Feeling Grateful

Back in May, I was a recent college graduate who started a genealogy blog in the midst of applying for teaching positions, moving out of an apartment and studying to take the Praxis. Life was hectic and stressful and confusing, and I needed to find a way to take my mind off of these competing responsibilities for a few moments each day. That’s where Applegate Genealogy came in–I started this blog as a way to share the dozens of family stories and photos I’ve collected over the years, as well as to expand my research experience. It’s become more than that, though–I look forward to sitting down to write each week, and sharing stories here has, in many ways, been incredibly cathartic.

This month, I want to say thank you to everyone who has followed along with my family’s story. There’s Eilene Lyon–my first follower–whose blog, Myricopia, focuses on all of the lessons we can learn from history. From canoing in Minnesota to genealogy haikus to murders in New Netherland, you never know what she’ll post next. There’s Michael Harris, the writer behind Pants Free Genealogy, who continues to share insight into life in Buffalo–I try to recreate it through my grandparents’ stories, but it’s just not the same as hearing it from him in the comments. And then there’s nwpaintedlady of Branches On Our Haimowitz Family Tree–an incredible writer and researcher whose kind words about my posts mean the world.

I also want to say thank you to A. G. Knapper, the creative force behind Silly Mummy Family Tree, whose stories often inspire my own and whose continued support is always appreciated. In the past few months, my blog has been featured a number of times on Linda Stufflebean’s Empty Branches on the Family Tree, Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and Crissouli’s That Moment in Time; thank you all for supporting my work and sharing it with others. And lastly, thank you to some of my new readers–Zoey K. from Fading, But Not Forgotten, Caroline from Caroline’s Chronicles, Steven Hanley from The Psychogenealogist and the brilliant Liz Gauffreau–for following along each week; welcome to the group!

Back in September, I wrote my first guest post over at Andrea Joy’s blog, Saving Joyfully. Andrea provided me a platform through her blog to share my work and my family’s stories to a wide range of readers, and she continues to support my writing here and on social media. She recently shared that her father has taken ill and is in the hospital, but she’s still uploading new posts on her blog and reading others’ work. All week, she has put others before herself and kept up with the financial advice she regularly shares–I don’t know how she’s doing it, but she’s always an inspiration.

Two weeks ago, my blog was spotlighted on Episode 258 of the Extreme Genes podcast, one of my favorite podcasts to listen to on the long communte to and from work each day. “She started in genealogy only a few years ago, but she’s taken her family stories and put them up for the public to read and enjoy. I mean, you might find distant cousins that way.” That’s exactly what I want Applegate Genealogy to be: a blog where you can stop by for an uplifting family story or an entertaining series on the bad apples in my family tree. It’s been a pretty great year, and it’s thanks to all of you. I’ll see you next week.

(Share your “Saying Thanks” story on Elizabeth O’Neal’s Genealogy Blog Party for November 2018. And check out her blog, My Descendant’s Ancestors, for stories about the untimely death of John M. Swanay or reviews of this season’s Relative Race.)

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