There's Nothing Mediocre About Midwest Geneabloggers

When you think of the American Midwest, do the words 'middle-of-the-road', 'mediocre', 'mainstream', or 'boring' come to mind? What about the family history researchers in the Midwest? They must be really boring. I once thought those same things. However, I have changed my mind about those Midwestern family historians. They are anything but boring!


The first Midwest Geneabloggers Meet-up was held this past week-end in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and this Canadian crashed it. I discovered these midwestern genealogists are cool. We researched, told jokes, shared funny stories, and laughed. Oh, did we laugh! The best part of the week-end was meeting these wonderful geneabloggers face-to-face, and connecting names to real people. I was excited to (finally) meet Thomas MacEntee in person. Thomas is my 10th cousin, once removed through our Ryckman line.

Kathryn Hogan and Thomas MacEntee, Midwest Geneabloggers Meetup, Ft. Wayne, IN, 2012. Digital image courtesy of Diana Ritchie, 2012. All rights reserved.

I appreciated having the opportunity as a group to discuss issues and ideas in our collective genealogy community. It was encouraging to hear others' opinions and thoughts.


I want to especially thank Tina Lyons, Terri O'Connell and Thomas for their work in organizing our week-end.


The first Midwest Geneabloggers event was so successful plans are now in the works for another week-end in the fall.


Copyright by Kathryn Lake Hogan, 2012.