My Heritage & 23andMe Work to Combine Family Trees and DNA

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A few days ago, MyHeritage Founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet, used a news feed on Bloomberg TV to announce and explain a “strategic collaboration” with 23andMe. The announcement was captured and made available on YouTube, which you can view here: http://youtu.be/c1MefhlGTA8.

I might point out that MyHeritage < http://www.myheritage.com/>has a very substantial presence in Europe with thousands of family historians building their trees online. For Americans with late 19th and early 20th immigrant ancestors, this might provide a convenient way to connect with “cousins” who are researching the same families.

In a joint press release issued from MOUNTAIN VIEW, California & TEL AVIV, Israel, representatives from 23andMe and MyHeritage explained the collaboration further:

23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, and MyHeritage, the leading destination for discovering, sharing and preserving family history, announced today a strategic collaboration that will provide an enhanced experience for individuals to discover their legacy based on genetic ancestry and documented family history.

23andMe pioneered autosomal DNA ancestry analysis for consumers, and has created the largest DNA ancestry service in the world. With a simple saliva sample 23andMe can reveal the geographic origins of distant ancestors and help people discover unknown relatives. MyHeritage helps millions of families worldwide find and treasure their unique history with easy-to-use family tree tools, a huge library of more than 5.5 billion historical records and innovative matching technologies for automating discoveries. Integrating the market leading solutions in ancestral DNA and family trees will provide an unparalleled experience for customers of both companies.

“We believe this collaboration with MyHeritage will offer our customers a vastly improved opportunity to build their family tree and discover new connections,” said Andy Page, President of 23andMe. “Given MyHeritage’s technology leadership in the ancestry space and vast global reach, we are excited about the value this relationship will bring to our customers around the world.”

“Combining genealogy with DNA-based ancestry is the next evolution in uncovering family history,” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “DNA testing can connect you to relatives you never knew existed, who descend from shared ancestors centuries ago, but family trees and historical records are critical to map and fully understand these connections. We have great respect for 23andMe’s technology and values, and its pioneering approach to genetics represents strong potential value for our users in the future.”

23andMe will offer its more than three quarters of a million customers around the globe access to MyHeritage’s family tree tools. This will allow 23andMe’s customers to enjoy automated family history discoveries. Smart Matching™ automatically finds connections between user-contributed family trees and Record Matching automatically locates historical records from the billions of records available on MyHeritage, pertaining to any person in the family tree. MyHeritage will utilize 23andMe’s API to provide the best experience for customers, by allowing any two people with matching DNA to explore their family tree connections. MyHeritage will also offer 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service® to its global community of more than 70 million registered users, in addition to the DNA tests it already offers.

The first phase of integration will be complete by early 2015.

About 23andMe
23andMe, Inc. <https://www.23andme.com/> is the leading personal genetics company dedicated to helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. The company’s Personal Genome Service® enables individuals to gain deeper insights into their genetics and ancestry. The vision for 23andMe is to personalize healthcare by making and supporting meaningful discoveries through genetic research. 23andMe, Inc., was founded in 2006, and the company is advised by a group of renowned experts in the fields of human genetics, bioinformatics and computer science. More information is available at www.23andme.com. 23andMe’s health reports are not cleared by the FDA. US customers may purchase 23andMe’s ancestry-only product.

About MyHeritage
MyHeritage <http://www.myheritage.com/>is the leading destination for discovering, sharing and preserving family history. As technology thought leaders and innovators in the space, MyHeritage is transforming family history into an activity that’s accessible and instantly rewarding. Trusted by millions of families, its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and ground-breaking search and matching technologies.

MyHeritage empowers families with an easy way to share their story, past and present, and treasure it for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 40 languages.www.myheritage.com.

Research WWII Honor Lists of Dead and Missing for Service Number, other Data

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Do you have ancestors or collateral relatives who died in Army or Army Air Force service for the United States during World War II?

If so, you might want to check out “World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel.” Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/army-casualties/index.html. As you will note in the URL, this is a page on the NARA website.

