13th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Posted!

The 13th edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy has been posted! You can read the article here. The topic for the next edition is on Christmas Traditions of Central and Eastern Europe. (Hanukkah traditions will also be accepted. I forgot to mention this when I gave Elizabeth the topic for the next edition.) You do not have to have Central or Eastern European ancestry. You can submit articles on a tradition that you have read or learned about as well. The deadline for the submissions will be December 21, and the edition will be posted here on the 23rd. You can submit your article here.

Also, if you are interested in hosting a future edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, you can read more about it here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Here's An Interesting Article: Another Shipwreck Found ...

I just happened to notice this article on yahoo, and I thought I would share the link to the article. Apparently, a shipwreck of a slave ship has been found in the Caribbean. (This article caught my interest because one of my history classes deals with slavery and emancipation in Latin America.)

10th Edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture Posted!

The tenth edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture has been posted! You can read the edition here. The topic for the next edition is on: "My key to Ireland. This edition will be dedicated to the stories of genealogists tracing their Irish family trees." You can find out more information here.

Eight Things About Me ...

I've been tagged by both Apple and Tex for the "8 things about me" meme. The rules for this meme are:

1. Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. A the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their name.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

I do not believe I have participated in this meme before, so here are eight facts about me:

1. Besides doing genealogy, I also like to read (Something you have probably figured out by now.), write stories, draw, paint, knit, crochet and play the piano.
2. I also love to learn about other cultures, countries, religions and languages.
3. I have studied German for almost five years. I had two years in high school, and almost three years in college.
4. After I finish my bachelor's degree, I plan on continuing onto graduate school, and hopefully, I will eventually obtain a PhD in history. (It looks like I will be in school for a long time.)
5. I also like to play computer games, and my favorite computer game at the moment is Age of Empires 3. (It's not exactly a historically accurate game, but the historical theme and strategy are what interests me the most about this game.)
6. I hope to write a book someday and have it published.
7. The historical topics and eras that I am interested in span from the Middle Ages to the present. (Yes, I realize I have a broad interest in history.)
8. I would like to travel the world some day.

And now, I am supposed to tag eight other people. The eight people I am tagging are:

• Harold of Midwestern Microhistory
• Wendy of All My Branches
• Nancy of Fermazin Family Genealogy
• Cathy of In Deeds
• Machie Family Genealogy
• Milwaukee Germans
• Gray Roots Are Showing
• Sheri of Twig Talk

So, that is eight things about me that you now know. I hope you find them interesting. Enjoy!

Submissions for this Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Are Due Today!

Submissions for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy are due today! The topic for this edition is on, "What research resources are you thankful for?" You do not have to have Central or Eastern European ancestry to participate, and you can submit your article here. Thanks!

Geography Awareness Week: Going To the Continent of Africa

In honor of Geography Awareness Week, I have decided to do another post on geography quizzes of a country. I have already done posts on Germany, England, Scotland, Wales and Michigan, but for this post, instead of focusing on one country, I have decided to focus on the continent of Africa.

So, how much do you know about Africa, and how well do you think you know your information? Here are some quizzes on Africa:

Countries of Africa

Rivers of Africa

Largest Cities, By Population, of Africa

Capitals of Africa

Geographical Features of Africa

More Physical Geography of Africa

I hope you enjoy these quizzes, and learn something new. Please do not feel bad if you do not do well on these quizzes because I also did not do very well when I tried them myself. Enjoy!

30th Shades Of The Departed Guest Column Posted!

The 30th Shades of the Departed guest column has been posted. The author of this week's column is Apple, and you can read the article here. Enjoy!

Geography Awareness Week: Going To Michigan

For today's post focusing on geography, I have decided to post on the state of Michigan. (Of course, I'll probably do another post on the geography of another place, but at the moment, I have not decided on the number of places I will do today.) Michigan, as many of you know, is my home state. So, how much do you know about Michigan?

Here are some quizzes on Michigan:

Counties of Michigan

Cities of Michigan

I hope you have fun with these quizzes. Enjoy!

Geography Awareness Week: Going To Wales

Since I have already done posts on the geography of England and Scotland, I will now do a post on Wales' geography.

Here are a couple of quizzes on the geography of Wales:

Counties of Wales

Wales' Geography

I hope you have fun with these quizzes, and I hope you have learned something new about the geography of the British Isles. I know I did. Enjoy!

