AncestryDNA Autosomal Raw Results Now Available

Those of you in my class Tuesday night heard me say that I suspected some major changs were on the way in the short term for those of us who had taken Ancestry's autosomal DNA test. Yesterday afternoon I had it confirmed by a friend that today Ancestry would finally allow us to download our raw DNA test data from the website. And, in fact, minutes ago I did download Gayle and mine's results, all 700,000 plus SNPs.

So what does that mean in the short term? Not much until the software people get on board and make available interfaces and common areas were we can compare our results with our DNA cousin matches. Now that the rest of the world can see the SNPs we had tested at Ancestry, I don't feel it will be long before we all are talking about RS position numbers, chromosome #s and allele 1/2 results among friends and relatives.

Now a little background as a reminder about this DNA test. AncestryDNA’s test is an autosomal DNA test. That’s the kind of test that works across genders and helps you find cousins with whom you can exchange genealogical information to try to identify common ancestors and fill in gaps in your family tree.

Unlike YDNA, you don’t have to locate sons of sons of sons to test and only get results in the male line, and unlike mitochondrial DNA, you don’t have to locate daughters of daughters of daughters and only get results in the female line. With autosomal DNA, you can test the son of a daughter of a son against the daughter of a son of a daughter and get good results.

But unlike either of those tests — where you can get matches with people who descend from common ancestors many many generations ago — autosomal DNA pretty much punks out about 250 years in the past. While it’s possible to find matches to eighth or ninth cousins, you can only expect to find matches reliably back to the fourth or fifth cousin level.

I will have more about this tonight at the beginning of class and if you are a Tuesday night person, you are welcome to sit in the first part of the class for this how to do all this.

If you can't wait for tonight you can get the gory details on downloading your raw data at http://dna-explained.com/2013/03/21/downloading-ancestrys-autosomal-dna-raw-data-file/

CU All Soon

 

 

RootsTech to Stream Popular Lectures on Net

I mentioned in genealogy class last night that RootsTech conference will be held next week in Salt Lake City. Most of us do not get to attend this magnificent event, but you can attend some of the more popular lectures via the Internet.

RootsTech 2013 announced yesterday which of its conference sessions would be streamed online for free. The conference will broadcast 13 of its 250+ classes live at RootsTech.org, including the daily keynote speakers. The family history conference is the largest of its kind in the U.S.

"Not everyone can attend RootsTech in person," said Dan Martinez, RootsTech conference manager. "So we give them a chance to virtually attend a free sampling of some of our most popular sessions live online." Martinez added that the live webcasts in 2012 had 50,000 views during the show.

Following are the RootsTech 2013 Streaming Sessions and when and where to find them. Note that the times below are in MST. For EDT time add 3 hours.
Following are the RootsTech 2013 Streaming Sessions and when and where to find them:

Mountain Standard Time  "Best of RootsTech" Live Stream on RootsTech.org

Thursday, March 21

8:30 a.m   Keynote speakers: Dennis Brimhall, President and CEO, FamilySearch International, Syd Lieberman, Nationally Acclaimed Storyteller, Author, and Teacher, and Josh Taylor, Lead Genealogist at findmypast.com and President, Federation of Genealogical Societies

11:00 a.m. The Future of Genealogy-Thomas MacEntee and panel

1:45 p.m.   Tell It Again (Story@Home)-Kim Weitkamp

3:00 p.m.   The Genealogists Gadget Bag-Jill Ball and panel

4:15 p.m.    Finding the Obscure and Elusive: Geographic Information on the Web-James Tanner

Friday, March 22

8:30 a.m.    Keynote speakers: Jyl Pattee, Founder, Mom It Forward Media, and Tim Sullivan, President and CEO, Ancestry.com

9:45 a.m.    Researching Ancestors Online-Laura Prescott

11:00 a.m.  FamilySearch Family Tree-Ron Tanner

1:45 p.m.    Google Search... and Beyond-Dave Barney

3:00 p.m.    From Paper Piles to Digital Files-Valerie Elkins

Saturday, March 23

8:30 a.m.    Keynote speakers: David Pogue, Personal Technology Columnist, The New York Times, and Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO, MyHeritage

9:45 a.m.    Using Technology to Solve Research Problems-Karen Clifford

11:00 a.m.  Digital Storytelling: More Than Bullet Points-Denise Olson

FamilySearch Adds 18 New Collections Including Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and the United States

Included in this week's records update are 18 new collections; seven from Napoli, Italy, seven from the United States, four from Germany, and one from Netherlands. Among these collections are the United States Draper Manuscript Collection from 1740-1960 (more information can be found here), the Germany, Brandenburg, Bernau bei Berlin Jewish Records from 1688-1872, and the United States Revolutionary War Rolls from 1775-1783. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world's historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Collection        Indexed Records  Digital Images
Germany, Brandenburg, Bernau bei Berlin, Jewish Records, 1688-1872 0 2,058
Germany, Prussia, Saxony, Various Protestant Church Records, 1594-1936 0 4,056
Germany, Westfalen, Minden, Index to Funeral Sermons, 1580-1740  0 33,073
Germany, Württemberg, Schwäbisch Hall, Probate Records, 1803-1925 0 36,814
Hungary, Civil Registration, 1895-1980     0  1,811
Italy, Napoli, Fontana, Parocchia di Santa Maria della Mercede - La Sacra, Catholic Church Records, 1641-1929         0  2,660
Italy, Napoli, Grumo Nevano, Civil Registration (Comune), 1809-1929 0  18,810
Italy, Napoli, Lacco Ameno, Parrocchia di SS. Annunziata in Santa Maria delle Grazie, Catholic Church Records, 1630-1929   0  3,193
Italy, Napoli, Marano di Napoli, Civil Registration (Comune), 1839-1929 0  18,199
Italy, Napoli, Sant'Angelo, Parocchia di San Michele Arcangelo, Catholic Church Records, 1905-1929   0  77
Italy, Napoli, Sant'Antimo, Civil Registration (Comune), 1809-1929 0  24,177
Italy, Napoli, Serrara, Parocchia di Santa Maria del Carmine, Catholic Church Records, 1659-1929
         0  2,714
Netherlands, Noord-Holland Province, Church Records, 1553-1909  0  672,330
Spain, Cádiz, Civil Registration Records, 1870-1960   0  37,980
Spain, Province of Sevilla, Municipal Records, 1903-1918  0  159,510
Ukraine, Kyiv Orthodox Consistory Church Book Duplicates, 1840-1845 520,550  146,178
U.S., California, Cemetery Transcriptions    0  17,138
U.S., Georgia, Elbert County Records, 1790-2002    0  63,290
U.S., Mississippi, Confederate Records, 1889-1942   0  2,740
U.S., Ohio, Cleveland Cemetery Interment Records, 1824-2001  346,248  10,585
U.S., Ohio, County Records, 1841-2003     0  92
U.S., Vermont, Orange County, Bradford District Estate Files, 1780-1915 0  75,694
United States, Draper Manuscript Collection, 1740-1960   0  84,177
United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914  0  41,172
United States, Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications, 1887-1942 52,939  0
United States, Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872  0  8,955
United States, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783    0  93,048
United States, Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933 852,027  0

Comparing Admixture Test Results Across Companies (otherwise known as "ethnic" breakdowns): FTDNA, AncestryDNA, 23andMe and Geno 2.0 - A Review

Ethnic ancestry results has been an ongoing discussion I've been having with some of my students since my DNA workshop I conducted late last year. I have mentioned several times in our discussions that none of the biogeographical ancestry (BGA) results from any of the major DNA testing companies are entirely accurate.

For the first time the BGA results from several major DNA testing companies are now available for one person CeCe Moore. She has posted up an interesting review of her various ethnic ancestry reports on the Your Genetic Genealogist blog.

CeCe Moore shares her ethnic ancestry reports from Family Finder, 23andMe, AncestryDNA, and Geno 2.0. If you haven't used any of these tools, this is a good way to see what the reports look like and how they might differ. Your results, of course, would be unique to you. You can see CeCe's results by clicking here.

OCLC and FamilySearch partnership will combine resources for richer genealogy research experience

DUBLIN, Ohio—OCLC and FamilySearch International, the largest genealogy organization in the world, have signed an agreement that will enrich WorldCat and FamilySearch services with data from both organizations to provide users with more resources for improved genealogy research.

Under this new partnership, OCLC will incorporate data from FamilySearch’s catalog of genealogical materials into WorldCat, and FamilySearch will use OCLC cataloging services to continue to catalog its collections in WorldCat. FamilySearch will also use the WorldCat Search API to incorporate WorldCat results into search results returned by FamilySearch genealogy services.

"We're excited to see information about FamilySearch holdings more broadly circulated, and to inform our own patrons about genealogical holdings available outside our network," said Jake Gehring, FamilySearch’s Director of Data Operations.

"This combination of genealogical and bibliographic resources will be of enormous benefit to librarians and library users as well as genealogists," said Jay Jordan, OCLC President and CEO. "OCLC and FamilySearch are organizations with similar goals—to connect people to knowledge and information through cooperation. We look forward to working with FamilySearch."

FamilySearch, historically known as the Genealogical Society of Utah, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and preservation of family histories and stories, introducing individuals to their ancestors through the widespread access to records, and collaborating with others who share this vision.

The collections of FamilySearch include historic documents of genealogical value such as civil registration records; church records; and probate, census, land, tax and military records. The collection also contains compiled sources such as family histories, clan and lineage genealogies, oral pedigrees and local histories. FamilySearch has also been a pioneer in the use of technology and processes for image capture, digital conversion, preservation, online indexing and online access. FamilySearch has operated on OCLC’s OLIB library management system since 1996 to manage the vast metadata in its catalog.

FamilySearch offers a unique service to users around the world through its network of more than 4,600 family history centers. In each center, trained FamilySearch volunteers provide individualized help for family history patrons seeking access to records and the information they contain.
WorldCat is the world’s most comprehensive database of library materials. Updated at a rate of nearly one new record every second, WorldCat is a cooperatively-created catalog of items held in thousands of libraries worldwide, including public, academic, state and national libraries; archives; and historical societies. These libraries have cataloged their regular collections as well as many special collections—including digitized materials—devoted to local history. This makes WorldCat an indispensible tool for genealogy research.

Find more about FamilySearch or search its resources online at FamilySearch.org. More about WorldCat is on the OCLC website. Search WorldCat.org on the Web at www.worldcat.org.

About FamilySearchFamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About OCLCFounded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 74,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.
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Find out more about OCLC

 

OCLC, WorldCat and WorldCat.org are trademarks/service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks/service marks of their respective owners.

 

The Family History Writing Challenge - 28 Days of Motivation, Education and Tools

"I am calling on all my fellow genealogist, family historians, beginners and advanced alike, to pledge to begin to write your family history during the month of February. Welcome to The Family History Writing Challenge," writes Lynn Palermo.

Because you have a passion to turn those dry documents into exciting stories about your ancestors. You've procrastinated too long and it's time to take up the challenge. Stop procrastinating; finally commit pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Assemble those family facts into a format someone will want to read.

Have you been writing sporadically never finishing a story?
Have you procrastinated writing your stories for too long?
Do you need that nudge to finish your stories and finally publish?

The challenge will help you create some good consistent writing habits with support from industry professionals. Stop starting and stalling, stop procrastinating, make 2013 the year you meet head on your family history writing goals.

You will find more details on the challenge at
http://familyhistorywritingchallenge.blogspot.ca/p/challenge.html#!/p/challenge.html

I just wrote a piece on my Smith ancestral line on my family blog at
http://larry-family-history.blogspot.com/2013/01/one-of-my-smith-brick-walls-has-tumbled.html

In fact, I have written several pieces on various families on my blog. These pieces aren't Pulitzer prize winners, but heck I'm sure my family doesn't mind. They are fun to compile, a chance to show off the research I've done and write up/share some history on the lives of my ancestors. I do like the blog vehicle to present family history. If you haven't tried it, I say go for it and let me know your blog address so I can post it here on this blog.

Spring TCCC Genealogy Classes

I just talked to the college a bit ago. Looks like we have a sell out for both nights at TCCC for our Spring classes. We will be meeting in the Enloe Building Room 111 (computer lab) on both nights. I look forward to seeing you all in class this next week.

Larry

Spring Genealogy Classes at Tri County Community College

As of this morning we have one seat left in our Tuesday night class and 5 seats left on our Thursday night class for the Spring semester at Tri County Community College in Peachtree, NC.

Once these are filled, that will be it and no other class on another night will be offered. Both classes are our Genealogy and Internet class which goes into using the Internet in researching your family history. If you are interested and have not signed up yet, you can contact Lisa Long at TCCC at 837-6810 and she will help you sign up.

CU all next week when classes start.

Response to Fox News Story on Prayer

A story on the FoxNews Channel -- Fox and Friends Morning Show on January 3 has caused quite a stir within the ranks of the Daughters of the American Revolution. You can read about this on the NSDAR Archibald D. Murphey chapter blog by clicking here.

New Technology Will Make DNA Sequencing Affordable

By Jennifer Welsh and the Business Insider website

Ever since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, researchers have been striving to make this laborious task cheaper and easier.

Genomes, and the DNA they are made of, are critically important to every piece of life on Earth. Differences in the sequence of DNA letters that make up an organism's genome are what makes a fir tree a fir tree and not a platypus. These DNA letters form genes — which are translated by cellular machinery to make proteins and other products that make up the majority of structures in a cell, and therefore the majority of things in a person, animal, plant or even bacteria.

Studying how different DNA codes translate to different proteins is important in clinical settings, as well as in research laboratories in almost every different sector of scientific research.

A company called Oxford Nanopore Technologies is about to release a set of technologies that could make reading this code quicker and easier. They are called the GridION and MinION systems, and could herald in a next generation of DNA sequencing on the cheap.

You can read the rest of this story at: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-new-technology-will-make-genome-sequencing-affordable-2012-8#ixzz2H0qr83RF

Genealogist's Christmas Eve

'Twas the night before Christmas
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even my spouse.

The dining room table with clutter was spread
With pedigree charts and with letters which said...
"Too bad about the data for which you wrote;
Sank in a storm on an ill-fated boat."

Stacks of old copies of wills and such
Were proof that my work had become too much.
Our children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

And I at my table was ready to drop
From work on my album with photos to crop.
Christmas was here, and such was my lot
That presents and goodies and toys I'd forgot.

Had I not been busy with grandparents' wills,
I'd not have forgotten to shop for such thrills,
While others bought gifts to bring Christmas cheers,
I'd spent time researching those birth dates and years.

While I was thus musing about my sad plight,
A strange noise on the lawn gave me such a great fright.
Away to the window I flew in a flash,
Tore open the drapes and yanked up the sash.

When what with my wondering eyes should appear,
But an overstuffed sleigh and eight small reindeer.
Up to the house top the reindeer they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys and 'ole Santa Claus, too.

And then in a twinkle, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of thirty-two hoofs.
As I drew in my head, and bumped it on the sash,
Down the cold chimney fell Santa--KER-RASH!

"Dear" Santa had come from the roof in a wreck,
And tracked soot on the carpet, (I could wring his short neck!)
Spotting my face, good 'ole Santa could see
I had no Christmas spirit you'd have to agree.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings, (I felt like a jerk).
Here was Santa, who'd brought us such gladness and joy:
When I'd been too busy for even one toy.

He spied my research on the table all spread
"A genealogist!" He cried! (My face was all red!)
"Tonight I've met many like you," Santa grinned,
As he pulled from his sack a large book he had penned.

I gazed with amusement--the cover it read
Genealogy Lines for Which You Have Plead.
"I know what it's like as a genealogy bug."
He said as he gave me a great Santa hug.

"While the elves make the sleighful of toys I now carry,
I do some research in the North Pole Library!
A special treat I am thus able to bring,
To genealogy folk who can't find a thing."

"Now off you go to your bed for a rest,
I'll clean up the house from this genealogy mess."
As I climbed up the stairs full of gladness and glee,
I looked back at Santa who'd brought much to me.

While settling in bed, I heard Santa's clear whistle,
To his team, which then rose like the down of a thistle.
And I heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight,
"Family history is Fun! Merry Christmas! Goodnight!"

--Author Unknown

 -- The earliest attribution found for this particular poem is for Gibbs Publishing House of Toledo, Ohio, which published it as a Christmas Card. Some Web sites attribute the poem to Dora Mills c. 2001, but it has been around since at least 1988. Dora Mills does appear to have written at least one poem based on Clement Moore's poem, titled A Christmas Incident which appeared in the Ash Tree Echo in January 1983.
 

Researching Your Family History on the Internet

The Spring classes for Tri County Community have been set and Larry is bringing back an update version of his most popular class - Researching Your Family History on the Internet.

The Internet offers a wonderful array of databases, records, and other resources for researching your family tree online. Knowing how to search and where to search online is a must for any genealogist using the Internet for their research. Without this information, you may just end up spinning your wheels.

