90th Carnival of Genealogy--Third Annual iGene Awards

And now it's time for the Call for Submissions! The topic for the next edition (#90!) of the COG will be: The Third Annual iGene Awards, The Best of The Best! It's Academy awards time... time for the Academy of Genealogy and Family History, aka AGFH, to honor their best blog posts of 2009 in the following 5 categories:

•Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009. Tell us which you liked best and why.
•Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?
•Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?
•Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?
•Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in 2009?

Thank you to Creative Gene for again sponsoring this carnival.

Welcome to the third annual iGene Awards. Ah yes, genealogists are an obsessive bunch. Since I am one of them, I can certainly understand these recently overheard comments from a local genealogical gathering; "Not tonight dear, I just found that they have listed the local turn of the century newspapers from Columbiana County Ohio on ancestry," or from the newbies, "Ok so I don't descend from anyone--now what?"

Always found on any geneabloggers wish list is, "I want relatives who religiously wrote in the family Bible, journalising every little event and detailing the familial relationship of every visitor" and "I want ancestors who were wealthy enough to afford, and to keep for generations, the family homestead, and who left all the aforementioned pictures and diaries and journals intact in the library". However, uppermost in all genealogists minds is I want ancestors I can FIND!

During my first year as a geneablogger I have met and made some solid new genealogy friends who have given me warm and yet constructive comments. Many are here tonight walking their own red carpets. Oh, I have seen Carol from Reflections From the Fence and there's Hummer from Branching Out Through the Years; Lori from Genealogy and Me and Greta from Greta's Bog to mention just a few. I know they will be among those stepping up to the microphone to announce their blogs personal picks.

This is my maiden geneablogging year and the time has come to reflect and pick the best of 2009 from Flipside. The envelopes please.

•Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009.

There were so many contenders for this award; however, the winner is my paternal grand aunt, Mary Louise VanGilder showing a little skin on her tiger skin rug, who topped the list at Carnival of Genealogy 74th Edition Swimsuits.


•Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?

After searching through the entries to find the appropriate blog that could become a screen play the Gene goes to My Dad's Homecoming From Korea a SNGF entry that has the promise of pulling at the heart strings.

The Cast for A Soldier's Homecoming

Dad: Matt Damon
Mom: Kate Winslet
Linda at age 6: Lucy Merriman
Ken at age 1: Twin boys from central casting
Dr. Arthur: Ben Affleck
Pop Pop: John Travolta
Grams: Geena Davis
Teek: Jane Fonda
Soldiers on base: Extras from central casting

•Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?

The Morgantown West Virginia roots win again! Best Doc goes to Sampson Frum Pool at Carnival of Genealogy 73rd Edition--The Good Earth.

•Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?

The winner and one of my favorite subjects to write about....hands down, my paternal great grandmother, West Virginian, Jessica Pool VanGilder and her biography featured at The 67th Carnival of Genealogy: Nobody's Fool.

•Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in 2009?

After several ballots the top vote getter, not genealogy related at all, is The Bay Leaf Fiasco a Wordless Wednesday blog which beat out several other worthy opponents.


Thanks go out to all the compelling prompts supplied this year by COG, SNGF, Smile for the Camera, Festival of Postcards and Graveyard Rabbits as well as the weekly memes. We thank the ballot tabulators of Flip & Side for counting and organizing the Third Annual iGene Awards for 2009. Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to the 2010 contenders next year. BLOG ON

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser