100 years ago at the start of the Irish Civil War, a fire at the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI) in the Four Courts complex destroyed the Record Treasury, a repository holding seven hundred years of records.
Trinity University began the Beyond 2022 project to bring together historians and computer scientists to reconstruct the library in a virtual format. The project identified replacement documents then built a virtual archive using digitized images of the records that survived, duplicates of documents that survived in other locations and record substitutes. They used a database of what was stored on each shelf, bay and floor in the PROI in 1922. The records’ metadata, images and transcriptions are linked. Five years later, on the centenary, the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland (VTRI).
At the core of this effort is the National Archives Ireland, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, The National Archives (UK), the Irish Manuscripts Commission, and Trinity College Dublin Library, and 70 other participating institutions from around the world.
This past semester I decide to follow the archaeology course by studying more about anthropology. I took a course about Biological Anthropology (also known as Physical Anthropology). As a reminder, there are four branches of Anthropology, with the other three being Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology. (See my blog post about Archaeology and Genealogy.)
Biological Anthropology is a course for gaining a deeper understanding of how humans came to be. It is also a course that provides a strong foundation for understanding DNA. Most genealogists have incorporated the use of DNA to some extent, and this was a major selling point of the class for me. The understanding of evolution taught during this course may be more than the average genealogists who use DNA as a tool need, but it was interesting to learn about our species’ ancestors and our recent hominin cousins. I found that understanding how ancient DNA relates to our DNA gave a deeper context. It was informative to learn the newer findings about Neanderthals and their culture, as well as Denisovans, and both of their contributions to our DNA.
Using DNA in our genealogy is complemented by learning about mutations, genetic drift, gene flow, population bottlenecks and founder effects build a strong background for understanding DNA in populations. Epigenetics covers the changes we make to our DNA over our lives, and how that might be passed on to future generations. These topics help us move forward in understanding more of the what is recorded in our DNA test results and comparisons with others. This is also the hardcore science when you are viewing mutations in YDNA or mtDNA. For people who like to understand the internal workings of nuclear DNA, how it forms proteins, and how the mitochondria work, this course sheds light on those topics as well.
For my final project, the Professor encouraged me to create a final project that was not in a report format. It was an interactive project that I created in about the Bioethical Issue: Use of Genetic Information. It is included case studies of biobanks, law enforcement use of consumer DNA testing and medical studies where consumers upload DNA. The additional step was to show the contribution of anthropologists to understanding and communicating the bioethical issues.
The textbook we used was “EXPLORATIONS: An Open Invitation To Biological Anthropology.” It is available for free online at https://explorations.americananthro.org You can choose read the book online or download chapters. Chapter 3 discusses molecular biology and genetics, including genotypes and traits, DNA replication and the cell cycle, transcription and translation during protein synthesis. Chapter 4 discusses population genetics. A video for each chapter can be found at this YouTube playlist.
Biological Anthropology can help us to know and understand more about genetics as well as about our deepest ancestry.
What’s next for me? Hopefully I will be taking Cultural Anthropology in the Fall.
When the esteemed Roberta Estes of the DNAeXplained Blog writes a book about DNA, there is a justifiable expectation that the work will be accurate, informative and definitive. Among Ms. Estes many accomplishments are launching the Million Mito Project and being a National Geographic Society Genographic Project affiliate scientific researcher. This is a very thoughtful book, intended to put actionable information in the hands of readers that will guide them through the process of learning about Native American genealogical research.
Determining Native American ancestry from DNA testing is not necessarily the easiest task. Ms. Estes takes the reader through comprehensive steps to examine how to work with ethnicity estimates, autosomal (atDNA) matching, mitochondrial (mtDNA) and Y DNA in identifying Native American DNA.
Part 1 is informative, containing an overview of the concept of tribal membership and asks readers to consider their goals for determining membership. Ms. Estes’ thoughts about cultural appropriation are well advised, and challenge each reader pursuing this research to think about the topic.
In Part 2 readers experience topics in ethnicity and population genetics. As both a professional scientist and genealogist the author is able to take readers as deep into genetic topics as they want to go. Her goal is for readers to understand the topics at a comfortable level, and she provides examples with clear illustrations.
Part 3 gives specifics about how to use the autosomal tools at major vendors in the search. The mitochondrial DNA portion of the book (Part 4) and the Y DNA portion of the book (Part 5) discuss the relevant ancient and modern haplogroups, sharing in detail which occur in Native American populations, and their tribal affiliations. These parts include maps of where the haplogroups are found. Part 6 is a roadmap and checklist which guides readers through the journey of investigating Native American ancestors through the use of DNA.