 

This course will teach you how to search like a pro, find genealogy databases, and discover your family history on the Web. All the top sites such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, GenealogyBank, Fold3, National Archives, Google, Mocavo and many more will be covered. Students will learn how to find these resources, tips and tricks on using them, and how to put them to use in their family research.

 

Pre-registration and pre-payment is required in order to get a confirmed seat. This course is open to all, but some knowledge of the genealogy research process is required to make effective use of the course material. This course will be offered on two different nights and seating is very, very limited.

Instructor - Larry Van Horn (14 Week Class)
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Tuesday (Starts January 15)
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thursday (Starts January 17)

You have basically Monday, December 17 and Tuesday, December 18 to get on the list before the college closes for the holidays. You will be able to register after the holidays starting on January 7.

 

As of this writing Tuesday night is filling fast with more seats available on Thursday night. Since class size is limited to 13 only, I highly recommend you do not delay in getting registered. Once they are full, I can't squeeze anyone else in.lineage

 

Hope to CU all in classes.

 

Tri County College genealogy instructor Larry Van Horn discusses a lineage and how to use DNA testing.

 

 

 

Free Genealogy Workshop to Discuss DNA This Weekend

Free Genealogy Workshop to Discuss DNA Tests in Genealogy Research
Local Family Historian to Conduct Free Genealogy Seminar

           

Genealogists trace family trees through vital records and historical documents. But most of you, like most all genealogists, will find like that inevitably the paper trail eventually ends in a “brick wall.”

Non-paternity events, such as illegitimate births, adoptions, and name changes can also mean that a branch you are tracing may not, in fact, be part of your biological tree. There is a way to conduct genealogy research under such conditions and thanks to genetic genealogy DNA testing, that break through brick walls and find the truth.

If you are interested in genealogy, genetic genealogy testing or have already testing and looking for more information, then a free genetic DNA genealogy workshop that will be held on December 8 is a must attend.

Larry Van Horn, noted local family historian, syndicated genealogy newspaper columnist, and genealogy instructor/lecturer will conduct this free genetic genealogy seminar for genealogists on December 8 (Saturday morning) between 9:00-12:00 a.m. at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street in Hayesville, North Carolina.

Larry, who has been teaching genealogy classes at Tri-County Community College for the last 14 years, will present material that will aid the newcomer in discovering their family's past using this new high tech genealogy tool.

So if you are interested in researching your past, and uncovering your family's great American story, be sure to mark December 8 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the Moss Memorial Library on your calendar.

Larry Van Horn discusses autsomal DNA testing results on an ancestral chart (Photo by Gayle Van Horn)

"HMS" Bounty Victim was a Fletcher Christian Descendant

HMS Bounty crew member Claudene Christian Photo: Alamy/@ClaudeneC

The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com.

I am sure you have read about the loss of tall ship "HMS" Bounty in the super storm Sandy. The ship was a replica of the famous HMS Bounty seized by Fletcher Christian and other mutineers in 1789. One crew member of the modern replica, Claudene Christian, has died and the ship's captain is missing. In an ironic twist, Claudene Christian was the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian, the instigator of the original mutiny.

Claudene Christian was a graduate of University of Southern California, as well as a former Miss Teen Alaska. She also was the creator of “Cheerleader Dolls.” (See http://www.cheerleaderdollcompany.com/about/my-story for more information. You can read about Claudene Christian and even watch a video of her at that web site.)

An almost exact replica of the original, the "HMS" Bounty was built for the 1962 filming of the Hollywood Classic “Mutiny on the Bounty”, starring Marlon Brando, but also featured the helm used in the 1935 movie starring Clark Gable. In recent years, the Bounty made cameo appearances in a score of movies from “Treasure Island” and Spongebob Squarepants to “Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest.”

You can read more about this tragic story at http://goo.gl/UCj1L.

My thanks to newsletter reader Peter McCracken, publisher of ShipIndex.org, for telling me the sad news.

Centennial Farms

Does your family have a farm that has been in the family for 100 years? To qualify as a centennial farm, an agricultural property must have been owned by a straight or collateral line of descendants of the original owner for at least 100 years. To learn more about the centennial farm program, who qualifies, and how your family can register a centennial farm, read the current article on the Genealogy and Family History blog, www.genealogyandfamilyhistory.com.

Cursive, foiled again

Imagine sometime in the future generations of future adults who cannot read or write in cursive. Hard to believe huh. Future genealogists who will not be able to read old records they need to conduct their genealogy research!

