A Genealogy Christmas or My Family Knows Me Well

Christmas 2019 is in the history books and I had a very nice one. My family knows me so well. They know of my passion for genealogy and gift me items that will help in my hobby.

This year was no exception. The gifts were mostly in the form of books, but who doesn't love books. The books I am looking forward to reading are, in no particular order.

Downsizing with Family History in Mind by Devon Noel Lee and Andrew Lee.  Kirk and I have been trying to decide if we want to age in place or move to a condo where we won't have to do all the yard work. Whatever we decide in the next couple of years, we need to start downsizing our stuff and that includes my family history possessions. The book should come in handy when I start that monumental project. The book starts with a few questions of Who Needs to Downsize? and Why De-clutttering Does Not Work? It goes into five chapters on evaluating what you have followed by chapters on digitizing, labeling and storing, giving away, and displaying. The book concludes with various action plans. I hope this books makes the task an easier one.

Finding Your Ancestors in Kerry by Kay Caball is one I have had on my list ever since my mother in law had her DNA tested. My MIL has Irish ancestry which I knew about on her Corcoran line, but had no clue where in Ireland they came from. One of her DNA communities showed Kerry Ancestry. I have a little more work to do in the United States that will hopefully lead me to Kerry Ancestry, but I thought it would be an interesting book to read no matter what I find out. The book is full of information for those researching their Kerry county, Ireland ancestors. It starts with basic genealogy research information, a chapter on civil and church divisions, and then chapters on all the various record sources to look for. Historical information on record formation, numerous examples, further reading, archive and online information complete the book. 

Back to the United States with In The Shadow of Salem The Andover Witch Hunt of 1692 by Richard Hite. It is always fun when you flip to the index of a book and see your ancestor's name in it. That is the case with this book. I knew that I had witch trial history with my eighth great grandmother, Mary Clements Osgood. I had found court records of her self confession and knew some of her history, but I didn't know that 45 Andover residents found themselves jailed on suspicion of witchcraft.  The author uses primary sources in his research for the book. Hite includes chapter notes and a bibliography that I am looking forward to digging into. Having a book to read specific to Andover, Massachusetts will be informative and add to my research of Mary Osgood.

I received other genealogy related gifts. One is a tree themed passport cover and the other a travel journal. I will put both to good use when Kirk and I travel to Germany next year. It will be a non research trip, unfortunately.

This beautiful necklace was given to me by my husband. It is a Family Tree of Life locket with birthstone charms. I will wear it with pride. I plan to add the birth stones of children, son and daughter in law and then Kirk and myself. It will be something I cherish and hopefully one of my kids will keep it after I am gone.








And last who doesn't love office supplies? I am a page tag-er and note taker and this bundle of post-it notes is perfect. Plus, they are all in one place, in a sturdy folder. I already used some to tag a recipe book I got for Christmas. I love the lined ones to use for research notes on anything that I make a copy of and on some magazine pages. The tiny ones are great for marking places in books.

I had a wonderful Christmas and whether I get gifts or not I just enjoy spending time with family.  Did you get genealogy related gifts for Christmas? Please share in comments.