As with every book I review, I read this book from cover to cover. Given that my ancestors’ paper trails and our family’s genetic results show no indication of a Native American ancestor, a friend stepped in to help. His family history contains a story about an ancestor who was a member of a specific tribe, without any evidence. The story of this ancestor is currently unknown prior to a marriage that took place in Colonial America. He was willing to let me use his test results to see if any information could be found in his DNA that might potentially shed light on this family story, with his goal being genealogical information. The ancestor was not in his direct matrilineal or patrilineal line, so I turned to Part 3 of the book. Given how many generations back this ancestor had lived, the existence of identifiable regions of Native American DNA was doubtful. The history of the area suggests that the ancestor may have been a descendant of a tribal member rather than a tribal member, which lessened the chances of uncovering a segment.
My friend had tested on Ancestry, and then transferred his test results to FamilyTreeDNA, then had unlocked his autosomal transfer in order to use the ethnicity tools. First, I used the FamilyTree DNA myOrigins® (version 3) as shown in the book. As we had anticipated, his results showed 0% origin in the Americas. (His results also showed 0% Asian origins.) Opting in to Compare myOrigins® showed some interesting information for him to consider with his other matches. Part 3 also clearly walked me through the options within the Chromosome Painter to see a visual representation as well as how to view the locations of the chromosome segments. Next, the book took me through the features of using ethnicity information on Ancestry, with explanations about the Genetic Communities. Ancestry provided European matches, but no other traces of matching other parts of the world. Had Native American DNA segments been identified in my friend’s DNA, I would have known what to do next and how to do it. Although DNA may end up a part of the solution to my friend’s question about his ancestor, this family story will take more time and effort to prove or disprove.
Even though this particular case was not successful, there is clear value of this book to educate readers and guide them through identifying the appropriate steps they need to take to research known and potential Native American ancestors through the use of DNA.
This book picks up where the theories end and your work begins. The book contains references to source material, including Ms. Estes’ DNAeXplained blog, for those who want to go deeper into learning about the topics that are presented. For those who want to incorporate genetic genealogy into their Native American genealogical research, this book will be a complete introduction and will also serve as a reference during the research process. Readers will find the haplogroup references to be very useful in their research. The completeness of this book truly is, as Ms. Estes describes it, a labor of love.
The book is available at Genealogical.com and other booksellers.
There’s been great information published about the upcoming release of the 1950 US Census. I have been collecting it and want to share with you a reference of helpful resources, along with activities that you can do to prepare for the release!
Important date:1 April 2022
What is going to happen
The 1950 US Census will be released, 72 years after it was taken.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Artificial Intelligence will give us an initial index including name and locations on the day of its release. The AWS artificial intelligence/optical character recognition (AI/OCR) Textract tool is being used to create that initial index. The index will be available for the P1 Population Schedule and the P8 Indian Reservation Schedule. Since the index will probably not be perfect at first, the National Archives asks us to submit name updates to the index using a transcription tool that will be available on the 1950 Census website.
Interesting facts about the 1950 Census
5% of those responding were asked additional questions, including those about where the person lived a year ago, education, employment, marital status, military service (for males) and the country of their parents’ births.
An exciting fact about this census was that it was the first time Americans abroad were enumerated. In practice the enumeration of Americans in the armed forces, US government employees and vessel crews were counted more reliably than others living aboard. Family and neighbors might report others living abroad.
It would also be the last time that enumerators went around to large multifamily dwellings. In future, the blank forms would be mailed.
What’s different from past census releases
Last release: 2 April 2012. We had to wait an extra day because 1 April fell on a Sunday!
The 1940 US Census was made available to us unindexed. Digital images are great, but without an index you had to identify a set of images to look at, then look at each image to see if your family member was on it. The process involved people figuring out the census enumeration district in which their ancestor lived, then going through the pages for that district page-by-page and line-by-line. Simultaneous with the release, volunteers and genealogical record companies began creating indexes, transcribing the census line-by-line and page-by-page. More than 163,000 volunteers were organized by FamilySearch and managed to create an index for the more than 3.8 million images in a lightning four months. (If you have not been part of a FamilySearch indexing project, please consider it. It is an amazing thing to do. Two indexers transcribe data, and a third arbitrates any differences between the two transcriptions.) This time, on the day of release we have an initial index of names and locations, which will be a good starting place.
This year, for the first time, those who have over 165 terabytes of available computer memory and download the whole census dataset in bulk.
You will probably want to start with: Form P1 – Census of Population and Housing (front). The back of the page with housing information was not microfilmed, and only aggregate data exists.