A similar list is available for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel at http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/navy-casualties/index.html

Every state except Alaska and Hawaii is represented by a separate list, and those present-day states are included under the heading Territories of the United States (they became states in 1959).

Ohio Personnel are listed by county at http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/army-casualties/ohio.html. Casualties for each Ohio county are listed alphabetically by surname. For Cuyahoga County, there are 14 separate pages and part of a 15th page. Click on the screen capture below to see an expanded view.

List -- Honor Roll Ohio home page showing Cuyahoga County

It is easy to find your way through the alphabet by clicking on Cuyahoga links one after another, then scan through the names on that page for the person you are looking for. The screen capture below shows a sample from the beginning of the Cuyahoga County Honor Roll.

List -- Honor Roll WWII Army from Cuyahoga County

There some important qualifiers provided in the introductory material for the Ohio Honor List.

Only those persons who died in a line-of-duty status are listed herein. Individuals who were not in line of duty at the time of their deaths are not so listed. Though personnel not in line of duty are not listed, failure to find in these lists the name of a person known to be dead should not be taken as prima-facie evidence that such person died not in line of duty.

When you find the individual you are looking for, you will find the name (generally with middle initial and name suffixes, if applicable), service number, rank, and a casualty code. This is an important source of a person’s service number if you are doing further research and don’t already have it from other home sources.

Here is the discussion of casualty codes provided with the Ohio WWII Honor List:

TYPE OF CASUALTY: This is indicated by the symbol at the far right of each column. An individual who was killed in action, whether at the front or by enemy action in the rear areas, or if a prisoner of war, whether by air bombardment of his prison camp or by being shot while escaping, is designated “KIA.” Persons who were wounded and later died are marked “DOW”—died of wounds. Those who suffered fatal battle INJURIES as opposed to WOUNDS, in combat or in combat areas and died in a line-of-duty status, are designated “DOI”—died of injuries. Other line-of-duty deaths, such as from sickness, homicide, suicide, or accidents outside combat areas (including training and maneuver deaths) are listed “DNB”—died not in battle. Individuals who were determined to be dead under Public Law 490 are designated “FOD” —finding of death. Missing persons are marked with the single letter “M.”

 

Handy Feature of Online Catalog at Western Reserve Historical Society

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I have done a good bit of research into finding World War II service records leading up to Veterans Day (11 Nov 2014, yesterday). In the process, I looked for guidebooks available at Western Reserve Historical Society (http://www.wrhs.org/)  on such research. I used the WRHS Research Library’s new catalog search page at http://catalog.wrhs.org/collections/search. I have provided a screen capture below.

Website -- WRHS Catalog Search page

I used the search page to check for availability of a number of military research guidebooks and found two that I will be looking at during my next visit: U.S. military records: a guide to federal and state sources, Colonial America to the present, by James C. Neagles, and The great war: a guide to the service records of all the world’s fighting men and volunteers, by Christina K Schaefer.

The catalog search engine did it’s thing very quickly, producing the listings for the two books mentioned above. Furthermore, I was able to click a “Save” button on the search results page to place each result into a list of saved items.

It was then that I used the handy feature mentioned in the headline for this posting: I was able to email the Saved List to myself. In this case, I sent the two items to my cloud-based Evernote account (for info on this useful tool, go to www.evernote.com), using the unique email address assigned to me by Evernote. By sending the email to my Evernote account, I have access via the Internet to the two items from any computer or mobile device that I might have with me at WRHS–or elsewhere.

This is what the Saved List looks like:

Books -- WWII Research Guides at WRHS

 

And this is what the email to Evernote looks like:

Books -- WWII Research Guides at WRHS -- emailed results

 

You can bet that I will be using this approach to finding and saving info about research guides and other books more often in the future.

Three Kellerman Mystery Writers Featured at Book Fair

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Last evening, I attended a session featuring Jonathan, Faye, and Jesse Kellerman at the opening event of the Book Fair Month at the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood. The event required me to pay a fee of $20 as a JCC non-member for the one-hour discussion by the three Kellermans about their books and how they go about the business of writing. I consider it money well-spent.

I’m sure that most of the 200 or so people in attendance belonged to the Cleveland Jewish community. But there probably were quite a few “goyim” or non-Jews like me in the audience because the event was well publicized by the Cuyahoga County Library System and by the Cleveland Plain Dealer–and also because the three authors are best-selling mystery writers.

Two books were the center of attention: The Golem of Hollywood, a collaborative effort by Jonathan and his son, Jesse, and Murder 101, the latest novel by Faye, Jonathan’s wife and Jesse’s mother. I had finished reading the The Golem a couple of weeks ago and currently am in the middle of reading Murder 101.

Not only are the books entertaining reading as detective/mystery novels, but they provide the reader (me in this case) with insight into Jewish and other cultures and into geographical areas that I am/was not familiar with. There’s even a bit of family history discussion sprinkled into both books.

I would encourage anybody who likes detective/mystery novels to borrow or buy these latest efforts by these prolific authors. You can check out synopses of the two books at Amazon at these addresses:

http://www.amazon.com/Golem-Hollywood-Jonathan-Kellerman/dp/0399162364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415294784&sr=1-1&keywords=the+golem+of+hollywood

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-101-Decker-Lazarus-Novels/dp/0062270184/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415294835&sr=1-1&keywords=murder+101+by+faye+kellerman

There are plenty of interview reports available on the Internet for additional reading. And Jesse Kellerman has an active YouTube channel, as do his father and mother. You know what to do if you are interested in accessing these resources: Do a Google search!!!

 

Ready, Set, Go: Researching Nordic Roots

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Nordic Flags

I am finishing up my PowerPoint presentation on “Our Nordic Families: How to Research Your Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish Families.”

I will be presenting it at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland on Saturday, November 1, starting at noon. To register, go here: http://www.wrhs.org/upcoming-event/our-nordic-families/, If you have questions, feel free to contact me by email at whuskonen@gmail.com.

As you may know, my grandparents immigrated to America in 1902 and 1903 as man and wife, respectively, and my grandmother with three of my aunts and an uncle in tow. Since I was introduced to genealogical research in, of all places, Salt Lake City, during a business trip in 1995, I have done considerable research and made connections with relatives and other people in the “old country.” And I have visited twice, in 1972 and 1996. During the latter trip I was able to visit the town where my grandparents left from: Vesanto, in the middle of Finland. Events in their lifetime were recorded in this church and in the adjacent parish of Rautalampi.

Vesanto Church 1996

In my presentation, I will discuss how I went about my research over the years since 1995, and what I have learned from it.

This experience applies directly to research in Sweden, Normay, and Denmark because the four countries are mostly Lutheran and recordkeeping was done by the parish churches.

Do I speak the languate? No, I don’t but I have been able to translate what I have found in the records using key word guides from FamilySearch and also Google Translate. I plan to discuss these tools.

Over the years, I have done research for friends and clients who have ancestors from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. I plan to share some of these findings in my class.

One of the important things to know these days is that you don’t necessarily have to visit the “old country” to obtain records from the 19th century and even earlier. Organizations in all four countries are putting databases of church records and others online, many with searchable indexes.

I will emphasize that a research should start at home, looking for every bit of information that can be dug up. In many cases, you will find an ancestor names the town or parish where he or she emigrated from. In other cases, you only find a hint, which you have to check out with a little more work.

In short, it is possible to learn quite a bit about your Nordic ancestors, but it may take some patience. But if you have been doing any genealogical or family history research, you know that from experience.

 

“It Was Like Coming Home,” Says Michaela Pereira in CNN Roots Series

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Just today (17 Oct 2014) I learned that the TV network CNN has been running a series this past week of short family history reports about its on-camera personalities.

