Lori Thornton

GenScriber is a FREE and very useful Windows and Linux program created by Les Hardy. It is used to transcribe census records, church records, birth, marriage, baptisms, burials, index records, and other records. The application is lightweight and does not require any special installation. Just copy the program to a convenient place on your hard drive, such as in \Program Files, then click on it to launch it and use it. GenScriber is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. The interface is comprised of several resizable windows within a single main window. A register image can be viewed in the top window while data is input in the bottom window. The data input area uses a spreadsheet style grid, but GenScriber is not a spreadsheet. Instead, it creates files that can then be read by most any other spreadsheet or database program.

(Click on the above image to see a larger image.)

GenScriber creates worksheets are in CSV format and the application will read these files with field separators of comma, semicolon or tab. It will import and export files in FreeBMD, FreeREG, and FreeCEN file formats. It is possible to load JPG, PNG, TIF, GIF and PDF files into the database and the images can be zoomed and rotated.

GenScriber is free for private and non-commercial use. 

Note: Do not confuse GenScriber  with GenScribe, a genealogy program for Macintosh computers.

For more information about this free program for Windows and Linux, look at http://genscriber.com/genapps/.

 

 

The must-read blogs of genetic genealogy

Nobody alive knows everything.

Certainly not everything about a subject where the underlying science is developing as fast as in the field of genetics.

And particularly not everything about a subject where the underlying science is developing as fast as in the field of genetics and its application to what we do in genealogy.

It’s an almost every-day occurrence these days that something new is learned about how genes are passed from generation to generation and how those markers can — or can’t — be used to help us identify relationships and document our family trees.

And nobody — no one single person — can possibly keep up with it all.

Which is a very long way of saying that you, Dear Reader, aren’t getting the whole story with a once-a-week blog post from yours truly, The Legal Genealogist, who, as that moniker may suggest, isn’t a geneticist anyway.

Fortunately, our genealogical community is blessed with a fair number of folks who know their stuff in this area and whose work is readily available, free, in their blogs.

So here, in strictly alphabetical order, are the bloggers I think write the most active and up-to-date must-read blogs of genetic genealogy, and I recommend them to you:

Blaine Bettinger, The Genetic Genealogist

Blaine Bettinger has a Ph.D. in biochemistry with a concentration in genetics and a law degree. When he’s not handling patent law questions for the law firm where he works, he’s chasing genetic genealogy questions for his blog. Main author of the free guide I Have The Results of My Genetic Genealogy Test, Now What?, he has been blogging as The Genetic Genealogist since 2007.

Rebekah Canada, Haplogroup

Rebekah Canada says she fell in love with genealogy when she was seven, combining “many bags of pogan ginger cookies” with “the women of Colonial New England.” In the years since then, she has become the go-to person for genetic genealogy projects and her current interests include minority population heritage, personal genomics education, and project administration best practices. She’s worked with the Genographic Project and with Family Tree DNA particularly clarifying the frequently asked questions, and launched Haplogroup in May of this year.

Roberta Estes, DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy

Roberta Estes is both a scientist and, in her own words, “an obsessed genealogist.” She manages a number of DNA-related volunteer projects, including the Lost Colony DNA research projects and regional Cumberland Gap Yline and mitochondrial DNA projects, co-administers several Native American and African DNA projects and serves in an advisory capacity for the Melungeon project and other groups. An expert in Native American heritage, she began writing DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy in 2012, celebrating the blog’s first anniversary just a few days ago.

Debbie Cruwys Kennett, Cruwys News

Debbie Cruwys Kennett is the lone international entry to the field, writing from England with the strength of years of experience managing her own Cruwys Surname Project and working with the Guild of One Name Studies. She is the author of two books, Social Networking: A Guide to Genealogy in the Twenty-First Century, published in 2011, and The Surnames Handbook, published in 2012, both by The History Press. She’s been writing Cruwys News since 2007.

CeCe Moore, Your Genetic Genealogist

Last but far from least is CeCe Moore, an independent professional genetic genealogist whose focus is on autosomal DNA testing. She’s the Southern California regional coordinator for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), moderator for the ISOGG DNA Newbie List, administrator of several DNA projects, and administrator of or advisor to numerous adoption-related DNA groups. She began the Your Genetic Genealogist in 2010.

And one more…

One other I’d recommend that’s not exactly for mainstream genealogists, but then you can see why The Legal Genealogist would have to add this one, is the Genomics Law Report, written by the law firm of Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson of Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s good. Really.

So go on. Add these to your blog-reader program or service. It’s the only way to even try to keep up with all that’s going on in genetic genealogy.

Because nobody — no one single person — knows everything. Not even The Legal Genealogist…

It’s tent revival season throughout Appalachia – the region that invented the tent revival.

The first camp meeting took place in July 1800 at Gasper River Church in southwestern Kentucky. A much larger one was held at Cane Ridge, Kentucky, in August 1801, where between 10,000 and 25,000 people attended, and Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist ministers participated. It was this event that stamped the organized revival as the major mode of church expansion for denominations such as the Methodists and Baptists, who were newly converted by the teachings of John Wesley.

“The significant and most recurring theme in mountain preaching,” according to Deborah McCauley, author of Appalachian Mountain Religion, “is that of a broken heart, tenderness of heart, a heart not hardened to the Spirit and the Word of God. Mountain people teach through their churches that the image of God in each person lives in the heart, that the Word of God lodges itself in the heart, and the heart is meant to guide the head, not the other way around.”

“God led me into the Free Methodist Church when in 1935 I was sanctified in a revival preached by Brother Albert Faust from Pittsburgh,” said West Virginian Dewilla Lemmon of her revival experiences. “Melrose Uphold, a neighbor, and Sister Eva Young, a local Free Methodist preacher, arranged for a meeting in a vacant building near my home. This came as an answer to prayer for me because I had been privately seeking holiness, not really knowing what it was, only that for many months I had craved a pure, perfect condition of heart with God, notwithstanding the knowledge that I had been born again.”

One of Lemmon’s fellow worshipers, “Sister Uphold,” explained to her that the experience she sought was “sanctification.” “So I went to the altar and prayed for it. I also made various restitutions. Brother Faust quoted the Scripture: ‘The Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.’ And Jesus did just that for me on the night of September 22, 1935 after Brother Faust had delivered his sermon and while Sister Young walked up and down behind me at the altar quoting in a strong voice: ‘This is the will of God, even your sanctification.’”

Sources: http://are.as.wvu.edu/ferber.htm#_edn24
Lemmon, Dewilla. “Camp Memories” journal exercise recorded by Pauline Shahan. July 6, 1980
Appalachian Mountain Religion. University of Illinois Press: Chicago; 1995

http://www.theopedia.com/Great_awakenings

Related Posts: “Warmly Tactile Worship Behavior”

tent+revival camp+meeting mountain+preaching appalachia appalachian+culture appalachian+history history+of+appalachia

The post That old-time tent revival appeared first on Appalachian History.

After 10 years of providing online access to the National Archives’ holdings the Archival Research Catalog (ARC) is permanently retiring on August 15^th.

You can still search descriptions and digital content using our Online Public Access search http://www.archives.gov/research/search/

Online Public Access contains all of the descriptions and digitized content that was in ARC.  Online Public Access also searches our web site, Archives.gov, and the web sites of the Presidential Libraries for information related to your search.  Your search results will be grouped into categories based upon the type of information we have that is relevant to your search:

• Digital copies of records
• Descriptions of records
• Web pages on Archives.gov
• Web pages on the Presidential Libraries’ websites

We will be sharing information and tips for using Online Public Access over the next few weeks here on NARAtions.  if you have any questions about using Online Public Access please leave a comment.

My mother's cousin, Waldo Emerson Cooper (1913 - 1976) served in the CCC starting in 1935.  He was born in Westborough, Massachusetts, and died in Los Angeles, California.  I don't know where he served in the CCC, but it might have been in New Hampshire where there were many forestry programs and state parks being built.   He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1944, like so many other young men of his age. The family lost track of him over the years, but I was able to find his death listed in the California Death Index at Ancestry.com   It would be quite a genealogy adventure to write to the National Archives to read more about his service in the CCC.

