ranching Out took a different approach in 2012 by inviting ten Geneabloggers to submit a guest article for publication. I asked, they said yes and my appreciation to them is huge. Charles Hansen, our long-time newsletter editor, has been carrying this load singled-handedly for years. I thought it would be nice to give him a break.

        harles got things started in 2012 by covering Civil War records for the Union. As the year progressed we explored varied topics such as internet resources, Family Search, heritage tourism and wills. All of these topics were covered by a different guest author each month. What I enjoyed so much and I hope our readers did as well, is the variety of topics and writing styles. I think it is safe to say that Branching Out has never had an article on a secret world of smartphones or Winnie The Pooh. This goes to show what a creative and diverse group the Geneabloggers are.

        would like to thank each one of our guest authors again for their support. It is always fun to change things up a bit. Also, and I speak for the entire group of GHLL volunteers, we greatly appreciate the increased website traffic. It s been exciting to receive our stats each month and see how we are doing.

        wo Thousand Thirteen, is just around the corner; how did this happen? I'm not sure what Branching Out has in store for us, but I hope you will stop by to see. Also, browse our links for domestic and international resources and add your surnames to our ever growing list.

        appy Holidays to all and best wishes for the New Year!