“Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.” ~John Lennon

2015 has been a year of change, most of it surprising, much of it unwelcome. The older I get, the more I believe the old adage that the only thing constant in life is change. Since there is usually little we can do to stop changes, we are left with basically two choices:

• Curse the darkness
• Light a candle

I haven’t had the opportunity to research my own family lately, let alone write about them. I do feel bad about that, especially since I am impossibly behind in my own Challenge. But where changes have taken me away from this facet for awhile, it has given me other things. I have been doing a lot more journaling. I’ve had to focus more on my business, which means spending more time writing for my blog at AmyJohnsonCrow.com.

Some of you have asked how my mom is doing. She has recovered very well from her surgery; we are thankful for that. I don’t want to share too many details, but I will say that she still has quite a journey ahead of her. All of us are trying to adjust to the changes…  awaiting the changes yet to come… and praying…

[EDIT: It isn’t my intent to look for sympathy. Just sharing why things have been quiet over here. That being said, if you want to think some good thoughts for my mom, that would be appreciated ]

Who Have You Written About?

This recap covers the last two weeks: Week 30 (Challenging) and Week 31 (Easy). Who did you write about, either with or without the optional themes? Please leave a comment with a link to your post(s) below!

Upcoming Optional Themes

• Week 32 (August 6-12) – 32
• Week 33 (August 13-19) – Defective, Dependent, & Delinquent
• Week 34 (August 20-26) – Non-Population
• Week 35 (August 27 – September 2) – School Days

The August themes post has some suggestions on how you might approach the weekly themes. Remember — they are optional! The key is to write, not necessarily to follow the theme

Folks, keeping the intro to this short and sweet. (And a heads up that next week’s will likely be the same.) Believe me, I wish that things were different…

Who did you write about this past week? Leave a comment with the link and a bit about your ancestor.

Upcoming Optional Themes:

• Week 30 (July 23-29) – Challenging
• August themes

Believe it or not, summer will soon be winding down. Time to get in some more research — and some more blogging! Needing some inspiration to get you through the last of the summer heat? Here are the optional themes for 52 Ancestors for August:

Week 31 (July 30-August 5) – Easy: We ended July with “Challenging,” so it seems fitting to begin August with “Easy.” Which ancestor has been pretty easy to research? (Come on, there has to be one!)

Week 32 (August 6-12) – 32. For Week 32, let’s focus on one of your 32 3rd-great-grandparents. (If you’ve already written about all of them — first, congrats on identifying all of them! — consider writing about one of their siblings.)

Week 33 (August 13-19) – Defective, Dependent, & Delinquent: In 1880, there was a special census schedule for “Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent Classes” — the blind, deaf, paupers, homeless children, prisoners, insane, and idiotic. Do you have someone in your family tree who would have been classified as such? (To learn more about the special 1880 schedule, see my post, “Do You Have a Defective Ancestor?“)

Week 34 (August 20-26) – Non-Population: While we’re on the subject of special census schedules, have you found an ancestor on a non-population census — agriculture, industry, manufactures,  or 1890 Union veterans? Tell us about him or her.

Week 35 (August 27 – September 2) – School Days: Many kids have returned to school by this time. What do you know about your ancestors’ school days? Do you have any yearbooks? Have you found him or her in a local school census? (Certainly nobody knows about any senior pranks they pulled 😉 )

Remember — these themes are optional. They’re meant to give you ideas, not frustrate you

Weekly recaps will continue to be posted on Thursdays. Please leave your links on the weekly recap posts, not here on this post. (More people will see them on the weekly recap — and you want your cousins out there to find you!)

Happy blogging

Road trip! Not only was it the optional theme for Week 28, but it’s also something I’m doing right now! (Ok, technically it’s a plane trip, but that somehow doesn’t sound right.)

As always, there were some great posts this week. Here are just a few:

• “Genealogy Road Trip – Why Didn’t I Take Them?” by Cheri Hudson Passey on Carolina Girl Genealogy. I think we can all relate to Cheri’s question.
• “Catherine Carr Hunter,” by Elizabeth Handler on From Maine to Kentucky. Elizabeth wants to take a road trip to Pittsburgh to research Catherine. (Elizabeth, if you go, allot some time to go up the Dusquene Incline. Very cool, especially at night!)
• “The Irish Brogue and French Priests,” by Cindi on My Moynahan Genealogy Blog. Cindi discusses the challenges she’s had with finding the right parish in Ireland, made more difficult with some language issues.

As for my road trip (or plane trip, as the case may be), I’m in Utah right now. I had a free day and, surprisingly, didn’t go to the Family History Library. Here’s why I skipped it.

Your Turn

Who did you write about this week? Leave a comment with a link to your post. Be sure to share a little bit about that ancestor — that’s how cousin bait works! Don’t forget to go look at the posts from Week 27. Maybe someone wrote about one of your ancestors!

Upcoming Optional Themes:

• Week 29 (July 16-22) – Musical
• Week 30 (July 23-29) – Challenging

The optional themes for August will be posted on Monday!

We just passed the July 4th weekend. In the U.S., that means Independence Day. (Or, as one of my UK friends put it, “Ungrateful Colonists Day.” Guess it depends on your point of view!)

