Two ways of publishing family history

Pixxibooks

Pixxibook 

In the past year I have explored some new ways of sharing my family stories. With the end of Blog2print I looked for an alternative. The photo above is of  two volumes printed by Pixxibook. 

First the positives, the reproduction of photos and text is excellent. The hard cover bindings and the quality of the glossy paper is also excellent.

Before I can recommend this service there are some significant limitations about which I have provided feedback to the company. While one can select which posts will be included in the book, there was no way to reorder the pages, no control over the place images appeared in the posts and no Contents page. I did not expect an index is this kind of service but think a Contents page is a minimum.

Having said all that I now have two very handsome volumes to hand on to one of my children in the years to come.

WeAre - a family archive

My second focus in the past twelve months has been using WeAre.xyz to create a comprehensive archive of all the family stories, documents and images I have compiled over the last twelve years. I can recommend this unreservedly. For a modest fee one can upload a GEDcom then get busy adding all the stories and ephemera surrounding each family, everything from images to wills to artifacts and special occasions and places. All articles, media and documents are tagged to individuals and relevant families.

Archives can be public or private but no private individuals or articles, media etc about them will be exposed in the public archive.

WeAre has a Feed feature showing the most recent additions to the archive but as one's archive grows larger, I find it useful to keep track of what I have added there, so I use Google sheets. Compared to Excel the data validation is easy to set up so I have a record of where I am up to.

Tracking additions to the WeAre archive

Some may prefer to have a text document but I find the flexibility of a spreadsheet an effective way of keeping track of data.

For more details about WeAre.xyz  try the site for free for 30 days, check the YouTube channel, or join the Facebook group to find comprehensive instructions and to have any questions answered.

This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

Blogging in April A-Z 2025

Family History and Genealogy bloggers at Connections2025 Conference in Brisbane in March
Photo courtesy of Jill  Ball

Blogging in April 

Here is a list of Australian and NZ bloggers I have so far come across who are participating in the 2025 A-Z April Blogging challenge. The challenge is to post each day in April except Sundays using the alphabet as a guide.

Some are telling the stories of their families migration, some are focused on places or their experiences and objects. There is sure to be plenty here for your reading pleasure throughout April. 

Anne Young  -Twenty-six people in my family tree 

Carole McCulloch - AI and genealogy 

Carmel Galvin - On this Day  yes, that's me.

GenieJen - Bamford and Heaney families 

Jennifer Jones - The Earl Grey Orphan Scheme 

Jill Ball - Peculiar Pics from her travels

Lilian Magill Towns I've visited in NSW

Linda Curry - The Swinging Sixties 

Michelle Nichols - Pieces of my Family 

Pauleen Cass -  Airports, Airstrips, Aircraft, and Airlines 

Sandra Williamson - Journeys of my Family 

Sue Wyatt - An A-Z of places in my family history 

If I have not found your blog, please let me know and I shall add you to this list.

This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

Connections Reflections

Just a few of the presentations I attended at Connections2025

Just back from three days of learning in Brisbane my thanks to GSQ, AFFHO and History Queensland for hosting an excellent conference. The mix of historical content along with AI advances and traditional genealogy was a good combination.

The opportunity to meet and mingle with like minded souls who are all keen to learn and share their expertise was a bonus. I caught up with many geni-mates known online and others I knew in real life.

Now to to refocus my research:

• Investigate the networks or friends and neighbours of my ancestors more closely
• Investigate the other passengers who travelled with my ancestors, were they from similar villages, towns, where did they settle etc.
• Pay more attention to the political and social circumstances of the time
• Work more on the organisation of my genealogical records and photos
• Continue to use a variety of AI tools for routine data extraction and organisation tasks

Family history is never finished, there is always more one can learn and do no matter one's age. Being open to learning keeps the brain active. 

This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info