Australian blogger Jill Ball has challenged us all to take part in her end-of-year 2020 geneameme.

Here are my answers:

1.  An elusive ancestor I found was – not one, but two, sons of my New Brunswick, Canada Loyalist Robert Carlisle. Robert Jr. and Daniel migrated westward and settled in Kent, Ontario, Canada.

2.  A great newspaper article I found was – the obituary of my grandfather, George Sabo, who died on 27 November 1936. I had to wait for the Passaic Herald News to be added to a digital collection to access it!

3.  A geneajourney I planned but didn’t take was – a trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

4.  I located an important record – No single record pops into mind. I found many important records on various family lines in 2020.

5.  A newly found family member shared – several distant cousins added lots of knowledge and background information to people in the family tree.

6.  A geneasurprise I received was – a heartfelt email from the descendant of a person in one of the vintage photos I save and send back home to family. He had never seen a photo of his great grandfather AND his sons have now started working on the family history after seeing the picture of their 2X great grandfather. It is the best feeling in the world to know that someone now has an original photo of his/her ancestor that I was able to save and gift to them.

7.   My 2020 social media post that I was particularly proud of was – keeping up with all my blog posts. I don’t do much else on social media.

8.   I made a new geneamate who – with the pandemic, no new geneamates, but made contact with some distant cousins.

9.  A new piece of technology or skill I mastered was – Gutenberg blocks for WordPress. Definitely NOT mastered, but I dabbled.

10. I joined – the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists because I have so many family lines there.

11. A genealogy education session or event from which I learnt something new was – the Kentucky Genealogical Society’s virtual conference. Peggy Clemons Lauritzen did a FABULOUS talk on how ancestors got where they did. Best talk I’ve heard in ages!

12. A blog post that taught me something new was – I can’t choose just one. My favorite blog posts are those where the writer explains the methodology used to solve problems.

13. A DNA discovery I made was – that my Catherine (MNU) Carlisle is NOT a child of a man who never existed – Lt. John R. Starkey.

14. I taught a genimate how to – track down church records for recent family members. She is a distant cousin and a genea-newbie.

15. A brick wall I demolished was – finding Robert Carlisle’s two sons, mentioned in Question #1.

16. A great site I visited was – Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Canada.

17. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was – Calais (Maine) Centennial, July 31st, 1909, compiled by the St. Croix Historical Society. My family was already in Calais by the 1830s – even my mother was born there a century later! My grandparents were small children in 1909 and I am sure they attended the parade. Lots of photos and stories, along with speeches, gave me a real feeling of the celebration that took place that day.

18. Zoom gave me an opportunity to – participate in my California chapter DAR meetings from Tucson.

19. I am excited for 2021 because – I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but I don’t see 2021 being any better than 2020 until millions more people get vaccinated. As of today, COVID numbers are horrific. Arizona currently has the highest infection rate per 100,000 in the world. I feel blessed that I am retired at home, that I have a fun hobby like genealogy to keep me busy and that my family and friends have remained healthy. I wish the same health and safety for everyone else, wherever they might live.

20. Another positive I would like to share is – the pandemic will eventually end! In the meantime, please stay safe and healthy, wear a mask and practice social distancing when around other people.