Accentuate the Positive 2019

Each year, Jill Ball challenges us to Accentuate the Positive, making us reflect on the previous year. Mine is short and sweet, this time but I did have an amazing time in England, Scotland and Ireland, walking in my ancestors footsteps and discovering some amazing places. Neither of my blogs relate to genealogy but are interesting reads.

A Family Member I found was, my half-sister’s son, daughter and some of their children.   It was 30 years of searching, solved with an Ancestry DNA test.

 A geneajourney I took, this year I went to Ireland and Scotland and walked in my ancestors’ footsteps. An emotional journey.

      A new piece of technology I played with was WATO, on the DNA Painter site.

  A genealogy event from which I learnt something new DNA DownUnder, three days of DNA. Learnt about WATO (what are the odds),  how to find connections, when there is no tree and found that what I’d been doing was what the speakers talked about.

  

A blogpost that taught me something new was, This year I started to read two new blogs, one is  Debbish.com  and the other Sanch Writes  I had the pleasure to meet both ladies, for morning tea and a chat.  I also follow Judy G Russell's Legal Genealogists    blog.

A DNA discovery I made was, well #1 covered that. But I also found other cousins on both sides of my tree. Thank you Jill Ball for ‘nagging’ me to do an Ancestry DNA test.

  

A brick wall I demolished was, see #1. Still working on other walls and hope that they will fall, one day.

  

       A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed,  “Unlocking Lands: A Guide to Crown Land Records held ar State Archives NSW” by Terry Kass.  I did a three week lands class, at Botany Bay Family History Society and this was recommended.

It was exciting to finally meet Blaine T Bettinger and Nathan Dylan Goodwin, at THE Genealogy Show, Birmingham. Then catching up with Blaine at DNA DownUnder.

Nathan and I at THE Genealogy Show.

  Blaine and I at THE Genealogy Show.

I am excited for 2020 because I’m going to RootsTech, in Salt Lake City.

Another positive I would like to share is, the variety of Genealogy events I had the pleasure to attend. UnlockThePast held an Irish Day at Ryde, in March and it was wonderful.  The Society of Australian Genealogists had a two day German Research seminar and I came away with heaps of very useful information.  DNADownUnder, organised by UnlockThePast was a three day feast of all things DNA. NSW State Conference, where I presented a talk. THE Genealogy Show, in Birmingham added an international flavour to my year.

Another wonderful positive was,  meeting up with old friends, at the various shows and making new friends as well.