Geography Awareness Week: Going To Scotland

As I promised in my post on England, I am also going to do posts on the geography of Scotland and Wales. For this post, I will only focus on Scotland.

So, here are a some quizzes for Scotland:

Cities of Scotland

Areas of Scotland

Islands of Scotland

I hope you have fun with these games. Enjoy!

Geography Awareness Week: Going To England

Yesterday, I did a geography post on Germany due to the fact that this week is Geography Awareness Week, and for today, I have decided to continue do posts on the geography of other countries. For today's post, I have decided to visit England. (I will also cover Scotland and Wales as well, but in other posts. Lisa has already done on a post on Ireland, so I won't repeat a country she has done.)

So, here are a few quizzes for England:

Cities in England

Counties of England

I hope you have fun with these two quizzes and the ones for Germany. And I hope you do better on these quizzes than I did. Enjoy!

Geography Awareness Week: Going To Germany

For the past few days, Lisa at 100 Years in America has been publishing articles in honor of Geography Awareness Week, and so far she has done posts on Croatia, Hungary, and Austria-Hungary. As a result, I have been inspired from these posts do a post myself on the country of Germany.

The official German name of Germany is Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Before 1871, Germany did not exist as country, and as you may know, Germany's borders as of now are go back to when Germany was reunited in 1990.

So, do you think you know a lot about Germany? Here are a couple of quizzes on Germany that you can try:

Cities of Germany

Germany's Bundesländer

Rivers of Germany

I hope you have fun with these quizzes. Enjoy!

Check Out Elizabeth's Post For This Upcoming Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy!

Earlier today, Elizabeth posted a reminder for this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. In addition, she created a beautiful image that reflects the theme of this upcoming edition. Click here to see it. Enjoy!

60th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy Posted!

The 60th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy has been posted! You can read the article here. The topic for the next edition will be on:

"Traditions! Dictionary.com defines 'tradition' as, 'the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice.' Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah are right around the corner and are typically rich with tradition. Other religious and family traditions go on throughout the year. What traditions were passed on to you from an earlier generation? Do you keep those traditions? What tradition(s) will you or have you passed on to a younger generation? Do you think they will keep it up? Do you care if they do? Hat tip to Wendy for this idea. She wrote about traditions a while back and inspired me to make it a holiday edition of the COG!Write about your traditions and submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using our carnival submission form. The deadline for submissions is December 1st. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blogcarnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link. Thank you!"

Enjoy!

Do You Want To Be A Carnival Host In 2009?

I'm starting to look for people who would be willing to host an edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy in 2009. (I will be hosting December's edition.) At the moment, all 12 of the months are open, and those who host an edition get to choose the topic for that edition. And he or she will also get to choose the due dates for submission and posting of the edition. If you are interested in hosting a carnival, please e-mail me at jess_history at yahoo dot com. Thanks!

A Couple Of Resources I'm Thankful For ...

For this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, I am supposed to write about resources in my research that I am thankful for having. So, what records am I thankful for?

Well, when it comes to researching my German ancestors from one of my grandmother's maternal lines, I am especially thankful that a family tree was done on my Cotta ancestors. This tree, of course, shows how I am descended from the Cottas up to my great-grandma. Since it is showing the descendants of the Cotta family, this tree is a secondary source, and as such, I still have to verify the information on the tree. (Which is a good thing I do as I have already found some incorrect dates on the tree.)

I am also thankful that a woman from Germany kindly helped me (and still does) with my research on another branch of my German ancestors. I would not have been able to get as far as quickly as I have without her help.

And above all, I am thankful that I can still ask relatives about what they remember of our German ancestors, especially of our German ancestors from Russia. So, what resources are you thankful for?

7th Edition Of The Smile For The Camera Carnival Posted!

The seventh edition of the Smile for the Camera Carnival has been posted! You can read it here. The topic for the next edition will be on "Stocking Stuffer. Show us that picture that would make a great Stocking Stuffer and tell us whose stocking you'd stuff. Share!" Enjoy!

Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy Submission Reminder

I just want to remind everyone that you have about a week left to submit your article to this upcoming edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy. The topic for this edition is on, "What research resources are you thankful for?" You can submit your entry here.

Ancestry Has Added Some Croatian Records ...

I just happened to take a look at Ancestry.com's recently added databases and noticed that some vital records for Croatia have been added. You look here, at their updated list. I hope you are successful in finding your ancestors. Enjoy!