Gene Weingarten addresses the question in an article in the Washington Post Magazine click here Thanks to Dick Eastman and his EOGN newsletter for the heads up on this article.
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High-Tech Tomb Hunter Finds Unmarked Graves for a Living

By Marty Graham, Wired Magazine

Elizabeth Agin’s professional popularity is simple and deep: The Tennessee-based cemetery science investigator knows where the bodies are buried -- and she can find out where there are more.

In the past five years Agin, 31, has identified hundreds of unmarked graves, using a combination of ground-penetrating radar (GPR), GPS, geospatial software and a sharp eye. She's one of a handful of specialists hired chiefly by cemeteries and construction survey teams -- people who need to move bodies, count them or identify them and the extra space around them.

It's an obscure science, and one that's generating renewed interest as a new search for remains of people murdered by the notorious Manson family unfolds at two California ranches. Agin says that some of the techniques she uses could help searchers, who are relying on cadaver-sniffing dogs, soil samples and ground-penetrating radar to try to identify grave sites.

You can read the complete story by clicking here.

Cemetery photos: permission required?

Can you legally photograph cemetery tombstones without getting permission first? It is a subject I have never thought about, but The Legal Genealogist, Judy G. Russell has.

She is highly qualified to write about legal issues that affect genealogists, as Judy is both a law professor at a major university and a Certified Genealogist (CG).
You can read about Judy's thoughts on this subject on her blog - The Legal Genealogist by clicking here.

Ancestry.com to be sold to Permira Funds for $1.6 billion

By Tom Murphy, The Associated Press

Genealogy website Ancestry.com has agreed to be acquired by a group led by European private-equity firm Permira Funds in a cash deal valued at about $1.6 billion.

The offered price of $32 per share is a nearly 10 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $29.18. Ancestry.com's shares jumped 8 percent, or $2.33, to $31.51 in Nasdaq trading Monday.
The company operates a website for researching family history and has more than 2 million paying subscribers. It says more than 10 billion records have been added to its site over the past 15 years. The company develops and acquires systems that digitize handwritten historical documents, and it works with government archives, historical societies and religious institutions around the world.

Earlier this year, Ancestry.com created a nationwide name index from the 1940 U.S. Census after the National Archives posted it online. The index makes it easier for researchers to look up digital images of the actual census forms on Ancestry.com's website because they don't need a subject's exact address.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali called Ancestry.com "the world's largest online resource for family history" in a recent note.

Ancestry's services were used on the NBC show "Who Do You Think You Are?" which tracked celebrities as they researched their family history. Ancestry.com also was a sponsor of the show, and its shares took a hit in May, when NBC said it would not renew for a fourth season.

But Squali said the show will likely be revived on a cable network.

Maryand Guard member helping commemorate Battle of Antietam

Maryland Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Mark Pheabus, pictured portraying a Confederate gun crew ammunition carrier at a Civil War reenactment in Westminster, Md., will participate in the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam this weekend. (Photo by Nancy McKenzie)

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON (9/14/12) - Army Staff Sgt. Mark Pheabus puts on his uniform every month to train with the Maryland National Guard’s 29th Military Police Company in Westminster, Md.

This weekend, however, he’ll be wearing a very different uniform, portraying a Confederate soldier at reenactments marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam.

Days after Americans observed the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States, Pheabus will be among thousands gathering in Sharpsburg, Md., to commemorate the bloodiest single day in U.S. history.
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Antietam was the first major Civil War battle to take place on Northern soil. It pitted Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia against George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac at Antietam Creek.
The 12-hour battle on Sept. 17, 1862, claimed a mind-boggling 23,000 casualties among Union and Confederate forces. That’s more troops killed, wounded and missing than during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War combined.

The 150th commemoration, which kicks off today at Antietam National Battlefield and continues through the weekend, will include reenactments and a wide variety of forums, tours and lectures to help educate the public about the battle.

It also will include a candle-lit remembrance ceremony. The names of all 2,108 Union and 1,546 Confederate soldiers that were killed or mortally wounded in the battle will be read aloud, followed by an artillery salute.

For Pheabus and his fellow reenactors, participating in the battle’s 150th anniversary “is a very big deal,” he said.

A history buff since childhood who grew up fascinated by the Civil War, Pheabus participated in his first reenactment in the mid-1970s. After a hiatus due to conflicts with his military drill weekends, he returned to the hobby several years ago.

