Accentuate the Positive 2013 Geneameme

Jill, a.k.a GeniAus, has challenged us to think about our genealogy achievements this year by responding to the following set of questions. We can write as little or as much as we like.
Enjoy! ^_^

1.  An elusive ancestor I found was    

This year I didn’t find any elusive ancestors. However, I am still on the trail of my Great Great Aunt Jeannie Gow (who I found last year!), and what happened to her children after she died.

2.  A precious family photo I found was

The Smith Family, taken in Union County, Mississippi, in 1906. It is of my Great Great Great Grandmother Louisa Clementine Smith nee Brister and many of her descendants, including my Great Great Grandmother Mary Frances Renfrow nee Smith.

Smith Family, Mississippi, 1906.
Image from my personal collection.

My Great Great Grandmother, Mary, is the lady in the 2nd row, 2nd from the left, with the little girl in front of her. The little girl is my Great Great Aunt Launa. My Great Great Great Grandmother Louisa is also in the 2nd row, 4th from the left.

3.  An ancestor’s grave I found was

I found so many of my ancestor’s graves at the beginning of the year in January when I was in Bowraville, NSW. Many of my Nanna’s family are buried there including her parents, brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great grandparents etc. I also found my Great Great Uncle’s grave, as well as his wife and children’s graves in July.

Here’s a photo of me & my Great Great Uncle Robert Gow’s grave. He’s buried at Macquarie Cemetery in Sydney, and is buried with his daughter Myrtle.

Grave of Robert Gow & his daughter Myrtle Gow.
Macquarie Cemetery, NSW.
Image from my personal collection.

I’d been trying to find his grave since I started researching my family history in 2009! My Nanna & Poppa (Robert was his Uncle) are buried at Macquarie too. Poppa died in 2003…and this whole time Robert has been buried quite close to him. Robert’s name never came up in the online index for Macquarie Cemetery because his last name was listed as ‘Tow’. That has now been fixed, and no future descendants of Robert’s or mine, should have difficulty finding him in the index!

4.  An important vital record I found was

The birth certificate of Martin McFarlane, Great Great Aunt Jeannie’s youngest child. He was only 2 when she died. A lovely lady who got ‘hooked’ on my article about Jeannie in Scotlands People did some more research and found Martin’s birth certificate which I had been unable to find. The census records I have list his name as Malcolm….

5.  A newly found family member who shared

Carolyn who provided me with the Smith Family photo above, and Carole (a relative of the husband of my relative), who provided many photographs of my Gow ancestors.

6.  A geneasurprise I received was

Oh goodness! Three of them are Scotlands People wanting to publish my article, Thomas MacEntee interviewing me for How I Hack Genealogy & Shauna Hicks inviting me to the launch of National Family History Month.

7.   My 2013 blog post that I was particularly proud of was

This one: http://genealogically-speaking.tumblr.com/post/40646846450/father-daughter-genealogy-day

8.   My 2013 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was

This photo for some reason: http://genealogically-speaking.tumblr.com/post/53801147267/the-gowan-young-plot-at-white-church-cemetery

9.  A new piece of software I mastered was.

10. A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was

Facebook, Twitter & Google+.
Oh, and Google Hangouts which is a new toy for me (well, most of us I think). Yay for Pat (DearMYRTLE) & Jill’s (GeniAus) Hangouts!

11. A genealogy conference/seminar/webinar from which I learnt something new was

I attended the launch of National Family History Month this year! I learned about The Hive, which is the NAA’s new thing where you can transcribe records for them, particularly World War 1 records.

12. I am proud of the presentation I gave at/to

13. A journal/magazine article I had published was

Scotlands People published my article on my Great Great Aunt Jeannie! You may find it here:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/Content/Help/index.aspx?r=2212

14. I taught a friend how to

Use the Victorian BDM website!

15. A genealogy book that taught me something new was
16. A great repository/archive/library I visited was

The Queensland State Archives! I went on a private behind the scenes tour which was amazing! Check out my video review here.

17. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was

18. It was exciting to finally meet

SHAUNA HICKS!!!! :D

19. A geneadventure I enjoyed was

The Father/Daughter genealogy day I had with my Dad in January, the cemetery day I had with my Aunt in July & the tour of the Qld State Archives I had with Mum in November.

20. Another positive I would like to share is

Thank you for all your support and friendship this year. It means a lot, especially to a young one still trying to find her way in the genea-world. I love being a part of this wonderful online community, and I’m hoping to meet a few of you in 2014. ^_^

LET’S BREAK THOSE BRICK WALLS IN 2014! *karate-genea-chop*

And just because it’s been an awesome year…