Sunday, January 4, 2009

Building a 99 Genealogy Things Meme

Becky over at kinexxions played along with the 99 Things Meme and she struck upon a great idea: why isn't there a 99 Things Meme geared more towards genealogy and family history?

Becky starts us of with this list:

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents,
great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.

So here are my contributions (not numbered) and perhaps Becky will include them and then publish a 99 Genealogy Things Meme in the near future!

Participated in a genealogy meme
Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.)
Performed a lookup
Took a genealogy seminar cruise
Convinced a relative must have arrived here from outer space
Found a disturbing family secret
Told others about that disturbing family secret
Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking)
Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby
Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons)
Taught someone else how to find their roots
Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure
Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology

3 comments:

Becky Wiseman said...

Thanks Thomas, I'll add them to the list. When we get 99 items I'll create a post listing them all.

Just for the record, I got the idea from the MoSGA Messenger.

Anonymous said...

Thomas,

I was writing more as you posted yours, so I've combined ours with Becky's. Still not at 99 yet, but I'm sure others will add!

Donna

Becky Wiseman said...

Thomas, the list has been completed! See my post The 99+ Genealogy Things Meme.