4. Gather blank questionnaires and fill in the censuses during your lifetime. Imagine how glad you would have been if your ancestors had done this for you! Head over to the US Census Bureau to learn more about the Censuses and Download census forms at the Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades.
On each page for the decennial census, there will be a link to download that Decennial Census Questionnaire & Instructions. From that page you can download a sample questionnaire. Or you can go directly to the 1950 Census page where you can download blank forms and view the index of questions.
On the Through the Decades webpage you can find a link to download “Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses From 1790 to 2000” in that includes information and questionnaires from the 1790 up to the 2000 US Census in pdf format.
Another RootsTech has come and gone, but RootsTech 2022 is really is not over! The classes that were recorded for RootsTech 2022 are still available. In fact, RootsTech made a decision to keep classes online for 3 years (unless the content creator asks for them to be removed). That means you have access to content from 2021 and 2022. Be sure to have a free FamilySearch account so that you can create a playlist as you search for classes.
The web address is https://rootstech.org. Use the menu on the upper right corner and select the option “Sessions” to search for sessions, or “Speakers” to search for a particular speaker.
When you search for Sessions, there will be a search box on the top and a list of filters on the left side of the Session page. I find using the filters more cumbersome than searching, but viewing the topics available can be helpful. To use the filters, click on the down arrow next to a filter to see the options available. After selecting an option, the available classes will show up on the right side of the screen.
An example search for the term: military will have our military classes.
Most of the classes have a downloadable syllabus or handout, and you should be able to find contact information for the instructors if you have questions.
RootsTech Connect was an overwhelming success, with 700,000 people officially registered. More viewed sessions without registering. Expect that there might be a virtual component in any upcoming RootsTech, which is great news for anyone who cannot travel.
Thanks to those who stopped by virtually to visit my classes at RootsTech, and left a greeting or a question.
One of our assignments in the Professional Genealogy (ProGen) Study Group was to devise an educational plan. It may be daunting to figure out how to know what you don’t know. You can focus on a specific individual, a geographical area or topics you want to use in your research, and fill in the gaps of your knowledge in those areas. Examples: how to map property in land records or mapping tools. Picking a topic like DNA would be too large, so identify a facet of that field you want to learn. Examples would be what test(s) are available or how to triangulate matches.
Try some of the resources listed below. For maximum benefit, apply the knowledge and use the techniques you learn as soon as possible.
Where to find resources
There are a wide variety of resources to support your genealogical education. Below are some resources that I find useful when tackling a new area. This list does not include genealogical courses or conferences, but for in-depth coverage of topics you should consider them.
Articles. Useful information can be found in genealogical journals, society publications and popular publications. A membership subscription is usually required for journals and society publications. Use an internet search engine to find articles on the web, but you will want to take some time to assess the credibility of the source.
Books. There are plenty of publications available. You can search for what is held in your local library using their catalog, or for a loner reach search in WorldCat. Be sure to check for reviews and timelessness of the information in them.
Learning Centers. All of the major record providers (e.g. Ancestry Academy, MyHeritage Knowledge Base and FindMyPast) have learning centers on their websites. These companies want to attract your business, so they provide useful information with subjects’ background and on how to use their websites.
Tourist information. Be sure to pick up tourist information about historic sites in an ancestor’s home area. Be of the lookout for useful maps that may be available, as these may have markers for regions and locations of interest that would not be available on driving maps. Look for this information when you visit, or order by mail, or download from a tourist website.
Webinars and Videos. Webinars are a great way to learn. The speakers can offer are more animated explanations than reading words. If you attend live, you may also have an opportunity to ask questions.
There are several places on the web to find webinars. There are many societies that are still having their meetings online and welcome guests. Registration is usually required. The GeneaWebinars page has a calendar of webinars . Conference Keeper contains a listing of genealogy events online. Societies and libraries often advertise their webinars on Facebook, so be sure to like and follow their pages.
The National Archives has a landing page with Resources for Genealogists. NARA hosts a family history conference each year. Since there was no 2020 NARA Family History Day, the National Archives Genealogy Series lectures were broadcast during May and June 2021.
Definitely search YouTube for topics of genealogical interest. For example, Ancestry has a YouTube channel and there are many other videos that could be helpful to you.
NARA’s past Family Genealogy Fairs presentations are also on YouTube, but it is easier to access them and their handouts on their Genealogy Fair Page.
Wikis. A wiki is an online encyclopedia that can be edited by members of the wiki community. With 96,217 articles as of this blog post, the FamilySearch Wiki is the first stop for many genealogists. The articles are educational and contain actionable information to help your research. When researching an ancestor in a new geographic location, consider using this wiki as your first stop to find out the history of the locale and what records are available.