** This post is the first in a series I think I will call "20th Century Americana".  These are things I find around New England from the recent past, but they are now history since we are now in the 21st century.  Not many of these things are currently being preserved or saved, but they are part of history and family history.  I thought the Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Allenstown was a good place to start.

For more information:

Bear Brook State Park:  http://www.nhstateparks.com/bearbrook.html

A listing of CCC Museums across the USA:   http://ccclegacy.org/CCC_Museums.html

--------------------------
Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Time to do a few new arrivals. While I was gone for a few days, eleven books showed up in my mailbox. I'll share titles because you might want to look for some of these now or in the future. No special order, just from the TBR pile.

Do you miss Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn and Chee mysteries? His daughter, Anne Hillerman, picks up where he left off with Spider Woman's Daughter, a new book in the series. And, Navajo Nation police officer Bernadette Manualito is a witness to a shooting. Look for it in October.

Ann Patchett's This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage is nonfiction. She charts her life, from childhood, through an unhappy marriage, and a later happy one. The collection focuses on moments that shaped her as a daughter, wife, writer, and friend. It's released in November.

Chuck Greaves follows up Hush Money with Green-Eyed Lady. Jack MacTaggart, a wisecracking legal ace is hired to help a U.S. Senatorial candidate who was arrested on burglary charges after a chivalrous act. It's a madcap plot with a man whose motto is "Trust me. I'm a lawyer." It's out next week.

Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev of the Moscow Militia returns in William Ryan's The Twelfth Department. In 1937, Stalin's security chiefs frequently find themselves sent to Siberia. Captain Korolev is actually happy until he's assigned to a case so sensitive that it threatens his job and his family. Watch for this one in July.

The Last Kind Word by David Housewright is already out. Why would a millionaire retired police officer agree to infiltrate a Minnesota gang, throwing himself directly into harm's way? Alex McKenzie asks himself that same question when he agrees to help the ATF and ends up playing teacher to a group of amateur criminals.

"How do writers and painters get their ideas? And what are the hard realities of such seemingly glamorous and romantic lives?" In The Fountain of St. James Court or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman, author Sena Jeter Naslund explores the transformative power of art, history, and love in the lives of creative women. Watch for this one in September.

Daniel Silva's The Fallen Angel is now out in trade paperback. After Gabriel Allon barely surivved his last operation, he takes refuge restoring a masterpiece at the Vatican. But, a murder in St. Peter's Basilica threatens the Church with another scandal. And, Gabriel is tasked with finding a killer, with a difficult warning. "Don't ask too many questions."

The Sleeping and the Dead is Jeff Crook's first mystery. Jackie Lyons, a former vice detective with the
Memphis Police Department, is trying to put her life back together after her husband files divorce papers. She's broke, needs a place to live after a fire in her apartment. She has lots of problems, including the fact that she sees ghosts. She's been making ends meet by photographing crime scenes, but her new camera captures images of ghosts. It's out next week.

Next month, the second book in Robyn Carr's Thunder Point series is released. The Newcomer brings a couple women to town, women who have surprises for a couple residents. An ex-wife shows up bringing drama to a loving relationship, and an old girlfriend asks a man to visit her when she's dying. Thunder Point is  a little town on the Oregon coast filled with love and the dramas of everyday life.

Alex Bledsoe's Wisp of a Thing is set in the dark valleys and hollows of the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Musician Rob Quillen comes to Cloud County after losing his fiancee in a plane crash. A mysterious man told him the Tufa, a mysterious group of mountain people, have a song that will mend his broken heart. Rob will do anything to find it.

Blood Tango by Annamaria Alfieri takes readers into a page-turning murder mystery set against the events of 1945 Buenos Aires, illuminating how Evita Peron rose from abject poverty to become one of the most powerful women in the world. If interested, look for it next week.

Most of these books should be available at your local public library. I hope there are a couple here you want to read.

Big news, especially for AncestryDNA customers.

Beginning today, Family Tree DNA will accept AncestryDNA raw data files!!!  Secondly, any raw data file transfer, from either Ancestry or 23andMe is $49 for a limited time.  Family Tree DNA states that this is an introductory offer, but they don’t say how long this offer extends, so if you’re interested, do the transfer now.  If you have already taken the autosomal test at Family Tree DNA, called Family Finder, you don’t need to transfer autosomal data from any other company.

If you’ve taken both the 23andMe test and the Ancestry test, and want to know which one to transfer, Family Tree DNA says that there is no functional difference, so either is fine and they are equivalent.

You can see more information and transfer your data directly at this link:

Why would people want to do this?

One reason is that this allows you to swim in different pools where there are new genetic cousins to match and meet.

However, Family Tree DNA as compared to each company has some additional benefits.

First, as compared to 23andMe, people who test at Family Tree DNA are genealogists, and they tested for genealogy and not health traits, so they are more likely to reply to communications and they are more likely to know something about their family history.

Also, you don’t have to “invite” people at Family Tree DNA and wait for their acceptance to share.  Everyone is sharing there, unless they opt out.

Third, for people with whom you have a confirmed relationship, you can see who the two of you match “in common.”

As compared to Ancestry, there are lots of reasons to transfer your data

Family Tree DNA has a chromosome browser, entirely lacking at ancestry, that allows you to confirm your genetic match, not just a genealogy “shaking leaf” match.

Family Tree has a surname search option so that you can search for matches that share common surnames.

Family Tree provides you with e-mail addresses of your matches instead of forcing you to go through a messaging system.

Family Tree DNA allows you to download your matches and their chromosomal segment data to build spreadsheets to further work with and triangulate your data.

Family Tree DNA’s ethnicity percentages are much more realistic than Ancestry’s.

In other words, the tools that Ancestry lacks, which are all tools other than “tree matching,” Family Tree DNA has.  If you don’t understand why these are important, this article about why Ancestry needs a chromosome browser will help you understand that your tree matches may not be your genetic matches.

This is a great time to dive right into the Family Tree DNA autosomal pool.  The water is fine so come on in and invite your Ancestry friends.  Maybe you’ll find out exactly HOW you are related to them, and it may not be the line you think!

In a victory for consumers, patients, researchers and women, the Supreme Court today returned a decision that human genes cannot be patented.

Their decision states that DNA ”is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated.”

This case was a result of a suit against Myriad Genetics, a company that was granted patents for isolating two human genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, both of which are well known breast cancer genes, recently brought to light by Angelina Jolie’s decision to have preventative mastectomys after both the gene and related breast cancer were found to be prevalent in her family.  Shortly after that decision and surgery, Jolie’s aunt died of breast cancer.

While companies cannot patent the genes themselves, they can develop treatments and hopefully, cures, and those can be patented.  Synthetic genes created are also eligible for patents.  Myriad wasn’t the only company to do this.  The government has issued patents to over 4000 genes to both companies and universities.

The patenting of genes made it impossible for other competing companies who could test for the gene technically to do so.  In other words, it artificially created a sole supplier situation where only one company could provide the test for that gene, and therefore could set the price wherever they wanted.  Jolie revealed that the cost of screening for those two genes alone was $3000, a cost prohibitive to many women.  However, the actual cost of the testing is significantly less.  I was wondering just how much less, then the answer arrived in my inbox.

I know that Gene by Gene, through its division, DNA Traits has the capability to offer this test and has been selling it internationally since 2012.  Bennett Greenspan, president of Gene by Gene has discussed this with me privately, and how terribly it pained him not to be able to do this testing to help people within the US.  Bennett shared some pretty profound thoughts about the unfair situation this created.

I was just getting ready to call Bennett, when less than 6 hours after the Supreme Court decision, I received an e-mail from Gene by Gene, which contained the answer – $995.  So the actual cost to the American consumer is only about one third to one quarter of what they were being charged as a result of the patent.

Today’s Supreme Court decision is truly a victory for patients, consumers, researchers, women and all US citizens.  Below is the content of the e-mail I received from Gene by Gene announcing the ability for DNATraits to sell the BRCA test in the US.

