeting and news, because as you all well know, sometimes making family history gets in the way of blogging about it. Yesterday evening, I made a little more family history spending time with my three young nephews while my sister was at work. After baths and cuddles and tucking the boys into bed, I powered up my new netbook with the intention of getting some blogging done in time to post early this morning; however, the wireless signal in the apartment complex was weak and inconsistent. So my posts (including my State Archives Series) will be published a bit later today or tomorrow.

However you're spending Valentine's Day, you won't want to miss the following Valentine treats that have been put together by the genealogical community! The first one is the Valentine's edition of Shades of the Departed, the beautiful and incomparable genealogy, history, and photography e-magazine! Oh, and I did I mention, it's free?

True to their quality standards, the writing and editorial team headed by the footnoteMaven have put together a fabulous issue featuring vintage African-American photos (this is African-American history month, after all!), a sweet fiction piece, an article on what the archival process involves, and much, much more! Plus, it's just so fun to actually turn the pages of this online magazine--go check it out, if you haven't done so--and you can download it for reading again later!

The next treat is from another one of my favorite people, Lisa Louise Cooke. She recently had the privilege of interviewing Lisa Kudrow, with whom you will be familiar from the television show, Friends. If you haven't already heard, Ms. Kudrow is the executive producer of a new genealogy show airing on NBC March 5th, Who Do You Think You Are? Lisa C. interviewed Lisa K. in her latest episode of the Genealogy Gems podcast, which is available to listen to today.

Now if you've never listened to a podcast, don't be intimidated! You don't need an iPod, an MP3 player or any fancy technological equipment. All you need is the computer you're using right now to read this, and either speakers or headphones. Go to this link and look at the little white podcast player in the right-hand column. Click on the play button ( > ) and listen to this fascinating and exclusive interview!

A genealogical Valentine magazine and radio show...or at least the modern versions of such...it doesn't get any better than this!  Happy Valentine's Day!

January 2010 Edition of Shades of the Departed is Published

The January 2010 Edition of Shades of the Departed has been published. This beautiful free digital publication can be viewed here. There are twelve articles--including a dreadfully good piece of fiction--written by a variety of family historians and family archivists, all edited by our friend, the footnoteMaven. Yesterday's photo advertisements grace the pages, as well as today's latest technology tips. If you haven't yet read Shades, you are missing out on a magnificent experience!

The Latest in Carnivals and Good Reads

Over the weekend, several carnivals plus the holiday edition of Shades of the Departed were published. If you haven't read them yet, you're in for treat in your genealogical reading this week!

On the first, the December 2009 edition of the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival was published, its theme being "In the News." There were eight submissions describing how local cemeteries made the news and why. Check them out! The January 2010 edition's topic is "Final Resting Place":

In today's mobile society, does one choose a place near where they last lived? Or do they return to the place of their roots? Do they rest in a family plot? If so, and if married, whose family plot? How has the determination of the final resting place changed between the time of our ancestors and now?

Submissions are due December 25 here.

poster courtesy of the footnoteMaven

On Friday, the 85th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy was published at Greta's Genealogy Blog. The theme was Orphans and Orphans; true orphans who lost their parents, and those "orphans" in our family trees - individuals who never married or had children and whose family line ceases with them. There were 21 submissions, many of them poignant and all of them interesting!

There are two topics for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy. The first is "Other Holiday Happenings!" Often times December to mid-January birthdays and anniversaries get over shadowed by the Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year holidays. So we're going to shine a spotlight on those family members and ancestors this time around. Select one or more December to mid-January birthdays and/or anniversaries on your family tree. Write a short tribute to or memory of those birthday guys and gals and write a toast to the anniversary couples. Share it in the COG!

Part Two will be a separate blog post. We can't go into the Christmas holiday without our genealogy wish lists for Genea-Santa!!! So write up a list of what you'd like Genea-Santa to bring you and share it in the COG :-) The deadline for all entries is December 15th. Both can be submitted here.

And yesterday, the holiday edition of Shades of the Departed was published. Over 80 pages of the fascination of old photos and how they relate to genealogy is available in this lovely and surprising digital magazine! (Did I mention that it's free?)

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