Blog Content
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The New York Times and 23andMe Disagree
Feb 14
The Editorial Board of The New York Times posted an opinion piece titled: “Why You Should Be Careful About 23andMe's Health Test”. In response, 23andMe posted a letter to the editor titled: “23andMe Responds: Empowering Consumers”. The two disagree about the accuracy of 23andMe's genetic tests results. The New York Times Editorial Board...
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Order Your Ancestor’s Social Security Application
Feb 13
Often forgotten to acquire for your vital records' files on members of your ancestral family are those who did fill out an application for Social Security Card in the United States. In the mid-1930s when Social Security was first instituted, many adult men and women signed up for this innovative retirement income a...
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Cullman County Historic Photographs at Wallace State Community College
Feb 12
Wallace State Community College is located in Hanceville, Alabama. It is part of a system that serves the needs of more than 300,000 individuals. They have been adding to their online genealogy resources. The Program Collection is the name of Wallace State's extensive and growing collection of research materials. Those materials include books, ...
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World War One Draft Registrations – the Notable Names
Feb 11
Of course, if you had male ancestors born between 1872 and 1899, you have checked if they had completed a US Draft Registration form during World War One (US – 1917-1919). Remember all males in that age range, whether native born, naturalized, or alien had to complete the card. It is an excellent source of information on that person – birth dat...
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Females and Their US Citizenship
Feb 9
It can be a struggle to research any information about your female ancestors and one of the hardest is their citizenship. Immigrant women who married American citizen men became American citizens from 1855 to 1922. The new U. S. Expatriation Act of 1907 stated that such citizenship via marriage would not only affect the immigrant woman, but also t...
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Did Smallpox Affect Your NYC Family?
Feb 7
A good reason to learn about historical events that could have affected your family tree is illustrated with little-known smallpox raid in the Italian neighborhood in East Harlem in New York City during a week in February 1901 (118 years ago). A major raid to remove any of the residents with any symptom of smallpox was conducted by the local police...
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Citizenship Question on 2020 Census Blocked By Judge
Feb 7
The stated goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place. A judge has ordered that a controversial question be removed from the 2020 Census. The controversial question asked, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” Steve Murdock is a Rice University sociologist and demographer and Census Bureau...
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23andMe Explains Why Diversity Matters in Genetic Research
Feb 5
23andMe posted an informative blog that explains why diversity matters in research. Improving diversity and inclusion of underrepresented populations in research doesn't just benefit those groups. It benefits everyone. Africans and African Americans are among the most underrepresented populations in genetic health research, yet they face the mos...
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Never Use a Baggie
Feb 3
You are organizing your family documents, diaries, photos, journals and other records. You think they should be in a sealed plastic bag to protect from moisture and dirt. Well, think again. More damage can actually be caused by sealing family heirlooms in a cheap plastic bag. As it turns out paper items, photographs, film, and tape are all made f...
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Blue People of Kentucky
Feb 1
As ones learns more about their ancestors, there can surface some very unusual characteristics of a specific group of relatives. This is especially true of the 'Blue People of Kentucky'. This feature of a blue skin shade is with the Fugate family who were of French Huguenot descent, with the original immigrant ancestor coming over from France in a...
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To Join the General Society of Mayflower Descendants
Jan 31
What a concept … if you find some possible ancestors who could link back to the Mayflower passengers, what an achievement. The original Pilgrims who arrived in Massachusetts on November 9, 1620, their descendants could be one of your ancestors. Even better, there is still time to join the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (more commonly kn...
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First Africans in an American English Colony – PT 2
Jan 29
The first captured Africans brought and sold as indentured servants in Jamestown Colony was 1619. Here is the documentation. The number of Africans is documented with colonial Virginia's census, compiled in March 1620, at which time the population included 892 Europeans and, among "Others not Christians in the Service of the English," were four In...
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February 1 is National Freedom Day
Jan 29
National Freedom Day is celebrated on February 1. The day calls attention to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which ended slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment has two parts. Section I says “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, sh...
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First Africans in an American English Colony – PT 1
Jan 27
As you research your family in America, the major events in American history can be very important to know. One event may not often be thought of was when the first captive Africans came to the English American colonies. Not only you may have had an ancestor among those early African slaves or maybe an ancestor who owned the slaves. This year – ...
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Internet Archive – 1923
Jan 25
As of January 1, 2019, thousands of published fiction and non-fiction journals, booklets, papers, and books, began part of the 'Public Domain', So Internet Archive, as did many similar online sites, download thousands of the previously unavailable 'Freely' materials. What a selection, just for that one year. You can do an advance search at the top...
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