Among the many good posts I read this week were:

• “#27 Anna Noble Ryan,” by Eileen A. Souza on Old Bones Genealogy. Her ancestor died in a lucky place. (Well, it was lucky for Eileen, not so lucky for her ancestor… )
• “A Baker’s Dozen of Patriots and Loyalists,” by Linda Stufflebean on Empty Branches on the Family Tree. The title says it all!
• “Mary Susan Henderson: Not Forgotten,” by Melissa Wiseheart on A Wise Heart’s Journey. Melissa explains about how she gets tunnel vision with her ancestors and how she broke out of it. (I think we can all relate to that!)

“Real life” has kept me from blogging about my ancestors. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be able to resume some family blogging soon. (In the meantime, I have been blogging over on my other site. One post this week even kept with the 52 Ancestors theme this week: “How You Can Honor America’s Second War for Independence.”)

Your Turn

Who did you write about this week? Patriot? Independent spirit? Someone else entirely? (Remember, it is an optional theme!) Leave a comment with a link below. Also take a break from the summer heat and read the posts from Week 26. As always, there are some wonderful stories there!)

Upcoming Optional Themes:

• Week 28 (July 9-15) – Road Trip
• Week 29 (July 16-22) – Musical
• Week 30 (July 23-29) – Challenging

Week 26. We’re halfway there! Not coincidentally, “Halfway” was the optional theme for this week.

Some of the posts that stood out this week were:

• “Who’s Taking Up My Time,” by Cheri Hudson Passey of Carolina Girl Genealogy. (Cool photos!)
• “Halfway: Annie Cox,” by Beth Gatlin of So Many Ancestors! (I loved Beth’s clever take on the “halfway” theme.)
• “The MEDER-WILMES Family of Diekirch,” by Cathy Meder-Dempsey of Opening Doors in Brick Walls. (Cathy should get a medal for wading through that handwriting!)

Your Turn

Who did you write about this past week? Leave a comment below with a link to your post and a little bit about your ancestor.

Upcoming Optional Themes:

• Week 27 (July 2-8) – Independent
• Week 28 (July 9-15) – Road Trip
• Week 29 (July 16-22) – Musical
• Week 30 (July 23-29) – Challenging

The July themes post has some suggestions on how you might interpret these optional themes. Use it as a starting point — use your imagination!

Summer fun should include some blogging! (Just be careful not to get sand in your laptop.) If you’re looking for some ideas for the 52 Ancestors challenge, here are the optional weekly themes:

Week 27 (July 2-8) – Independent: This is the week for Independence Day! Which one fought for (or against) America’s independence? Or which of your ancestors was independent?

Week 28 (July 9-15) – Road Trip: Any epic “road trips” in your family tree? Which ancestor do you want to take a road trip to go research?

Week 29 (July 16-22) – Musical: There seems to be a musician in every family. Who is the one in yours? Don’t have a musician? Which ancestor has a lyrical name or reminds you of a song?

Week 30 (July 23-29) – Challenging: It’s a good time to take a look at another challenging-to-research ancestor.

The weekly recaps will be posted on Thursdays. I look forward to seeing your posts!

This is a quick recap post, as real life has eaten into many of my activities.

The optional theme this week was “The Old Homestead.” Who did this theme make you think of?

Of course, it’s fine to not use the theme (it is optional!)

Who did you write about, whether you used the theme or not? Leave a comment with a link to your post and a little bit about your ancestor in the comments below.

Next Week’s Theme

The optional weekly theme is “Halfway.” It seems appropriate for Week 26, the halfway point of the 52 Ancestors 2015 challenge!

First, I want to thank everyone for the good wishes sent to my mom. She’s home from the hospital and is doing well.

This week’s recap is another thin one. I appreciate your understanding as my schedule has been a bit…  different…  than it usually is.

The optional weekly themes for July will be posted next week. Keep an eye out for those!

Your Turn

Who did you write about last week as part of the 52 Ancestors challenge? Leave a comment with a link to your post and a bit about your ancestor. While you’re here, take a look at the ones from Week 23!

Upcoming Optional Themes:

• Week 25 (June 18 – 24) – The Old Homestead
• Week 26 (June 25 – July 1) – Halfway

Yes, this recap is a day later than usual. It has been an incredibly hectic week and a half.

My mom ended up having surgery on Tuesday. She’s doing well, thankfully. But as you might expect, I have had zero time to write and little time to read. (Even when I have had time, my mind hasn’t exactly been in “reading and writing” mode.)

I did see some wonderful 52 Ancestors posts this past week, but honestly, I was too scatterbrained to bookmark them to highlight them in this week’s recap.

Who Did You Write About?

Who did you write about last week? Leave a comment with a link and a little bit about your ancestor. And since the weather is so hot, crank up the A/C and read the posts from Week 22. Someone might have written about an ancestor of yours!

Upcoming Optional Themes:

• Week 24 (June 11 – 17) – Heirloom
• Week 25 (June 18 – 24) – The Old Homestead
• Week 26 (June 25 – July 1) – Halfway