In effort to increase access to potentially lifesaving BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, DNATraits can now offer tests for $995, a fraction of the cost of similar tests prior to the court decision

HOUSTON — Jun. 13, 2013 – Thanks to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision opening the door to greater access to genetic medicine by American patients and their health care providers, testing for genes specifically linked to breast, ovarian and other cancers will now be more widely available and at a lower cost than ever before.

DNATraits, a division of Houston-based genomics and genetics testing company Gene By Gene, Ltd., announced today that it will offer testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in the United States for $995.  Prior to today’s unanimous Supreme Court ruling, when exorbitant licensing fees kept DNATraits and others from offering BRCA gene tests in the United States, the cost for such tests was around $4,000.

“We’re pleased to make this important testing more widely available and accessible in the United States,” said Gene By Gene President Bennett Greenspan.  “Our highly automated CLIA-registered lab and efficient processes enable us to make genetic and genomic testing more affordable and accessible to more individuals, in the U.S. and worldwide.  And that’s our company’s mission, in a nutshell.”

The company’s announcement about the tests, which gained national attention when actress Angelina Jolie courageously revealed in May that being a BRCA1 carrier was among the factors in her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy, comes after today’s Supreme Court ruling in “Association For Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics.”

“We commend the Supreme Court for opening the door to greater technological innovation and access to genetic tools that promise to save and improve the quality of human lives in the United States,” Greenspan added.  “It’s critical that as an industry we are able to continue to engage in healthy competition to drive down the costs of these tests – because as more individuals have access to and undergo them, the more information we’ll have about many serious diseases that eventually may lead to cures.”

DNATraits has processed testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes for individuals living outside the U.S. since 2012.  Those genes are processed using traditional Sanger DNA sequencing, which is considered the gold standard for DNA analysis, at the company’s Genomic Research Center in Houston, a CLIA-registered lab which has processed more than 5 million discrete DNA tests from more than 700,000 individuals and organizations globally.

In addition to the BRCA gene tests, DNATraits offers a pre-natal array that covers 111 population specific diseases, as well as other not population-specific diseases, like Duchene Muscular Dystrophy.

Customer Inquiries

Individuals interested in learning more about either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 tests should ask their doctors for more information.  They and their health care providers can also visit the company’s website, www.dnatraits.com, or call (713) 868-1438 for more information.

Over the last few years, DNA has been increasingly incorporated into genealogical research. This exciting new technology has made a huge difference for us, and has helped solve so many mysteries.  But scientists in Britain are stirring up some controversy about the topic.

The subject first came up in March, when newspapers started reporting on it. They have an interesting argument. Unfortunately, it seems to suffer from a lack of understanding about genealogy, our methods, and our goals.

Scientists do not dispute the methodology behind DNA testing for genealogical purposes. A mouth swab or saliva sample is a pretty standard way of obtaining cells to extract DNA for sampling. There is agreement that this is an appropriate method, and will easily extract DNA.

 

 

Scientists also agree that the DNA that is extracted can be useful for some genealogical purposes. The problem, they say, is with lineages past a couple hundred years. Their argument is that the pieces of the DNA that are currently testable do not contain a big enough proportion of a person’s DNA. Another argument is that the testing is not exact enough.

I would disagree with both of their arguments. The first argument, that the percentage of ancestry being tested is too small, demonstrates a total lack of understanding of genealogy. We understand that the test does not represent our entire ancestry. But it does give us a glimpse into some of our ancestry. And the more testing that is done, the more precise the results will become.

The second argument is close, but quite a correct delineation of the problem. The issue is not that the tests are not precise enough. The problem is with the marketing departments of those doing the genetic testing. They oversell the results. They tell people that they have some sort of exciting ancestry, like the Vikings. The reality is that the testing usually cannot tell that closely. It might be able to tell you that you have Scandinavian ancestry, but not that you have those exciting Vikings. It is a marketing sham, and we should all beware of them.

Many scientists simply have a way too literal understanding of family history. They feel that we are all descended from the same small group of people who lived thousands of years ago, so why care?  We do care. It is about the stories of each of those intervening generations. Who were they? Where did they live? What were their lives like? Those are the important questions.

This cemetery plot card from the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts revealed many family relationships, but most were a complete mystery to me. Using online resources I was able to place almost all of the names on my family tree.  I was also disappointed to learn from this card that the person I was looking for was no longer buried here, but had been removed to another cemetery in Boston.  It goes to show that if you just visit a cemetery, and do not ask for more information at the office, you can miss out on a lot of genealogy clues.

Major General Henry Dearborn (1751 - 1829) is my first cousin, 8 generations removed.  Our common ancestors are John Dearborn (1666 - 1750) and his wife, Abigail Batchelder (1667 - 1736).  I descend from John Dearborn's daughter, Elizabeth, and General Dearborn's father was Elizabeth's brother, Simon Dearborn.

General Henry Dearborn was born 23 February 1751 in Hampton, New Hampshire and he died on 6 June 1829 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He started life as a physician, and was also the captain of the local militia which participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill.  This was the start of his illustrious military career during the Revolutionary War, where he was at the Battles of Ticonderoga, Valley Force, Monmouth, and was on the staff of General George Washington.  He was a member of the US House of Representatives for Massachusetts and Secretary of War.  He was Major General during the War of 1812.

General Henry Dearborn was married three times, first to Mary Bartlett, second to Mrs. Dorcas (Osgood) Marble, and third to Sarah Bowdoin.  His second wife was buried here at Mount Auburn with him, but their bodies and their son Henry Alexander Dearborn were removed to Forest Hill Cemetery on 13 July 1848.  (See the note that bodies 1, 2 and 5 were removed in 1848?  Number 7 was removed to Forest Hill in 1856, and then 10 and 11 were removed to Montclair, New Jersey at some unknown date.)

The third person listed on the cemetery plot card was G. R. Dearborn.  I noticed that the first three bodies were all listed under the same date, 17 June 1834.  This date doesn't match any of their death dates, so were they previously buried elsewhere and moved here together in 1834.  General Dearborn died in 1829, his wife Dorcas died in 1810, and son George Raleigh Dearborn had died in 1806.  According to their website, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts opened in 1831, so I'm sure they were probably buried someplace else first.  And now they rest at Forest Hill Cemetery in Boston.

The fourth person listed was Major M. P. Lomax.  I couldn't find him in the family tree.  At Google Books I found this excerpt in a book, Genealogy of the Virginia Family of Lomax, by Edward Lloyd Lomax, Chicago: Rand McNally Publishers, 1913.  In it, on page 40, it describes how Major Mann Page Lomax was stationed at the Watertown, Massachusetts arsenal (down the street from the Mount Auburn Cemetery), and died of consumption. He was not a family member, but probably a friend and fellow military officer.



This excerpt ends with Henry Alexander Dearborn giving a speech at Mount Auburn Cemetery over the grave of Major Lomax.  He was the son of Major General Henry Dearborn and his wife Dorcas.  He was married to Hannah Swett Lee on 20 April 1807 in Salem, Massachusetts.  He died in 1851.  He was original proprietor of this cemetery plot.

The fifth person on the plot card is Henry Dearborn, who was buried on 6 September 1842.  This is the infant grandson of Henry A. Dearborn, and the great grandson of Major General Henry Deaborn.  Baby Henry Dearborn was born 10 October 1841 in Salem, and died 5 September 1842 in Roxbury, of dysentery.

The sixth person listed on the plot card was another military officer, General J. Wingate , Jr., who died on 6 November 1843.  He was the husband of Julia Cascaline Dearborn, daughter of Major General Dearborn.  General Joshua Wingate was a Harvard graduate, and he was the secretary to General Dearborn while he was Secretary of War.  He held many illustrious positions, such as Postmaster of Portland, Maine, and ran twice as a candidate for Governor of Maine (and was twice defeated).  He was also one of the founding members of the Maine Historical Society. That is where I was able to find a gold mine of information on his family.  The website of the Maine Memory Network also had information on the Wingates.

