The following information are resources, tips, techniques, and instructions for starting and developing a Family History blog. These resources are for Lorelle’s family history blogging workshops, classes, and presentations. The focus of these resources are on blogging your family history, not about genealogy research, though it is often hard to separate the two.
This resource list will help you learn more about using WordPress, the self-hosted version of WordPress, and WordPress.com, the hosted verion of WordPress, as well as how to publish multimedia, gedcom files, and share the stories and tales of your family’s history. It also includes information on privacy and other legal policies as relates to family history research and blogging.
Family History Blogging Articles by Lorelle VanFossen
The following links are to articles I’ve written on family history blogging, including an ongoing series on genealogy blogging.
- Article Series: What to Publish on Your Family History Blog
- Starting With a Purpose and a Plan
- What’s the Difference Between a Genealogy Blog and a Normal Blog?
- Who, What, Where, and How Questions for the Plan
- Determining What Features I Want in My Blog
- The Blog Budget – How Much Does a Blog Cost?
- Genealogy Blog: Choosing a Blog Title and Domain Name and URL
- Genealogy Blog: The Fast Method of Setting Up a Blog
- Genealogy Blog: Blog Contributors – Wanted Dead or Alive
- Collaborative Genealogy: Programs to Help Families Work on Websites Together
- Does Your Library Have a Genealogy Department? Do They Have a Genealogy Blog?
- Family History Research: One Thing Leads to Another
- Move Your Genealogy Blog Into the 21st Century With Site Feeds
- Random Genealogy: Online Genealogy Collaboration
- Shame: Comment Spam Spotted from World Vital Records
- The Battle of the Unwanted Family Member Comment
- What Do You Put Into Your Family History Blog?
- Why a Genealogical Society Should Blog
- WordPress Customization Highlights Letters From the War Front
- How to Manage Multiple Bloggers on WordPress
Resources on Blogging Your Family History
The following are articles and tutorials on how to blogging your family history.
- A Genealogy Blog Primer – Everything You Wished You Knew About Genealogy Blogging But Were Afraid to Ask – GeneaBloggers
- Family Oral History Using Digital Tools
- 5 Ways to Get People to Share Their Genealogy – Making Genealogical Connections
- Blogging Your Family History Search – Creating a Genealogy Blog
- Publishing Your Family Tree Online – Creating a Genealogy Web Site
- Mother. Write. (Repeat.): Getting Started on Your Family History
- Blogging Software – 6 Questions Bloggers Should Ask Themselves When Choosing a Blogging Software
- Blogging Your Family History | Thomas MacEntee
- Personal Publishing: Blog Your Family History
- Getting Started with a Genealogy Blog – FamlySearch
Legal Issues for Family History Bloggers and Publishing on the Web
There are many legal issues that arise for family history bloggers including proper citation, copyright, and privacy. The following are articles and references on some of the legal issues that need to be considered when blogging your family’s history.
- Copyright: How to Quote and Cite Sources
- Genealogy.com – World Family Tree: Your Rights as a Contributor to the World Family Tree
- Documenting Your Genealogy Research – Guide to Citing Sources
- Copyright and Genealogy – Rules of Copyright for Genealogy
- Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet (slightly out of date but valuable tips)
- Genealogy.com: Do You Own What You Upload?
- Genealogy.com: Who Owns Genealogy? Cousins and Copyright
- National Genealogical Society | Standards for Sharing Information with Others
- Standards for Use of Technology in Genealogical Research – National Genealogical Society (PDF)
- Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet – National Genealogical Society (PDF)
- Copyright Fundamentals for Genealogy
- Copyright Table for Understanding Various Genealogy Copyrights | ProGenealogists
- Genealogy.com: Who Owns Genealogy? Cousins and Copyright
- Cemetery photos: permission required? | The Legal Genealogist
- The Legal Genealogist
- Ancestoring’s Ask A Genealogist: Citing Your Sources Resources
- Genealogical Proof Standard–Intro
- Ancestoring’s Ask A Genealogist: Genealogical Proof Standard–Step 1–A Reasonably Exhaustive Search
- Ancestoring’s Ask A Genealogist: Genealogical Proof Standard–Step 2–Complete and Accurate Source Citations
- Ancestoring’s Ask A Genealogist: Genealogical Proof Standard–Step 3–Analysis and Correlation of the Collected Information
- Ancestoring’s Ask A Genealogist: Genealogical Proof Standard–Step 4–Resolution of Any Conflicting Evidence
Writing Your Family History
- Getting Creative: Using Genealogy to Teach Writing Skills | Stephanie Pitcher Fishman
- Create Your Life Story : Helping You Record a Lifetime of Stories — How to Record, Edit and Publish Life Stories
- Adventures in Family History Writing
- Family History Writing Challenge
- Writing Your Family History Blogs | GeneaBloggers
- Writing Your Way to the Past
- The We Tree Genealogy Blog: How to Write a “Cousin Bait” Genealogy Blog Post
- Six More Ways to Find Your Family History Muse | Lisa Alzo
- Trace Your Family History (resources) | Faces of America | PBS
- Family History Writers Group
- The Armchair Genealogist: The Family History Blog to Book Project
Tips for WordPress
The following are tips, techniques, and resources associated with WordPress and WordPress.com.
