The New York Times recently ran a story of how a young woman was reunited with her family through the power of DNA testing. The young woman from St. Louis Missouri was convinced that her character and looks were inherited from her father. She felt her love of tradition and ceremony stemmed from her cherished Southern roots. That was until at the age of 42 she found out she had been adopted. Her whole image of her self was threatened, …
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Much of the population of the United States and Canada is descended from Eastern European ancestors. Countries that can be considered Eastern European are; Russia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Lithuania. Out of America’s population of nearly 300,000,000 approximately 13.5 million claim direct ancestry to these countries. Unfortunately due to language barriers and inaccessibility, finding ancestral records in such places can be overwhelmingly dreadful, and many genealogists are apprehensive about even trying to find their Eastern …
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I was recently informed of an exciting collection of nineteenth century primary content that will be made available online this spring. Gale Cenage Learning, a well known publisher of reference and research sources for businesses, schools, and libraries recently announced plans for its program of studies Nineteenth Century Collections Online. It is a global publishing and digitalization program comprised of rare nineteenth century content (primary source), and though still being developed, the first four modules will be released sometime between …
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British and Irish census reports actually have an interesting history behind them. In that history lays valuable information that can help you to locate your ancestor, and develop an intimate understanding of them and the lives they lived. The first census was initiated after a period of poor harvests and food shortages. Subsequently the British Government decided to take a “survey” of the population in order to determine the general health and makeup of the people. It was thus in …
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Canada’s first census took place in 1666 before it was even Canada. Jean Talon, an early colonial administrator for the government of France, oversaw the enumeration which recorded the names, ages and marital status of the 3,000 plus inhabitants of what was then known as New France. The first official census of Canada was taken in 1871, but between then and 1666, as many as 98 different census reports, both colonial and regional, were undertaken for purposes of taxation and …
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How Social Media is Expanding Interest in Genealogy We spend much of our time as genealogists sleuthing around looking for elusive records and ancestors, and that in itself is what I call fun! There are others however, (probably not serious genealogists – yet), who are having fun on Facebook with a Family Tree inspired game called Family Village. It’s pretty amazing; Facebook has actually gone the whole mile to make this game authentic, and you can view actual genealogical documents …
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Do-it-yourself DNA tests have become big business, and not just for genealogists. Many people are now relying on them for medical information – to find out for instance if they are susceptible to specific hereditary diseases. There are many companies selling these home DNA test kits, and they are even used as a form of entertainment at what are being called “spit parties”. Spit parties are basically social gatherings where a group of people meet up with their home DNA …
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I just heard about this organization in Ireland that is using genealogy to try to reinvent the Irish economy. It is so cool I just had to share it with you, and even if this project doesn’t help the Irish economy, it’ll do a lot of good. In fact, the organization, Ireland Reaching Out (IRO), is saving a lot of people the trouble of tracing their family trees and doing it for them, all in the hope that they will …
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