Legends of the Family - first birthday - 2015

On February 22, 2014, my brand new (and only) blog, "Legends of the Family", was published (once I had figured out what button to push).  That first post featured Revolutionary soldier, John Copeland of Laurens, SC.  It was well received by the 10 people or so whose arms I had twisted so that I would know at least somebody besides me had read my submission.

Since that historic (for me) day, I have published 47 more posts featuring folks whose lives had directly - or indirectly - had an impact on this generation, ranging from the 1300s all the way up to 2003.  The earliest (so far) was knighted by a King of England in the 1300s and the latest was my mother, who died in 2004.  Some have been soldiers, one an artist, one a United States Vice President, several were ministers, one was murdered, and one was always in trouble with his family. 

It was not very long after publishing that first post that I realized my goal to publish a new story every week was optimistic, to say the least, because:

• I forgot that I have other things I need and want to do during my life, many of which do not include time on my computer or gathering family stories;
• Monthly outings with hubby in the RV to places that don't sport internet connections or encourage me to sit inside typing away when I could be enjoying the outdoors;
• Working in a part time job which I thoroughly enjoy;
• Visiting with friends and family who are spread throughout the country;
• Or just not having a clue as to what I would write next.

Therefore, based on the above reasons plus a few more, my weekly goal has been converted into publishing on a bi-weekly or monthly  basis.

On this, Legends' first birthday, I am truly awed that its audience continues to build and there have already been more than 4,200 page views.  About a month after I started publishing, I became very interested in a stat provided by Blogspot, indicating countries from which the pageviews are coming.  I finally got smart enough to start keeping a list which is, at least to me, awesome.  They are:
(in alphabetical order) Antigua/Barbuda, Austria, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil,Canada, Congo, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and of course the United States. 

The stats provided are so interesting and include tallies on posts that are being specifically selected (William Smith Dickerson is the winner so far, with his great-granddaughter, Queen, close behind and a very interesting character, James Bartram, third in popularity on my side of the family; while Charles Thomas Philpott is the Copeland winner, followed by William "Honest Billy" Blakely and Reuben Nance). 
 

I am looking forward to discovering new stories - and writing about them.  Thanks for your support.  Hope you continue to check in and discover personal stories about not-so-plain folks and heroes.   

Judy