Archive for December, 2012

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• Findmypast.com, a UK-based website specializing
  in British genealogical records, recently added 31 million new records spanning 38
  US, UK, Irish and Australian collections. Included are British Army service and pension
  records spanning 1760-1902 from two British hospitals, as well the War Office; US
  military records, including Korean War POWs and casualties, and Vietnam War casualties;
  Irish Catholic Church directory records from 1836-1837; and Australian “Northern Territory”
  records from 1884-1968.

 

• Genealogy software company RootsMagic, Inc. has
  released a free RootsMagic app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The
  app, available at the Apple App Store, is a companion to RootsMagic desktop family
  tree software and the free RootsMagic Essentials software. Features include access
  to your personal RootsMagic files via iTunes or Dropbox; family tree search and explore
  capabilities; pictures, notes and sources; lists; and tools and calculators. For
  more information, click here. 
  

Users of genealogy software such as PAF, Family Tree Maker and Legacy
Family Tree can convert their files into viewable RootsMagic files with RootMagic’s
free desktop software.

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Across many countries, cultures and regions, the Christian holidays in December and early January are celebrated in diverse ways. Gift-giving customs, symbols, songs and processions can all hold clues to ethnic roots. What Christmas traditions did your ancestors celebrate? Click
here for a look at international Christmas traditions.

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Whether you’re just starting to explore your Swedish, Danish or Norwegian roots, or
you want to go deeper into your Scandinavian roots research, the Scandinavian
Genealogy Value Pack includes the resources you need to search for your Northern
European ancestors.

You’ll learn:

• History and geography of Scandinavian countries
• How the patronymic naming system works
• Basic language tips
• How to find overseas records and navigate records websites, including the Swedish
  National Archives
• Tricks for sorting out Swedish roots
• Tips for decrypting your Viking ancestry

The value pack includes:
    •    Scandinavian Genealogy 101 Independent Study
download
    •    Scandinavian Genealogy Handbook download

    •    Your Swedish Roots

    •    Understanding Scandinavian Patronyms and Farm
Names video class

Do you have Irish post-Famine immigrants or Catholic Colonial settlers in your family
tree? Inspire your Irish research with the Boost
Your Irish Genealogy Value Pack. If you’ve begun digging deeper into your roots,
this pack can help you make use of a vast array of resources.

You’ll learn:

• Strategies for finding your Famine-era family through census-substitutes
• Essential online resources for Irish genealogy
• Basic steps for rooting out important Irish records, including birth, marriage, death,
  church and census records
• Irish genealogy facts, charts and websites

The value pack includes:

• Tracing Irish Ancestors in Griffith’s Valuation video class
• Irish Genealogy Online video class
• Finding Your Irish Ancestors DVD
• Irish Genealogy Cheat Sheet download

Take advantage of discounted value pack prices now and begin—or further—your
European research efforts.

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Friday, Dec. 21 is the winter solstice—the shortest day of the year and the date that marks the onset of winter. And,
as you’ve no doubt heard by now, it’s also the day the Mayan calendar ends, which
many people believe translates to the end of the world. Happy holidays, eh?

This isn’t the first time people have predicted the end of days and braced for the
apocalypse. Here are three instances featured in Good
Old Days, My Ass: 665 Funny History Facts and Terrifying Truths About Yesterday by
David A. Fryxell:

• Way back in 448, Moses of Crete, a rabbi, claimed to be the Messiah as predicted by
  Talmudic calculations and led his followers to the sea, which was supposed to part
  so they could reach Palestine. Having given away all their possessions, the rabbi’s
  followers cast themselves into the Mediterranean. Seeing them crash on the rocks or
  drown, the rabbi declined to follow and “suddenly disappeared,” leading some to conclude
  he had actually been “some malignant fiend” in human form.

• Then there were the astrological predictions that a 1524 planetary alignment in Pisces
  would produce an apocalypse. Germans built boats, including a three-story ark constructed
  by Count von Igleheim, and residents of port cities took refuge afloat. When doomsday
  arrived with only a light drizzle, angry crowds outside the ark stampeded, trampling
  hundreds, and stoned the count to death.

• In America, forerunners of today’s Seventh-Day Adventists, the Millerites, followed
  Baptist preacher William Miller, who concluded Christ would return in 1844. Another
  Millerite pegged it more precisely on Oct. 22, 1844, a day that came to be known as
  “the Great Disappointment.” Thousands of followers gave  away their possessions
  and awaited the end. When Jesus didn’t appear, one wrote, “I lay prostrate for two
  days without any pain—sick with disappointment.” Even children in the streets would
  taunt the disappointed Millerites, saying, “Have you not gone up [to heaven]?”

For a look at more interesting and often funny history facts—and terrifying truths—from
the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, check
out David’s book.

And if, by chance, the world is ending on Friday, what’s to stop you from indulging
in another piece of homemade fudge washed down by a cup of eggnog? After all, it is the
holiday season …  

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If one of your new year’s resolutions is to manage your genealogy research time more
efficiently and effectively, you’ll
get 2013 off to a stellar start with our Ancestry.com Search Secrets webinar.
 
Sifting through the millions of records available on Ancestry.com can be like trying
to find a needle in a haystack, yet the wealth of data is critical to your research.
Whether you’re digging for your family in census records, military records or public
member trees, let presenter Laura G. Prescott teach you her top tips for making the
most of your searches on this genealogy juggernaut.

