Megan’s Roots World

I'm Moving!

2006-09-30T11:44:00.000-04:00

Yeah, Megan's Roots World is moving. I'm still going to ramble on about all the same genealogical stuff I've always babbled on about, but in a different location.

Please come visit me because it would be really boring to write for myself. I get a kick out of all your comments and feedback. And for those who have subscribed here, I invite (beg?) you to subscribe at my new location.

By the way, if you haven't already, check out Roots Television when you come to visit! See you there!

A Tree Grows in Ireland

2006-09-28T10:26:00.000-04:00

At least it will if you arrange to have it planted. Somehow I managed to miss Rooted in Ireland at the recent FGS conference, but Leland Meitzler didn't: “Rooted in Ireland” Sets Out to Plant Trees.

Interesting concept -- similar to the Wall of Honor at Ellis Island, all those memory-brick projects you see in town centers, and so forth. Just a living version -- and one that will obviously be of particular interest to those of Irish heritage.

Annie Makes the Rounds

2006-09-28T10:20:00.000-04:00

Well, now that Annie's been found, she's already contributing to the genealogical world. Randy Seaver posted about how he used Annie's case study to develop the research muscles of a group in California. Check out the details here: CVGS Research Group does Annie Moore

A Must-Read

2006-09-27T10:17:00.000-04:00

Boy, I get tired of folks who just don't get it clinging to outdated notions that genealogists do what we do for bragging rights. That's just so 1924.

It's even more frustrating when people like this get to spread their antiquated ideas in a significant forum. This piece, in fact, teeters on the brink of accusing us of racism -- especially ironic, given that genealogy is all about connection.

Fortunately, The Genealogue -- as only he can -- has written a rebuttal for us! You'll want to read what he has to say.

Do you have the write-stuff?

2006-09-27T10:07:00.000-04:00

Ever considered putting your ancestors' trials and tribulations down on the page? Well, here's a great incentive for finally doing it. The Southern California Genealogical Society is having its annual writing contest, and they're looking for your stories.

You might be thinking that this is a Southern California thing. It's not. It's a global thing. I know because I've had the privilege of judging this contest several times, and the entries come from everwhere -- San Diego, New Zealand, Israel, you name it.

Think you've got the write-stuff? Why not find out? Submit your entries between November 1st and December 31st. Your forebears will thank you for it.

Put Your Relatives in the Smithsonian

2006-09-26T11:12:00.000-04:00

Remember when I suggested putting your baby in the Smithsonian by entering the PhotoStamps contest? Well, it looks as if some of you decided to put your grandmothers and great-grandpas there instead. Check out August's finalists, two of which are about as genealogical as you can get!

A Pair of DNA articles

2006-09-26T11:01:00.000-04:00

The Arizona Republic seems to be on a bit of a DNA-kick lately. Here are two articles that recently appeared on very different aspects of genetic genealogy:

DNA helps American Blacks 'go home'

Hope for making families whole DNA project may link Holocaust dead, survivors

Annie in the Echo

2006-09-22T08:02:00.000-04:00

There have been a number of articles about Annie Moore over the last week or so, ranging everywhere from the New York Times to Washington Jewish Week. I especially enjoyed the latest pair by Ray O'Hanlon in the current issue of the Irish Echo:

Putting things right

If only Annie could have seen this

These are a follow on to last week's There's more to Annie, and for those who are curious about Annie herself, Mr. O'Hanlon does the most thorough job of explaining the research trail and results (I did a bit of a show-and-tell with a PPT presentation at the press conference, and he was actually able to make sense of the meadering trail).

And yes, for those who have been asking, I will write something myself, but for the moment, I'm still playing catch-up. Here's hoping this troika of articles will satisfy your curiosity in the meantime!

Operation Homecoming Book Tour

2006-09-20T08:59:00.000-04:00

As I've said many times before, I'm a huge fan of Andrew Carroll, one of those wonderful people who does great things simply because he can. Author of several best-selling books, including Letters of a Nation and War Letters, Andy -- although he would never take the credit for it -- is almost personally responsible for the preservation of some 75,000 war letters from every conflict you can think of. And for that alone, we are all indebted to him. Think of all the history that would have been lost without his efforts!

Now he's on the road again with his latest book, one which he edited pro bono for the NEA. It's called Operation Homecoming and is an anthology of writings that range from the humorous to the gut-wrenching:

"The first book of its kind, Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, is the result of a major initiative launched by the National Endowment for the Arts to inspire U.S. Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen and their families to write down and share their personal wartime experiences.

Encouraged by such authors as Tom Clancy, Mark Bowden, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tobias Wolff, Jeff Shaara, and Marilyn Nelson, who visited military bases throughout the U.S. as part of the larger Operation Homecoming initiative, American troops and their loved ones wrote openly about what they saw, heard, and felt while in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on the home front.

Almost 100 uncensored and never-before-published eyewitness accounts, private journals, short stories, letters, e-mails, poems, and other personal writings are featured in the book, and they show an extremely intimate and human side of war . . ."

You can read more here.

Andy's tour started last week at the Library of Congress, but there's a peculiar reluctance by the mainstream media to cover the book -- I suspect because they fear their readers are war-weary.

Regardless of how you feel about the current conflicts, though, this is a must-read in my view. It's compelling. It helps you understand the experiences not only of the soldiers and civilians involved, but of the families back at home. For the first time, we hear the voices of women in combat. And all perspectives are included. The NEA, to its credit, didn't censor. And finally, some of it is simply outstanding literature. Remember that old adage about not mincing words in a fox hole? It's true. This book is an important slice of the history of tomorrow.

Between now and December, Andy will be on a book tour, speaking in CA, CT, IL, DC, VA, WA, FL, TX, TN, NC, MA and NJ. You can find details here. If you live in any of these areas, please consider attending -- and spread the word. Andy is a captivating speaker himself, but he's joined by people whose letters, poems and emails are in the book, and that elevates an already eye-opening evening to a whole new level.

Database Reunites Holocaust Survivor Siblings

2006-09-18T20:50:00.000-04:00

How amazing is this?! Siblings reunited 65 years after being separated

Annie on the Air

2006-09-18T17:27:00.000-04:00

I promise this blog won't become all-Annie-all-the-time, but I've been getting a lot of questions, so I'll continue to post about Annie Moore in an attempt to satisfy some of the curiosity out there.

I'm still trying to get a handle on the assorted articles that have appeared, but in the meantime, I thought some folks might be interested in listening to this interview on NPR's Morning Edition.

Annie Moore's Youngest Descendant

2006-09-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

Oh . . . my . . . gosh. This last week has been a blur. I had no idea when I launched this contest how it would all mushroom. What began as a simple contest-winner announcement morphed into an event that was part-family reunion and part-press conference. Front page of the New York Times?? Wow! And then this follow up with family details.

I'm still catching my breath, but wanted to take a moment to share my favorite photo. Above is 9-month-old Dylan, Annie's great-great-great-grandson. Off in the background is me filling the audience in on Annie's descendants. I know it's hard to make out the slide, so let me just tell you that hers is an all-American family with just about every ethnicity respresented. Surnames in her family include:

Schayer
Somerstein
Smith
Salm
Shulman
Dondero
Donovan
DeHesus
Devous
Peterson
Kraus

(lots of S- and D- names for some reason)

By far, one of the most amazing aspects of this experience was having a front row seat to the family reunion. It was such a kick seeing Annie's family together for the first time, comparing photos and figuring out relationships! They came from NY, NJ, CT, MD and AZ (one branch from WI couldn't make it on such short notice). When I called them, most branches already knew they were related to Annie, but one had no clue.

As to the lack of a tombstone for Annie, that's already being addressed. The winners both donated their prizes back, so that was a quick $1,000. And then the owner of NYC's Annie Moore Pub kicked in another $1,000. Not a bad start, eh?

On a personal note, I wanted to mention that ProGenealogists.com, Sharon Elliott and Tracy Stancil were singled out at the press conference for their contributions to this quest. Unfortunately, none have been mentioned in any of the articles I've seen so far, so I wanted to be sure to recognize them here. Without their superior research skills, amazing turnaround times (if you ever need anything done at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, ProGenealogists are the folks to go to, as far as I'm concerned), and brainpower, we'd all still be looking for Annie.

I also wanted to thank the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society for agreeing to host this announcement-turned-press-conference on such short notice. Thanks especially to Leslie Corn for treating my outrageous request as perfectly reasonable and putting the machine into motion, and to Lauren Maehrlein for sacrificing much of her long-planned vacation to the cause.

At any rate, there's so much more I should say and so many more I should thank, but I'll end here for now. Don't you just love being a genealogist??

See You in NYC

2006-09-08T12:24:00.000-04:00

I have to go on the road again, so there won't be much blogging here (if any) over the next week or so. But for those who have been asking about Annie, yes, her story will be shared in other ways. So if you're able to come, terrific! But if you're not, don't worry -- you won't be left out!

Super-Rescuers

2006-09-08T08:55:00.000-04:00

A brief piece of mine just appeared in Ancestry.com's 24-7 Family History Circle. It's about Marge Rice and DeadFred -- and if you're not familiar with them, you owe it to yourself to find out more (here's a clue below). Anyone on the hunt for elusive family photos will be especially interested! Take a peek.

Annie Moore Announcement on 9/15/06 in NYC

2006-09-07T01:11:00.000-04:00

If you've been following the Annie Moore saga, you know that a gang of online genealogists recently cracked a stubborn history mystery -- that of what became of Annie Moore, the first immigrant through Ellis Island. I'm delighted to say that we'll be sharing her tale next week at the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society.

I'll also award the prizes (well, one prize split between two people) at that time -- and better yet, some of Annie's descendants -- and Philip's (remember that she arrived here with her younger brothers, Philip and Anthony?) -- will be joining us! If you're anywhere near NYC, please consider coming.

After the announcement, awarding of prizes, and a Q&A session with family members, Brian Andersson and I will give a presentation to share more detail about the actual search. Thanks again to ProGenealogists.com for all their research assistance at the FHL, Sharon Elliott (who did an extraordinary job of research, analysis and sharing of results) and Tracy Stancil (who I recently realized made a blog comment that triggered some of the initial research that wound up leading in the right direction -- follow that?).

Here's the press release with the rest of the details.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Truthiness Invades Our Shores: The Real Story of the First Ellis Island Immigrant

Note: Announcement to be made at 3:00 p.m. on September 15, 2006 at The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, 122 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022-1939.

NEW YORK, September 6, 2006 -- It’s a classic case of truthiness. For years, we’ve chosen to believe an oft-told myth about Ellis Island when the truth was readily available. But on September 15th, that will change.

13-year-old Annie Moore was the first immigrant to enter our country via Ellis Island. She tripped down the gangplank on January 1, 1892 along with a pair of younger brothers, and was greeted with much fanfare. Officials welcomed her arrival and presented her with a $10 gold coin in commemoration of the special event.

Her statue stands both at Ellis Island and the Cobh Heritage Centre, the Irish emigration counterpart in Co. Cork. Everything from Irish-American cultural awards to pubs has been named after her, but she remained a mystery until the 1990s when Ellis Island was refurbished and opened to the public. Then we learned what happened to Annie after Ellis Island -- how she ventured to New Mexico, married a descendant of an Irish patriot, had a handful of children, was widowed, became a businesswoman, and died in an accident.

It was a terrific go-West-young-woman tale tinged with tragedy. Just one problem. It was wrong.

40 percent of all Americans have at least one ancestor who entered the country via Ellis Island, and in the midst of our current immigration debate, politicians allude to their Ellis Island roots on a daily basis. It’s part of the fabric of American history and who we are as a people – and yet, we’ve got the wrong Annie.