Here is how CNN described the programs:

CNN HOSTS JOURNEY TO FIND THEIR “ROOTS”

ROOTS_LOGO_SMALL

“ROOTS: OUR JOURNEYS HOME” kicks off Sunday, October 12th, with a two-hour primetime special airing Tuesday, October 21st at 9 pm ET

Storytelling is at the core of what CNN does, and in a week-long series beginning Sunday, October 12th, thirteen of the network’s prominent hosts and anchors set out on a journey to find their ROOTS. A project one-year in the making, these journalists embark on an emotional journey across continents as they discover never-before-known details of their family histories.

ROOTS: OUR JOURNEYS HOME will kick-off on Sunday, October 12th at 9 pm ET with a special episode of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown and will air across the network throughout the week, culminating in a two-hour special on Monday, October 21st at 9 pm ET.

Unfortunately I missed the broadcasts each day this week, but I have set my DVR record the special on Monday, Oct 21.

In checking the CNN website I found that I could watch the videos of the nine episodes on the CNN website at www.cnn.com/roots. You can select the episode you want to watch on your computer, tablet, or smart phone. Each is about 10 min long. CNN also provides transcripts of the segments.

I found one about Michealla Pereira to be particularly interesting. She is the co-host of  CNN’s morning show, New Day. She is a Canadian citizen and an adoptee. I am providing some excerpts from the transcript of her story, which was broadcast on Monday, Oct 13, 2014.

PEREIRA: We’re going to change directions quite starkly. We’ll share something more personal and a little bit more intensely personal for me. I was adopted at a young age so growing up I had questions about who I am, where I came from. Part of me has been very, very curious about my roots. So, up ahead, I invite you along with me to Jamaica. “Roots: My Journey Homecoming,” up next. (You can watch this video at http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/10/13/roots-pereira-pkg-newday.cnn.html)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: It is perhaps the bedrock question of anyone’s life — who am I? Author Liam Callahan says we’re all ghosts. We all carry inside us people who came before us. But since I’m adopted, I didn’t know who came before me, so I set out to answer that very personal question. My voyage starts in St. James parish, Jamaica. It’s my journey home to find my roots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: So my adoption journey began when I was very young, I was three months old when I was adopted by Mom and Dad.

You took one look at my family and you knew there was something here that was a little different. I was the only black kid I knew or part black kid or brown kid anywhere.

In Canada, I had to go through the government if I wanted to search for my birth family. They connected with my birth mother’s family. She was a wonderful woman that I didn’t get to meet. I missed her by about a year. She lost a very brave battle with cancer and if I had found her when I started looking, she would have been in the throes of that period in her life and it would have been very difficult for her. But the fact is, all of what you see in front of you, the color of my skin, the curl of my hair, comes from my father’s side, my birth father’s side, and I don’t know anything about him.

A door has already been shut to me that way and I’m not going to force it open. Beyond the fact of what it said on this piece of paper, that my birth father’s family was from Jamaica, that’s all I know. So now I’m starting the search again to find out more about my heritage.

KEN CHAHINE, ANCESTRY.COM: This time it all starts with a DNA test. You gave us a saliva sample.

CNN Pereira

PEREIRA: Yes.

CHAHINE: We have found a second cousin, two third cousins and multiple fourth cousins of yours. Is that sinking in?

I can tell you now, that is on your father’s side. And it does go back to Jamaica.

PEREIRA: OK.

CHAHINE: We’ve got the name of the town. We have the pictures of some of your ancestors. It’s located in the parish of St. James in the mountains.

PEREIRA: St. James, in the mountains, Southeast of Montego.

Because the doors to my birth father closed to me, I chose instead to investigate the place my ancestors were from instead of contacting these cousins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Jamaica!

PEREIRA: My DNA results point to Montego Bay and Cambridge. I came here to take it all in, the scenery, the food.

There’s a whole fish in my soup and I could not be happier. I really could not be happier.

And, most importantly, the people.

+++

PEREIRA: I wanted to soak up as much as I could to learn what it truly means to be Jamaican.

(MUSIC)

PEREIRA: It seemed no matter where we were on the island, for every moment there’s a song.

(SINGING)

PEREIRA: Our first stop, Montego fisherman’s village. I guess we’re ready to go fishing. I’m meeting somebody here.

Knowing that I’m part Jamaican, I wanted to experience firsthand how some of the people in Montego Bay, or Mo Bay, as they call it, make their living.

Meet Devon Gray, he’s the chairman of the Mo Bay Fisherman’s Cooperative Society.

(LAUGHTER)

If you’re way out, you can’t see land.

DEVON GRAY, CHAIRMAN, MO BAY FISHERMAN’S COOPERATIVE: No, you can’t see land if you’re way out there. Most of us just know our way back, you know.

+++

PEREIRA: Look at the size of those claws.

GRAY: That’s a king crab.

PEREIRA: That’s a good-looking crab, man.

+++

PEREIRA: This first leg of my journey, already such a warm welcome.

Now, to really get a sense of life here, I wanted to spend time with a Jamaican family in their home.

There they are. Hello! Hi! You must be Linda!

Linda and Peter, who we met through a friend, graciously welcomed me and quickly put me to work.

I can shimmy and shake and saute. Oh, that smells so good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then you add the salt fish.

PEREIRA: The salt fish. The whole thing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just put the whole thing in there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just mix it up. You did a great job, chef.

PEREIRA: I’m exhausted.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: What a beautiful, beautiful blessing. I learned so much about family, food, and culture right here at this dinner table.

(SINGING)

PEREIRA: Peter and Linda and their family were quick to make me feel at home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Jamaica what you expected it to be?

PEREIRA: It’s been even more. I didn’t know just how friendly Jamaicans were. I can’t stop smiling since I’ve been here. Literally every person that we talk to says “welcome.”

+++

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome. Jamaica’s motto is that it’s never really meant to be a country in a state that it is not. The Japanese, Indians, Chinese, Germans, all over Europe, they all come together and make this place.

PEREIRA: This place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This place.

(SINGING)

PEREIRA: The music, a reminder of their roots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, a big bass drum represents our history.

PEREIRA: With the pulse of Jamaica now in my soul, I’m headed to the heart of my journey.

Today, we’re on our way to Cambridge. We believe that some of my ancestors come from this area of Cambridge.

This little church on the hill, my ancestors’ place for worship, and for some, their final resting place. There is a potential that some of my ancestors are buried here. It’s startling and amazing and wonderful.

Are you from Cambridge?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I am.

PEREIRA: Mr. Griffith lives across the street from the church.

You remember walking up these stairs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a choir boy.

PEREIRA: You were a choir boy at this church? Do you feel a sense of pride coming back here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

PEREIRA: Oh, my goodness. Look at the view.

We walked around the remains of St. Stevens’ Anglican Church, staring at the very spot where my ancestors used to pray.

Man, if these walls could talk.

(LAUGHTER)

After Mr. Griffith left, I took a moment in the church by myself. I remember saying that I would love to find some context for that other side of me that I don’t know anything about and this feels, if this is it, this is great. I look at faces a little longer and try to imagine if they see something in me that’s familiar. To think that maybe somebody that was connected to me stood in this very church, that’s really powerful. Kind of magical, really.

Well, it has been four wonderful warm and enlightening days but it feels like I’m not done yet.

I experienced firsthand what people feel it is to be Jamaican. There’s a great sense of pride with the people here, a great sense of joy in the people here. They love music, they love to dance. I can’t tell you how many times people spontaneously broke out in song.

It was the most generous gift somebody could give me. Every person that heard my story and understood that I was a child looking for — for connection, every single person said, welcome home. And it was amazing and unforgettable. It was like — it was like coming home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: I have to say a big thank you to all of the people of Jamaica who warmly welcomed me. Can we talk about the mangos for a second? They were incredible. People may wonder why I didn’t look for my birth father or the cousins. First of all, that’s a door that I have knocked on to no avail and I chose not to try to force it open, especially like this, in television. It’s an intensely personal thing to do.