Person #7 remains a mystery to me.  Susannah Sanford is probably a married name, but I cannot place her in the Dearborn family tree.  I'm still looking!

The eighth person is Julia Cascaline Dearborn (1781 - 1867), mentioned above.  I was able to find her painting at the Maine Historical Society, as well as several photographs.



The ninth person listed on the card is Julia Ocatavia Wingate Clapp, the mother of General Wingate.  She was married to Charles Quincy Clapp on 20 September 1820, but he is not buried here.  According to Find A Grave he is buried at the Eastern Cemetery in Portland, Maine.


The tenth and eleventh family members listed on the card are Winthrop Gray Ray and Georgianna Ray.  She is the daughter of Julia and Charles Clapp, and she was married to Winthrop Gray Ray on 10 November 1845.  The twelfth person on the card is Mary Gray Ray, their daughter, who was born on 20 October 1846 and it appears she never married.  Mary G. Ray was the last proprietor of this cemetery plot.  I found her portrait above using Google Books, and I also found the Clapp Family Papers at the Library of Congress whilst using a regular Google search.

Mount Auburn Cemetery http://www.mountauburn.org/

Forest Hill Cemetery, Boston http://www.foresthillscemetery.com/

Maine Historical Society http://www.mainehistory.org/

The Maine Memory Network http://www.mainememory.net/

Library of Congress, finding aid for the Clapp Family Papers http://memory.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2011/ms011143.pdf

----------------------------

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Maryland v. King: no big thing

It was all over the news yesterday. The Supreme Court is going to allow the police to take our DNA! They’re going to know everything about us!

Um… not exactly.

Not unless, that is, we happen to get ourselves arrested for a serious crime. Things like murder, rape, first-degree assault, kidnaping, arson, or burglary. (The Legal Genealogist isn’t planning on it. Are you?)

And not unless you’re under the mistaken impression that the DNA test they’re talking about tells the police everything about us. (It doesn’t. Really.)

The reality of yesterday’s decision in the case of Maryland v. King¹ is No Big Thing in the world we live in — the world of genetic genealogy.

It literally has nothing — not one single thing — to do with any of us who choose to take DNA tests to help us ferret out our family history, whether it’s our ancestry or our family health history.

What the case was about was the booking procedures police use when a person is arrested for a serious crime. Right now, everywhere in the United States, a person picked up for a crime like murder or rape gets photographed and fingerprinted. And the law allows a search of the person and, under certain circumstances, a search of the person’s immediate vicinity incident to that arrest.

None of this is new. As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority:

It is beyond dispute that “probable cause provides legal justification for arresting a person suspected of crime, and for a brief period of detention to take the administrative steps incident to arrest.” … Also uncontested is the “right on the part of the Government, always recognized under English and American law, to search the person of the accused when legally arrested.” … Even in that context, the Court has been clear that individual suspicion is not necessary, because “[t]he constitutionality of a search incident to an arrest does not depend on whether there is any indication that the person arrested possesses weapons or evidence. The fact of a lawful arrest, standing alone, authorizes a search.” …²

The question the Court had to answer in this case was whether the person could also be required to give a DNA sample by way of a cheek swab. And it boiled down, for the majority of the Court, to the fact that:

Police already … use routine and accepted means as varied as comparing the suspect’s booking photograph to sketch artists’ depictions of persons of interest, showing his mugshot to potential witnesses, and of course making a computerized comparison of the arrestee’s fingerprints against electronic databases of known criminals and unsolved crimes. In this respect the only difference between DNA analysis and the accepted use of fingerprint databases is the unparalleled accuracy DNA provides.³

The defendant in the case, Alonzo King, was arrested in 2009 for menacing a group of people with a shotgun. A DNA sample was taken in accordance with Maryland law when he was processed at the police booking station. That sample was sent to the state DNA database where it was determined that it matched evidence from an unsolved 2003 rape case. King was then convicted of the rape.⁴

Now had King already been convicted for menacing, he would have his DNA taken anyway and it would have been submitted to the database anyway. “All 50 States require the collection of DNA from felony convicts…” And by the time King was arrested, 28 states and the federal government all had “laws authorizing the collection of DNA from some or all arrestees.”⁵

Moreover, the DNA sample taken from King looked at what are called CODIS markers, after the Congressionally-authorized database supervised by the FBI that holds and reviews DNA profiles from crime scenes and arrestees and convicts. And, the Court explains,

The CODIS database is based on 13 loci … which … make possible extreme accuracy in matching individual samples, with a “random match probability of approximately 1 in 100 trillion (assuming unrelated individuals).” … The CODIS loci are from the non-protein coding junk regions of DNA, and “are not known to have any association with a genetic disease or any other genetic predisposition. Thus, the information in the database is only useful for human identity testing.”⁶

So… what does this all mean for you and me and our world of genetic genealogy?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

First: The tests we take for genealogy aren’t at all useful to the police database. Our tests tell us how we are like other people — other family members who share common ancestors with us. The CODIS markers focus on parts of the DNA that make us unlike other people and set us apart as individuals.

Second: Our DNA isn’t going to end up in the police database unless we get arrested for a serious crime.

Third: Under many of the DNA-collection laws, even if we do get arrested, our results won’t stay in the police database and any samples remaining after testing will be destroyed if we don’t get convicted. (By the way, that’s not true of fingerprints and mugshots. Those stay in your police file and national databases and can be used at any time for comparison if you’re ever a suspect in another crime.)

In short, once again,⁷ the DNA privacy sky is not falling.

---

 
SOURCES

The 1921 Canadian Census was taken on June 1, 1921. It was locked up by Statistics Canada 92 years under the Statistics Act to protect individuals’ private information. That time has now expired and Statistics Canada has given the records to Library and Archives Canada. The census data is being indexed so it can be mined for historical and genealogical research as soon as possible.

The following is an extract from the Library and Archives Canada web site at: http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/news/Pages/2013/1921-census.aspx:

Library and Archives Canada took custody of the Census of the Canadian population, 1921 from Statistics Canada, and is beginning work to make it discoverable for Canadians. Closed for 92 years under the Statistics Act to protect individuals’ private information, the census data is being indexed so it can be mined for historical and genealogical research as soon as possible.
 
Taken on June 1, 1921, the census contains a wealth of information available on more than 197,500 images. The almost 11,700 commissioners and enumerators recorded by hand nearly 8.8 million individuals in thousands of communities across the country. Census returns were geographically enumerated, that is to say according to a person’s residence and not by individuals’ names, in the order in which households were visited.
 
Information for the census was collected on the following five subjects: population; agriculture; animals, animal products, fruits not on farms; manufacturing and trading establishments; and supplemental questionnaire for persons who were blind and deaf. This represents a total of 565 questions. The population questionnaire contained only 35 questions.

The same web page also promises, "Library and Archives Canada is committed to making the 1921 Census’ rich and complex information accessible and available to all Canadians, no matter where they live, in the next few weeks. Further details on the 1921 Census’ availability will be shared once they are available."

My thanks to the several newsletter readers who notified me of the new statement by Library and Archives Canada.

The National Library of Wales suffered a fire on Friday, April 26, which gutted a section of the library's roof. The fire was caused accidentally by workers using a blowtorch. Sadly, some 140 crates of material were badly damaged by water and smoke.

Three boxes of 19th Century chapel records from Carmarthen had already been identified as destroyed. Other archival records that were damaged beyond repair included papers relating to Welsh football and the Wales Green Party. Archivists are still opening crates and storage boxes to find anything else that has been damaged or destroyed.

Details may be found on the BBC News web site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-22770260.

. . . from Manhattan Past to us, "links to Google digitized editions of the Laws of New York from 1638 through 1922."

The need is plain to those of us seeking information on what the laws said when in the Empire State, although I didn't understand it as well as the author does: "There is inconsistency among catalogers when entering these titles into Google’s database, as well as errors introduced as Google converts title information from image to text."

And if you need to know, the link to the 1825 session laws also includes 1826.