That irked genealogist Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (her real name) when she accidentally discovered that the much-touted Annie was actually born in Illinois. Determined to learn the truth, she launched an online contest with a $1,000 prize for the first proof of what became of the right Annie. It took only six weeks and an eager gang of amateur, history-mystery detectives to uncover the real story.

The true story will be shared by Smolenyak, Brian G. Andersson (Commissioner, NYC Department of Records), and family members of the real Ellis Island Annie at 3:00 p.m. on September 15, 2006 at The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society.

Contact:
Merry Brickley
949-235-3171
AnnieMoore1892@aol.com

###

Let's Make Our Voices Heard!

2006-09-06T10:16:00.000-04:00

I blogged about this earlier, but now it's even more critical. Please take one minute to add your name to the petition below -- by this Friday -- if you don't want your National Archives access severely curtailed. And please ask all your genealogical buddies to sign as well. So far, there are fewer than 7,000 signatures. We can do better than that!

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is proposing a reduction in the hours it is open to the public, especially weekend and weeknight hours. This will be a major hardship on genealogists and others who rely on access to our nation's archives. The proposed reduction in hours effectively reduces access time by two days each week, a hardship for researchers who rely on "after work" hours for research, and additional expenses for visitors researching in the DC area who would need to extend their stays.

At the FGS genealogy conference in Boston last week, the following proposal was presented to Dr. Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States and head of NARA. We encourage you to sign the petition online before September 8, write to NARA directly, and contact your representative. Please go to: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/FGS2006/petition.html (case sensitive). Additional contact options are listed after the text of the petition.

*************
Dear Conference Attendee:
We were honored to have Dr. Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States attend the FGS/NEHGS 2006 Conference in Boston and to address us in the Opening Session on Thursday, August 31, 2006. Following his remarks, he was presented with a letter by the Chair of the Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC) addressing concerns about the proposed changes in the hours of operation for the Research Rooms at the National Archives.

It has come to our attention that very few of our constituencies are making their voices heard on this issue. This lack of response sends a loud signal to the Archives that this is not a serious issue and that closing the Archives on evenings and Saturdays is irrelevant. The RPAC has recommended the following suggestions for the Archives to consider:

1) To accommodate the needs of those who need access on Saturdays, we propose that you close one other day per week. This would be at your discretion. Other archives often close Sunday and Monday.

2) Users who need evening hour access could be accommodated by opening the archives later in the day, again at your discretion.

If you agree with the recommendations stated above, we are asking your support by immediately going on-line and adding your "signature" to our petition to substitute the hours of access and still help the archives to meet their need to consolidate their hours of operation. Before 8 September 2006, please go to:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/FGS2006/petition.html (case sensitive).

If you would like to send your own personal letter, send it prior to 8 September 2006. Address it to:

Regulations Comments Desk (NPOL)
Room 4100, Policy and Planning Staff
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001

*************
More information and contacts:
E-mail your representative in Congress through the "Write your Representative" webpage at www.house.gov/writerep http://www.house.gov/writerep.

For comments sent by postal mail, NPOL will accept any comments on the rule postmarked by September 8. As long as the postmark is before or on September 8, NPOL will consider the comments.

Hand-carried delivery to the address in the interim final rule: Before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 8.

Other methods of submission:
Via http://www.regulations.gov and fax: Comments should be sent before 5:00 Eastern Time on Sept. 8. The regulations.gov system might be able to accept comments until midnight Eastern Time (i.e., 11:59 p.m. or earlier), but earlier is better to avoid a comment being missed because of time calculations.

Goodwill Hunting

2006-09-05T10:26:00.000-04:00

Many of us know of eBay as a source for family treasures -- vintage photos and the like -- but not so many know about another source: Goodwill. Yes, the same folks you donate all your old clothes and beat up furniture to.

There's not as much to search here, but the upside is that the bidding is less intense. So happy hunting!

P.S. Thanks to Cindy Furman for this tip!

Got a Book in You?

2006-09-04T11:45:00.000-04:00

Well, this seems appropriate to share since I just spoke on writing in the genealogical world up at FGS in Boston. I received the following from John Logan (thanks, John!). Those of you who are hankering to write a book involving CT, MA, NJ and PA have an interesting opportunity here . . .

The History Press is searching for archivists, librarians, museum curators, and historical societies who are interested in publishing books about towns and regions in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

History Press books focus on a particular town or region. We have developed a variety of series that 1) provide authors with guidance on how to present their work and 2) attract readers and encourage sales. We also accept books for publication on history subjects not captured by the series we have established.

Examples of the types of books we publish include the following: brief or comprehensive histories of towns, the history of significant buildings and sites, natural history, oral history, historical walking and driving tours, collections of essays on historical events and people, folklore, crime history, architectural history, Native American history and the historical role of a town industry. I invite you to visit our website at historypress.net, where you will find our catalogue and information about publishing with The History Press.

The History Press is a traditional trade publisher, meaning that we handle all stages of publishing including financing, sales, marketing, and distribution and compensate in the form of royalties. We are not a vanity press. For more information and to view our catalogue, see historypress.net or e-mail Commissioning Editor, Maureen Benes.

Maureen Benes
Maureen.Benes@historypress.net
Commissioning Editor
The History Press
PO Box 7111
Gloucester, MA 01930
866.223.5778

Bull Run Regional Library Event Rescheduled to September 29, 2007

2006-08-30T07:52:00.000-04:00

Megan’s speaking engagement with the Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC) for Genealogy and Local History at the Bull Run Regional Library in Manassas, VA has been rescheduled to September 29, 2007. She will be presenting "Trace Your Roots with DNA" at 8:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

See you at FGS!

2006-08-29T18:57:00.000-04:00

I've been a bad blogger this week. Things have just been a little hectic, so I haven't posted as much as I usually do, but I'll try to do better once I get back from Boston. And yes, I know I could blog from FGS, but these events are usually a bit of a blur for me, so I kind of doubt I'll get around to it. Anyway, looking forward to seeing lots of you there and will try to be a more responsible blogger when I get home! In the meantime, I'll just leave you with this to ponder . . .

REAL ELLIS ISLAND ANNIE MOORE HAS BEEN FOUND!!!

2006-08-27T12:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the caps, but I'm just a little bit excited! The real Annie Moore has been found!

Back on July 17th, I announced a contest to find out what happened to Annie Moore, the first immigrant to enter America via Ellis Island. In a persistent myth, the story has often been told that she moved to Illinois, Texas and eventually New Mexico, married and had a handful of kids, and was killed in a tragic accident. It makes for a great go-West-young-woman tale, but it's just not true -- as I discovered by accident while researching for a documentary several years ago. The IL-TX-NM Annie Moore (whom I've affectionately dubbed "wrong Annie") was born in Illinois, so had no need to immigrate!

I dabbled a few times at trying to learn the truth, but because it was a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack situation, I was unable to crack it. Growing increasingly frustrated, I finally decided to launch a contest and offer a $1,000 prize. I figured there had to be some talented and curious genealogists out there, and that working together, we could probably learn the truth.

Well, now we know the truth -- and contrary to colorful rumor, Annie isn't 129 years old and living in an Iowa nursing home!

So the contest is officially over. The $1,000 will be split between two people -- Brian Andersson, who was the first to identify the correct Moore family, and a great-niece of Annie's who provided the critical last few clues. Credit is also due to ProGenealogists, which contributed vital research at the Family History Library and kept pace with my entirely unreasonable research requests (without complaint, no less!). And an honorable mention goes to Sharon Elliott, who did a terrific job of sleuthing and sharing her findings.

As to what actually happened to Annie, stay tuned for a more formal announcement and additional details!

Roots Television Coming Soon!

2006-08-24T14:05:00.000-04:00

QUESTION: There's a horse channel, a wine channel, a sailing channel, a poker channel, a guitar channel, and now even a shipwreck channel. Why isn't there a channel servicing the millions of people interested in genealogy and family history?

ANSWER: There is – launching in September 2006! Keep an eye on Roots Television.

Contest Update 6: Following Annie Moore's Trail

2006-08-24T09:21:00.000-04:00

Oh, I think we're getting close!

Check out Sharon Elliott's latest research summary (boy, does she do a nice job presenting research findings!) and keep an eye out here. I think there's a decent chance that my next update will be the last one!

Genealogical Speakers Guild and International Society of Family History Writers and Editors Luncheon Reminder

2006-08-23T13:13:00.000-04:00

The Genealogical Speakers Guild and International Society of Family History Writers and Editors will be holding a luncheon at the FGS conference in Boston, MA - “Finding Your Voice: Speaking and Writing in the Genealogical World.” Hope to see you there!

Dutchess County Genealogical Society Event on October 28, 2006

2006-08-23T13:09:00.000-04:00

Megan is scheduled to speak at the Dutchess County Genealogical Society on October 28, 2006. She will be presenting "Trace Your Roots with DNA" and "Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options" at the Hyde Park United Methodist Church, 2 Church Street in Hyde Park, NY. Hope to see you there!

SSDI Blues

2006-08-21T10:48:00.000-04:00

An article of mine just appeared in Ancestry.com's 24-7 Family History Circle.

It's actually one of the riskiest pieces I've ever written because it captures my honest reaction just moments after finding my mother listed in the SSDI for the first time. I debated writing about something so personal, but I went ahead because I figured this was probably something most genealogists could relate to -- finding a lost loved one in there for the first time. And maybe because it is so personal, you just never hear about it.

Based on the reaction I've been getting so far, I'm glad I did it. I've had one person taking me to task for my attitude, but I guess that's the price you pay when you write about something of this nature. Everyone else has been very kind and several have shared their own experiences -- and that's what makes it worth it for me.

Contest Update 5: Following Annie Moore's Trail

2006-08-20T17:31:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems a few folks are getting warmer, but no one's found Annie yet.

So I thought it was time to at least recognize the first to locate the real Annie's family -- and that's Brian Andersson. He came to me initially with a theory about Annie's family, then more evidence, and finally, a particularly compelling document indicating that, yes, this is the correct family. He did some remarkable detective work to piece this all together.

And now I've learned that Sharon Elliott is on the same trail and has also zeroed in on the same family.

So congratulations and tons of respect to Brian -- and now Sharon -- for being the first to ferret out the real Annie's family from all the Moore's out there!

But now comes the tricky part -- finding Annie herself. Even with the context of her actual family, Annie remains elusive. Keep an eye on Sharon's blog and mine, as we'll both be sharing research findings in the hope that -- together -- we can get to the finish line of this mystery!

You know who you look like? You look just like . . .

2006-08-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

I haven't written about MyHeritage before now because any technology that declares me a 70% match for Heather Locklear clearly has some serious flaws, but another article about the company just appeared, so I figured it was time to mention its see-which-celebrity-you-look-like feature. Despite its apparent shortcomings, it is a fun distraction. And genealogists who register will appreciate the ability to play the face-matching game with relatives, both living and deceased (assuming, of course, you have photos of the dearly departed!).

Here's a video to show you how it all works (FYI -- you'll have to sit through a commercial first).

The site also includes interesting search functionality, which I'll address in another piece at some point. It's slow and sort of takes over your PC (best to run it at night), but has the potential to turn up some pieces of the family puzzle you might have missed. In the meantime, enjoy the matchmaking game -- and may you all be declared visual twins of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt!

I know where you're coming from

2006-08-20T11:45:00.000-04:00

I still have yet to master some of the basics of blogging -- in fact, most of the basics of blogging. But there is one fun thing I can now do, and that's see where my most recent visitors come from -- on a google map!

If folks out there are game, I'd love to try a little experiment. Share this blog address with anyone you know in different countries and ask them to visit -- even if only for a moment. I'll periodically check the latest map and see if we get any interesting variations in visitor patterns. If so, I'll post the resulting map(s) here. I'm curious to see whether we can get those little red pointers to travel!

Looking for an Ethnofunkologist?

2006-08-19T13:01:00.000-04:00

We hired Roger Latzgo, who bills himself as an ethnofunkologist, to perform at last weekend's village reunion and he was terrific! He's available for all sort of events and willing to travel, but those in the PA/NJ area and/or with Eastern European roots should especially take note.

Friday Night in the Smolenyak Smolenyak Household

2006-08-18T23:34:00.000-04:00

My poor husband. How sad is it that my idea of a good time on a weekend evening is sitting in front of my computer solving mini-mysteries? And how lucky am I that I married a fellow who actually joins me?

Tonight I tackled a pair of mysteries that just came my way late today. On my primary website, I have forms where folks can submit brick walls, orphan heirlooms and the like. A brick wall submission came in late today. The stumbling block? A grandfather named Jacob Jasenzak. Where did he come from and what were his parents names?

I almost thought this was a joke. I know the Jazenzak name well because it's prominent in Osturna, where all the Smolenyaks come from. Osturna -- as in the village we just had a reunion for last weekend. And oh, by the way, we opened the reunion with a song from Michael Yasenchock -- one of the many variations of the Jasenzak name.

So what were the odds that I might be able to help out with this brick wall? Oh, about 100%. I just happen to have all the church records for this village back to 1787, as well as some census and other records. It took me maybe 20 minutes to track down the birth of Jacob and his alleged brothers (2 really were brothers, while one was a cousin who had grown up in the same house). And yes, no problem finding the names of Jacob's parents.

The woman who submitted is thrilled. She responded saying, "Are you kidding me?" And it's fun for me, too. It isn't often that I just happen to be sitting on top of just the necessary clues to crack a mystery in less than half an hour!

These evening weekend surfing sessions are sometimes accompanied by a little wine or beer, as was the case tonight. And I suppose in celebration over this unexpected connection, I made up a little Osturna-inspired ditty: "I'm gonna Tivo my pivo, so I can drink it all over again . . ." If you don't know any Slovak, here's a clue.

At this point, I decided to check one of my MyFamily.com sites, and found a posting by a second cousin once removed. Apparently, she just learned that she might have a half-sister through her father, so she was asking about courthouse research in the county (Luzerne County, PA) where she and I share our Smolenyak roots. She had no clues to go by other than this possible sister could have resulted from a first marriage of her father's.

I won't be going there for a while, so I decided to have a go with what I might be able to find online. Using a combination of mostly census, SSDI and newspaper records, I wasn't able to locate her half-sister (and yes, it appears she did have one), but I was able to locate a first cousin of this half-sister. So if she's feeling brave tomorrow, she just might just find herself speaking with her long lost sister. I'm crossing my fingers!

That's a good Friday night, so I'm calling it quits here!

Long journey ends in Arlington for Korean War medic

2006-08-18T11:57:00.000-04:00

Well, this is appropriate. I was sitting here working on one of my Army cases and the mail came. Took a peek and a fellow researcher had sent me an article about the burial of one of the soldiers whose family I located. Fortunately, the full article from the Newark Star-Ledger has been transcribed online.

Hey baby, what's your haplogroup?

2006-08-18T09:45:00.000-04:00

Yes, genetic heritage is now the new horoscope! No more tired, "Hey baby, what's your sign?" Now it's all about haplogroups -- sort of like asking which branch of the world's maternal or paternal family tree you come from.

In case anyone's curious, I'm H (mtDNA) and I1b2a3 (Y-DNA). Check out these latest designs from JMK, including one for my twig of the world's paternal family tree that Jimmy kindly customized (any other I1b2a3's out there??). They're available in a variety of shirts, bags, buttons and the like.

To see Jimmy Kavanaugh's entire DNA collection, click on the shirt immediately below and then select "Genetics & DNA" in the menu on the left. I already have the "It's in my DNA" design, as well as the "Irish DNA Inside" one. Guess it's time to add to my collection!

Contest Update 4: Following Annie Moore's Trail

2006-08-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

For those who are just tripping across this for the first time, I refer you to earlier posts about this $1,000 contest centering on Annie Moore, the first immigrant to enter the U.S. via Ellis Island:

Most recent update, including contest announcement

Wrong Annie evidence

So what's new? Well, folks are struggling. This is a tough case.

As of this moment, no one has contacted me to claim that they've located Annie. But there is hope.

One person has contacted me with compelling evidence that they've at least located Annie's birth family -- so the real Annie is out there! And it may well be that others are getting close, but just haven't told me. So Annie remains elusive at the moment, but we're getting warm!

Looking Over a Beginner's Shoulder

2006-08-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

I found Going online to mine wealth of genealogy data a bit like being a voyeur. It's like watching someone who's Internet-savvy, but genealogy-clueless, doing their first online roots-seeking session. Apparently, for instance, it hadn't occurred to her to ask for details readily known by her in-laws before hitting the Internet -- so not surprisingly, she was overwhelmed with candidates. Ah, well . . . she'll learn!

DNA Article Rating: 7.5

2006-08-16T15:57:00.000-04:00

Arrrggh. This one was so promising! I read about 295 out of the 320 or so words in Genealogical Research Provides New Level of Family Tree Search Through DNA and found it remarkably accurate until this fatal last sentence:

"Although testing of this sort can be costly, it certainly can trace ancestral lines more accurately than the old-fashioned ways of following paper trails."

Noooooo! Ah, so close!

Yes, it's true that genetic genealogy is exceedingly accurate, but the way this sentence is written gives the reader the impression that it's something you do instead of traditional genealogy, rather than in conjunction with it. And that's just not the way it works.

Doing nothing more than taking a DNA test to learn about your roots is roughly equivalent to doing a vanity search on the Internet -- you know, typing your name in google? -- and expecting your entire family history to pop up.

The reality is that traditional and genetic genealogy go hand in hand -- and fortunately for us, they "play nice" together. Genetic genealogy -- which I like to call genetealogy -- helps you go further faster. Just like the Internet. But just as with the Internet, it doesn't replace traditional genealogy.

Sadly, this is such an important misconception that I have to deduct a full 2.5 points from the maximum rating of 10. Well, I guess my search for a perfect-10 article on genetealogy continues . . .

Missing You May Soon Be Missing

2006-08-16T15:16:00.000-04:00

Figures. Just as soon as I discover this site (thanks to the latest issue of Family Chronicle), it's up for sale. So if you have anyone in your family who's MIA in the UK, I suggest you hurry over to Missing You while it's still there and free.

The site is for adoptees, old military buddies, family members who have wandered, old school mates -- just anyone who might have gone missing in some manner. I experimented by searching on some family names (Reynolds turned up 186 hits) and locations (Camberley, where I lived as a youngster, surfaced 23). Since it's been there since 1998, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that there's some depth to the site.

And I have to say, even if you have no one missing from your family in that neck of the woods, it's just interesting to read some of the entries. Many are three-sentence soap operas -- only they're true.

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-08-16T14:54:00.000-04:00

Occasionally I write about topics that are not directly genealogical. Well, it’s not so much that they’re not genealogical as the fact that my peculiar mind sees connections between all sorts of things. And since I’m so taken with genealogy, it’s not surprising that I should play mental games of connect-the-dots and somehow tie almost any topic back to genealogy.

And that’s what I’m about to do with a movie I saw yesterday, Little Miss Sunshine. It’s true that it’s not for everyone (in many respects, the movie is the antithesis of its cheery title), but I can’t remember the last time I saw so much story stuffed into a single movie.

It’s not really genealogical – aside from the fact that it revolves around a tri-generational family. And this is as dysfunctional a family as you’ll ever find. But remarkably, this story -- that features just about every flaw a family could possess -- is about what I would call (with apologies to Stephen Colbert) “familyness.” In its twisted and unexpected way, it captures the very essence of what it is to be a family.

And family relates to genealogy, doesn’t it?

I'd Rather Be Rusyn Than Russian

2006-08-15T09:21:00.000-04:00

Several have already written about Helping People to Uncover Their Ancestry, an article that just appeared in The Moscow Times. I remember in the "Ancestors at Risk" episode of the second Ancestors series that we covered the fact that many archived records in Russia were destroyed under Communism for no more reason than a simple lack of paper (check out the second video on this page), and this article seems to echo the special kinds of challenges confronted by those seeking out their Russian roots.

This article was actually brought to my attention by Martha Fish because of a mention of the destruction of records for Smolensk. I found that wildly appropriate since I had grown up being told -- incorrectly, as I would later learn -- that I was Russian with roots in Smolensk (seems logical, eh?). Fortunately for me -- at least in the genealogical sense -- I turned out to be Rusyn from a collection of villages now located in Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine.

At any rate, this article is unfortunately a case of deja vu for me. I have dealt with research firms over in Ukraine, for instance, and wrestled with currency transfer complications, as well as the expectations of inexperienced researchers. I noted that this article says research takes a year to 18 months and costs $100 to $5,000 -- and I harkened back to the time I received what I call "wholesale genealogy" (that is, all the records for a name, rather than the ones that pertained to my family) and an invoice for $3,000 -- after I had authorized a maximum of $1,000. Ah, the joys of Eastern European roots!

I was also amused when the site's translation tool informed me that one of the services available was "manufacturing of the nobiliary arms," probably an accurate description of what those little carts in so many malls and tourist areas crank out for the unsuspecting.

At any rate, I'm sure these folks have the best of intentions -- and probably waaaay more demand than they can handle -- but these days, I prefer to check the Family History Library Catalog (by place) every few months for anything new that might have appeared on one of my villages, deal with folks (especially mayors and clergy) still in the villages today, or work through Utah-based ProGenealogists (which has a network of researchers based in Eastern Europe).

Andy Warhol's Mom's Podcast

2006-08-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

Just when you think you've seen everything, you trip across The Julia Zavacky Warhola Recordings. More than a podcast really, it's a mini-video, complete with lots of Warhol family photos and Julia singing the old country blues. And if you watch and listen, you'll discover that Andy Warhol, the man who claimed to be from nowhere, actually had roots like the rest of us.

Andy was extremely close to his mother, Julia, who had emigrated to the U.S. as a young woman. In fact, she was something of an artist herself, and if you look at her sketches of angels and the like, you can see the seeds of some of what Andy would create later.

I occasionally mention that I'm half-Carpatho-Rusyn -- and because that frequently produces blank stares, I often give Andy Warhol as a frame of reference. He was one of us. In fact, I recently went as far as to DNA test a Zavacky gentleman from Andy's mother's family to determine if they might be related to the Zavacky's who come from the same village as the Smolenyak's, but no -- no relation.

At any rate, if you've ever asked yourself, "What's a Rusyn?," this little podcast will give you a good sense. Props to Jerry Jumba for his efforts to catalog and transcribe these Warhol family treasures!

79-year-old's life story captivates young

2006-08-14T12:21:00.000-04:00

79-year-old's life story captivates young

Now this is a way to share your life story! This is just the first in a series of videos posted on YouTube.com by a fellow from England over the last week or so -- and he already has a fan club!

Timberlake Tree Tales

2006-08-14T10:47:00.000-04:00

Ah, who knows what's true? I don't have the time to go digging into Justin Timberlake's claims about his roots -- although I'm more inclined to believe the part about being of British origin than the romantic tale about a soldier running away from a war because he fell in love with an Indian girl.

