Friday, January 5, 2018

52 Ancestors: Week 1: Start

This blog began in 2014 and I owe a great deal of gratitude for the inspiration behind many of my posts to Amy Crow's 2014 blogging challenge that she called "52 Ancestors"

I am so delighted to learn that Amy Crow has recently decided to run "52 Ancestors" again in 2018 (after a brief two-year hiatus that she announced at the end of 2015. )

The theme for Week 1 of "52 Ancestors 2018" is "START" and I thought I would reflect on the many benefits that I have received by participating in  Amy's 2014 and 2015 challenges and hopefully encourage other genealogists to START the 2018 challenge with me.

 My Top Ten Benefits of Participating in 
Amy Crow's 
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

In the process of blogging "52 Ancestors 2014" and then "52 Ancestors 2015", I discovered many things about my research. Here are my "Top Ten Benefits of Participating in Amy Crow's 52 Ancestors"
  1. You can Share Your Family History With Descendants: Each blog post made it easy to share my genealogical research with living descendants. I would later get emails of thanks from relatives writing "I never knew that". Like when:
  2. You Can Share Your Posts in Your Genealogical Groups: Whenever I wrote a "52 Ancestor" post and discovered something that I had never known before, if I thought my Genealogical Societies or other Societies that I belong to could benefit, I would share the post with them. Like:
  3. You Can Share Your Posts And Relatives Might Find You: By sharing my 52 Ancestors blog posts on social media (twitter, Facebook) relatives found me! Like the time:
  4. You Will Examine The Evidence Closer: Like the time:
  5. Your DNA Matches Will Love It! I am really new to the DNA world and I am managing my father's DNA matches. Whenever I connect with a DNA match, I locate the "52 Ancestor" blog posts and share it. I have even been contacted by a reader of a particular blog post to see if I have DNA results to share!
  6. You Will Find Gaps In Your Research: This is the most helpful of all. In having to explain your findings in a blog post, you will likely find some gaps in it as well. 
    • How many times have I sat down to write a blog post and realized that I do NOT have the census for a particular year, or a cemetery location, etc. "52 Ancestors" is an opportunity to review what you have and then go through the genealogy checklist to see if anything is missing https://legacyfamilytree.net/checklist.pdf
  7. You Will Find Some Of your Research Mistakes: I have found PLENTY of these when I sat down to write out the blog post like:
  8. You Can Have Fun Posting on Topics Beyond BMD: The blogging prompts encourage you to go well beyond JUST finding dates for Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD) like when:
  9. The "52 Ancestors" Blogger Community Is GREAT! Genealogists are a great group of folks. We connect at conferences and we connect online. Through "52 Ancestors, we can connect through our story telling. Like when:
  10. It Could Be A Foundation For A Family History Book ! My brother has printed every genealogy blog post that I have ever written. It takes up two large white binders and he brings those binders to all of our family reunions to share with all of our cousins. "52 Ancestors" can help you think about ways of writing your family history story for others to enjoy. Good practice for that Family History Book you've been meaning to write.
Join Amy Crow's 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge



I hope that I have given you some good reasons to sign up and START the 2018 "52 Ancestors" challenge with me and many others!

If you would like to START and join Amy in the 2018 "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" (did I mention that it's FREE by the way!) and receive the email prompts, click HERE: https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/ 

If you want to read what others are blogging about over the next 52 weeks, look for hashtag #52Ancestors on social media

My 52 Ancestors Blog Posts From 2014-2015

This is a summary of my 2014 #52Ancestors blog posts:

  1. BRODERICK: Sarah "Daisy" Broderick
  2. ANNAL: Family Photograph Mysteries
  3. MOYNAHAN: John Moynahan: First Clerk Township of Sandwich South 
  4. COUGHLIN: Glassblowers in the 1800s
  5. MOYNAHAN: Timothy Moynahan: When Windsor Was A Wilderness
  6. MOYNAHAN: Timothy Moynahan: The Voyage from the Old Sod
  7. MOYNAHAN: Timothy Moynahan: 1829 - Days of the Old Horse Boats
  8. MOYNAHAN: Timothy Moynahan: The Shillelaugh Guards
  9. MOYNAHAN: Timothy Moynahan: Timothy Moynahan's kin?
  10. MOYNAHAN: Nellie  Moynahan: School teachers in the 1800s
  11. CREIGHTON - COUGHLIN - MOYNAHAN : Quilts and Crochet
  12. MOYNAHAN - DEMARSE - BRODERICK - LENNON: Priests and Nuns
  13. MOYNAHAN - LENNON: Departures
  14. COUGHLIN: Wallaceburg Schools
  15. MOYNAHAN: The Next Generation - We Are Family
  16. MOYNAHAN: Family Places & Homes in Mimico
  17. FOREMAN: Joseph Foreman (1933-1999): Track Star and Olympian
  18. CREIGHTONS: Halifax, Nova Scotia Roots
  19. MOYNAHAN: Talbot Settlers
  20. COUGHLIN: Holy Name of Mary Society, Wallaceburg, Ontario; and Updated post
  21. MOYNAHAN: Catherine Moynahan: "Unsound Mind" in the 1800s
  22. MOYNAHAN: Timothy Moynahan: Meningitis and Lunatic Asylums
  23. MOYNAHAN: Matthew Moynahan: 1770-1860
  24. MOYNAHAN: Enos and James Moynahan
  25. MOYNAHAN: Thomas Moynahan - 1861 Mail Carrier
  26. MOYNAHAN: John Moynahan - Labour Leader
  27. MOYNAHAN: Kent County Moynahans - Matthew, Timothy and Patrick
  28. BRODERICK: Detective Leo William Broderick
  29. MOYNAHAN: Detroit Postal Clerk M.J. Moynahan ~ Mt. Elliott Zinc Marker
  30. COUGHLIN: Rhea Coughlin & Parke Davis
  31. MORELAND: John Moreland: From Workhouse to War
  32. BRODERICK: RCAF: Leo Joseph Martin Broderick (1919-1943)
  33. ANNAL: Orkney Sailor James Annal (1849-1930)
  34. HUSSEY: Mary (Hussey) Broderick (1842-1913)
  35. O'CONNOR: The O'Connor Sisters
  36. ANNAL: Fire Chief and Ice Dealer James Annal 
  37. MOYNAHAN: William Moynahan's Amputation
  38. BRENNAN: Mary Brennan: Maidstone midwife
  39. DUFFY-COUGHLIN: Poughkeepsie Brick Wall
  40. BRODERICK: My GG Mary (Broderick) Moynahan
  41. COUGHLIN:  Coughlin Golden Anniversary 1949
  42. COUGHLIN: Trick or Treating
  43. COUGHLIN: The Photographic Camera and a Photograph Album
  44. COUGHLIN: Ice Boating in Windsor, Ontario
  45. CURD: The Curds of Dover, England
  46. CREIGHTON-MORELAND: Beloved Matriarch Dorothy
  47. CREIGHTON: Frederick Douglas Creighton (1907-1976)
  48. MOYNAHAN: Autoworker Ernest Joseph Sr.
  49. DONIVAN: The Chapleau Donivans
  50. PLAUS: John J. Plaus (1912-1966)
  51. FOREMAN: Donald Jennings Foreman
  52. CREIGHTON: My Mother Dawn
This is a summary of my 2015 #52Ancestors blog posts:


  1. HEGNA: Hannah (Hegna) Foreman (1885-1965)
  2. HEGNA: Ole and Emma (HANSON) emigration (Norway to America)
  3. CONLON: Thomas and Elizabeth (GREER) Conlon
  4. FOREMAN: William H. and Frederick Dixon Foreman Alberta Homestead Records
  5. MOYNAHAN: Maidstone Auctioneer William Moynahan (1878-1950)
  6. MOYNAHAN: The Sad and Sudden Death of Patrick Moynahan (1853-1909)
  7. BRODERICK: My Oral History Interview with Bernard Broderick
  8. BRODERICK: Christian Brother: Bernard Broderick
  9. ANNAL: Great Grandmother Elizabeth's Brother John  Annal
  10. MOYNAHAN: James Moynahan (1842-1919) Civil War Soldier & Colorado Miner
  11. HESS - ANNAL: Hess & Annal : Feather Renovators (1906)
  12. COUGHLIN: The Naturalization Papers of William Henry Coughlin 
  13. MOYNAHAN: Rev. Ray Moynahan (1904-1980)
  14. MOYNAHAN - COUGHLIN: Favourite Photo: My Grandparent's 1929 Wedding
  15. DEMARSE - COUGHLIN: Sister Madeline Demarse (G.S.I.C) (1928-2010)
  16. LENNON: The Lennon Sisters
  17. BRODERICK: The Broderick "Crayon Portraits"
  18. MOYNAHAN: Matthew Moynahan's Last Will (1770-1860)
  19. DONIVAN: A Donivan Tragedy on the Chapleau River 1952
  20. SCHOFIELD-COUGHLIN: Arthur and Margaret Schofield
  21. LANGLOIS: Brokenhearted Three Months After Wedding
  22. COUGHLIN: The Art of Colorizing Photos
  23. MOYNAHAN-McHUGH: The Wedding Photos
  24. ESSEX Co.: Grandparent's Funeral Cards (Various surnames)
  25. ESSEX Co.: My Mystery "Homestead Veranda" Photograph (Unknown)
  26. SULLIVAN-MOYNAHAN: Halfway: Is Johanna A Missing Moynahan Daughter? 
  27. MOYNAHAN: Ottawa Photographs of Moynahan Kin?
  28. MOYNAHAN:  The Irish Brogue and French Priests
  29. MOYNAHAN: Mary (Moynahan) Moynahan of Corktown, Detroit 
  30. MOYNAHAN: Grand Army Department Commander James Moynahan 1917
  31. ANNAL - HESS : Meeting Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan
  32. VARIOUS SURNAMES: 32 Great Grand Parents
  33. LANDERS: The Landers Brothers (Part I)
  34. BRODERICK: Brother Berchmans F.S.C. - A "True Son of De La Salle"
  35. BRODERICK: Still Searching for WW II PoW Stories
  36. VARIOUS SURNAMES: Working For A Living
  37. LEFAIVE: The Lefaives of Detroit
  38. BRODERICK: WWII Service Files of Canadian War Dead Available 
  39. COUGHLIN: The Coughlin's 1940s Sing-Along! Part 1
  40. BRODERICK: October 100 Years Ago Martin Broderick Died
  41. BRODERICK-CASEY: Nurse Agnes Broderick 
  42. COUGHLIN-ANNAL: Coughlin Anniversary Folio Pak Snaps
  43. COUGHLIN: The Coughlin's 1940s Sing-Along! Part 2
  44. DEMARSE:  Madeline (Coughlin) Demarse (1900-1929)
  45. MORKIN:  Mabel (Moynahan) Morkin (1902-1945)
  46. CREIGHTON: Creighton Wedding Photos
  47. BOYLE: My Grand Aunt Mary Aileen (Moynahan) Boyle
  48. BONDY - MOYNAHAN: The Moynahan-Bondy Family of Detroit
  49. BRODERICK: Last Will and Testament of Martin Broderick (1831-1915)
  50. BRODERICK: Martin Broderick's Fenian Medal
  51. BRODERICK-MURRAY: The Broderick-Murray Wedding
  52. BRODERICK-KNAPP: The Broderick-Knapp Photographs
This is a summary of my 2015 (Optional) Themes:

1 comment:

  1. What a way to "start" the new #52Ancestors challenge! I agree with every benefit you listed. Doing this challenge again is a new opportunity to revisit old stories/photos/documents and see what new research can be found today that wasn't available a year or two ago.

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