"Laws of the State of New York," Manhattan Past, http://www.manhattanpast.com/resources/laws-of-the-state-of-new-york/ : accessed 26 May 2013.


Harold Henderson, "A holiday gift to New York researchers...," Midwestern Microhistory: A Genealogy Blog, posted 27 May 2013 (http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com : accessed [access date]). [Please feel free to link to the specific post if you prefer.]

Great tool

Sometimes The Legal Genealogist is the last to know. But oh boy… what a wonderful tool was sent my way last night! And AncestryDNA users who don’t have it are really missing out.

A DNA cousin who found me via Gedmatch sent me a list of her AncestryDNA matches whose family trees contain the surname Gentry — a surname that’s prominent in my ancestry. The DNA cousin is trying to figure out whether she should focus on the possibility that she also has Gentry ancestors, so what we’re trying to figure out is which of those folks who have Gentry family members in their trees match both of us. That’s a process called triangulation and it’s useful in trying to narrow down the possible lines where you and a match might intersect.

Now one of the big complaints I’ve had about AncestryDNA from the outset is the absence of any method to search for a match by username or search all matches for a common surname. And there isn’t any easy way to compare my matches to the matches of my first-cousin-and-genealogy-buddy Paula to see who we might match in common.

As of last night, that all changed. One simple browser plug-in and I can now do all of those things — and more.

Its official title is the AncestryDNA Chrome Extension Beta 5.4, and it’s a browser plug-in written by Jeff Snavely, an AncestryDNA user from Oklahoma.

From the title of the plug-in, you might surmise — and you’d be right — that you need to use the Chrome browser to run it. That’s not exactly a hardship, since Chrome tends to be faster and leaner than, say, Internet Explorer, not to mention less prone to problems. (I only use Chrome and Firefox anyway, so “having” to use Chrome is not a problem for me.) So start by downloading that browser from Google.

The next step is to locate Jeff Snavely using the internal Ancestry system and send him a message asking him to send you the plug-in. (As far as I can tell, he hasn’t posted his email address publicly, so you will need to use the Ancestry system to send him the message.)

If you’re not familiar with how to do that, just point your browser to the Ancestry Member Directory, switch to the Basic Information tab, and enter his name — Jeff Snavely — in the User Name box. Click on his name in the results box and in the Profile that pops up, choose Contact and send him your request. And remember to provide the email address to which you want the plug-in sent. [Update: If his name doesn't show up in the search, try using this link to go directly to his public profile.]

You’ll get an email with the plug-in attached, and directions on how to install it. Once it’s installed, the first step is to give the plug-in access to the information you see when you click on the Review Match link for each of your matches. The plug-in can’t report back to you on things like shared surnames until it’s had the chance to see those surnames.

Now if you have unlimited time and aren’t afraid of repetitive motion injury, you could sit there and open up each of your match results so the plug-in can see them. Me, I like automation, and the plug-in provides it beautifully. You start by running the Scan feature on any test to which you have access. You’ll find the scan buttons at the top on the “Your DNA Home Page” (see the graphic above).

Warning: it’s time-consuming. Because AncestryDNA reports all those outlier matches in the very low confidence distant cousin range, most users have thousands and thousands of matches. And the plug-in has to automatically what you’d have to do to review each one.

So be patient. I started the scan when I went to bed last night on my 4000-plus matches. It was finished when I woke up this morning. If anything goes wrong, you can use the Resume Scan button to pick up where it left off.

And once the scan is finished, oh boy… You’ll have a lot more options:

As shown in this graphic, from the “View your DNA Results” page,

     • You can search for a user by username to see if that person is in your match list.
     • You can search for a user by username in the match lists of all tests you manage.
     • You can search for a specific surname to get a list of all your matches whose online trees show that surname.
     • And you can search the text of any notes you’ve made about your matches.

And from the “Your DNA Home Page” you can compare the match lists of any two tests that you manage to come up with a list of matches in common. If you’ve tested two parents and a child and manage all three tests, you can run a phasing option that will help show you what matches the child has in common with the father and what matches come from the mother’s side. And you can download your match list in its entirety.

Now I know that Ancestry is promising to provide some of these search capabilities in its interface later this summer. And I know this plug-in is still not the full set of tools we all hope for as genetic genealogists. (Can we say chromosome browser, boys and girls? I knew we could…)

But AncestryDNA went from being a royal pain last night to being at least marginally useful this morning.

Thanks to one AncestryDNA user. Jeff Snavely, we all owe you. Big time.

• To promote scholarship of the genealogy, history, and culture of the peoples of the Southern Appalachian region through the publication of periodicals, reference and other material.
• To provide support for researchers of the peoples of the Southern Appalachians, including educational opportunities and outlets.
• To promote the preservation of records and archival material created by, for, or about the peoples of the Southern Appalachians.
• To promote the preservation of historical sites within the Southern Appalachians.
• To promote excellence in genealogical and historical research, and to encourage researchers to adhere to the highest standards.

I don't know if this is the world's smallest wi-fi router or not, but it certainly must be ONE of the smallest. I obtained a Kanex (pronounced "connects") mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point today because I wanted to solve a specific problem. I wanted a wi-fi router that is as tiny as possible because I only want to use it when traveling. It must fit easily into my suitcase or backpack. Most wi-fi routers are much too large, but this one should be perfect. In my initial testing, it also seems to work quite well.

Here's the problem I am trying to solve:

I travel frequently and always take at least one laptop computer and a wi-fi-equipped cell phone with me. I often also take an iPad and even occasionally a second laptop, depending upon the purpose of the trip. I have stayed at more than 100 different hotels in 20 or more countries in the past few years. I frequently hit two different problems, and I think both can be solved by this wireless wi-fi router.

Most hotels these days offer in-room Internet access. Some hotels offer it as free wi-fi, but far too many like to charge for the service. Prices in the U.S. typically run $8 to $15 per night for Internet access. Prices in other countries are often higher.

Okay, I may grumble a bit, but I can generally live with those prices. However, the problem arises when trying to use two or more computers or mobile devices on the same Internet connection. If I were sharing the room with someone else and that person also brought along computer(s), the problem would be even worse.

I have seen this problem on wi-fi wireless connections, but it seems more common in hotels that provide a wired ethernet cable in the room for Internet connectivity. In theory, a wired connection should be faster and more reliable than a wi-fi wireless connection. HOWEVER, the same wired connections almost always look at the internal MAC address of each computer being used. (Every computer has a unique MAC address that cannot be changed. No two computers ever have the same address.) When I plug in one computer, pay for its connection, use it for a while, and then later unplug it and plug in a second computer, I am usually asked to pay again for the second computer. In other words, I am expected to pay double. Three computers? Pay triple.

The second problem is that wired Internet connections are useless on a smartphone or tablet computer that doesn't have a wired Internet connector! How do you connect a smartphone or iPad or an Android tablet to an ethernet cable? The answer is simple: you cannot. Yet I need to use the tablet and smartphone with wi-fi wireless Internet connectivity.

The solution is simple: bring your own wi-fi router and connect it to the ethernet cable in the hotel room. Then I can "rebroadcast" the wired Internet connection via wireless wi-fi by using my own wi-fi router. With this solution I can use most any modern computer device I bring along. I could even use it on an Xbox or an Internet radio or a wi-fi VoIP telephone or most anything else that has a wi-fi connection. I normally don't travel with those devices, but I COULD.

Best of all, when a wi-fi router is connected to a wired Internet connection, the wired network only sees one MAC address, that of the router. Other computers can be “daisy chained” from the router but the hotel's network only sees the MAC address of the one device (the router) that is directly plugged into the wired network.
 
Once I add my own wi-fi router and turn it on, I can connect my laptop(s), the smartphone, the iPad, and most any other device that uses wi-fi for Internet connectivity. I can even use them simultaneously, subject only to the maximum speed of the wireless connection and the speed of the hotel's Internet connection. In my experience, speed hasn't been much of an issue.
 