Chris Dunham of The Genealogue did a little poking around and learned about an apparent brick wall in Timberlake's roots. If you're so inclined, you can see a couple of family trees -- click here for one that purports to go back to a Joseph Timberlake born circa 1650 and here for one recently uploaded by Patricia Hansen who's mentioned as part of the brick wall gang -- uploaded at Ancestry.com that appear to have gotten past the 1867 impasse.

Of course, there's a conspicuous lack of detail and the first one notes, "Nothing is carved in stone except time. This database is a work in progress." It also states, "Included are notable entertainers, artists, politicians, scholars, humanitarians, journalists and athletes, figures literary, military, and victims of circumstance." I'll leave it to you to decide how many of these apply to Justin.

As for me, I'm keeping an eye out for Sharon Elliott of BackTrack to see if she tackles this one.

DNA Article Ratings: 6.5, 8.5 and ?

2006-08-14T08:53:00.000-04:00

Boy, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to rate articles on genetic genealogy that appear in the mainstream media! I knew it was a trendy topic, but it seems there's been a constant stream of articles in recent weeks. So here are some remarks on the latest batch I've spotted:

Unearthing roots of family tree
This article is a short one and it's hard to assess its accuracy because it doesn't really say a whole lot, but after some consideration, I'm giving it a 6.5. It gives a mini-case study about a fellow named Gerstenberger, claiming that he had hit a brick wall in his research due to a church in Poland being destroyed during WWII. It's very possible that a church his family attended could have been destroyed, but when you're dealing with Eastern Europe, "the records were destroyed in WWII" is frequently one of those myths, rating up there with the likes of "our name was changed at Ellis Island" and "three brothers came to America . . ." And believe it or not, they do have archives over in Eastern Europe, so one church being destroyed does not necessarily a brick wall make.

The article says that DNA testing showed that he matched other Gerstenbergers, and recently, he left to attend a family reunion in Germany. This I can believe, but I wanted to do a little more checking. So I went to Relative Genetics (the testing company cited in the article), and sure enough, 18 Gerstenbergers had been tested there (and perhaps others elsewhere since many use multiple testing companies these days). This led to a link to a Gerstenberger genealogy site, and yes, I can see from the posted results that the fellow featured in the article does indeed belong to the same genetic cluster of Gerstenbergers as those holding the reunion in Germany. So the story is credible.

It is, however, somewhat alarming that he posted results under the names of those actually tested and even includes some of their birth dates. While there are no formal standards in genetic genealogy, it's a widely accepted practice -- in the interest of privacy -- to post results under codes or the name of the earliest known ancestor of a testee. But this quibble doesn't affect the accuracy of the article. In fact, his sharing this info is largely what made it possible for me to assess its accuracy.

Then we get to this statement: "Chromosomal Laboratories in Phoenix offers a $160 test that claims to be able to trace ancestors back 70,000 years." This is an attempt to bring some local flavor into the piece since it's for an Arizona publication, but it's an awkward juxtaposition because the average reader will assume that the same kind of testing was used for the Gerstenberger test and this one. I went and checked the website of this company just to be sure, and yes, they test for haplogroups, so we're talking "deep ancestry" here.

Unfortunately, novices will read this -- and believe it or not -- will interpret this to mean that there's some sort of magical DNA test that will reveal all when it comes to their roots. And that's the main reason I'm giving this brief article a 6.5 -- because this is exactly the sort of inflated expectations that popular press articles tend to create.

DNA tests can prove Boone blood
This article discusses the fact that it's now possible to get DNA tested to determine once and for all whether you're related to Daniel Boone. This is an example of what I suspect will be a growing trend -- that is, getting tested to find out whether the family tale of being related to someone famous is true or not.

This article stands up well to scrutiny. The writer didn't overstate things by saying that you could determine whether you're descended from Daniel Boone. Rather, the examples given underscore the reality that many who think they're descended from him are actually descended from his brothers or other paternal relatives. Of course, DNA tests can only confirm a connection to Daniel -- not reveal exactly how a test taker and the frontiersman are related -- but the article manages to avoid raising false hopes by simply using the word "connection."

And if you check out the Boone DNA project (which includes a number of variations), you'll see that a pedigree chart is required to participate -- usually an indication of a well-run project.

The piece even goes on to dispel a couple of other myths associated with Daniel -- the coon skin cap and all that. So primarily because the writer valiently resisted the urge to exaggerate, I'm giving this article 8.5.

Think you're a real Scot? Try checking your DNA
This is a really tough one to assess. On the one hand, it's tantalizing as folks keep asking me whether there are tests to determine if they're, say, Scottish or Sicilian or Rusyn. And I have to explain that that's a little pipe-dreamish at the moment. And oh, by the way, people have been intermingling for millenia, so it's always an iffy proposition to spout out any absolutes.

On the other hand, the company offering this test is Ethnoancestry and they know a thing or two about this topic. Jim Wilson, featured in the article, is an Edinburgh-based population geneticist and he and David Faux, VP of the company, have a near-obsession with those of Scottish ancestry.

So these folks seem to think they've identified a Pictish genetic signature. And they're using 27 markers. Hmmm . . . OK, I'm going to wimp out on this one and not assign a score. To me, it's one of those remains-to-be-seen situations. I'm always wary when folks make claims of having identified a genetic signature that neatly categorizes people (remember the Genghis Khan test?), so the skeptic in me is on full alert. But I don't have evidence to contradict it, nor am I an expert in Scottish history or genealogy. To be continued . . .

The Genealogy of Dance

2006-08-13T16:13:00.000-04:00


Comedian Judson Laipply calls this "the evolution of dance," but I think it could just as easily be called "the genealogy of dance." See which generation(s) you hail from!

Zabava Time! Osturna Rodina Reunion!

2006-08-11T15:08:00.000-04:00

We're having a zabava (party)!

I won't be posting tomorrow because I'll be at the Osturna Rodina Reunion in NJ. We have a village association for anyone currently living in or originally hailing from Osturna, Slovakia. This will actually be the 10th anniversary of our first reunion back in 1996 -- when 40 Americans whose parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents came from Osturna traveled over there to meet their kinfolk (hint to would-be reunion planners out there -- practice domestically before going overseas!).

A century and an ocean can't separate us! Anyway, I'll be back after hanging with my 6th cousins, swapping a little DNA chatter, taking lots of photos, and maybe tasting a bit of pivo and slivovitz!

Dick Eastman's Maiden Skypecast

2006-08-11T14:57:00.000-04:00

One day, I'm going to be able to say, "I was there!" I joined in Dick Eastman's first skypecast last night along with 20-some-odd others from around the world -- and I do mean around the world. I spotted Australia, Argentina, Mexico, Belgium, Scotland, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. -- pretty impressive representation for a group of that size, eh? Bob Velke of Wholly Genes Software was there, and I also spotted a few fellow bloggers -- Lee Anders, Jasia and John Reid.

You can read Dick's take here, Jasia's here, Lee's here, and I'm sure it's just a matter of time before John shares his views. It was a grand experiment and I look forward to when the sessions can focus on particular topics. Another fun toy for genealogists!

Genealogical Conference at Sea!

2006-08-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

You only have until August 25th to register for the 2006 Genealogy Conference and Cruise hosted by Wholly Genes Software. In fact, you may not have that long because it's 95% booked.

I'm really looking forward to this because I've never done a genealogical cruise before, but I'll be joining the likes of Tony Burroughs, Dick Eastman and Hank Jones (pretty good company, eh?) speaking on all sorts of roots-oriented topics -- everything from digital video to dead Germans (just look at the program).

I don't have the schedule yet, but each speaker will also host a couple of breakfasts and provide a number of one-on-one consultation sessions. Hmmm . . . wonder if the speakers are allowed to sign up for sessions with other speakers?

Anyway, to get a feel for what you can expect, check out Dick Eastman's review from last year's cruise.

Another Soldier Comes Home

2006-08-11T00:26:00.000-04:00

Some of you know that I'm part of the U.S. Army's Repatriation project to locate the families (next of kin and mtDNA donors) of soldiers still unaccounted for from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. I like to post here about soldiers who have been identified from these conflicts, and lately, there have been quite a few.

I just came across the latest announcement -- Soldier Missing in Action From the Korean War is Identified -- and learned that Cpl. Edward F. Blazejewski of Elizabeth, N.J., who lost his life in November 1950, has been identified and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery today.

I recognized his name immediately because I had the pleasure of locating his family, and I'm delighted that Cpl. Blazejewski will finally receive the appropriate honors for his sacrifice. This, to me, is the meaning of "no man left behind."

Wear Your Genetic Heritage Proudly!

2006-08-10T14:48:00.000-04:00

As an avid genetealogist, I've thought for a while now that it's just a matter of time before "Hey baby, what's your haplogroup?" replaces "Hey baby, what's your sign?" It's just a 21st version update of a longheld tradition.

But now there's a way you can let folks know your genetic roots without their having to ask. You can advertise your genetic heritage proudly! Check out this R1b example that applies to a huge chunk of men who hail from Western Europe:

But what if you're not R1b? No problem. Just request your own haplogroup (Y-DNA or mtDNA) here:

Haplogroup A-Z

Shop owner, Jimmy Kavanaugh, will customize one for you -- and your fellow haplogroup-mates will thank you for adding it to the menu. Better yet, if you're a real stickler for accuracy, I already checked -- yes, I could request a customized shirt for I1b2a3 -- which I happen to be -- rather than just plain old "I."

And finally, if you like genetic genealogy, but aren't so haplogroup-minded, you'll find plenty of additional options here:

Genetics & DNA

I think it would be great if everyone attending the upcoming 3rd International Conference on Genetic Genealogy for Family Tree DNA Group Administrators would wear these shirts, so they can easily spot their genetic kin!

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral

2006-08-09T18:01:00.000-04:00

Well, it didn't really happen. It's fiction. But it could have. And Hollywood apparently likes it because it's already been optioned.

If you happen to read any of my articles at Ancestry.com's 24-7 Family History Circle, you know I've been on a bit of a book binge lately -- and this is the latest one I greedily snarfed down.

This one was little tough for me initially. The first 40-50 pages or so were a little too fresh and close to reality, laced as they are with an abundance of references to cancer and hospice. But I stuck with it because, well, Kris Radish is a terrific writer and I figured it would be worth it. And it was.

This is the tale of a 50-something woman who dies from cancer -- but not before engineering a trip for a handful of her closest friends to distribute her ashes at a collection of places that meant the most to her. And in so doing, they rediscover her life and learn a lot about themselves. Not a bad idea for a funeral -- especially when the recently departed led such a full life.

It may sound like a downer, but it's not. Really, this book is about living. Perhaps it resonates with me because my sister and I plan on taking just a bit of our mom's ashes to the Baltics, the one place she regretted not getting to during her 7-continental tour of this planet. So I suppose I was already pro-traveling-funeral when I spotted this book. But still, I think the notion of celebrating a life so thoroughly will appeal to many genealogists -- who, in a sense, do this on a routine basis with their ancestors (just minus the ashes).

Family's important in Chicken Capital USA

2006-08-09T11:19:00.000-04:00

KFC and BET are co-sponsoring KFC's Ultimate Family Reunion contest because "family's important in Chicken Capital USA" (not to flaunt my ignorance, but until now, I was unaware that Louisville, KY apparently holds this honor). So dig out those photos and sharpen those essay-writing skills because that's what it takes to win. The contest ends September 13th, so you've got about a month to snag you and yours a ton of chicken and some together time. Good luck!

