Happy Birthday to The Family Curator! I’m ten years old today.
Shh, Confession: I’m really older than I admit, but I was mostly pretending to blog and trying out blog platforms before settling down with one official name and birthdate on July 4th, 2007.
It seemed like a good date for a new endeavor. Thoreau seemed to think so. Thoreau set up housekeeping at Walden Pond exactly 172 years ago today, declaring his personal independence from the constraints of society. Bloggers are an independent bunch, as well.
I first visited Walden Pond before genealogy grabbed me by the arm and refused to let go. In those days, I was teaching American literature and wishing I lived in a New England colonial house instead of a Spanish Colonial Revival in Southern California.
Thankfully, my ancestral pursuits led back to Yankee roots and the discovery that once my sons graduated from college in Massachusetts, I would have even more reasons to travel eastward.
So, the blog that began as an online journal to track progress with my Womens’ Literature course gradually evolved into a personal space to share ideas and thoughts about preserving and sharing family history and the documents, photos, and artifacts we inherit.
It’s been a wonderful ten years made richer by the many friends I’ve made, the generosity of many colleagues, and the opportunities to grow as a researcher, writer, and teacher. Thank you.
Looking Back
Looking back at over 800 posts on this site, a few are special favorites. I hope you’ve enjoyed them too:
Return to the The Family History Project in which I learn that Mom is planning a huge family reunion with relatives of dubious connection.
Celebration! after completing an honors English project with my students, transcribing over one hundred of my grandmother Arline’s letters to learn about women’s lives in the early 19th century. We celebrated with an end-of-year brunch, and a letter from Mom to the students.
The Family Curator Writes at Shades of the Departed where I discover that I’m not the only one reading my blog posts! I could never have imagined that an invitation from wonderful FootnoteMaven would lead to a new career.
A Mystery in Two Acts introduces Arline as a heroine in the local drama group, and gave me a chance to research a few of the treasures from her collection.
Orange County Summers, ca. 1960 reminds me that I really need to write my own family history too.
Blog Posts I Almost Wrote in 2014, and a Few I Finished was such a popular post that it may become an annual roundup. I wonder how many other bloggers have a backfine of “almost written” posts like mine?
Memorial Fund Will Assist Student Genealogists announced the student genealogy grant founded in honor of my mom Suzanne Winsor Freeman. It’s been such an honor to work with the next-generation of genealogists for this project.
How to Archive Family Keepsakes Book Now Available introduced my first genealogy book. And it all started with Arline’s letters and a classroom project to share family history.
Thank You!
It’s a great time to be a genealogy blogger. Thank you for joining me in the journey.
Congratulations. What a great milestone. It is fun to go back and see how our blogs have grown and matured over the years. I hope you have an incredible second decade. Looking forward to learning much more from you.
Alice Keesey Mecoy
JohnBrownKin.com
Congratulations on 10 years of blogging Denise!
Thank you, fellow blogger! It’s exciting to be starting a new decade.
Congratulations, I’ve just celebrated my sixth Blogiversary, so I have enormous admiration for your great achievement. Pardon my quiet jealousy for you having the joy of being in possession of so many of your grandmother’s letters. What a treasure!
I look forward to the next ten years..
Thanks Crissouli, and congrats to you too. Six years is nothing to sneeze at! Lucky me with all the treasures, but it does feel like a big responsibility at times. No complaints, though. I just need to share more and more often!
Hi Denise, Congratulations on a decade of blogging. Not many can claim that! I also enjoyed your recent webinar.
Thank you, Linda!
Congratulations Denise! Am grateful you are “here” as I so often am not available for the monthly meet time of our local genealogy group. Ordering both of your books today. And appreciate the group on Facebook too that I am a part of; learning so much! Thank you, thank you for the inspiration and encouragement you provide to all of us who have been passed family artifact collections, big and small 🙂 Looking forward to continuing this journey with you!
The best “perk” of this job has to be the wonderful people I get to meet. Thank you for joining the Scan Along and supporting my crazy projects. Who knows where we’ll go next, but it will be fun!
Congratulations, my dear Denise (and how I miss Penelope Dreadful!) on ten years of blogging. Ten years and you’re still a member of the NextGen group – well done! I think I’m in the LastGen group which doesn’t meet regularly.
Keep up the good work, polish up those almost-written posts and share your wisdom and experience and sense of humor with the rest of us toiling in the genea-blog-shed.
Hugs — Randy
Oh Randy, you are my mentor and friend. Thank you for the kind words. Maybe we can find Penelope Dreadful yet and talk her into a few more tales. As for NextGen/LastGen, we are both there! Hugs back, Denise