Pheabus has portrayed both Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as civilians on the battlefield. “I have all the uniforms, equipment and camping gear,” he said.

This weekend, however, he’ll be a member of Lee’s army, which some historians say technically won the battle. However, McClellan had halted Lee’s invasion of the North.

And though Lee’s troops had held their ground at the end of the bloody day, the Confederates were so depleted that they had to limp back to Virginia, making it a less-than-overwhelming victory.
The outcome could have been markedly different, Pheabus recognizes.

Many of Lee’s forces were underequipped, the result of an uneven distribution system that left some Confederate states with packed warehouses and others with nothing.

In addition, Lee lost about one-third of his army at the Potomac River crossing. Many of the Confederates were focused only on defending their homes and saw no reason to press into Maryland and points further north.

McClellan had a big advantage going into the battle. One of his soldiers, a corporal from the 27th Indiana troop, had found Lee’s battle plan in a field, wrapped around three cigars.

McClellan’s army also outnumbered the Confederates almost two-to-one, but the Union general kept many of his soldiers in reserve rather than committing them to the battle.

“Lee’s army could have been destroyed right there if McClellan hadn’t been so timid,” Pheabus said.
Historians are mixed on that point. In a recent presentation for the Defense Department’s historical speakers’ series, retired history professor Tom Clemens said McClellan, considered by many historians to be an ineffectual commander, was in fact hamstrung by political and military jealousies that ultimately led to his removal from command.

Although the 150th anniversary commemoration will focus on the battle and its impact on the Civil War’s outcome, Pheabus said he’s looking forward to bringing alive the stories of the soldiers who fought it. In many cases, he said they’re just like today’s men and women in uniform.

“They have so much in common,” he said. “They were all away from home, missing their families. It’s everything that our soldiers experience now.”

Although the Battle of Antietam is remembered for its human toll, historians note that it proved to be transformational -- for the United States and the U.S. military.

A week after the battle, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves held in Confederate territory, but ironically, not those in Maryland. That order took effect Jan. 1, 1863.

Lesser recognized by many are the new doors the Battle of Antietam helped open for the armed forces. It laid the foundation for today’s military medical system and its logistics network and led to the founding of the American Red Cross, the Christian Commission and other nonprofit organizations supporting the military.

The tactics of the battle continue to be studied today and analyses of them will not only fill volumes, but libraries. Historians attribute the heavy human toll at Antietam to Napoleonic doctrine and tactics – with concentrated forces, rank-and-file battle formations and close-quarters combat -- along with artillery, improved rifles and “Minie ball” ammunition that caused massive internal damage.

The magnitude of the carnage proved to be a test bed for the newly organized Union Ambulance Corps that evacuated casualties from the battlefield. Troops too wounded to be moved were treated for the first time in new, semi-permanent field hospitals.

And despite their differences, Union and Confederate soldiers were treated side by side, receiving the same level of care from the Union Medical Department. “Humanity teaches us that a wounded and prostrate foe is not then our enemy,” remarked Dr. (Maj.) Jonathan Letterman, medical director for McClellan’s army.

Letterman was a visionary in other ways as well, and is remembered today as the “Father of Modern Battlefield Medicine.”

He took lessons from Antietam and other Civil War engagements to develop a medical evacuation system that transported casualties to a field dressing station, then a field hospital, then to a large field hospital away from the battlefield.

And frustrated by delays in getting medical supplies where and when they were needed, Letterman came up with an efficient distribution system that ensured regiments had ready access to basic medical supplies and a reliable source of replacements.

Meanwhile, another Civil War luminary, Clara Barton, provided surgeons with critical medical supplies, fed and comforted the wounded, and even helped surgeons during operations.
Remembered as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” Barton took her experiences at Antietam and elsewhere during the Civil War to found the American Association of the Red Cross in 1881. She also established what became the Missing Soldiers Office, which helped to locate more than 22,000 missing soldiers after the war.

Another nongovernmental organization, the U.S. Christian Commission, gained a strong following after the battle. Created by leaders of the Young Men’s Christian Association and Protestant ministers, it rallied to provide medical, recreational and religious support for Union troops.
Antietam also introduced the horror of war to many Americans through the combat photography of Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner and his assistant, James Gibson.

“If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our dooryards and along streets, he has done something very like it,” The New York Times wrote of Brady’s “The Dead of Antietam” exhibit.