DNA Article Ratings: 7.5, 6.0, 8.5 and 5.0

2006-08-08T10:06:00.000-04:00

Lately there's been an epidemic of articles about genetic genealogy in the mainstream press. Those of you who read this blog know that I've taken to rating these articles -- partly because they have a tendency to be less than accurate.

In a sense, it's not the fault of the writers. They're expected to absorb and report on a topic that takes a little time to truly master -- and they have to do this very quickly and under strict word limits.

I've started rating articles not to be a "critic" in the classic sense. In point of fact, I'm delighted that all these folks are writing about genetealogy! I just thought it would be a good idea to bring attention to these articles (unless you live where they're published, you might not even be aware of them) and to help clarify some of the misunderstandings that crop up.

So here we go with the latest batch . . .

Students take part in ancestral study
I'm giving this one a 7.5, but first, I have to confess a bias. This article is about high school kids taking tests from National Geo's Genographic project as part of an effort to learn more about DNA and see how it applies in their own lives. I love this -- especially because I'm still smarting from a review of the book I co-authored with Ann Turner, Trace Your Roots with DNA. The review appeared in The American Biology Teacher and concluded, "This book is a wonderful and interesting read, but I feel it has limited usefulness in the classroom." Ouch!

So it's no surprise that I'm pleased to see an article that promotes the use of genetealogy as a means of sparking kids' interest in genetics. Having said that, I have two minor quibbles.

First, the article states, "New DNA studies suggest that all humans descended from African ancestors who lived 60,000 years ago, National Geographic reported on its Web site." Well, the writer has it half-right. She's alluding to what's sometimes referred to as the genetic Adam and Eve, our most recent common male and female ancestors. But in this case, 60,000 years pertains only to this Adam, who is estimated to have lived about 60-65,000 years ago. The genetic Eve is believed, by contrast, to have lived roughly 140-150,000 years ago.

Also, the articles says, "The latest DNA research has found that most genes that are passed from a mother and father to a child are mixed up." Well, this isn't exactly the latest DNA research. What she's talking about is autosomal DNA, the kind that's shuffled at each birth event, as opposed to Y-DNA and mtDNA, the types most heavily used for genetic genealogy.

So a pair of tweaks, but fortunately, they don't heavily affect the accuracy of the rest of the article, so that -- and my personal bias! -- are why I'm giving it a 7.5.

DNA helps identify distant ancestors
Randy Seaver's already shared some remarks on this article in his blog and he's not too keen on it. After reading it, I'm giving it a 6.0.

OK, let's break it down:

There's a person quoted as saying that genealogy is the number 1 hobby in the country. That's an exaggeration, but it's a quote and I can easily believe that someone said this.

It then goes on to say that "the practice of using DNA in genealogy was started in 2000 by the Family Tree DNA . . ." Close, but not quite. Family Tree DNA was second to market. Oxford Ancestors in the U.K. was first. (Also, I'm not sure why, but the writer keeps saying "The Family Tree DNA," just as many folks tend to say "The Ukraine." It's quirky, but doesn't really affect accuracy.)

The article mentions the Southern California Genealogical Society "which is also affiliated with the organization," the organization being Family Tree DNA (FTDNA). While it's true that SCGS folks are big fans of FTDNA, I don't know of any formal affiliation.

Next comes a remark that Randy thinks is far-fetched: "Miller predicts that within 10 years DNA technology will be able to tell people what family line they are related to - before they do any other research." In the interest of full disclosure, I have to point out that I know Doug Miller, but that doesn't influence what I'm about to say -- because, in a sense, I've been saying it longer than Miller. I've been saying for several years that in the not-too-distant future, genealogical newbies will start their research with a DNA test -- or at least, take one very early in their research. And in point of fact, this is already happening with the Genographic project where all sorts of folks who previously had no interest in their roots are getting into genealogy because of the DNA test they took via National Geographic's project. DNA testing is really good at telling you to "look over here" and "don't even waste your time here." It doesn't solve your mysteries (well, sometimes it can), but much like the Internet, it helps you go further faster. Also, what I suspect Miller is alluding to here is what we might be able to learn in the future by combining results from a combination of tests -- particularly from Y-STR and Y-SNP tests. So overall, I agree with Miller's remarks more than I disagree with them.

Randy also points out some confusion over a mini-case study given that involves a man named Yung searching for his Chamberlain roots. The writer doesn't take the time to clarify, but Yung was undoubtedly tested by proxy by some Chamberlain cousin of his since his own Y-DNA would represent his Yung family. And yes, the remark that, "He turned out to be a perfect match, so now I can trace my lineage all the way back to 1535 in North Cadbury, where there are still relatives," is certainly an exaggeration. This kind of testing can tell two people that they share a common ancestor, but it can't say who that ancestor is or exactly when he lived. So this is a bit of a stretch, but whether Yung was misquoted or whether he was just so gung ho that he elevated the power of this testing is hard to say.

Finally, this closing remark by Doug Miller is curious: "It's well-established science that we're all related to the same black man and woman out of Africa about 200,000 years ago," Miller said. "I've had some people get angry at me for telling them that in my DNA seminars. It's a very touchy subject." Please refer to the comment I made earlier about genetic Adam and Eve, but it's true that it's a touchy subject. I deal with this in some of my talks and it really comes down to personal belief systems, but scientifically, yes, the gist of this is true.

My primary concern with this article is the impression it leaves that a pair of Y-DNA tests can identify a common ancestor, rather than just confirm the existence of such a person. And that's why I'm giving it a 6.0.

A chip off the auld sod
This is one of the better articles I've read, so I'm giving it a whopping 8.5. It includes a couple of case studies, but also offers the proper cautions -- one of them coming from Bennett Greenspan, the head of Family Tree DNA. My only gripe on this one has to do with one of the people interviewed who claims that Ukrainian and Polish roots are about impossible to research. This person took a BioGeographical test to help break this alleged impasse. Well, as an individual with roots in Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia, I can tell you that it's not anywhere near impossible to research this kind of heritage. In fact, I find it much easier than my Irish side. And expecting the BioGeographical test to shed much light for this set of circumstances suggests that the test-taker didn't really understand what it could and couldn't reveal. But I believe that the writer accurately captured what was said. In fact, it's pretty typical of the unrealistic expectations that many articles create (by glossing over important nuances) -- and that I then encounter when I go out and speak to folks about genetealogy. And for that reflection of reality alone, I really like this article.

DNA offers avenue to black ancestry
I found this article somewhat frustrating. First, it sort of leaves the impression that certain realities are just hypothetical, such as the notion that mtDNA is passed from mother to children down through the generations. And of course, it cites the only known exception that's ever been encountered as sufficient reason to doubt all this. Also, it leaves the reader with an impression that mtDNA is somewhat more useful than Y-DNA, while the reverse is actually true. Yes, mtDNA was used for 9/11 identifications -- because it's resilient and more likely to survive in degraded remains, not because it's better than Y-DNA for identification purposes.

But what irked me most about this article was the following:

"What worries me most is people overselling the technology,” said Hank Greely, a Stanford University law professor and bioethicist. "I don’t think it can accurately give people the details they want." The article continues, "Greely said results showing just one-sixteenth of one’s heritage can be misleading. What if the other fifteen-sixteenths are completely different?"

This is the old, hackneyed objection that we used to encounter back in 2001 and 2002 -- an academic who thinks that those of us doing genetic genealogy are too dense to understand the fundamentals, such as the fact that a test only represents one branch of our family tree. And if you're going to use this tired claim, what is it about great-great-grandparents that makes you stop there? Why does a test supposedly only represent 1/16th of your heritage? Why not make it great-great-great-grandparents, 1/32nd? or great-great-great-great-grandparents, 1/64th? And so forth. These tests don't represent 1/16th of your heritage -- they represent one branch. So if you're concerned about others' inabilities to grasp the basics, master them yourself first! (There, I feel better! Sorry for that little outburst, but I battled that particular objection for several years, and am just frustrated to see it rise from the ashes.)

And if you want to challenge these tests, why not raise the more legitimate issue that many who take African Ancestry tests wind up matching folks in several locations in Africa? That because Africa is the cradle of mankind, we've had longer to migrate there than anyplace else, so it's a little on the optimistic side to expect that your genetic signature (whether Y-DNA or mtDNA) will be found in only one location on the continent?

Then the article goes on to note that other companies have sprung up in recent months to address other ethnic groups, such as Trace Genetics which provides Native American tests. Trace Genetics has been around for several years -- in fact, long enough that they were actually absorbed by DNAPrint Genomics about a year ago.

Finally, the article concludes with some remarks by Tony Burroughs, noted professional genealogist, who points out that DNA tests are not a panacea and that they don't replace the need for traditional research. This, at least, I can get behind. But overall, I found this article flawed, so I'm giving it a 5.0.

And so ends today's genetealogical rant! If you actually made it this far, thanks for your patience!

Round Up: Rehab, Legacy, Politicians' Roots & A Man of Honor

2006-08-07T18:45:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, I like to share a few articles with a genealogical theme that I've tripped across. Generally, they're ones that I especially liked or disliked or just found quirky or interesting for some reason. There have been so many articles pertaining to DNA recently, that I've decided to address some of them separately (probably tomorrow). In the meantime, here's a batch of non-genetic articles for your perusal:

Rehab preserves history in Cherry Hill
OK, maybe I like this one because it's practically in my backyard (I'll wait a moment while everyone inserts their favorite turnpike exit jokes here). I live in Haddonfield, the historic town that's mentioned a few times here -- and one that appeals to folks with an interest in the past for obvious reasons. But the real reason I'm including this article is because I think what this family has done with a house that apparently dates to at least 1759 is terrific.

Passing On a Legacy
Think maybe I could get Harold and Betty Kelsey to adopt me? If only I came from a family that cared so much about gathering, protecting and sharing its stories (and yeah, the data, too). Share this with that relative who doesn't understand why you want to hear about what life was like "back then."

Family trees help debate grow
I was wondering if I was the only one noticing this, but apparently, I'm not. All sorts of politicians have been telling tales of their roots as part of the current debate about immigration. Lisa Friedman writes about this recent tendency of Congress members to "whip out personal immigration tales."

A Man of Honor
When I went to Williamsburg, VA this weekend, I came across this heart-warming series of articles (about 10 in all) about a former slave named Edward Ratcliff who earned the Medal of Honor in the Civil War and "then disappeared into an unmarked grave." You'll want to be sure to check out the accompanying video (it's not the greatest quality, but some of the images are really moving). My favorite? Marine Corps Cpl. Edward Radcliff (the spelling changed slightly) giving the flag from the ceremony to his grandfather, also named Edward Radcliff, who also happens to be the grandson of the original Edward Ratcliff.

The ABCs of mtDNA

2006-08-07T12:04:00.000-04:00

If you, like many, are a bit confused about how mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can be used for genealogy, you might want to check out this article of mine that just appeared in Ancestry's 24-7 Family History Circle. Many seem to think it's a maternal version of Y-DNA testing, but while there are some similarities, there are also some distinct differences. In fact, all the confusion floating out there is what motivated me to write this piece. Here's hoping a few of you find it useful!

Tidewater Swishers and a Special DNA Story

2006-08-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

I spoke this weekend to the Tidewater Genealogical Society in Newport News, VA, and boy, did I have a good time! As you can see from the photo, they were a game bunch and some were even kind enough to join the Swishers Club (that is, folks who immediately take the SMGF tests I bring to my events!).

