To the hosts and more of 2016
How can it be…?
It isn’t really already…?
Can it really be the 31st of December? The very last day of 2016?
New Year’s Eve 2016.
Already.
Looking back on a whirlwind year, it’s clear that I’ve had the chance this year to meet folks from a wide variety of institutes, conferences and genealogical societies — large and small — and have simply had a ball.
I’ve learned from each and every one of them. I’ve had chances to laugh — and sometimes to share a tear.
I’ve been taught about resources I hadn’t seen before, and given chances to advance my own research.
I’ve met cousins — some of whom I hadn’t even known I had.
It’s been a wonderful year. So it can’t end without a heartfelt thank you to so many people who’ve made it the year it’s been, including each and every single one of my 2016 hosts:
• Mississippi Genealogical Society
• RootsTech
• Unlock the Past Cruises: Down Under Tour 2016
• DuPage County (IL) Genealogical Society
• Family History Society of Arizona
• Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
• Tennessee Valley Genealogical Society, Huntsville, Ala.
• Wisconsin State Genealogical Society
• Sonoma County Genealogical Society
• Orange County (NY) Genealogical Society
• National Genealogical Society, Fort Lauderdale
• New Hampshire Society of Genealogists
• Burlington County (NJ) Historical Society
• Jewish Genealogical Society of Long Island
• Ontario Genealogical Society
• Bernards Township (NJ) Public Library and Morris Area Genealogical Society
• Allen County Public Library and MAAGI
• Association of Professional Genealogists, National Capital Area Chapter
• Association of Personal Historians, webinars
• Ocean County (NJ) Genealogical Society
• Kentucky Genealogical Society
• International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies
• Willard Library, Evansville, Indiana
• Federation of Genealogical Societies, Springfield, IL
• Plainfield (NJ) Public Library
• Old York Road (Pa.) Genealogical Society
• Maine Genealogical Society
• Legacy Family Tree webinars, and host Geoff Rasmussen who makes things easy
• Montana State Genealogical Society
• Rogue Valley (Oregon) Genealogical Society
• Florida Genealogical Society-Tampa
• Ventura County Genealogical Society
• Jewish Genealogical Society of Conejo Valley
• Wilson-Cobb History and Genealogy Library, Roswell, NM
• Texas State Genealogical Society
• German Genealogy Group, Bethpage, New York
• Delaware Public Archives and Friends of the Delaware Archives
• Bucks County (Pa.) Genealogical Society
Now if anybody tries to tell me that local societies are dying on the vine, I’m definitely asking what that person is smoking… because I sure don’t see dying societies in my travels. These groups are dynamic, growing, thriving, looking for ways to stay up on all the new information and techniques and records that are becoming more readily available and on how to apply tried and true methodologies to them.
I am so proud and thankful that I was allowed to be part of their programs this past year, and hope to be invited back — often!
A huge thank-you also goes to the institutes where I was privileged to teach in 2016, and to the students I was privileged to teach and to learn from. At the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), in January, I coordinated the new “Corpus Juris: Advanced Legal Concepts for Genealogy” course. At the Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) in June, I served as coordinator of the “Advanced Methodology & Evidence Analysis” course, a bittersweet time since it was our last year at Samford University (in 2017 it will be in Georgia). And at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), in July, I coordinated the new “Women and Children First!: Research Methods for the Hidden Members of the Family” course. And thanks to the other coordinators who let me come play in their classes at these institutes and at the Midwestern African American Genealogy Institute in Fort Wayne and the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records at the National Archives.
Now if I tried to list all the individuals who went out of their way to make things not just easy but wonderful and fun, I’d still be writing at the end of 2017. But I can’t end without singling out a couple of people in particular who went above and beyond — and then some.
Helen Smith of Brisbane, Australia, was my minder-and-keeper throughout the Unlock the Past Down Under tour — and saw to it that I truly got to experience some of the very best that Australia and New Zealand have to offer. Between getting to hold a koala in my arms — twice! — and peering into hobbit holes in Hobbiton, the whole trip was simply magical. And much of that is due to Helen’s foresight and planning.
And my friend and colleague Melinda Henningfield and her husband Wayne — who’s my DNA cousin — served as tour guides extraordinaire when I had a couple of extra days in Oregon in September. They made sure I got to see places I’d never seen — like Crater Lake! — and add a couple of life birds to my birding list.
To all of them, and to all of those who’ve made this year so special, my thanks.
And to you, the readers of this blog… what can I say but thank you? You’ve challenged me, taught me, laughed with me, cried with me.
Good year. Good good year here at The Legal Genealogist. Good friends — old and new, and good fun.
Thanks.
“anybody tries to tell me that local societies are dying on the vine, I’m definitely asking what that person is smoking”… well, you do have a somewhat self-selected sample here. The thriving groups ask you to speak, the failing groups wither silently. I’m a member of three in my area, and for two of the three it has been a year of serious retrenchment. And a number of others of which I’m aware have dissolved completely. So, sadly, some locations in the ‘heartland’ are doing better than others.
It’s always going to be a function of member commitment and energy, cousin Jim, and no, not every local society will do as well as every other one. But our enthusiasm and participation is what makes the difference. Happy New Year to you and yours!
And a big thank you for your blog, the sharing of your wealth of knowledge and the education of this researcher in western Iowa. I believe your Sunday editions may have much to do with my ordering two of the DNA test this month which Family Tree DNA offer. Now I not only look forward to learn more from your sharing but also from the test results which may offer more information for my family tree.
peace – norm
Thanks for the kind words, Norm — and have fun (and lots of patience!!) with the DNA testing!
Just WOW! You are the genea-gift that keeps on giving to a lot of researchers and readers. You didn’t mention a daily blog post…thank you!
Aww… coming from you and your prodigious and prolific pen, Randy, this means a lot. Thanks so much for the kind words!
You are really organized and have tons of energy. Thank you for all you do with your blog and lectures.
PS – Bucks County is the only county so named in the United States.
Thanks — and I didn’t know that about Bucks County! Interesting, since I live in a county with a name duplicated in many states! 🙂
As Randy says, “the genea-gift that keeps on giving…” Your posts are my #1 must read.
May 2017 be one of your best years ever. Happy New Year to you and yours.
And a very Happy New Year to you and yours, Celia!
It was a major pleasure and fantastic fun! Thank you for everything you do! Your willingness to share information, your prodigious output on your blog (still not sure how you manage every day!) and thanks for just being you.
Thanks so much, Helen! I’m so looking forward to seeing you again, and soon!!!
Wowee what an incredible year!! And thanks for geneacruising with UTP that was a blast.
Thanks so much, Alona, and thanks for having me along on the Unlock the Past cruise. You folks sure know how to put on one heck of a party — I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun … or learned so very much.