A New Blog Beginning

I just returned from the 54th Annual Ohio Genealogical Society Conference in Columbus all fired up to tackle new projects.  That is what spending a few days with family history enthusiasts can do. One of those "new" projects is  is actually an old project that has lain dormant for a couple of years. That would be this blog.

On my flight home, I ruminated (sounds like something a cow would do) about blogging topics. I realized that I have more stories to share than you would ever want to sit through at the same time. But, you might be able to tolerate one per week.  So, this is my plan: I will blog the first four Fridays of each month; on Fifth Friday, I will rest (probably).

That means 48 postings per year.  I already have a list of topics that should get us through the first year. The hard part will be disciplining myself to stay on schedule. I have in mind fairly short posts -- perhaps only three or four paragraphs -- just long enough to share a research or family history story that might enlighten, or even entertain.

Most of my posts will draw from my research into some 200 years of the Fawkner family of Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, and points west. Many people have thought that, perhaps, Fawkner is an odd variant of Fonkert. Not true. The Fawkner characters come from my wife's family tree.  I have a drawer-full of sometimes amazing, other times amusing, and sometimes sad, stories about the Fawkners.  I am inclined to categorize these posts under "Fawkner Follies," although that is perhaps a tad irreverent for a family that suffered many tragedies.

There are just too many good research and human interest stories hanging from the Fawkner tree to put too much time between Fawkner posts, but I will from time to time intersperse other subjects so that neither readers nor author suffer Fawkner Fatigue.

I also will draw from three smaller drawers of material, including.

• Methods for Our Madness -- research vignettes featuring matching and separating identities and, corroborating evidence, and correlating evidence to draw a  conclusion.
• Geo-Genealogy -- birds-eye looks at the spatial dimension of family history, including interesting maps and tips on how to make sense of your family's migrations.
• Potpourri -- Odds and ends, including some favorite Tidball Tidbits, Morstad Moments, and Fonkert Features.

I realize that some of the best genealogy blogs provide source citations meeting the highest standards. I do not intend these blog posts as research reports, and readers should not treat them as such. I will generally identify sources in the narratives, only using footnotes in critical moments. Parts of many of the stories I will share in this blog have been published in articles genealogy magazines and journals. When that is the case, I will point readers to the appropriate publication should they want to read more.

Am I ready?  Am I set?  Dare I say "go?"  Be watching for my first installment in a few days.