My aim was to finish writing and publish my book about my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk.
Yet, here we are, the clock ticking down to the year's end and I've not accomplished that one genealogy endeavor.
Sure, a lot of progress was made on the manuscript. However, the chief complicating factor (aside from limited time) was that I encountered a lot of new research avenues that held the potential to reshape Thomas' origins story.
It would be ridiculous to publish without thoroughly investigating each new lead. So, the year is drawing to a close and the book remains undone.
But the prospects for 2020 are quite promising.
Blogging Family History
This year-end recap is my 40th post in 2019. That's seven fewer posts than I wrote last year or the two years prior. Not only did I not achieve my year's goal, but my blogging output dipped. Nonetheless, I'm still celebrating!
In my defense, the 15% decrease in published posts wasn't due to a waning interest in writing family history. My excuse was travel.
On the road again
I traveled a lot. In fact, in 2019 I traveled - for work or pleasure - every month beginning in January. Some of these travels touched on family history.
- In January, I traveled to San Francisco for work and was able to trace the footsteps (and recreate a photo) of my great-grandfather Samuel Kirk who served in the Motor Transport Corps while based at the Presidio during WWI.
- In February, I traveled to Salt Lake City for RootsTech, and met many of my genealogy buddies including the inspiration for the Family Sleuther blog, Amy Johnson Crow.
- In April, I traveled back to Salt Lake City for work, and during a brief escape to the Family History Library, I met long-time genea-friend True Lewis! A small genealogy world.
- In May, work took me to London where I was able to squeeze in some research time at the Society of Genealogists and locate my ancestors in the 1841 census, learning that they had been copper miners before emigrating to America and continuing that profession in the Rocky Mountains.
- In late May and early June, I traveled to Kansas for an annual family reunion where 100 descendants of my second great-grandmother Minnie (Hawks) Lumpkins Barber gathered to commemorate her life and enjoy each other's company.
- In August, I didn't have to go far when I traveled to Washington, DC for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' annual conference. A highlight was meeting famed genealogist extraordinaire Elizabeth Shown Mills.
- In September, I traveled to Potenza, Italy, the hometown of generations of my Italian ancestors before they emigrated to America. I had the good fortune to spend an evening in the small mountaintop old town and wander the streets where my ancestors once strolled.
These are just some of the travel highlights that included family history. Clearly, I covered a lot of ground (and need to get a new wardrobe... apparently I like that red checkered shirt, a lot!).
Did you read it?
This year's top three most-read posts were:
- The Trials and Tribulations of Triangulation*
- RootsTech 2019: Daily Recap
- Family Rumors Beget A Genetic Conundrum
*My most-read post of the year got me into hot water with some genetic genealogists who rightly flagged the challenges inherent with triangulation. I corrected the record in The Limits of Triangulation.
Those were the most widely read posts, but there were others that told important stories, including:
Here's to a happy and productive 2020 for all of us.
- The Linchpin Who Links an 18th Century Family Together
- Following Thomas Kirk's FAN Club Across 18th Century Virginia
- Timeline of a Colonial-Era Death
These three posts detail just a few of the research leads I'm pursuing in my Kirk family history, which have necessitated the delay in writing and publishing my book.
A year of accomplishment
There were many research discoveries this year, and although I didn't finish my intended goal, I did make progress which will ensure that the final product is a more thorough and accurate volume.
Here's to a happy and productive 2020 for all of us.