WordPress Help
The following are resources for basic WordPress help and advice.
- Lorelle on WordPress
- Lorelle Teaches
- Using the Support Forums – WordPress Codex
- WordPress Codex, the online manual for WordPress Users
- Learn WordPress (official guide)
- WordPress.tv
- WordPress Support Forums (for self-hosted)
- WordPress.com Forums (Support for WordPress.com)
Learning WordPress
The following are basic tips and tutorials for learning about WordPress.
- How to Register for a WordPress.com Blog
- Finding WordPress Help « WordPress Codex
- The History of WordPress
- First Steps With WordPress
- New To WordPress – Where to Start
- What is WordPress?
- Why Choose WordPress?
- How to Get Help with WordPress
- Using the Support Forums
- WordPress Features
- WordPress Semantics
- Differences Between WordPress Versions: WordPress.org, WordPress.com, and WordPress MS
- What can you do with WordPress.com – Lorelle on WordPress
- A Guide to the WordPress Codex, The Online Manual for WordPress Users
- What is the Difference Between a Website and a Blog
- WordPress Tips | Learning from Lorelle
- WordPress Tips and Techniques from Lorelle Teaches WordPress and Blogging
- WordPress Tips from Lorelle on WordPress
Publishing with WordPress
- Linking Posts, Pages, and Categories
- Understanding Pages in WordPress
- Creating and Using Posts
- How To Write Your First WordPress Post
- Adding Authors and Contributors
- Pages verses Posts
- Your User Profile in WordPress
- Writing and Formatting Poetry
- Understanding Categories and Tags
- How to Write an About Page
- The Basics You Must Know About a WordPress Theme
- What You Must Know About Writing on the Web
- How to Set and Manage Excerpts in WordPress
- How to Add HTML in a WordPress Blog Post
- What is a Properly Formed Link?
- How to Add Images in Your Post Content
- The 10 HTML Tags You Must Know to Blog
- Example of a Gallery Post in WordPress
- Copyright: How to Quote and Cite Sources
- Links and the Anchor HTML Tag
- How to Log Into Your WordPress Site
- The Basic Structure of a Blog Post
- Public Domain, Free Photography, and Images for Your Blog
- The Basics You Must Know About a WordPress Theme
Genealogy Blogs
The following list includes family history and genealogy blogs, and directories and resources for them, which may serve as examples of how others are blogging and sharing their family history online.
- Genealogy Blog Finder
- The Ancestry Insider
- British & Irish Genealogy
- DearMYRTLE’s Genealogy Blog
- Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter
- Boston 1775
- Creative Gene
- Elyse’s Genealogy Blog
- Geneabloggers
- Genealogy Blogs – Family History News & Web Logs on the Internet
- Genealogy Blog – GeneaNet
- The Knowles Collection
- Olive Tree Genealogy Blog
- Practical Archivist Organize Photos, Preserve Heirlooms, Share Stories
- RootDig.com
- BloggingGenealogy.com – Blog
- Cyndi’s List – Blogs for Genealogy
- 40 Top Genealogy Blogs for International Research – Family Tree Magazine
- Family Tree Magazine – Genealogy Blogs
- The Genealogue
- GenealogyBlog
- Blog – The Genealogy Center – Allen County Public Library
- Genealogy Reviews Online
- Genea-Musings
- Susans Genealogy Blog
- The Genetic Genealogist | Adding DNA to the Genealogist’s Toolbox
- ThinkGenealogy | genealogy, software, ideas, and innovation
- How to Find Great Genealogy Blogs
Learning from Lorelle 
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Excellent set of resources Lorelle! I’ve been blogging my family history since 2006 when I started to document my mother’s family stories as her Alzheimer’s Disease progressed!
How wonderful! It is so important to take advantage of every moment you can in the moment. Good for you.
Thank you. I’ll be teaching a family history blogging course soon. I’ve been doing small workshops, and now it’s time for the big time! LOL! I’ve been doing genealogy research on my family since I was 12 years old. Seriously. It wasn’t until 2005 that I was able to get the right pieces of the puzzle to start connecting the dots and blogging about the family online. I sure wish I had more time to dedicate to it, but mortgage comes first. Teaching these workshops and classes on family history blogging means I have to step up to the plate, and it gives me an excuse to work on it more!
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