To be perfectly honest, though, I’m blessed with an amazing family. There’s my Mom and Dad and my sisters. Many things that I would want from that connection to meeting my birth family, or at least my birth father’s side of the family, I got on this trip to Jamaica. I feel a great sense of pride. Look at my parents looking so good. This is merely another piece to my puzzle.

You know what we did? We posted all sorts of snapshots and video clips from behind our scenes to our trip to Jamaica. Check them out at CNN.com/roots. We have pictures of the goats we encountered, the food we ate, and our amazing driver and guide.

All this week, CNN anchors will share their own stories in our series, “Roots, Our Journeys Home.” Tonight, on “AC 360,” Anderson learns about his father’s history. Tomorrow, on “New Day,” Chris Cuomo takes us to explore his family’s root. And next Monday, a two-hour special, “Roots, Our Journeys Home,” featuring 13 anchors and hosts with CNN, hosted by Anderson and me.

Thanks for joining us @THISHOUR.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

 

For Genealogy Presentations, Turn on Closed Captioning for YouTube Videos

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Last evening, I presented a talk, “Digging for Data on Your WWI and WWII Ancestors,” at the October meeting of the Cuyahoga West Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society, at the Westlake Porter Library.

As part of my presentation, I decided to present a YouTube video on “Veterans Personnel Records at the National Archives, St. Louis.”

YouTube NPRC image with captioning

When I played the video on my desktop computer, it appeared with closed captioning (CC) as in the screen capture above. I hadn’t seen this before and thought it was something special built into this particular video. Having captions available relieved my concern about my Dell laptop pumping out the soundtrack loud enough for the audience to understand.

After finishing the PowerPoint presentation on my desktop computer, I copied it to my laptop and checked it out. I was able to call up the YouTube video from the hotlink in the PowerPoint presentation, BUT no closed captioning showed up during playback. This was just before I needed to leave for the meeting, so to there was no time to troubleshoot or research this mystery. Instead, I to hope for the best with only the sound from the laptop computer.

Today, I did a Google search for “closed captioning on YouTube” and found an article provided provided by Google, owner of YouTube, with the title “Turn Captions on and off” at https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/100078?hl=en.

From reading this article, I learned that there is a CC button or icon at the lower right of the main viewing screen (see screen capture below) that can be used to toggle closed captions on–or off–IF captions are made available by the producer of the video.

YouTub NPRC image CC icon

In this case, NARA did provide the captions and I had turned them on somehow on my desktop–but not on my laptop. Today, when I tried using the CC button on my laptop, it worked and I was able to viewthe captions during the YouTube playback. Mystery solved!

I am giving this WWI and WWII research presentation again in three weeks–this time to the Geauga County Chapter, OGS. After following the instructions on the Help page article mentioned above, I will be able to make sure the YouTube CC feature is turned on on my laptop and my audience will benefit from the on-screen text, along with the audio, when I call up this YouTube video.

Videos Explain DNA and Genetic Genealogy

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Videos are available from the Institute for Genetic Genealogy’s International Genetic Genealogy Conference held August 15, 16 and 17, 2014, in Washington D.C. Attendees were emailed links to access all the presentations online, but you can purchase access to the entire package of 27 presentations for $50 and individual videos for $4. The organizers have stated that they “kept the cost low so as many people can benefit from the wonderfully educational presentations that were given there as possible. We are continuing as a not-for-profit effort and the proceeds from the sales will be shared with the speakers and used to cover remaining expenses from the conference.”

Below is a list of the presentations available for viewing.