Most any wi-fi router will work. The computer stores all sell dozens of different models, and I believe they all should work perfectly. My only concern: how big is this thing, and can I stuff it into my already-overstuffed luggage without paying exorbitant additional baggage fees to the airlines? I usually travel with only a single carry-on bag; therefore, most of the wi-fi routers at the local computer store started looking mighty big.

In contrast, the Kanex mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point is tiny, barely larger than my thumb. Look at the photos to see what I mean. You can click on each photo to see a larger image. I can plug the Kanex router into an ethernet cable in the hotel room or most anywhere else and then connect via wi-fi from any or all of my computers.

Again, most hotels use wireless wi-fi. That's not a problem for most people. My problem is dealing with the smaller number of hotels that use wired ethernet connections. I stay in enough of those per year to find it frustrating and expensive. A $28 device can save me a lot of money as well as saving frustration over the course of a year or two. It will pay for itself within the first two nights.

In fact, I am staying at a hotel at a genealogy conference in Burbank, California, for five nights next week. I have stayed there before and, if memory serves me correctly, that hotel supplies wired ethernet connections in every room but no wi-fi service in the room. (There is wi-fi service in the lobby, however.) The hotel also charges $12 a night or so for in-room Internet service. If you want to use a second wired device later, that will cost you an extra $12 per night. Then there is the problem of the mobile devices that don't have a connector for wired connectivity. The Kanex mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point should allow me to use my laptop as well as the wireless mobile devices without a problem while in my room. I will have to pay $12 a night; however, I won't complain too loudly as long as I can use my mobile devices.

The Kanex router is rather simple to use: plug in an ethernet cable, apply power, and start using it. There are only two connectors on this tiny device: an ethernet socket and a USB connector. The USB connector is used only to supply power to the router; it has no other use. You can plug that cable into any computer or into any charger that charges USB devices. That will keep the router powered up and running as long as power is applied, even though the router does not use the USB connector for anything else. If plugged into a laptop computer for power, you don't even need to carry a separate power supply or charger just for the router. That saves even more space in the luggage!

Configuration is simple: the first time you use the tiny router, go to http://192.168.1.225 and fill in the menu items that appear. The single menu page is rather straight-forward. The Kanex router supports all the basic functions of a wi-fi router but none of the fancy "extras" found in other, more expensive routers. It does support WPA2 encryption of the wireless connection to keep your data free from prying eyes. However, it does not offer port forwarding, firewall packet inspection, dynamic DNS, spam filtering, or anything else beyond the basics. The router's SSID can only be changed slightly; the word "Kanex" seems to be embedded permanently in the SSID. That doesn't bother me at all, but it may make a difference to other people with different requirements.

In theory, the Kanex mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point will support up to 16 devices connected simultaneously. However, that many devices sharing one wi-fi connection simultaneously will probably result in slow throughput, regardless of the brand of the router being used. The Kanex router probably will work fine for 4 or 5 simultaneous connections, and that strikes me as sufficient for a portable router. I ran three devices from it simultaneously most of this evening, and it worked well. Speed was not an issue.

I did find the Kanex router to have a limited range. It worked well for me up to about 30 feet or so from the laptop or iPhone. When I moved the iPhone further away, signal strength dropped off quickly. This is more than enough range to fill a hotel room, but you won't be supplying wi-fi to the entire neighborhood. Then again, this router was not designed to be a neighborhood wi-fi access point. If you need wider coverage, you need to buy a more expensive router.

All in all, the Kanex mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point looks like a great device. It should save me money and will take up almost no room in my carry-on luggage. It is only slightly larger than a tube of lipstick and only weighs 2.9 ounces. I can live with that.

I purchased my Kanex mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point from Amazon at http://goo.gl/KaKVn for $27.83. I suspect it is available elsewhere as well. Keep in mind that Amazon prices often jump up or down a bit, even from day to day. The price was $27.83 when I purchased mine, but might be a bit higher or lower when you look at Amazon.

UPDATE: A newsletter reader today pointed out that the price of the Kanex mySpot Pocket-Size Access Point from Amazon at http://goo.gl/KaKVn has now dropped to $22.50.

 

I write frequently about the need to make frequent backups of any computer information. After all, you don't want to lose what you worked so hard to create, do you? I guess I haven't written about it in a while as a newsletter reader sent a note today asking, "How about an update on what you use for backup now??"

This is my reply:

Well, I never backup to only ONE place!  Having only one backup is almost as dangerous as having none.  I always make at least three backups of my desktop system and store them in at least three different locations. I probably backup more than that on the two laptop computers I use (Windows and Macintosh).

I back up everything on my desktop computer's hard drive to an external hard drive that sits beside the computer. I use TimeMachine software for that, a great backup program that is included with every Macintosh. That's the fastest backup I have and it works automatically all day and night, making backups of all new files automatically within minutes after I create them. I never have to remember to make backups as TimeMachine does all that automatically.

If I need to later retrieve a file, using that full backup of everything on a hard drive attached directly to the computer will be the fastest way to restore it. It even saves all versions of all files. If I need to retrieve a file version as it existed last month or last year, I can do that within seconds using Time Machine and that external hard drive. HOWEVER, I also know that a fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, or even a burst water pipe might damage or destroy my house, my computer, AND that hard drive that sits beside my computer. Storing backups only in the house is high risk. Therefore, I also make off-site backups.

I have experimented with all sorts of online backup services. I now back up all of my documents, family photos, and much more to Amazon S3 and Amazon Glacier. I don't back up the operating system or the programs. After all, I can always get new operating systems and new programs. All I back up off-site is the important things: my pictures, my documents, and the other things I created. I like Amazon's backup services ( S3 and Glacier) but am reluctant to recommend them for others. They are quite difficult to get set up and working if you haven't spent your life supporting computer systems of all sorts of operating systems, as I have. However, I struggled through it and it works well for me now. Best of all, it  automatically backs things up while I am sleeping. Maybe I'll write an article someday: "The Easy Way to Perform Backups to Amazon S3 and Amazon Glacier." All I have to do is first figure out what the easy way is.

For most other people, I would recommend Mozy or BackBlaze or CrashPlan or Carbonite or any of the other dozen or so online backup services. They are easier to set up than is Amazon S3 or Amazon Glacier although they cost more than Amazon S3 and a lot more than Amazon Glacier.

Next, I make copies of all my documents to Dropbox. I don't do that so much for backup purposes but more for the convenience that Dropbox offers. Dropbox automatically copies files to and from the desktop computer, as well as to and from the laptops. The same files also become available on request in the handheld cell phone, and any other place I specify. When I turn the laptop on, all my new Dropbox files are immediately copied to the laptop and are available there within a minute or two; I never have to manually copy them. I stopped using the /Documents folder on my hard drive (Windows used to call it \My Documents.) Instead, I moved all those files from /Documents to /Dropbox and all new documents I create are now saved in /Dropbox. The /Documents folders on my computers are empty.

My 20,000+ .mp3 music files are on my computer's hard drive and also are backed up on the external hard drive beside the computer as well as copied onto an iPod music player and to a hard drive attached to the hi-fi in the living room.

I often copy various files to flash drives which I keep in my backpack/briefcase although that's a manual process and I don't keep everything there. Just my Powerpoint presentations, all my genealogy data, a lot of recent photographs I have taken, and a few other things that I might need at any time when I meet a friend or relative.

For instance, I took several dozen pictures and videos last night at a party celebrating a relative's high school graduation. While those are already backed up on my external hard drive and on Amazon Glacier, I also keep copies on flash drives in my pocket or backpack. If I meet another relative who would like copies of everything, I can quickly insert the flash drive into his or her computer and copy the several gigabytes of files over. (Those videos are large!) That's easier and cheaper than using CD-ROM disks and it works as additional backups for me.

So, yeah, I think I am backed up. But I change backup procedures frequently as I experiment with new things. My only rule is: "You can never have too many backups!"

The Birmingham Genealogical Society  is sponsoring a “Lock-In” at the Birmingham Public Library Southern History Department.

