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I almost fell off my chair last week, and not because I'm naturally clumsy. I was trying out the new GenealogyBank database (see below) and saw a headline "Boy From Holy Land Working Way Through University of Texas." I clicked, and
there was a picture of my grandfather. The slightly melodramatic 1924 Dallas Morning News article told how my Lebanese ancestor—who lived in an orphanage—respected his elders, studied into the wee hours and worked in a
dairy all summer to earn money for college. Despite "lacking in dash and brilliance" (in the reporter's opinion), he was in the band, played football and won a debate contest.
I never met my grandfather, but he sounds a lot like my dad (except my
dad is brilliant). It
was a totally unexpected discovery, and just goes to show you can find information in surprising places.
—Diane Haddad, Newsletter Editor
ftmnews-editor@fwpubs.com
P.S. Make sure you don't miss a single issue of your E-mail
Update! Add our address (familytree-newsletter@fwpubs.com)
to your email-address book—your software will recognize the Update as an e-mail you want to read.
Enter Our All in the Family Challenge and Win!
Family Tree Magazine
wants to hear about the odd couples in your family tree—maybe a society
girl fell for a frontier farmer, a 5-footer married a beanpole or a
Whig and his Tory sibling livened up dinner conversations. E-mail your story (less than 200 words) and/or photo by Oct. 30 to FTMedit@fwpubs.com, and if we
print it in the February 2007 Family Tree Magazine, you'll win a free copy of The
Genealogist's Companion and Sourcebook by Emily Anne Croom.
You Can Take That to the Bank
GenealogyBank, the long-awaited online database of historical newspapers at http://www.genealogybank.com,
has opened its doors to subscribers with:
- 500,000
issues of more than 1,300 old US newspapers
dating as far back as 1690 (click Title List next to the Historical Newspapers heading to see if the collection covers your ancestral stomping grounds)
- more than 17,000 books, pamphlets and printed items including genealogies, biographies, funeral
sermons, local histories, cards, charts and more, published in the States prior to 1900
- 81,000 documents such as
military
records, casualty lists, Revolutionary and Civil War pension requests, widow's claims, orphan petitions, land grants and the American State Papers dating from 1789 to 1930
The newspapers and documents are text-searchable by first, middle and
last name; an advanced search lets you add a date and include or exclude keywords.
That last feature is particularly handy: The search works with optical character recognition software, and occasionally the software misreads words, for example,
my search on haddad returned articles containing handed. Of course, you might miss an article if the excluded word appears in the same article as your search term.
Your list of matches shows the article title and a small section; click
the title to see the whole thing, with the first occurrence of your search term highlighted—a nice touch. Individual GenealogyBank subscriptions cost $19.95 per month. Libraries can subscribe to a similar product called America’s Genealogy Bank. Look
for our GenealogyBank review in the February 2007 Familiy Tree Magazine.
More DNA Developments
Genetic genealogy companies continue racing to put out new products. Two of the latest tests provide women with more genetic-genealogy opportunities: -
DNA Consulting’s
DNA Fingerprint test analyzes 16 autosomal genetic markers and compares
to a public database containing DNA profiles of people from 180
populations. (The San Diego Police Department developed the database,
called OmniPop, with DNA from volunteers.) You’ll get a list of the top
10 populations where your genetic profile has a high occurrence. "Your
results might be, for example, 'Portuguese, likely Sephardic Jewish,
with American Indian admixture,'" says company owner Donald Yates.
“In
the past, if a woman wanted to test her father's line, her father or a
brother or uncle had to be available,” Yates adds. Since the DNA
Fingerprint test uses autosomal, rather than mitochondrial, DNA, it can
provide both sexes with information about the ethnic makeup of more-recent ancestors. DNA Fingerprint prices range from $95 to $250; log
on to http://www.dnaconsultants.com for more information. - Family Tree DNA's new X-chromosome
test analyzes linked "haplotype blocks" called
X-STRs, which are passed down
intact over several generations. Both sexes have X-STRs, so women can
use the test to learn about their maternal ancestry. It’s also a good
option if, say, you're adopted and want to see if you’re sibling to a genealogy
mailing list buddy, but your (or his) dad isn’t around to contribute
DNA. The test is available to current Family Tree DNA customers for $48 to $62 (spokesperson Max Blankfeld says it’ll be available for everyone soon). Watch http://www.familytreedna.com/ for more details.
See
the October
2006 Family Tree Magazine for a layperson’s guide to genetic genealogy. It’s on newsstands and at FamilyTreeMagazine.com.
Rewriting History
eHistory, the Web site on lots of people's go-to lists for details on their ancestors' times, has gotten a makeover for a new, more-polished look, minus the banner ads.
But the site's
more than just a pretty interface: eHistory, originally developed by former VisiCom Laboratories vice president Scott Laidig, is being moved to a new server at The Ohio State University (Laidig's alma mater). The school's history department will keep adding
to eHistory's more than 130,000 Web pages, 5,300 timeline events, 800 battle outlines, 350 biographies, and thousands of images and maps.
If you're a history buff, you can become a member to contribute content to the site. Current members can go to
http://ehistory.osu.edu/about.cfm for information on logging in.
Check out what's happening on FamilyTreeMagazine.com
Securing a Social Security Application
Q. I've been stuck on my dad's family tree. I’m looking for my grandfather’s birth certificate, but I can’t order one without the mother's maiden name. I
have
my grandfather’s birth and death dates and Social Security number, as well as his dad’s name and mother’s given name. Can I find out information with a Social Security Number alone?
A.
To learn the answer, see http://www.familytreemagazine.com/nowwhatonline/current.html.
Read more Q&A with the experts at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/nowwhatonline/previous.html.
Petal Pushers
Sonya Tootle’s relatives told her the boy in the front of this photo is her great-grandfather. It’s a likely identification, but the curious part of the picture are the flowers. All but one of the women pinned blossoms
to
their blouses.
What's the occasion here, and why is one lady missing a corsage? Maybe you can help solve the mystery—see http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/current.htm
for
the full story.
If you have a family photo mystery for photo historian Maureen A. Taylor to solve, check out our Submission Guidelines at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/photohelp.htm.
[Place]
DNA can help your genealogy research. There are good reasons why 9 out of 10 genealogists choose Family Tree DNA: we have the largest database in the world to match your sample with others to find a relationship
our scientists are the top in this field and developed the right tests that will help your genealogy.
RootsMagic Genealogy Software - "An excellent choice for any genealogist" says Family Tree Magazine. Get a free trial copy at http://www.RootsMagic.com
Get Family Tree Magazine back issues at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/mags.
Explore Family Tree Magazine E-mail Update past issues at
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/newsletter/archive.html.
Get free Family Tree News Service articles for your genealogy newsletter or Web site at http://www.familytreemagazine.com/ftns-subscribe.asp.
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F+W Publications, Inc.
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October 2006 Issue
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