What was especially fun for me is that I was given a whopping 2.5 hours (with a 10 minute break) to talk about various types of DNA testing. What a luxury! That allowed me to explain all sorts of nuances, share lots of examples and answer tons of questions. I appreciated this format because I felt that folks left knowing a lot more than they did before they arrived. So thanks to the Tidewater Genealogical Society for giving me all that time -- and for the swanky digs as well! Just love places with all the latest high-tech toys!

I also wanted to share a terrific application of Y-DNA testing I heard from one of the fellows who attended. It's a classic example of the personal history mysteries (you know, those whispered tales many of us have in our families?) that can be tackled via DNA testing.

A gentleman named Bob (I'm withholding his surname for now) shared his rather remarkable story. His mother died when he was only 6, and his father always denied Bob -- insisted that his mother had had an affair with a particular fellow and that Bob was that man's child. Bob spent his whole life believing this, so when he ventured into the world of DNA testing, he tracked down a grandson (son of a son) of his alleged father. Fortunately, the fellow agreed to get tested (at Bob's expense, of course!). Bob was stunned when the results arrived and he and this other fellow didn't match -- not even close. So after all these years, he learned he wasn't this other man's son.

So he then took the next obvious step. He had four brothers, all now deceased, but one of his nephews agreed to get tested. You guessed it -- a perfect match. The man who had denied he was Bob's father all these years truly was his father. Sadly, he's no longer with us, but Bob had finally ended 60 years of wondering just the day before this event in Newport News and generously shared his experience with all of us. He was still trying to take it all in. 60 years of not knowing ended with three Y-DNA tests. That's pretty powerful in my view.

Haddon Fortnightly Event on February 13, 2007

2006-08-07T11:20:00.000-04:00

Megan is scheduled to present “Cases That Made My Brain Hurt” for Haddon Fortnightly in Haddonfield, NJ on February 13, 2007. Hope to see you there!

See You in Newport News!

2006-08-04T11:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm heading out shortly to Newport News, Virginia where I'll be speaking on genetealogy for the Tidewater Genealogical Society tomorrow morning. If you happen to be in the area, please join us! You can find all the details here.

Genetic Genealogy Article: 6.0

2006-08-04T10:51:00.000-04:00

As you may or may not be aware, I've recently taken to rating articles (on a 1 to 10 scale) on genetic genealogy (which I call genetealogy). Well, here's an interesting one from Scotsman.com that features Bryan Sykes of Seven Daughter of Eve (a great book, by the way) and Oxford Ancestors fame (a person plea to Oxford Ancestors -- please start offering higher resolution tests!).

Overall, it's a fairly innocent article, so I might have given it a higher rating, but this sentence got my attention:

"Both men and women can also choose to have their maternal ancestry traced, using the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that is passed down in the X-chromosome in an unbroken line through the generations."

Nope. Not true. MtDNA does not get passed down in the X-chromosome. Click here for an explanation. It may not sound like a big deal, but this is the kind of statement that starts rumors. I already received an email from someone who was all excited about the prospect of testing using the X-chromosome (which may be possible, but we ain't there yet!).

Thanks to John Reid of the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog for bringing this to my attention.

Internet Genealogy Magazine Already Tops 10,000 Subscribers

2006-08-04T10:26:00.000-04:00

I just received the following -- and actually, it's really good timing because I've been meaning to write about this:

"We hope you'll join us in celebrating Internet Genealogy's 10,000th subscriber by telling your readers about the all-new, extra issue of Internet Genealogy they can download from our website, www.internet-genealogy.com, absolutely free! This online edition is a complete magazine containing the same great features and articles that you would find in our printed edition.

To further celebrate, we are offering a special subscription rate of $22 for one year of Internet Genealogy magazine (the regular rate is $28). This special $22 rate is only valid until October 31, 2006."

I'm a big fan of all of Halvor Moorshead's publications, but I'm especially loving this one since I'm one of those genealogists who lives online. Apparently, I'm not the only one since they've already hit the 10,000 mark -- and by the way, to put that into perspective, they hit 10,000 subscribers (not including newstand and one-off sales) shortly after their second issue. That should give you an indication of just how good this magazine is.

I just read the latest issue and it's terrific -- a nice mish-mash of all sorts of things you probably never knew you could do online. I've got half the pages dog-eared for one reason or another. If you want to see for yourself, take advantage of the free issue online. It's 64 pages long in .pdf format, so you can either read it on your computer screen or print it out. They didn't skimp -- this is a genuine issue available for free! Check it out -- you won't be disappointed!

Genealogical Fantasy #127

2006-08-03T21:22:00.000-04:00

As the author of four books on genealogy, I can only say -- I wish!

Genetealogy: Jamestown & Shoah Initiatives

2006-08-03T10:37:00.000-04:00

Thought it was time to prove that I actually think about something other than Annie Moore from time to time! So a few thoughts on some recent genetic genealogy news, starting with a pair of somewhat similar -- and yet, very different -- large-scale DNA projects:

Jamestown DNA Project
This one, I confess, has me a little confused -- perhaps because the press release is slightly vague. Apparently, there's going to be an effort to link folks "genetically and historically" around the Jamestown 2007 initiative. I'm a part-time resident of Williamsburg, VA (5 miles down the road from Jamestown), so I know from the local paper that the Jamestown 2007 project itself has a troubled history -- late in starting and getting organized. So perhaps that's part of why a project of this ambitious scope is being launched in August 2006 when the celebration begins in just a few months. But it seems it would have been a good idea to start this in, say, 2004.

I'm also a little unclear on what they're going to do. I would assume that they're going to locate direct line male descendants of Jamestown founders (and at this late date, they're going to have to rely mostly on previously conducted research) and snag Y-DNA samples from them to create some sort of mini-database that others could get tested and compare against. Now, that's just a guess, but otherwise, I'm not sure how they might tackle this. If this is the approach, though, they better use very high resolution testing (or perhaps a combination of STR and SNP testing) because the founders were primarily British -- and that means lots of haplogroup R1b -- sort of the genetic equivalent of being a Smith. And that sets the bar higher on the testing that has to be done. Otherwise, there's going to be a ton of false positives -- folks thinking they're related to Jamestown founders whose connection is perhaps thousands of years in the past.

I'm a fan of attempts to combine history and DNA in general, and I like Relative Genetics -- folks who certainly understand these genetic testing nuances better than I do -- but I find it a little concerning that this effort is so last-minute.

DNA Shoah Project
This is a project to create a genetic database of Holocaust victim families that, according to the site, will be used to:

Assist in the identification of Holocaust victims whose remains continue to surface
Aid in the future identification of mass-graves projects
Assist global orphan-placement organizations to identify siblings and close relatives separated by World War II
With signed permission, DNA data can be used to help in genetic disease research

You can learn more about the project here.

The organizers and advisors -- who include the likes of Dr. James D. Watson and Dr. Michael Hammer -- freely admit that this will be challenging and is just the beginning of what will likely be a 20-30 year initiative. Add to this the fact that most Holocaust survivors who are still alive today (estimated at roughly 300,000) have been identified (some 52,000 have been interviewed on videotape by the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation), and that DNA samples from their children and grandchildren can also be used, this sounds tough but ultimately doable. And teaming with organizations like the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Gene Codes Forensics (which developed software that helped identify 9/11 victims) can only help.

I, for one, will be very interested to watch the progress of both these initiatives.

Thank You to ProGenealogists and The Genealogue!

2006-08-03T09:53:00.000-04:00

I wanted to thank ProGenealogists.com for assisting with the Annie Moore research. As I explained earlier, they've agreed to do research at the Family History Library (FHL) in support of this quest. In the "wrong Annie" series I recently uploaded, for instance, they located and provided the 1905 marriage record, the 1907 birth register and the 1923 death certificate. Very nice of them, eh?

I remind those who are participating in this search for the true Annie Moore that the good folks at ProGenealogists stand ready to assist by snagging some documents for us -- within reason (we don't want to take their generosity for granted)! So if there's a particular item you're convinced would move the search forward, post here and we'll see if it's available at the FHL.

I also wanted to thank The Genealogue for his hilarious declaration that the search is over and the 129-year-old Annie -- and a very cranky one at that -- has been located in Iowa. Check it out!

Wrong Annie Photo Album

2006-08-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

If you'd like to follow my explanation about the wrong Annie Moore, but aren't too thrilled with my jury-rigged blog style, here's an alternative. You can view the explanation slide by slide with accompanying commentary. So now let's go find the right Annie Moore!

Wrong Annie Moore

2006-08-01T21:12:00.000-04:00

You may or may not have heard that I launched a contest to find the family of the true Annie Moore – that is, the first immigrant to enter Ellis Island. Initially, folks were very kind and took me at my word when I said that the Annie Moore featured in all the stories – the one who ventured West and wound up dying tragically in an accident – was the wrong one.

As the hunt continued and genealogical instincts kicked in, though, folks started questioning me. How did I know this was the wrong Annie Moore? That’s a fair question. So I thought it was time for an answer.

Documentary Blues
A few years ago, I was working on a documentary about immigration. It seemed natural to track down the family members of Annie Moore and somehow feature them in the show. So I did what any genealogist would do – I did a little research on Annie to try to pick up the trail. Fortunately for me, there had been plenty written about her, so it was easy to learn about her Westward-ho life tale.

At that point, I stated to tackle the paper trail – partly to locate her descendants today, partly to find visuals for the documentary, and partly to substantiate the oft-told story. So I went and pulled a census record. Hmmm . . . her birth place was listed as Illinois. No matter. How often have we all tripped across errors like that in census records? So I pulled another census record. Illinois again. OK, maybe she was one of those who wanted to be perceived as American in spite of her foreign birth. So on to the next document. Uh-oh. Illinois a third time. Now I knew I was in trouble.

I continued to research in the desperate hope of finding evidence of her Irish birth, or at least, a reasonable explanation as to why an immigrant would so consistently give her birth place as Illinois. But ultimately, I had to give up and admit that this was simply the wrong Annie Moore. Yes, she was about the same age and had the same name, but that was all they had in common.

I continued to dig enough until I realized how this all happened. One of Annie’s daughters had apparently become enchanted with the notion that her mother – who had died back when she was a teenager – was the Ellis Island immigrant. This happened around the time of the Bicentennial when commemorative plates of Annie Moore were made, so who wouldn’t want to claim little Annie? Naturally, she told the family – and how many of us truly question the stories our elders tell us? Grandma or great-aunt Tillie never lied, of course, so why would we even think to question what they tell us? And before anyone thought to double check, she passed away.

Show and Tell
So how can I demonstrate in an online environment how I reached this conclusion about Annie? What I’ve decided to do is to play a little show and tell. I’m going to show some of the documents I came across during the course of my research and provide a running commentary. And not knowing how best to show them, I’ve opted for chronological order.

Unfortunately, blogging is not the best method for sharing something like this, but it sure is the fastest! So I’m going to suggest that you print out this particular posting and use it as a map as you inspect the images I’ll upload to accompany each comment. I’ll upload the images in reverse order, so that they’ll appear sequentially in the blog. I’m also working on having a photo gallery added to my honoringourancestors.com website, so it will be easier to refer to and follow. And finally, I’m going to bookend this series of images with identical postings of this explanatory message so that folks can easily find this “map” regardless of whether they start with the first image or the last. So here we go . . .

Slide 1
There are lots of red herrings with the Annie Moore documents, including the fact that the 1880 census index for her family lists her Irish-born parents as having been born in Indiana. If you take a close look at the record, though, you’ll see that they were born in Ireland. The reason I didn’t include the whole family is because the ink practically fades away to nothing after the parents. Check it out on Ancestry.com or Heritage Quest. You’ll see what I mean. And yes, Annie is listed as having been born in Illinois – which wouldn’t have been scribbled as a default out of laziness by an inattentive census-taker because the family had already moved to Texas.