Date:  Friday, June 28, 2013 from 6pm to 10pm

Location: BPL Southern History Department

Have you been wishing you had “just a little more time” at the library? Or maybe you need some help learning how to use the library’s fabulous collection and research tools and don’t know who to ask?  Please join us Friday, June 28th for some fellowship and research assistance! We will have the Research library to ourselves!!  (Library closes at 6pm on Friday’s.)

There is a limit of 50 registrations.  Food and drinks will be provided. The cost is $5 for members/$15 for non-members.  Please complete the registration form attached.  Last day for mail applications is June 21. You can also register in person at the BGS General Meeting on June 22, 2013.

BGS Lock In Registration Form

Send registration and payment (checks payable to BGS) to:
Suzanna Rawlins President, BGS
108 Willow Creek South Lane
Alabaster, AL 35007
Questions? Email: shareyourstory@earthlink.net

Filed under: BGS News, Jefferson County

Lady Liberty to shine

The Legal Genealogist usually leaves general genealogy-related news to the sites and blogs that tend to do that far better, but there is awfully good news today for all us — genealogists and “just plain folks” alike — that as a resident of the greater New York area I just can’t resist mentioning.

Liberty Island is definitely going to reopen on the Fourth of July.

For those not in the New York area, Liberty Island — where the Statue of Liberty sits in New York Harbor — was horribly damaged last fall in Hurricane Sandy.

The storm surge in the October 29th hurricane put more than 75% of the island underwater and caused extensive damage to the passenger and auxiliary docks to the island. It uprooted most of the brick pathways, and it devastated the power system: the utilities, backup generator and power lines were totally destroyed.

There was no damage to the statue itself. It’s a remarkable tribute to the design work of Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel that the iron framework installed 126 years ago to hold the statue in place did just that.

But the upshot of all that damage was that Liberty Island has been shut down, with not a single visitor allowed on the island, since the 29th of October.

But on the Fourth of July that changes. And you can even buy ferry tickets now — assuming they’re not all sold out! — from the National Park Service’s ferry concessionaire, Statue Cruises.

Tickets cost $17 for adults, $14 for seniors 62 and older, and $9 for children 4-12. Access to the crown costs an additional $3. Children under 4 are free. For ticket information and reservations, you can call 201-604-2800 or go to www.StatueCruises.com.

Access to the crown is the best part of this, because that had been shut down for a year before the hurricane for needed upgrades to the fire system (alarms, exits, etc.) — and had only been open for one day when Sandy came visiting. Access to the crown requires advance reservations — and they’re undoubtedly going to go fast, so… a word to the wise. For more information and restrictions on crown access, see the National Park Service’s Crown Reservation Guidelines.

Ellis Island will have limited access this summer as well, but there isn’t even a hint yet as to when the Immigrant Museum may reopen. That building sustained massive damage in the hurricane, and the federal sequester sure isn’t helping with the planning for getting things done.

I’m very anxious to get out to Ellis Island to see how the Immigrant Wall of Honor fared. I know some panels were knocked loose, and my father and grandparents are honored there… I want to touch their names on that wall and know that their panel is still there.

Liberty and the Fourth of July. I can’t wait.

Is it time to stop the presses?

It seems that every week I report in this newsletter about more and more genealogy books that are being converted to electronic format. Sure, old books have been digitized for several years now. However, even new books are now appearing as electronic publications. The Kindle, Nook, and other e-book readers are hot items these days. Now the world's first completely paperless public library is scheduled to open this summer in San Antonio, Texas.

The so-called BiblioTech is a low-cost project with big ambitions. It will have 100 e-readers on loan, and dozens of screens where the public will be able to browse, study, and learn digital skills. However it's likely most users will access BiblioTech's initial holding of 10,000 digital titles from the comfort of their homes, way out in the Texas hinterland.

The new, all-digital library gained impetus from the success of the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) bookless engineering school library which opened three years ago, the first paperless academic library.

You can read a lot more about this new library in an article by Bill Hicks in the BBC web site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22160990.

NBC had a very successful series in "Who Do You Think You Are?" but canceled the television programs after three seasons. Producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky have since negotiated a deal with TLC Network (see my earlier articles by starting at http://goo.gl/zzidk) and now have announced the premiere date for a new season: July 23  at 9 PM Eastern, 8 PM Central. Ancestry.com will remain as the sponsor.

TLC will air eight one-hour episodes in the new season. The celebrities featured this year include: Christina Applegate, Kelly Clarkson, Cindy Crawford, Chris O’Donnell and Zooey Deschan.

You can read more at http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are/about-the-show.htm.

Joanna Maria has published a list of what she believes are the six best FREE genealogy programs. I am not sure if I agree exactly with her list or not, but I will agree with five of the six. The remaining one she listed is a program I have not used so I don't yet have an opinion about that one. The title of "best" is open for discussion but her list is a great starting point for that discussion.

You can read Joanna Maria's list of the 6 Best FREE Genealogy Software at http://goo.gl/HqeOC.

I received the following note from Steven C. Smyrl FIGRS, MAPGI, the Executive Liaison Officer for the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations:

The Irish government has announced that indexes to birth, death & marriage records which date from 1845 are soon to be made available through its genealogy portal www.irishgenealogy.ie. This is terrific news, announced in CIGO’s 21st year, the year in which it ‘comes of age’.

Founded as the GRO Users Group, but soon after renamed the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, CIGO began life as a direct response to the 1992 government announcement that the General Register Office (which holds Ireland’s civil records) was to be transferred out of Dublin to Roscommon town. CIGO’s successful lobbying quickly secured a commitment from the Department to retain a public search facility in Dublin and thus laid the foundations for its many acknowledged successes over the following 20 years. With reference to the GRO, particular note should be made to CIGO’s part in securing provision of improved family data in Irish death registrations on both sides of the border.

Included in the newly published Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013 are amendments to section 61 of the Civil Registration Act 2004. These amendments will allow the Minister for Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht to make provision and legal framework for BMD indexes to be placed online. However, at this stage it isn’t clear where the cut-off year will fall. What constitutes ‘historical’ as opposed to ‘modern’ records has not yet been released.

The announcement that BMD indexes will go online follows that recently made by GRONI (General Register Office for Northern Ireland) about its own records going online in the late autumn. Under provisions in the Civil Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 - which CIGO was invited to give oral evidence on at bill stages - GRONI will be making ‘historic’ indexes and records available online for the first time on a pay-per-view basis.

By contrast, data on the Irish government’s genealogy portal is free. In welcoming the announcement Steven Smyrl, Executive Liaison Officer for CIGO and current President of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland, said “This is terrific news. CIGO has lobbied long and hard for better access to civil records for genealogists and historians.
“It doesn’t surprise me that this has finally happened under the current government. The two ministers involved in this decision, Jimmy Deenihan TD (Heritage Minister) and Joan Burton TD (Social Protection Minister) are both keen genealogists. In particular Mr Deenihan has proved to be fully supportive of the genealogy lobby since before he came to office in 2011.

“This move will make Irish genealogical research easier and no doubt play its own part in stimulating roots tourism.”

For Irish genealogists everywhere this is most welcome news!

There are few things that are more refreshing on a very hot summer day than a slice of cool, sweet watermelon. It’s even better if you top it with a sprinkle of sea salt to make the melon seem even juicier. These Watermelon Cupcakes don’t have quite the same cooling effect as fresh melon, but they definitely capture the look! They’re fluffy, tender and will put a smile on the face of everyone who bites into one.

The cupcakes look like miniature watermelons thanks to the help of some red and green food coloring. I added mini chocolate chips to the red portion of the batter to mimic the look of the seeds of the real melon. You can get the look with any flavor cupcake batter just by using some food coloring, but I took it a step further and infused my cupcakes with some actual melon flavor. I added Midori, a melon liquor, to the cupcake batter. The liquor is sweet, with a very pronounced melon flavor to it, and it works nicely with the vanilla that is already in the cupcake and really ties in well with the look of the finished desserts. The liquor does have a slightly greenish tint to it, but since there is food coloring in this recipe anyway, you won’t see it in the finished cupcakes.

