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.

Genealogy Gems from Allen County Library

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A free newsletter for genealogists and family historians is published monthly by the staff in the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Called appropriately enough, Genealogy Gems: News from the Fort Wayne Library, it is sent out by email on a monthly basis. Curiously, its publishing date is the last day of each month.

I subscribed to this e-publication for many years, but then I changed email addresses without updating my contact info, so naturally they stopped arriving in my email inbox.

I recently re-subscribed after I was reminded of the availability of this free publication when a friend sent an email to me about something she thought I might be interested in: “American Immigrant Autobiographies – Part 1,” by Cynthia Theusch, which included content about Finnish immigrants. Of course I was interested, being a third generation Finnish-American. Here is what that author wrote for the June 30, 2014, issue of the Allen County Library newsletter:

The “American Immigrant Autobiographies Part 1” microfilms include selected autobiographies from a larger collection of personal papers that are at the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. This set of seven rolls of microfilm is stored in the U.S. Special Collections area (Cabinet 64, Drawer B-11). The manuscripts are either typed or handwritten in their native language. A guide to “American Immigrant Autobiographies Part 1” has been printed and is at the Microtext desk. This guide lists the names of 67 individuals and their answers to the 15 questions they were asked to help them write their stories. The first seven questions were genealogy related, such as country of origin, occupation, reason for immigrating, date of immigration, where they settled in the United States, and the type of job they had here.

Reels 1 through part of 6 contain 38 autobiographies of individuals from Italy, Sicily, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Hungary, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Finland.  Reels 6 and 7 contain memoirs or autobiographies of 29 people from the Finnish-American Family History Project. This microfilm collection is only a small portion of the holdings in the Immigration History Research Collection housed at the University of Minnesota.

The next time I visit the Allen County Library, I will take a look at this set of microfilms. Chances of finding relatives among the “29 people from the Finnish-American Family History Project” are slim, but I would expect to learn some new things about the experiences of Finns as they immigrated to America.

If you want to sign up for this free e newsletter, go to http://www.genealogycenter.org/Community/E-zine.aspx. FYI, past issues through mid-2012 are available for opening and browsing, but if you want to browse the entire run of Genealogy Gems, go to http://lists.genealogycenter.info/pipermail/genealogygems/index.html.

Check Out This Genealogy Programming for TV

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You probably know that in recent years there have been numerous programs on television about genealogical and family history research.  The other day, I did a Google search for “genealogy on tv” and was rewarded with a surprisingly large number of “hits.” Many involved “Who Do You Think You Are?” the series that recently concluded its 2014 schedule on TLC Network.

Finding Your Roots

In one “hit” in my Google search, I learned that a new season of “Finding Your Roots with Dr.  Henry Louis Gates” starts on September 23 on PBS. The first episode includes horror novelist Stephen King, actor Courtney B. Vance, and Canadian actress-singer Gloria Reuben.

“Finding Your Roots” is a PBS-TV series that explores race, culture, and identity through genealogy and genetics. You may know that Dr. Gates hosted the network’s past genealogy programs: “African American Lives I & II” and “Faces of America.”

The PBS Series will return Tuesday, September 23 for its second season. The 10-part series explores the heritages and ancestries of 30 of today’s leading entertainers, athletes, chefs, and media personalities, including Ben Affleck, Jessica Alba, Khandi Alexander, Tom Colicchio, Tina Fey, Sally Field, Derek Jeter, Stephen King, Nas, Anna Deavere Smith, Sting, and Courtney Vance. The series is scheduled to run every Tuesday through November 25th. Check your local PBS listings for times.

Dr. Gates is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. In the upcoming 10-part season, Professor Gates continues his journey into the past to illuminate the familial histories of 30 of today’s most recognizable names in sports, music, film, television, theatre, and literature

Viewers can view production notes for Finding Your Roots from researchers on the series and even watch past episodes by going to http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/

This is one of the wonderful things about television and the Internet today. You can often access programming you missed during the original broadcast on network or program websites.

Who Do You Think You Are?

WDYTYA, the acronym for “Who Do You Think You Are,” originally was aired by NBC Television in the 2010-2012 seasons. Then it was picked up by TLC Network and slotted in its summer programming last summer and recently concluded its 2014 six-episode summer schedule in August. The subjects of this series included Cynthia Nixon, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Rachel McAdams, Valerie Bertinelli, Kelsey Grammer, and Minnie Driver.

We’ll offer some details from the episode on Minnie Driver, which closed out the 2014 season, as an example of what has been included in the 2014 season programs. Minnie sets out to learn more about her secretive father and traces the highs and lows of his career in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Through military documents, she comes to understand why her father was the way he was, and how his combat experience impacted the rest of his life. Then, since Minnie never met her paternal grandparents, she follows the trail in England until she comes face-to-face with the very first relative she’s ever met on her father’s side, and finds a kindred spirit in a family member she never knew about.

Some of the cities/locations visited include: Minnie’s home, Malibu, CA; Minnie’s mother’s apartment, West London, UK; Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey, UK; Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London, UK; Rockside Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire, UK; Stockton Central Library, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, UK; Eileen Wiper’s home, Darlington, Durham, UK; Middlesbrough Central Library, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, UK; Stockport Plaza Theatre, Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK; and Minnie’s home, Hollywood Hills, CA.

