It has been a fun, and sometimes challenging, first year for my blog.

I have met the challenges of writing a daily genealogy news blogs with the support of you, many genealogy bloggers in Canada, the US, Britain, and Australia, and my friends who enjoy long conversations and a glass or two of chilled Chardonnay.

Without your help and tips, I would not have maintained the daily pace.

When looking back at the year, I am not surprised to see that news about French Canadian, Acadian, and Quebec genealogy resources is among the most popular, yet only one made it to the top five.

Here are the five most popular posts on Genealogy à la carte in 2014.

1. Facebook for Canadian genealogy. The first edition of Facebook for Canadian Genealogy contained a list of groups and pages that can help genealogists researching their ancestors who lived in Canada. In addition to listing genealogical societies, I included historical societies, national and provincial archives, museums, United Empire Loyalist groups, and special interests. Read more…

2. 41 million wills from England and Wales available to search online for the first time. A few days ago, the British Ministry of Justice announced that we can search online for 41 million wills and order them online. Read more…

3. Survey results indicate people leave societies because little value offered. I asked the question, What were the main reasons you did not renew your genealogy society membership? Whew! Many of you responded passionately about your decision to leave. According to the results, the number one reason people quit a society, whether it is located locally or far away, is because little value is offered for the cost of the membership fee. The unfriendly atmosphere ranks as only the number 10 reason people leave. Read more…

4. Survey results indicate genealogists join societies for camaraderie. According to the results of the survey about why people join societies, if your society wants to increase the number of members, it should focus efforts to build camaraderie, encourage members to share and learn from each other, develop the library’s resources, maintain/increase the content and quality of its newsletter, provide lectures, and offer an affordable membership fee. Read more…

5. Was your ancestor held in a Quebec City prison? If the number of people who read this blog post is any indication, many of us suspect at least one of our ancestors may have spent some time in prison. The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec’s online database of 19th-century Quebec City prison registers contains 63,591 registers of prison admissions from 13 September 1813 to 7 January 1866 and of all women detained from 13 September 1813 to 27 December 1899. Read more…

Thank you for reading and sharing my blog during 2014. I appreciate your support and the suggestions you have sent. I hope you will continue to follow Genealogy à la carte in 2015.

If you have not already done so, you may also want to join the Genealogy à la carte Facebook group for more genealogy news and discussion.

May you find what you are looking for in 2015.

Happy New Year!