I used my Wilton Two-Tone Cupcake Inserts to make these cupcakes, which allowed me to center the red batter within the green cupcake. If you don’t have the insert, you can still make the cupcakes, but your red batter might not be as perfectly centered. I’ve included instructions for centering your red batter below, although you can make things easy on yourself by putting the green batter on the bottom of the muffin cup and the red on top and going for a half-and-half look, too. I topped them off with a little green frosting. You can opt for vanilla or melon-infused frosting  and both will be tasty, but don’t skip the green food coloring that ties the frosting in so well with the cupcakes.

Midori was the best way that I found to get some melon flavor into the cake. If you don’t want to put any alcohol into your cupcakes, they do make melon and watermelon extracts (you may be able to find them at your local market, depending on how large the baking section is) that you can use instead. If you are using an extract, simply replace the Midori with more buttermilk and add in a teaspoon of your extract. Alternatively, you could make a plain vanilla buttermilk cupcake – again substituting more buttermilk for the melon liquor – and just keep the look of the watermelon.

Watermelon Cupcakes
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Midori liquor*
1/4 tsp green food coloring
1/4-1/2 tsp red food coloring
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Place liners in a 12 cup muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract until mixture is smooth.
Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk and Midori. Stir in remaining flour mixture, mixing just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Transfer 1 1/4 cups of batter into a small bowl. Add in 1/4 tsp red food coloring (adding additional, if needed) and mini chocolate chips and stir until the food coloring has been completely incorporated.
Add green food coloring to remaining batter and stir to incorporate.
Add a small amount of green batter to each muffin cup. Add a dollop of red batter with mini chocolate chips on top of each dollop of green batter, then finish off the cupcakes by dividing the remaining green batter evenly over the top of the red. Each cup should be roughly 3/4 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350F, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Turn the cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Makes 12 cupcakes

*If you want to keep the cupcakes nonalcoholic, simply replace the Midori with more buttermilk. The Midori is the best way that I’ve found to get some actual melon flavor into the cupcakes, but you can keep an eye out for melon extracts, as well.

Melon Vanilla Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla or melon extract
1 tbsp milk or Midori
2- 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
green food coloring

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until soft. Add vanilla extract (or melon extract) and add Midori (or milk) and confectioners’ sugar. Beat until frosting is creamy, then add in green food coloring  and mix until desired color is reached. Frosting should be about the same color as the cake. If the frosting is too thick, add a small amount of milk or water to thin it out.
Pipe or spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Where do librarians go on road trips? To libraries, of course. After I said I had never been to Indianapolis, only through it on vacations, a friend invited me on a road trip with his wife. The three of us set out at 7:30 yesterday morning, and arrived in time for lunch at Shapiro's Deli.


Nothing special to look at, but we were lucky to be there on Saturday. I understand it's packed on weekdays. And, there's a reason it's packed.


I had the Reuben. Picked as the #1 Reuben in Indianapolis, so of course that's what I tried.

From Shapiro's we went to the State Library of Indiana.



It's just beautiful inside.

But, the real treat today was the Indianapolis Public Library.



The old part of the building is just beautiful with the wooden shelves and reading areas.

But, oh, the new part of the building! When you stand on one of the higher floors and look down to the first floor, you can see why a library is a cathedral of learning.




And, you can see why so many weddings are held on that first floor. All the furniture can be moved around, and the brides come down one of those staircases.

OK, I'll admit I'm partial to the inside view, but here are a couple views of the outside from the library.




And, I'll end with a post at the library.. Something for all of us who read books. Sometimes, a passage just hits home.

The following announcement was written by Search Quest America:

Searching for birth relatives can be difficult in some states and impossible in others using standard adoption search methods but Genetic Genealogy Plus breaks down the barriers set up by closed records.

Search Quest America (SQA), a leader in reuniting families, is excited to announce Genetic Genealogy Plus, a new service for adoptees. This new service uses DNA and traditional genealogy research to find the family of adoptees with sealed records. Genetic Genealogy Plus is offered by SQA through an affiliation with two leading DNA testing companies, Family Tree DNA and 23andMe.

Searching for birth relatives can be difficult in some states and impossible in others using standard search methods but Genetic Genealogy Plus breaks down the barriers set up by closed adoption laws. With Genetic Genealogy Plus, adoptees can utilize the expertise of SQA in this new and exciting field.

“We recognize our clients’ need to reconnect with missing family and are here to help! Genetic Genealogy Plus allows adoptees to find family despite sealed adoption files," said Susan Friel-Williams, CEO of SQA. “DNA testing has helped many adoptees confirm their roots and this new service will allow male and female adoptees to find their family with or without a surname.”

In addition to searching for an immediate member of the birth family, the DNA tests will provide additional information to adoptees such as their ancestral origins, their distant biological family and the option to learn more about the genetic disease markers found in their DNA.

SQA is a licensed investigative agency based in Cape Coral, Florida which specializes in one of the fastest growing forms of skip tracing – family search. Since the company was founded in 2008, over two thousand families have been reunited!

Susan Friel-Williams and Lane Williams founded Search Quest America in 2008 to reunite birth parents and adoptees separated by adoption. SQA provides search services which include locating missing persons, genealogy services, lost friends search, classmate searches and locating missing heirs. SQA also has post adoption search services available for agencies which conduct Intermediary Searches. Susan Friel-Williams is one of the Florida representatives for the American Adoption Congress and is a member of the Florida Association of Licensed Investigators. She serves as a subject matter resource expert in adoption search and reunion issues for radio, print and television media.

Roswell, New Mexico

Over at Jacksonian America blog, Mark Cheathem offers an introductory annotated bibliography for anyone interested in learning more about conspiracy theories in American history.  Cheathem teaches a course on conspiracy theories at Cumberland University in Tennessee.  I don't know much about this subject, but I occasionally get students who are interested.  I now know where to point them.

But do we serve anything worth waiting in line for? Something that we’d say, “When you’re in Knoxville, you just have to try a ___”?

The Boston Globe’s Kevin Hartnett contributed a thoughtful piece on DNA and privacy. According to the law, if you abandon something (e.g., throw it in the trash), it becomes free for anyone to grab. Perhaps you have seen people picking through trash barrels, looking for deposit bottles. Or people picking up furniture or other items left by the curb. This is all perfectly legal.

 

 

While most everything we discard is done so by a conscious choice, have you ever given thought to how much of yourself you throw away? I mean that in the literal sense. When you go to a coffee shop you throw away your disposable cup afterwards; and perhaps a plastic knife, fork, or spoon as well. Each time you do this, some of your cells are thrown away with it.

And included in these cells is your genetic material. Your DNA can be retrieved from it. Police have already started using techniques in criminal cases, in the event a suspect refuses to surrender a DNA sample. A case is actually in front of the Supreme Court this session that will determine whether a suspect can be compelled to surrender a DNA sample during an investigation.

This is bringing up all sorts of questions regarding our right to privacy, however. While the DNA is technically abandoned, it also contains information for which we have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The law, unfortunately, is in a particularly grey area right now.

Some are pushing to have new laws passed. Elizabeth Joh, a professor of law at the University of California at Davis is arguing for a particularly strong effort. In 2011, she penned an argument in the Boston University Law Review that conducting genetic sequencing on someone’s DNA without their consent should be classified as felony theft.

Clearly this has tremendous ramifications for genealogists. DNA testing is quickly proving extremely important for genealogical research. If such laws pass without exceptions, it could prove very difficult to trace DNA on people you could not prove were deceased. Suppose you found a brush with hair in it that you wish to have tested to help prove lineage. If you could not prove the owner was deceased, you would be committing a felony to have it tested. And would the right to privacy die when the person dies?

Kevin Hartnett published an interesting piece in the week’s Boston Globe that touches on this subject. His focus is on the legal and criminal ramifications, but the discussion is worth reading. And those interested in DNA testing will want to keep track of what lawmakers will be doing around this matter in the future. You can read his article,  The DNA In Your Garbage: Up For Grabs, online.