If you wish to go back and view some of this WDYTYA programming, you can go to the website http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are. The header for this web page has a button promising Full Episodes, but most of what I found were short segments from the various episodes. If you drill down into the website (use the Load More button at the bottom of the page), you can find clips and episodes from last season as well.

The easiest way to learn who was featured in previous seasons, including those on NBC, is to go to the comprehensive listing on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are%3F_(U.S._TV_series)

The Generations Project

The programming described above focuses on the genealogies of celebrities. If you want to watch programming about research by regular folks, and if you have access to the cable channel BYU TV, you might want to watch or record episodes in a series called The Generations Project. It will be rebroadcast beginning on September 17 at 1:30 pm. BYU TV is the television programming arm of Brigham Young University. The network states that “Individuals go on extraordinary journeys learning about their family history by literally retracing their ancestors’ steps, which uncovers hidden identities.” The series of 38 episodes was originally broadcast in 2010-2012.

The first rebroadcast features the story of Raquel, who explores her Spanish ancestry. Other episodes include research into Native American, African, German, and other ethnic origins. If you go to the website http://www.byutv.org/show/6f62558b-fc6f-49c5-b8c6-2473785a5b44/the-generations-project, you can watch each of the 38 half-hour episodes on your own schedule. The videography is great and the stories are engaging.

British WDYTYA on YouTube

You may know that the WDYTYA programming that we see in America is an adaptation of the original program by the same name in Great Britain (For details, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007t575). But did you know that many episodes from the British show are available in their entirety on YouTube? For example, the British version featured a program on J. K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series. I watched it on YouTube and found her program to be entertaining and very well done. You may want to check it out, especially if you have any French ancestry. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6399QxJiPM.

Cyndi’s List

My Google search also led me to the website Cyndi’s List. When you go to this website, you can find a heading “Genealogy in the Media: News, Radio & Television >> Television.” Cyndi Howells, proprietor of Cyndi’s List, has complied 46 links to websites that present or discuss genealogical and family history programming that has appeared on television. You might want to delve into this for information on some of the lesser known programming.  Be forewarned: some links appear to be outdated.

Some Famous Finnish-Americans

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When I was preparing the post earlier today about FinnFest USA 2015 coming to Buffalo, NY (go to http://www.collectingancestors.com/2014/08/21/welcome-news-about-finnfest-2015-it-will-be-in-buffalo/), I ran across the following List of Nine Finnish Americans: http://cassavafilms.com/list-of-9/nine-famous-finnish-americans. It was posted a year ago by Mark Tapio Kines, head of Cassava Films, an independent film production company.

In his introduction, Mark says,

“The Finns are kind of an obscure people. And I know, because I’m one of them. (My father hails from Norway, but the family name Tapio is definitely Finnish in origin: Tapio was the god of the forest in old Finnish folklore, and is a common first name in Finland today.) There are a few internationally known citizens of Finland, including composer Jean Sibelius, director Aki Kaurismäki, children’s book author Tove Jansson, glass designer Tapio Wirkkala, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, architect Alvar Aalto, Hollywood director Renny Harlin, and gay erotic artist Tom of Finland. And I’m betting you may have only heard of one or two of those names. But let’s shift the focus on an even lesser-discussed, but far better-known, group of people: Finnish Americans.”

His List of Nine Finnish Americans includes

Marissa Mayer (1975-). Current CEO of Yahoo.
Eero Saarinen (1910-1961). Architect
Jean M. Auel (1936-). Author
Linus Torvalds (1969-). Creater of the Linux computer operating system.
Jessica Lange (1949-). Actress
Christine Lahti (1950-). Actress
Jorma Kaukonen (1940-). Rock/blues guitarist.
Vampira (1922-2008). Actress
William Fredrick “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917). Wild West showman.

I thought I would add a few more names–in no particular order–of people born in America of Finnish descent, or Finns now living in Amerca:

Timothy L. Kopra (1963– ). Astronaut.
Gus Hall (1910–2000). Labor organizer, a founder of the United Steel Workers union.
Matthew Norman Niskanen (1986 -). Professional hockey player.
Dick Enberg (1935– ). Ssportscaster.
Kai Haaskivi (1955- ). Retired professional soccer player, now coaching (he played much of his career in Cleveland, my home town).

Actually, Wikipedia has a longer list of Finnish Americans at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finnish_Americans.

Finally, I would like to add to Mark Tapio-Kines’ list of famous Finns:

I have long had an interest in professional auto racing, so I would like to offer up Kimi Raikkonen, Mika Hakkinen, Keke Rosberg, and Heikki Kovalainen, all drivers on the Formula One Grand Prix circuit now or earlier. One of the best known names in sports was Paavo Nurmi (1897–1973), long distance runner, and winner of nine Olympic gold medals. Then there is also Fredrik Idestam, industrialist and founder of Nokia. And Peter Vesterbacka, co-founder of Angry Birds, the computer game.  But the list is far longer than I care to post here, so go to Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Finns. Each of the names listed there is clickable to a biography for that individuals.

Read — and be amazed! And if you are Finnish-American or Finn, be proud.