What's it all about? An Introduction to Kinexxions...

There is certainly a lot going on out west right about now. Tops on the genealogist's list though is the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. It sure would be nice to be there with so many other geneabloggers but it just couldn't happen for me this year. If you've made your way here via the Jamboree - and even if you haven't - Welcome to Kinexxions!

Two and a half years ago (January 12, 2007), after "lurking" around other genealogy blogs for a while, I finally gathered my nerve and started this blog. My original intent was to also include posts on the people and places of Whitley County (Indiana), but then I decided that kinexxions would focus primarily on my own family and personal history and a little over a month later Whitley County Kinexxions was born. Posting there has been light to non-existent this year due to my ongoing scanning project, but I intend to return to it again. Sometime. Really. Both blogs are companions to my website. I've written before about the joys and pitfalls of blogging, so I won't repeat those thoughts here. Suffice to say, if I didn't think it was worth doing, I wouldn't still be doing it!

What does the word kinexxions mean? It's not in any dictionary that I know of. Basically, it is a melding of "kin" and "connections", i.e. making connections with kinfolk. To me, that is what genealogy and family research are about. Why the double "x" you ask? I just liked the way it looked. Plus when I tried to register the url spelt as "kinexions" or "kinnexions" I found those names were already in use ;-)

Genealogy posts here on kinexxions range from biographies of ancestors and other relatives to personal history, family letters, reunion ledgers, mystery photos, and more. But kinexxions isn't just about genealogy and family history. You'll find some photography, memes, wordles and other fun stuff too along with the occasional research tip.

The design of the blog (color and layout) is pretty much the same as it was in the beginning. I generally stick with something I like (and am sometimes reluctant or slow to change). But I have added a few things in the right sidebar. I don't twitter or tweet (or whatever) but I am on facebook. I'll take this opportunity to invite you to join my blog network there and if you're not already a member, join the Genea-Bloggers group! And if you're from Indiana or have Hoosier ancestors, how about joining the Indiana Genealogy group, also on facebook. If you'd like to be updated when new posts are published you can subscribe via RSS feed or email or "Follow" me with Google Friend Connect (links in the right sidebar).

Scroll down the page a bit and you'll see two sections in the sidebar for the families that I'm researching. That first section lists a couple databases and several websites out on the 'net. The second section includes links for the surnames that I've posted about here at kinexxions. These are what I call "index" posts that provide a list of all the posts for that family name. For example, the Phend Family and the Wiseman Family.

You'll find the listing for the blog archive at the bottom of the sidebar. In Looking Back - Kinexxions in 2007 I listed some of "top" posts for that first year. And in February 2008, the iGene Awards for kinexxions highlighted "the best" posts in several categories. The iGene Awards were the brainchild of Jasia, as was the Carnival of Genealogy. I'm proud to say that I've contributed to almost every COG since I started blogging. I even hosted the 27th edition back in July '07 and earlier this year hosted the 65th edition, which was one of the largest editions with 50 contributors - the topic was "The Genealogy Happy Dance".

In addition to the COG, I've also participated in the Smile for the Camera carnival hosted by footnoteMaven. In April 2008, I was honored to be the first guest blogger at Shades of the Departed (also hosted by fM) in her "Friday From the Collectors" series with my post A Moment In Time. And check out my post A Salute to the Old Timers! to see who else has been blogging their genealogy and family history - the early geneablogging pioneers!

Well, I think that will do it for now. If you've read this far, congratulations! (Yes, I know, I do get a bit long-winded at times.) And, please take a look around the blog, hopefully you'll find something of interest. Feel free to visit anytime, the door is always open ;-)