Slide 2
Here we have the family – still in Hill County, Texas – in the 1900 census. Annie’s mom has been widowed – and once again, Annie’s listed as having been born in Illinois.

Slide 3
1905 and Annie gets married! It’s Hill County, Texas, but not too many juicy clues. Still, we have proof that Anna O’Connell was once Anna Moore.

Slide 4
I could have included the 1905 birth of Patrick and Anna O’Connell’s first child, but believe it or not, it’s even harder to make out than this 1907 birth of this daughter. See those columns I’ve highlighted in the center? I know they’re hard to read, but they’re for “nationality of father, where born” and “nationality of mother, where born.” And for the O’Connell birth, both columns include the remark “native.”

Slide 5
Now we have a married Anna in the 1910 census in Clovis, Curry County, New Mexico. And look – she’s born in Illinois. Of course, you have to ponder how much weight to give this instance, given that the census taker has incorrectly listed Anna’s husband as having been born in Ireland. Not so. He was born in Indiana. All those I’s!

Slide 6
This one is another red herring. It looks as if we’re seeing Pat O’Connell with his kids in the 1920 census in Clovis, New Mexico, but take a closer look at the gender column. Yup, “Pat” is female. Anna O’Connell had a habit of going by Mrs. Pat O’Connell – and her husband passed away in the 19-teens, so it’s clearly her and not him. And once again, she’s born in Illinois.

Slide 7
Here’s an article that appeared at the time of Anna O’Connell’s accidental death. No particular details to support Illinois or Ireland, but the family details simply underscore that the family followed in the assorted census records is the correct one.

Slide 8
Now we have Anna O’Connell’s Texas death certificate. And yes, I know the birth place is about impossible to read. In fact, I had it researched twice in the hope of getting a better copy – but both researchers who were able to see the microfilm directly said the birth place looked like Illinois.

Slide 9
Now we have the cemetery details of Anna and her husband. Again, nothing new that helps with the Illinois/Ireland debate, other than the fact that we’re dealing with an Anna who truly was born about the same time as the Ellis Island Annie Moore. And once again, we have confirmation that we’re dealing with the correct family – based on the death dates of both Patrick and Anna.

Slide 10
And finally, we have a recollection from one of Anna and Pat’s daughters. There are plenty of family details cited, including a series of firsts for Pat – but not a whisper of Ellis Island. If the daughter had believed that at the time, I suspect she would have included it. This was published in 1978 – so slightly after the Bicentennial – but my guess is that it was written slightly earlier. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if providing her memories for this book is what sparked her interest in her family’s heritage and made her link her own Annie Moore with the Ellis Island one.

Bottom line: Multiple documents with an Illinois birth and not a single one with Ireland. And of course, this Annie Moore was already in Texas by 1880 – long before Ellis Island’s Annie came to America. So my conclusion is that this is not the Annie Moore who was the first person to immigrate via Ellis Island.

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 1

2006-08-01T21:11:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 2

2006-08-01T21:10:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 3

2006-08-01T21:09:00.001-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 4

2006-08-01T21:09:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 5

2006-08-01T21:07:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 6

2006-08-01T21:06:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 7

2006-08-01T20:58:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 8

2006-08-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 9

2006-08-01T20:56:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore: slide 10

2006-08-01T20:55:00.000-04:00

Wrong Annie Moore

2006-08-01T18:41:00.000-04:00

If You're the Bookish Type

2006-08-01T08:39:00.000-04:00

Yikes! Looks as if I've got some homework to do!

I wrote about a couple of non-fiction books with a genealogical spin in Genealogical Books in Disguise, an article that just appeared in Ancestry.com's 24-7 Family History Circle (and BTW, go to their "Books and Movie Club" to see earlier articles and recommendations).

At the end, I invited folks to suggest which books I should read next. In just a day, there are 15 postings -- not to mention all those who have emailed me directly. Now, if only I could figure out how to actually make a living reading full time!!

If you're a book hound, be sure to take a look. You'd be surprised how many terrific books with genealogical themes are out there -- and the suggestions already cover all sorts of geographies, ethnicities and timeframes. I'll bet you find something of interest to you.

Round Up: Swiss Roots, Adoption, Road Pizza & Primitive Blogging

2006-08-01T08:15:00.000-04:00

Here's a round up of some interesting, genealogically-oriented articles I've tripped across in the last few days:

Secrets of Swiss success in US revealed -- not sure if I agree that Pascal Couchepin (Pascal who?) is more famous than Jewel, but maybe if you're really into your Swiss roots, he is.

Woman's search proves bittersweet -- a well-written article about the experience of being adopted and the quest to learn about one's birth family

Learning American -- those of you of Irish origin (like myself) will enjoy this piece about an Irish woman navigating from craic to "road pizza" as she learns to speak "American."

80-year-old 'blog' brings a family to life -- if I needed incentive to blog, this is it. But maybe I should write more about my own family, eh? Amazing what you can produce with consistency and a little imagination!

Holding Family History Hostage

2006-07-30T13:37:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry, but stuff like this article -- Man finds 188-year-old Bible in dump bin -- really irks me. It basically glorifies a fellow who's -- in my view -- holding family history hostage. He's hanging on to a family Bible that he found in a dumpster, waiting for the top bid, which he believes should be at least $1,000. Yes, he found a family member and sent him a copy of the family details, but he'd rather sell the Bible itself to a rare books dealer.

The reason this irritates me so much is because there are good folks out there who regularly rescue and return family heirlooms, usually for just for the cost of their original purchase and mailing -- and sometimes not even that. And they do this regardless of the actual value of the item.

What about Marge Rice (check out the Marge-o-Meter) who's personally returned over 1,000 photos to family members? What about Joe Bott and the other good folks at DeadFred, which is also crowding the 1,000 mark (BTW, keep an eye on Ancestry.com for an upcoming article about both Marge and DeadFred)? What about the amazing Tracy St. Claire of www.biblerecords.com? And yeah, even I've been known to do the odd rescue here and there.

So how 'bout it? How 'bout a little credit for the folks who do this just because they can and not because they expect to "make a killing" on someone else's family treasure? How 'bout a few kudos for them? If you agree, why not send an email to Marge (margerice@prodigy.net), Joe (histroy101@aol.com) or Tracy (via her website) today? And if, by chance, you're sitting on someone else's family treasure (it's amazing how many people accidentally wind up with other people's stuff) and don't know how to rescue it, please consider submitting it here for possible rescue.

Decaffeinated DNA Tests?

2006-07-29T11:31:00.000-04:00

How many times have you had a hankering for a latte with your DNA test? Well, good news. Now you can get both in one place.

I read about this, but had to go see for myself. Sure enough, at City Coffee in Camden, NJ, you can order up paternity and other DNA tests with your iced chai.

That might sound a little peculiar, but it's all about location, location, location. You see, City Coffee is situated very close to the county courthouse -- where an occasional dispute over paternity has been known to arise. Now folks can ponder their testing options over a relaxing cup of joe.

I checked, and so far, they're not offering any genealogical DNA tests, but I sort of like the notion. Imagine if we could somehow combine courthouse research with ancestral DNA tests -- and all while indulging in a tasty beverage!

Contest Update 3: Following Annie Moore's Trail

2006-07-29T07:49:00.000-04:00

The search continues! Still no claims on the $1,000 I'm offering for proof of what became of Ellis Island's true Annie Moore.

In an attempt to keep folks in the loop about the research that's being done -- at least the research that folks are sharing publicly -- I'm periodically providing a list of links pertaining to the quest. I'm hoping in this way to maximize the chances that this mystery will finally be solved!

Starting with my initial posting and going in chronological order, we have these four links that I've mentioned previously:

$1,000 Contest Announcement

More on Moore

Joe Beine's Annie Moore page

Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings

Since then, I've spotted another pair of search summaries:

Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings, take 2

Sharon Elliott's BackTrack and Annie Moore Research Notes

Suggestion: If you want to join the chase and don't want to spend your time re-inventing the wheel, be sure to review Sharon Elliott's excellent research notes. This is how research is done!

SMGF Launches mtDNA Database

2006-07-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

Here's the latest news from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. A new toy for genetealogists! Plus improvements in one we've been using for a while . . .

No Man Left Behind

2006-07-28T16:56:00.000-04:00

Chris Dunham (of The Genealogue) just wrote about the project I work on for the U.S. Army -- the effort to repatriate our servicemen who are still unaccounted for from earlier conflicts -- especially Korea, Southeast Asia and WWII.

I won't repeat what Chris has said (please take a moment and read his posting), but I'd like to second what he's written and encourage you to contribute remembrances for any soldiers you might be related to or might have known. In this way, you make it easy for the Armed Forces to locate you or the serviceman's family. (And in case you're wondering why it's so challenging to locate families, read here about the 1973 fire that destroyed so many 20th century military personnel records.)

The following are the best places to search for servicemen and leave postings for each of the conflicts:

Korea: www.koreanwar.org

Southeast Asia: www.thevirtualwall.org (note: not .com or virtualwall.org (minus "the"))

WWII: www.wwiimemorial.com (note: not .org)

As an Army brat whose father served in Vietnam, it's my privilege to work on this project, and I'm proud of our military's efforts to ensure that no man is left behind. This is one time I would be delighted to be "worked out of a job," so please help spread the word.

Why I Love the Tenement Museum

2006-07-28T08:30:00.000-04:00

One of my all-time favorite museums is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City. If any of your ancestors spent some time in a tenement in a major American city, you can step into their shoes by taking a tour -- and it's pretty darn authentic. They've recreated actual residents' apartments, and if you go in summer (as I did), you'll likely find yourself soaked to the skin (no A/C for this place!). They did, however, draw the line at sanitation (a compromise much appreciated by many 21st century wimps, I'm sure). I like this place so much that one of my grants was designated for a field trip for a 4th grade class from Spanish Harlem.

But if you're not near New York -- or not tempted by the prospect of a sweat-drenched tour -- the good news is that you can visit virtually! If you go here, you can click on the hand that indicates "enter here" and/or listen to the audio tour (just look for the little headsets right under the photo of the tenement). You can also select one of the families across the top of the page to learn more about their story.

And BTW, I couldn't help but notice that they're in the process of re-creating another family's apartment -- the Moore family from Ireland. For those of you who have been following the Annie Moore contest, that's just a coincidence and has nothing to do with her family.

It also turns out that there's a freshly released book available, Biography of a Tenement House in New York City:

But one of the coolest features of this site has to be the folk songs toy. It lets you create your own city tune by mixing the sounds of a seafood salesman, a street busker, kids playing, a train and other noises you would typically hear in NYC. Don't ask me why, but I love playing with this, and I suspect you might, too.

Genetic Genealogy Article: 6.0

2006-07-28T08:10:00.000-04:00

For those who are new to my blog, I decided not long ago to start rating articles on genetic genealogy (which I often call genetealogy) that appear in the popular press. I don't know if it's really fair to rate this article from the Austin American-Statesman because it's an editorial, but it has one statement that's so glaringly wrong that I had to include it.

According to this piece, "Genetic genealogy is based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)." That will come as quite a shock to the many thousands who have been using a combination of Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal DNA to trace their roots. In fact, in terms of popularity, Y-DNA leaves mtDNA in the dust.

Mitochondrial DNA is often the only option when it comes to tackling history's mysteries -- and that's why it makes so many appearances in those PBS and BBC documentaries where they're always disinterring someone. But in terms of folks actually out there getting tested to learn more about their roots, Y-DNA (which is passed from father to son down through the generations) is the test of choice.