Date: Thursday, Jan. 24
Time: 7pm EST/6pm CST/5pm MST/4pm PST
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 early bird until Jan. 17)


What You’ll Learn:

• How to rein in the massive amount of information available on Ancestry.com
• Hints to set manageable search parameters for finding your family
• How to dig into individual databases for specific records
• Tricks and tips to make your search efforts more efficient and effective
• PLUS: Get a free PDF download of our Ancestry.com Web Guide

To learn how to harness the information on Ancestry.com so you can quickly and easily
track down your relatives, register
here. 

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The December 2012 Family
Tree Magazine podcast, hosted by Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy
Gems, offers tips on recording and sharing your family history family, including:

• Six steps to get your family history book into library stacks, from Family Tree
  Magazine (FTM) contributing editor Sunny Jane Morton

• D. Joshua Taylor of brightsolid talks about the FindMyPast.com website,
  which specializes in British genealogical records

• Tips for assembling and printing a family keepsake, from FTM online editor Tyler Moss,
  as noted in the class Creating a Family History Book: Start-to-Finish Guidance for
  Assembling and Printing a Family Keepsake 

• Recommendations for research sources from FTM publisher and editorial director
  Allison Dolan

You can listen to Family Tree Magazine‘s free genealogy podcast in iTunes or
on FamilyTreeMagazine.com.
 

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I received my results from the Geno 2.0 test from National Genographic tonight.  The results align fairly well with what I already know about my DNA.  For example, I knew I was haplogroup A2 (a Native American haplogroup), but the A2w is new so I have to do some research there.

Even more interesting is my paternal haplogroup designation.  The NatGeo tests lists the terminal SNP instead of a haplogroup that will typically encompass multiple SNPs.  I am listed as R-Z306, which is R1b1a2a1a1a3a1 on the current ISOGG Y-DNA tree.  However, my results indicate that I am L1+, which is associated with Null439 (I previously knew I was null439).  Many believe that L1+ is downstream of Z306+, but these types of questions are exactly what the NatGeo 2.0 test will help determine.

I immediately transferred my results to FTDNA, and if you go to the public null439 Y-SNP results page (here), for example, you’ll see that under my results are listed all SNPs for which I am derived, including L1, Z306, etc.  It’s truly an incredible list, and the real power of the results will come from comparing them to many other people.

As you can see, NatGeo estimates 3.2% Neanderthal (23andMe predicted 2.7%), and 3.3% Denisovan.  I’m not completely up on my Denisovan research, but I wonder if I am enriched for Denisovan because of my Native American ancestry.

Lastly, the NatGeo results report 2% Native American, directly in line with other tests.  23andMe, for example, has consistently reported 2-3%.

 

Disclosure: I received a complementary test kit from National Genographic for analysis purposes. My analysis, however, is based on my own opinions of the product and the results.

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Ancestry.com solves mysteries! At least that’s what it did on tonight’s episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” as detectives dove into a family tree to see which clues the subject of one investigation had already uncovered about members of her family.

Curious how you can search Ancestry.com detective style? You can learn the tricks to finding 20^th-century answers in your family tree in our short desktop education video, Search Ancestry.com Like a Detective. Next thing you know, you’ll be solving your own family history mysteries just like the pros.

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Throughout 2012, America’s oldest natural history museum celebrated its 200^th birthday.  Sitting proudly in center city Philadelphia, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University was founded in 1812 and stands today as a museum and center of scientific research. Through its two centuries of existence, many of the men and women who have walked its halls have made great impacts both to the Academy and to science on the whole.

As a book chronicling the history of the Academy was being researched, the stories of these of these individuals began to come to light. From Edward Drinker Cope and the infamous “Bone Wars” of the 1880s (the earliest days of paleontology that saw scholars fiercely competing with one another to find the most dinosaur fossils), to the creation of the Academy as a modern museum in the 1930s, to Ruth Patrick’s modern-day breakthroughs in environmental sciences, the movers and shakers of the Academy’s history were brought into the limelight.

After publication of the Academy’s history, entitled A Glorious Enterprise, we began to think about bringing together the descendents of the many people who have shaped the Academy… the Academy Family Reunion was born!  Some “family” members are actively involved with the Academy, but most have completely lost touch with us. We set about contacting the families we know, but are still looking to reconnect with others. At the event, Academy historian Robert Peck, co-author of the book, will share anecdotes with guests, the stories of their family members.

The enthusiasm from guests has been tremendous! Responses have steadily rolled in, often accompanied with comments of “I can’t wait for such an exciting evening!”, and everyone seems thrilled to have their own ancestors being recognized and honored for their roles in shaping the 200-year history of this incredible place. It is our hope that this family reunion becomes start of a new tradition. We would love for it to grow each year, as more descendents of the Academy’s legendary founders join us to shape the next 200 years of history together.

Are you descended from any science-inclined Philadelphians (science, medicine, plants, animals, etc.)? If so, you are probably connected to the Academy in some way, and we would love to hear from you. Your genealogy research could be helpful to us, and we have many stories to share. Please contact the museum at friends@ansp.org to learn more!

 

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Attention CSI fans, on Wednesday, December 12, tune in to the CBS hit, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. The episode features the CSI team using genealogy to figure out why an airplane crashed, killing five people. Read more about the episode here and don’t forget to tune in!