Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - January 2, 2010

Randy Seaver, over at GeneaMusings has issued us another wonderful challenge for a cold winter's Saturday Night!

Here is your assignment, if you choose to accept it (frankly, I've noticed that SNGF participation has dropped off in the last month - why? Too much eggnog? Too much work? What?):


1) "What was your best Genealogy Moment during 2009?" This could be a research find, a fabulous trip, a found family treasure, etc. Your choice!

2) Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, a comment to this blog post, or a comment to the Twitter or Facebook status line for this post.

I have one particularly fond experience in genealogy this past year! I was in charge of setting up our [Bean] family reunion, which is held every other year, in the tiny hamlet of Waiteville, in Monroe County, West Virginia. It was my first experience in organizing the event. And it went off flawlessly! I was also able to update all of our mailing lists, with current addresses - both postal and email.

I have been writing our family monthly newsletter for 9 years now, and I was so excited when this fall we went digital! This saves us literally thousands of dollars each year!!!

And I was honored when, at our family reunion in August, I was nominated as President of our family association. A position I don't take lightly!

But the biggest thrill of all came when in the early months of 2009 I was connected through my blog with a distant cousin, [the great-great-great-great granddaughter of my great-great-aunt]. Not only did she fly in from Utah to attend the family reunion, but she brought with her, her three sisters [from Utah, New Mexico and Oklahoma!]. Because of this group coming in, an entire branch of the Bean family was represented at the reunion, that had never been to one of our reunions before!

And that lovely bunch of ladies did something, on a whim, that outshone years of research by myself, and my family research predecessor. They were able to locate a small family cemetery that the whereabouts were unknown for well over 100 years!!! Because of them, I started a restoration fund and the cemetery has been fenced, and in the spring broken stones will be restored. And another one of our family cemeteries will be safeguarded for future generations!

2009 was an exciting year for our family genealogically speaking! And I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us!!!