Aiton Auditorium (higher quality videos):
Ancestry.com Workshop by Anna Swayne B.S. – Getting the Most from AncestryDNA – (Beginner)
23andMe Workshop by Joanna Mountain Ph.D. and Christine Moschella – Exploring All of 23andMe’s Genealogy Features – (Intermediate)
Family Tree DNA Workshop – Exploring All Family Tree DNA Products by Maurice Gleeson (Y chromosome overview), Jim Bartlett (Family Finder/autosomal DNA), CeCe Moore (mitochondrial DNA overview), and Janine Cloud (other features) – (Intermediate)
Blaine Bettinger Ph.D., J.D. – Using Free Third-Party Tools to Analyze Your Autosomal DNA – (Intermediate)
Rebekah Canada B.S. – Wanderlust – The Story of the Origins and Travels of mtDNA Haplogroup H through History and Scientific Literature – (Intermediate)
Julie Granka Ph.D. – AncestryDNA matching: large-scale findings and technology breakthroughs – (Intermediate)
William E. Howard III, Ph.D. – Using Correlation Techniques on Y-Chromosome Haplotypes to Determine TMRCAs, Date STR Marker Strings, Surname Groups, Haplogroups and SNPs – (Advanced)
Tim Janzen M.D. – Using Chromosome Mapping to Help Trace Your Family Tree – (Advanced)
Razib Kahn B.S. – Tearing the Seamless Fabric, Ancestry as a Jigsaw Puzzle – (Intermediate)
Thomas Krahn Dipl.-Ing. – I’ve Received My Y Chromosome Sequencing Results – What Now? – (Advanced)
CeCe Moore – The Four Types of DNA Used in Genetic Genealogy – (Beginner/Intermediate)
Joanna Mountain Ph.D. – 23andMe Features – (Intermediate)
Ugo Perego Ph.D. – Native American Ancestry through DNA Analysis – (Intermediate)
Judy Russell J.D. – After the Courthouse Burns: Lighting Research Fires with DNA – (Intermediate)
Larry Vick M.S. – Using Y-DNA to Reconstruct a Patrilineal Tree – (Beginner)

Ohio Room (lower quality videos):
Terry Barton M.B.A. – Surname Project Administration – (Intermediate)
Shannon Christmas M.A. – Identity by Descent: Using DNA to Extend the African-American Pedigree – (Intermediate)
Karin Corbeil B.S., Diane Harman Hoog M.B.A., and Rob Warthen M.S. – Not Just for Adoptees – Methods and Tools for Working with Autosomal DNA from the Team at DNAGedcom.com – (Intermediate)
Katherine Hope Borges – International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) – (Beginner)
William Hurst B.S. – Mitochondrial DNA Focusing on Haplogroup K – (Intermediate)
Kathy Johnston M.D. – From X Segments to Success Stories: The Use of the X Chromosome in Genetic Genealogy – (Advanced)
Maurice Gleeson M.D. – An Irish Approach to Autosomal DNA Matches – (Intermediate)
Greg Magoon Ph.D. – ‘Next-gen’ Y chromosome Sequencing – (Advanced)
Doug McDonald Ph.D. – Understanding Autosomal Biogeographical Ancestry Results – (Advanced)
David Pike Ph.D. – The Use of Phasing in Genetic Genealogy – (Advanced)
Bonnie Schrack B.A. – Y chromosome Haplogroups A and B – (Intermediate)
Debbie Parker Wayne CG – Mitochondrial DNA: Tools and Techniques for Genealogy – (Beginner)

To order the entire package or individual presentations go to http://i4gg.org/pricing/

 

Researching Nordic Roots, Coming to WRHS on Nov. 1

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I am distributing the following announcement of a class I will be teaching at WRHS on November 1:

“Our Nordic Families: How to Research Your Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish Families,” will be presented by Wally Huskonen, member of the Genealogical Committee, on Saturday, November 1, 2014. He has researched his Finnish ancestry for nearly two decades, and conducted research for clients and friends with Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish ancestry. He has found that the four countries have much in common in terms of genealogical research, and he will discuss how to begin your research with home sources, then move on to finding ancestral parishes, looking up data on free and subscription online databases, working with church records, translating documents, and many related subjects. The class will begin at noon in the WRHS Research Library and end at 2 pm. Fee for class and handout materials is $15.00. Register at http://www.wrhs.org/Calendar/Our_Nordic_Families?A= or by emailing foxreinhardt@usa.net.

