Follow Friday -- Connections come when you least expect it

Thanks to my husband's distant cousin, Yvette Porter Moore of Digging Roots: My Family History, I now have a new NEWTON connection!!! She sent me a Facebook post with a link to a Newton tombstone. I've seen so many Newtons...the name is fairly common and finds points of origin from various countries, including Germany, and spelled Neuton. I have learned not to get too hopeful. But when I followed the link to Midge Frazel's blog, Granite in My Blood, I noticed that the labels included: Newton, Southborough Rural Cemetery, Tombstone Tuesday. SOUTHBOROUGH!?!?!? Could it be??? So I left a comment:

Southborough...is it Southborough, MA? We had Newtons in Paxton, Worcester County, MA; Marlborough, Middlesex County, MA; Leicester, Worcester County, MA; and some I have not located yet. If so, it is very possible. My line goes back to the immigrant Richard Newton of Bures St. Mary's Church, Essex, England; his father was Robert Newton of Woolthorpe, Essex, England.

What happened next was truly wonderful!!! YES! There IS a connection. . . to Midge's husband. Collaboration soon to follow. . . .


The following two blogs are written by the same woman, Jane Friedman: Jane Friedman.com and Writer Unboxed appeal to the creative writer in me. Her post, Draft Your Platform Action Plan: 5 Worksheets hooked me for good. . . and it led me to her link: It's hard to make progress if you're working alone. She asks a critical question: 

Do you need to build relationships and share knowledge with successful or authoritative people (or organizations/businesses) in your community? YES! 

This question led me to think about a former professor, an established, award-winning author who had liked my work in college, and with whom I had recently re-connected. A Google search provided the link to The Blog of Jay Neugeboren. My hope is that this link will hold me accountable for producing and publishing my family history stories.

So, this week proved fruitful in expanding my blog connections in the areas of:

1. a personal research connection,
2. a critical analysis connection,
3. and a renewed link to accountability.

You never know what you'll find in the Blogosphere until you go on a digital expedition!