A Merry New Year Ahead in 2020 - Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2019

Jill Ball at GeniAus has revived her Accentuate the Positive Geneameme for 2019. 

She's asked bloggers to reflect on 2019 - to remember the good - and she suggested a number of questions we could answer.  Later this month, she'll post a compilation of answers. (I'll post a note here when she's ready.)

Two of my positive reflections on genealogy in 2019 are:


 "A geneajourney I took was" 

Well, not one big trip, but a whole lot of 'shorts' to Vancouver Island. I did plan in 2019 to visit the British Columbia Archives much more often than I've been able to in the past, and those trips did happen. Many times last year I took the bus and an enjoyable ocean voyage over to Victoria by myself and got in a very full 3/4 day at the Archives. I was able to add to my project databases, find documents and information for my own and other people's queries, and, of course, I spent considerable happy time reading old newspapers.

 Several times, I went with a friend and we had great days together exploring Victoria (books! fabulous desserts!)  and 'new to us' Archives collections. 

I'd begun some time ago to look at Peace River area land records for BC Scandinavians but we both dove into British Columbia'fish and wildlife' records this year. So much to learn in (and about) these records. Watch for an article from me later this year.

And I do want to thank the Victoria Genealogical Society for their warm welcome. Brenda Smith and I were their Seminar speakers this year (DNA was my topic) and each of us did a shorter session for the VGS too at their Learning Centre. They were my 'best students ever' for my 'Analyzing Historical Photographs" workshop! Energizing! 


"I am excited for 2020 because"

Again for the first quarter of 2020 I've made detailed plans to finish one of my projects, and to visit the Archives in Victoria, Vancouver and Chilliwack. I'm taking it a bit easy with personal goals this quarter as I am already lined up to present a good number of talks and workshops. Watch for news about those activities soon.

And I'll continue to post my stray and family photographs in 2020. These are always fun to research. I never seem to get tired of searching for people in the past. 

Accentuate the Positive Geneameme 2019

Happy New Year 2020!

The New Year's postcard above shows Bridal Falls at Laggan (Bridal Veil Falls, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada). Mailed January 1908 in Victoria, British Columbia to Miss Alyce Eccles of Victoria from Bert and Will. Published by J Howard A Chapman at Victoria, BC.  Image MSC130-09433_01 (front) and MSC130-09433_02 (back), courtesy of the Philip Francis Postcard Collection, a digital initiative of Simon Fraser University Library.