Having said that, the underlying theme of this article -- the notion that we're all related -- is valid. And that's why I'm giving it a score of 6.0 (on a 0 to 10 scale).

More MIAs May Be Coming Home

2006-07-27T06:46:00.000-04:00

From time to time, I mention the work I do on the U.S. Army's repatriation efforts to locate families of those still unaccounted for from WWII, Korea and Southeast Asia. Here's what it's all about (you may have to register to see the article, but it's free). As an Army brat, I love doing this work and I'm pleased to say that I worked on one of these cases.

Contest Update 2: Following Annie Moore's Trail

2006-07-26T16:38:00.000-04:00

Wow, still more folks are coming on board in the search for the true Annie Moore of Ellis Island fame, and some are posting research ideas and results. I'm trying to keep tabs on what folks are doing and will occasionally try to provide links here, so others can join the hunt, too.

So just to get everyone up to date, here are the scattered postings so far (note: be sure to read comments because some of them are very useful):

$1,000 Contest Announcement

More on Moore

Joe Beine's Annie Moore page

Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings

Now for a little more good news. I'm sure there are some folks out there toiling away in private, hoping to solve the mystery themselves and claim the $1,000 prize. To those folks, I say more power to you!

But for those who prefer the online group approach, ProGenealogists in Utah has agreed to do some limited research for us at the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City. I've worked with the ProGenealogists folks for years and they're terrific! If you ever need some research done at the FHL, they're the ones to go to.

So what do I mean by "limited" research? Well, that means that if we think it would be a good idea to pull a particular death certificate or whatever -- and it's available at the FHL -- they'll snag it for us. But no "let's search the entire country's civil registrations for a 10 year period" requests. For reasonable, one-off requests, they'll search for the record, scan it and email it to me, and I'll post it here for the benefit of all. How's that?? Pretty generous, eh? Thanks very much, ProGenealogists!

An Inebriated History of Britain

2006-07-26T12:49:00.000-04:00

I'm not making this up. Check out this book at:

Or learn more here. Cheers!

Bad News for National Archives Users

2006-07-26T11:01:00.000-04:00

This is another one of those spread-the-word, let-your-voices-be-heard situations (why is it we genealogists always seem to be on the defensive?). What are we trying to protect this time? Acess to the National Archives on Saturdays and weekends.

I used to live in the D.C. area and know from frequent research at NARA that these time slots are often the most crowded times -- because some of us actually have jobs that don't allow us to research our family trees during conventional business hours. And even the professional genealogists you rely on in the area may have "regular jobs" that only permit them to tackle your research after-hours or on weekends.

Here's the Federal Register notice of a rule that proposes changing research and exhibit hours at the National Archives:

"The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) published today, July 25, 2006, in the Federal Register an interim final rule requesting public comment on a change in the hours for conducting research at the National Archives Building (DC) and National Archives at College Park (MD) and for visiting the Rotunda and National Archives Experience on the Constitution Ave side of the National Archives Building. This rule and the changed hours will go into effect October 2, 2006. Comments on this document must be received by September 8, 2006. See the rule at www.regulations.gov for information on the ways to submit comments. A public meeting relating to the rule will be held at the Jefferson Room in the National Archives Building at 1 pm on August 3. Please enter through the Special Events entrance on the Constitution Avenue side of the building (between 7th St. and 9th St. NW). Reservations are not required but space may be limited."

Click here to view the actual Federal Register notice.

If you live anywhere close to Washington, D.C., please consider showing up for the meeting on August 3rd and letting them know what you think about this plan. Alternatively, you can contribute your comments by:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. (note from Megan: I just went there, selected "National Archives and Records Administration" from the dropdown Agency menu, and submitted my comments. It's easy.)

Fax: Submit comments by facsimile transmission to 301-837- 0319.

Mail: Send comments to Regulations Comments Desk (NPOL), Room 4100, Policy and Planning Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.

Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD.

So c'mon! Let's clog up their email box and jam up their fax machine! Share your opinion and ask others to, too!

Tidewater Genealogical Society Event Reminder

2006-07-26T07:57:00.000-04:00

Megan will be presenting "Trace Your Roots with DNA" at 9:00 a.m. on August 5, 2006 for the Tidewater Genealogical Society. The event will be held at the 1st Advantage Credit Union in Newport News, VA. Hope to see you there!

Married Daughters No Longer "Spilt Water"

2006-07-25T19:13:00.000-04:00

As I just learned from this post at The Genealogue,

Tree's Family Man

2006-07-25T16:19:00.000-04:00

Makes you think for a second, doesn't it?

I'll post more of these from time to time, but if you've got some time for surfing, you can check them out yourself at www.ancestralfindings.com.

A New Generation of War Brides

2006-07-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

When I hear the term "war bride," I always think of WWII. And there's a lot of sense to that because it's estimated that some 300,000 foreign women married U.S. GI's between 1944-1950. But the reality is that this phenomenon occurs with every war -- including Iraq. Here's an interesting article about one couple's story. Won't they have some interesting tales for their kids and grandkids?!

Contest Update: Following Annie Moore's Trail

2006-07-25T08:42:00.000-04:00

Some folks are sharing clues and questions about Ellis Island's Annie Moore. If you're late to the game, you might want to catch up by checking out these links:

$1,000 Contest Announcement

More on Moore

Joe Beine's Annie Moore page

Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Gene-a-Rama on April 13-14, 2007

2006-07-24T14:28:00.000-04:00

Megan just scheduled a new event for April 13-14, 2007. She will be presenting a series of talks at the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society Gene-a-Rama at the Olympia Resort and Conference Center, 1350 Royale Mile Road in Oconomowoc, WI. Hope to see you there!

DuPage County Genealogy Society Conference on February 24, 2007

2006-07-24T14:27:00.000-04:00

Megan is scheduled to speak at the DuPage County Genealogy Society Conference on February 24, 2007. She will be presenting "Trace Your Roots with DNA," "Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options," "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones" and "Jump-Starting Your Eastern European Research" from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 4070 East Main Street in St. Charles, IL. Hope to see you there!

Mapping Your Roots

2006-07-23T17:15:00.000-04:00

JDR of the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog recently wrote about a fun mapping tool that you can find here. It's an online toy you can use to designate the countries you've been to, but JDR suggests the alternative of using it to show the countries your ancestors hailed from (well, reflecting today's boundaries, so an approximation).

I went ahead and followed JDR's suggestion (immediately below) and then -- as best as I could recall -- attempted to highlight the places I've traveled (second map). Only gripe: no Antarctica!

And for those Americans who like to stay close to home or and/or have deep domestic roots, there's a U.S. states map as well.

create your own visited countries map

create your own visited U.S. states map

A Little More on Moore

2006-07-21T17:14:00.000-04:00

I'm delighted to see that the word is spreading about the Annie Moore mystery/contest. The more sleuths out there, the better the odds that we can find the truth. I've been responding to some comments folks have made, but wasn't able to pop an image into the comments, so decided to post here again.

Joe Beine kindly transcribed a New York Times article that will be of interest, so I thought I'd share this segment (above) of an article from The World (2 January 1892) as well. Let's get the clues circulating!

Diane Rigden commented about searching for the "32 Monroe" address in the 1890 city directory and not finding anyone named Moore. I searched a few city directories for New York City for the 1890-1895 period, and failed to find any Matt Moore on Monroe St. as well. But here's an excerpt from a directory for 1891-1892 showing a few fellows with the name of Matthew Moore:

Also, it's worth mentioning that there was a Monroe St. in both Manhattan and Brooklyn.

So it's up to you to decide whether any of these is the right Matt -- or for that matter, whether Annie's father was truly named Matt (have any of you found the conflicting clues over the names of her brothers yet?). This is a real life case, so it includes all the usual real life uncertainty that we deal with in researching our own families!

Feel free to post more comments, questions or clues here. I'll do my best to respond and invite others to do so as well.

You Can Still View DNAPrint's e-Symposium on Genetic Genealogy

2006-07-21T10:04:00.000-04:00

Back on July 12th, I wrote about an upcoming online e-symposium on Genetic Genealogy being hosted by DNAPrint Genomics. I attended the conference a couple of days ago and found most of the presentations to be quite interesting.

In particular, I was intrigued by Edward Ball's talk on his upcoming book (to be published next year by Simon & Schuster), which he describes as a "genetic memoir." I had read two of Ball's captivating books, Slaves in the Family and The Sweet Hell Inside, so probably shouldn't have been surprised that he would venture into the world of genetic genealogy.

He had the good fortune to be born into a fascinating family, and as it turns out, his luck hasn't run out yet. As you can see from the mini-screen capture below (this will give you a sense of how an e-symposium works -- you hear a voice narrate over what appear to be PowerPoint slides), he discovered a bunch of hair samples from his ancestors -- each one carefully labelled and dated. Who gets that lucky?

At any rate, he decided to delve into genetealogy to see what these hair samples might reveal. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a myth that hair is a good source for DNA. Unless there are roots involved, you'll probably only be able to get mtDNA -- and if the sample is old, even that is questionable. So I wasn't surprised to hear that Ball found the results somewhat disappointing -- less than precise and occasionally conflicting (as he consulted geneticists around the globe).

While I'll be one of the first in line for his new book, I hope he doesn't come out as anti-genetealogy based on his hair expedition. Avid genetic genealogists are well aware of the limitations of mtDNA, which is why it's such a distant second to Y-DNA.

When I speak on the topic, I always explain that mtDNA is primarily a deep ancestry tool and is usually not all that helpful in a genealogical sense. There are a few exceptions -- and as testing advances, mtDNA will likely become more useful in the future -- but right now, mtDNA is mostly used to give you a sense of roughly when and how your direct maternal line migrated out of Africa.

I may be way off-base, and perhaps I didn't listen carefully enough (I freely admit that I haven't listened to his talk a second time yet, so my memory could be faulty). And Ball may be withholding a lot of information about the measures he took until the book comes out. Maybe he did all sorts of testing on all sorts of people. Maybe he sought out all the necessary distant cousins to create a genetic pedigree. I don't know.

But the impression I was left with the other day is that he had relied primarily on mtDNA and was disappointed with the results -- as those acquainted with genetic genealogy would expect. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my initial sense is off -- that he used several types of testing on both the dearly departed and his many living cousins. We'll see what next year brings.

Now here's the good news. If you'd like to see Ball's talk yourself -- or any of the others -- you still can. Go to www.ancestry.e-symposium.com and register (it's free). Then click on the speaker you want to hear, and you're good to go! (One suggestion: do it using Internet Explorer. I tried initially with Mozilla Foxfire and it hung up.)

Someone Should Tell Diane to Change Her Name

2006-07-20T16:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I feel as if I've truly arrived. Why? Because complete strangers are blogging about what an idiot I am! In this case, my idiocy apparently stems from the "uber ridiculous" decision to use my name. I admit it's tempting to toss off a wicked comment in return, but I have to give them credit -- they read Newsweek and never once misspelled "Smolenyak." I'll be sure to tell Diane so she can claim her t-shirt . . .

Another Orphan Bible Goes Home

2006-07-20T08:28:00.000-04:00

Some of you may know that I have a bit of a habit of rescuing items that stray from their families of origin. You can find a bunch of examples here.

Well, here's the latest rescue - a Bible that went from one nursing home to another. If you happen to be one of those people who's somehow wound up with other people's stuff (that you'd like to return), you can submit the details to me. I can't get to and solve every single case, but I have a pretty good hit rate!