I’d like to see  you there! If you have any questions about the class content, shoot me an email at whuskonen@gmail.com.

How to Access Cuyahoga County Historical Marriage Indexes & Records Online

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NOTE: The following information was orginally posted by me on another blog I have created — NEOhio Genealogy Blog — on 13 JANUARY 2012. I am repeating it here with my current email address.

Many of us with research interests in North East Ohio have utilized the Cuyahoga County Historical Marriage Index mounted on a database server called Courtview 2000.

And as many of us discovered beginning about Jan 6, the Historical Marriage Index has gone “missing in action.” The common bookmark,www.probate.cuyahogacounty.us/ml/, now takes you to the Marriage License Registration page of the Cuyahoga County Probate Court where couples can apply for a marriage license.

Being the curious person that I am, I called the telephone number at 216-443-8920 “for further information.” At the end of a recorded message with instructions for obtaining a marriage license or a certified copy of a license, there was another message suggesting that you call another number if you had further questions. I called that number, 216-443-8947, and the clerk who answered told me that the Courtview 2000 server has been shut down. She then gave me instructions to access what is currently available in the category of historical marriage records.

You go to the current website of the probate court at http://probate.cuyahogacounty.us/home.htm. Click on the button titled “Docket & Index Search.” Your first step here is to indicate that you have “read, understand, and agreed to terms of the conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.” Once you have answered “Yes,” you will see a search window for Case Searches for all Probate cases, including marriages.

You can use Search by Case, in which you can specify Case Year, Case Category (these include Adversarial, Civil/Miscellaneous, Draw Down, Estate, Guardianship, MARRIAGE, Non-Case, Trust, and Will), and Case Number.

You more likely will use Search by Person, with search terms including First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Party Role (of interest to us are Bride or Groom), Case Year, and Case Category (these categories are the same as named above under Search by Case).

The Last Name category must contain at least two letters. All the other search term windows can be left clear, but the search engine will return many extra search results.

Search results are provided quickly and include names and dates. Records for marriages before 1998 do not include the actual marriage date in the index entry. What we want and need, however, is provided: i.e., the volume number and page number to access the proper record on microfilm. To this extent, you would access an actual marriage record as you did when the Courtview 2000 Historical Marriage Index was available—you had to look at microfilm to learn the marriage details.

Be advised, however, that there are other new resources for finding marriage records in Cuyahoga County. Ancestry.com has recently added a new database with linked images called “Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Records and Indexes, 1810-1973.” The first 130 years (i.e., through 1940) include images linked to the index, and after that, the images linked to the search engine are marriage record index pages.

With the Courtview 2000 Historical Marriage Index, once you found a marriage you were interested in, you had to go to Western Reserve Historical Society, the Cuyahoga County Archives, or the Genealogy Department of the Fairview Park Library to view the microfilm of images. Now you can acquire images of marriage records through 1940 at home if you have an Ancestry.com subscription or at a library with Ancestry Library edition. You can print out the images or save them as jpeg photo files.

From the Ancestry index, if you find marriages from 1942 through 1971 that you are interested in, you need to go to the microfilm to obtain images of the licenses and returns. WRHS has microfilm through 1960. Fairview Park Library has microfilm through Volume 200 (Oct 1949). The County Archives also has microfilm of marriage records. You also have the option of requesting certified copies from the Marriage License Bureau for $2 each. The address: Cuyahoga County Probate Court, Marriage License Department, 1 Lakeside Avenue, Room 146 (1st Floor), Cleveland, Ohio 44113.

Another source of records is www.familysearch.org. There currently are two databases offered by FamilySearch: Ohio, County Marriages, 1790-1950, and Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958. These databases are name indexes and images of county marriage records acquired from local courthouses, including Cuyahoga County. Currently this collection is 75% complete, and additional records will be added as they are completed.

If anybody has more information about this subject, please post a comment here or send an email to me at whuskonen@gmail.com.