The Civil War in America ran from 1861-1865, but what was it about? What were people fighting for and why did they choose to fight? The answer can be found not in ideologies and political doggerel, but in personal choice. The answer to what made the Civil Was such a poignant piece of our history
What Was the Civil War About? Why Were They Fighting? Read the full story →
What do those less than 1% or 2% ‘DNA trace results’ or ‘low confidence regions’ mean when it comes to DNA and your genetic history? What are they anyway and what do they mean for Europeans carrying non-European genetic markers? The answer is more akin to “fuzzy logic” rather than absolute truth. In fact, truth
DNA Trace Results, Low Confidence Regions: What Do They Mean? Read the full story →
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Story in Our Genes is a must read! Here’s why. I found this gem while in the Sydney International Airport waiting for a flight out of Australia. As a family historian and self-proclaimed book nerd, the title just leapt out at me because I was thinking
“A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived” by Adam Rutherford [Book Review] Read the full story →
If you wiki the terms Gene, Genome and Chromosome you’ll be in a world of confusion as neither definition is succinct nor static. Making sense of basic genetics revolves around understanding these terms as they permeate every aspect of genetics from the morosely academic to the basic ancestry DNA test. I’m going to show you
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There’s a 2.7% chance that you do! We all want to know where we come from in the distant past, but would YOU want to have Neanderthal DNA? Are they even human anyway? Misconceptions abound with regard to these grunting, ugly, fugly, cavemen, often hurled as an epithet of derision. First of all, according to
Do You Have Neanderthal DNA? These Results Might Surprise You Read the full story →
Answer the following question and you’ll know which is better, Ancestry DNA or Family Tree DNA? “What is the scope of your research?” You see, each site offers a slightly different menu of choices and both DNA establishments have their own proprietary recipes to he consumed. No pun intended. Well, I take that back because
Family Tree DNA or Ancestry DNA: Which Is Better? Read the full story →
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys reveals the grace and strength of the Lithuanian nation in one of its darkest hours. The story of Lina and her family is one of the most powerful I have ever read and is at the same time a tragedy of epic proportions and a triumph of the
“Between Shades of Gray” by Ruta Sepetys [Book Review] Read the full story →
Don’t overlook Ancestry City Directories in your research! Here’s how to mine the often mundane data in them like a pro genealogist! Squeezing every last drop of information out of City Directories can be tedious for sure; however, you can make major breakthroughs with what I will show you. Ancestry City Directories are like the
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I wanted to share a GENEALOGY tip that I recently discovered. I found the mother lode of free Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization (also in some cases Certificates of Arrival) scans on Family Search! These particular records are for New Haven, Connecticut for the years 1906 – 1945; however, the method I discovered
A list of books read in 2016 in bibliographic format. My 2016 reading appetites continued along the historical from my 2015 Reading List but also saw a shift towards highlighting specific personalities in terms of monographs and place-based histories. Among my fascinations were Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alexis de Tocqueville, the Vikings, and a foray into
My 2016 Reading List Read the full story →
