Looking Back In Recent Times

Looking Back In Recent Times 

In response to Jill Ball's request for Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2021 an annual reflection...so here is my attempt.

1. I got the most joy from: Researching Family History. 

This has always been my passion, since I was set a task to make my family tree the first year in secondary school. I absolutely panicked, with a German father I was so concerned as I knew so little. On the other hand my mother's family wasn't so unknown. 

My maternal grandmother came to my rescue with booklets that she had purchased on her visits to Tasmania, where her father was born. I hadn't realised that his father had been a convict. WoW!!! From that moment I was 'hooked'... This was way, way, way, before the Internet and even microfiche readers were available.. It was index cards, like what the libraries used for their book catalogues. 

Modern 21st Century Tools
at Launceston Library in May 2021

I remember the first time I went researching, fingering through the index cards, finding a card of a 'family member' it gave me tingles, and still does when I find something on my research list, or smash another "brick wall". 

Always on the lookout to "smash out" 
those "Brick Walls"

2. The Covid situation gave me an opportunity to: Focus without interruptions. Am currently writing up the research of an Irish Convict, whose family doesn't know, or has ignored the convict history of their family. It has been an amazing story to find and tell.

 

3. I managed to attend a face to face event at: The doctors clinic...but only a couple of times. 

The world's greatest lockdown city Melbourne, didn't allow me to even consider any face to face events. Most of my specialist appointments were via TeleHealth, until the end of the lockdown. Update August 2024: Most of the appointments continue to be via TeleHealth. Will the world ever be the same again? Don't answer, that's definitely a rhetorical question.

4. My main focus this year was on: Completing research that had been outstanding, or unchecked for a long time. Touched the actual court record of Joseph LEE convict on my partner's side, finding he's death on "Trove" and  the Coroner's Inquest. That's going to be a blog article, so check back. I also managed to start a serious decluttering of my digital files... 

5. A new piece of technology or skill I mastered was: eCommerce, a dedicated Genealogy Personalized Shopify Store "Love Genealogy" and an Etsy Store, with a more generalist range of items "Tokara Co" - Sadly Etsy shut down my store, no explanation and charged me for listings that they then took down. Well, I tried to get it sorted and just went around in circles, answering the questions that they required from me. But, it just went no where. I haven't given up, I've just parked the graphics in my Canva account and am working on digital downloads for Genealogists. The BIG one is a fan tree chart, it's been a work in progress for a long, long, long time. 

6. A geneasurprise I received was: Finding someone who is also researching my german grandmother's "Heganbarth" family. 

7. A Facebook Group that helped me was: All of them, I get and try to give something to all the facebook groups that I'm a member of, particularly the local history groups I've established on facebook.

8. My 2021 social media post that I was particularly proud of : was, all the genealogy posts. I try to make each one special and informative. 

9. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was: Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA written by Richard Hill (I listened to the audio book on SCRIBD) 

10. I was am impressed by: all my gene fb friends who manage to write their blogs, some do multiple blogs...I honour you all. I can only hope to eventually become more 'regular' in my postings...so many stories to tell. 

11. A great journal or newspaper article I found was: Everything on Trove Even finding a lot of information for my local history facebook groups, which continue to amaze me with their growth of membership.

12. I got the most value from this subscription: Ancestry...which comes up for renewal in three days...on the 6 Jan 2022.

13. I progressed my DNA research with: My brick wall 2x great grandfather, from Scotland...look out for the blog...it will come...eventually! 

14. I taught a genimate how to: Relate to her DNA matches...to not go trying to work it all out, immediately. Break it down into smaller chunks to avoid overwhelm. 

15. A blog post that taught me something new was: Everyone that I read...I pick up lots of information, ideas, etc.

16. A DNA discovery I made was: My ethnicity continues to alter, nothing surprising. More Germanic Europe - which is quite expected given, I'm that I am half German.

Results above from 2017 - Results below from 2022

17. A newly found family member shared: Information on my German grandmother's family, taking me back another several generations, they were Bohemian Glassblowers...I dream of finding a piece of their glassware amongst the family, but I haven't asked about it yet. 

Update August 2024: after a visit to Germany in January, my eldest cousin showed me a marvelous piece of glassware that has been in the family forever...I took a photo of it. It was far too heavy for me to bring home. Maybe on another visit to Germany. Now I just have to go through 20,000 photos to find it...it's coming...

Ah...found it!!!

Glass Bucket from The Hagenbarth Family - Glass Blowers in Bohemia

18. I finally found ......... six feet under: My 3x great grandfather's gravesite, visiting St. Kilda Cemetery in November 2021 on the way back from a specialist's visit in Richmond, Victoria.

19. I splashed out and purchased: Only my subscription to Ancestry, have had to curtail all my subscriptions, trying to live a minimalistic life with less physical and digital items. I use library memberships with great success.

20. Another positive I would like to share is: Never give up, there is always a chance to find information, quite often it may right under your nose. Try not to have an opinion...be open to what presents itself.