TSLAC Genealogy After Dark, 18 July 2014

The Texas State Library continues its Genealogy After Dark program on 18 July 2014 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Registration is limited to 30 participants. A link to the registration form is available at: http://www.tsl.texas.gov/genafterdark.html. Registration ends on 11 July (one week before the event). Parking is available in the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage at 1201 San Jacinto.

If you have questions, contact the library at reference.desk@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455.

The State Library will close at 5:00 p.m. and reopen at 6:00 p.m. for Genealogy After Dark participants. The building will be locked at 6:45 p.m. and no participants will be admitted after that time.

There is no program this time, but you have access to the materials of the library and archives:

• 6:00 Sign-in. Reference and Genealogy research rooms open.
• 6:15 Orientation: Requesting and Using Materials in the Texas State Archives (required for those planning to use archival materials during the event). Archives research room opens immediately after orientation.
• 7:45 Light refreshments in Lobby.
• 9:45 Archives research room and microfilm and photocopy rooms close.
• 10:00 Building secured.

In addition to all of the wonderful original records available in the archives, the library has shelves and shelves of reference books for Texas laws. Prior to the registration of births by the state you may be able to use tax rolls and state laws to determine an ancestor's birth year. What did the law say was the age at which a man first had to pay a poll tax (a head tax,a tax for just being alive and of a certain age, nothing to do with voting)? Find your ancestor's name on the tax roll the first time he pays a poll tax, determine the mandated age when a poll tax was levied, and you can compute a possible birth year for that ancestor.

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To cite this blog post:

Debbie Parker Wayne, "Texas State Library, Genealogy After Dark, 18 July 2014," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 24 June 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

Digital Catalog for Appeals to the British Privy Council from the American Colonies

17 June 2014 update: I got a message from Mary Sarah Bilder, Professor of Law, Lee Distinguished Scholar, Boston College Law School, letting me know the correct title of this collection should have used the word Colonies, which I originally added in brackets, instead of Plantations. I made this correction in the post title. Professor Bilder included a link to an interesting article on an appeal related to the Phillips-Woodbridge duel in the June 2014 "Object of the Month" posted at the Massachusetts Historical Society: http://www.masshist.org/object-of-the-month. This background adds to what we can learn in the papers filed for the appeal.

Many sources used by historians are also useful to genealogists studying our family history.

Are you looking for the name of the wife of Thomas Parker who was in Virginia by April 1699? Have you considered court records in England? Thomas Starke of London appealed a ruling of the court in Virginia to the British Privy Council. Records of that appeal give us the name of Thomas Parker's wife Francillia who is executrix for Joseph Goodricke.¹ If this case is from a burned Virginia county this information could be extremely useful to a descendant of Francillia Parker. We'd also be interested in the relationship between Francillia and Goodricke in case this could lead us to her maiden name.

The Legal History Blog posted about one of these new sources in "An Annotated Digital Catalogue to Appeals to the Privy Council". The post tells us over 800 cases were appealed to the British Privy Council from the colonies and about one-third of those cases came from what is now the U.S.²

Annotations added to the original papers (such as the legal briefs) link to other useful resources. In some cases only the register books have been found; in some cases the register books and the briefs filed for the appeal still exist. Links take you to digital images of the record books. Where the briefs are not available the entries in the record books may not give details of the case, but just state whether the original ruling was upheld or not. Some cases have pages and pages of briefs filed by both sides in the case.

The advice to students on how to use these resources will also be helpful to genealogists; definitions of the papers and processes help us understand the British legal system.

I can't wait to spend more time in this source.

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1. Starke v Parker, Appeals to the Privy Council, Acts of the Privy Council, Colonial Series, Virginia, Report No. 13_1699_00; digital index and images, Ames Foundation, Harvard Law (http://amesfoundation.law.harvard.edu/ColonialAppeals/index_new.php?report_no=13_1699_00 : accessed 16 June 2014). Images from the National Archives, London, England, may be used only for purposes of research, private study, or education; reproduction permission was granted for the Harvard website. Copyright laws in England are different than those in the U.S. Be sure you understand the laws applied to this source before using it.

2. Dan Ernst, "An Annotated Digital Catalogue to Appeals to the Privy Council," Legal History Blog, posted 12 June 2014 (http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/: accessed 16 June 2014).

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Digital Catalog for Appeals to the British Privy Council from the American Colonies," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 16 June 2014, updated 17 June 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

SLIG 2015 Registration Opens

There are still seats open in some of the tracks at the 2015 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and some courses have already filled. If the course you want is filled be sure to get on the waiting list as you never know when someone may have to change their plans to attend thereby creating an unexpected opening for you to slip in to!

Here is the announcement from SLIG:

Registration for SLIG 2015 opens on Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 9:00 AM Mountain Time! Pick your course, so that you are ready to enroll when registration opens as there are limited seats and ​the ​courses fill fast. The following ​tracks are being offered:

• The Family History Law Library (Judy Russell, JD, CG, CGL and Rick Sayre, CG, CGL)
  
• Beyond the Library: Researching in Original Resource Repositories (John Colletta, Ph.D., FUGA)
  
• Advanced Genealogical Methods (Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS)
  
• Finding Immigrant Origins (David Ouimette, CG)
  
• Advanced German Research (F. Warren Bittner, CG)
  
• Advanced Research Tools: Post-War Military Records (Craig R. Scott, CG, FUGA)
  
• Resources & Strategies for United States Research, Part I (Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA, FMGS)
  
• From Confusion to Conclusion: Writing Proof Arguments (Kimberly Powell and Harold Henderson, CG)
  
• Getting Started with Genetic Genealogy (Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL)
  
• Advanced DNA Analysis (CeCe Moore, Angie Bush)
  
• Diving Deeper into New England (Advanced) (D. Joshua Taylor, MA)
  
• Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum (Angela McGhie)
  

Immerse yourself in a specific genealogical topic for a week-long educational opportunity that is unparalleled. Many of the courses are interactive and highlight on site research at the Family History Library (FHL) as well as one-on-one consultations with the course coordinators and instructors. These individuals are genealogical experts and provide guidance and insight that may help you overcome those brick walls and move forward with your research.

Attendees have time to explore Salt Lake City’s many attractions as well as spend time outside of the course researching at the FHL. The library is a short walk from the Institute’s location.

When making your travel plans, you may also want to consider attending the Association of Professional Genealogist’s Professional Management Conference (PMC), which will be held the Thursday and Friday before the Institute begins. You can check their website (https://www.apgen.org/conferences/index.html) for more information. You can experience two great events being held back-to-back at one location!

Sign-up before October 31st and you will save over 10% off your registration. Become a member of UGA and increase your savings even more.

​For more information on the Institute and registration information go to
http://www.infouga.org/cpage.php?pt=42.

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "SLIG 2015 Registration Opens," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 15 June 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

Standards for Genetic Genealogy

(I know I should have posted this two weeks ago, but other commitments have taken precedence over this blog recently.)

A group of genetic genealogists have been working for several months now to create a draft of Genetic Genealogy Standards. Informal discussions started much earlier, but the time seems right for formal standards to be developed as more researchers begin using DNA for genealogy. These standards do not teach how to analyze DNA data. The standards cover privacy and ethical situations we should all consider as we take a DNA test, ask relatives to take a DNA test, and as we share those test results privately and publicly.

Formal discussions were led by The Genetic Genealogist blogger Blaine Bettinger. More importantly for this effort, he also holds a PhD in Biochemistry and a JD. Others in the group are from several countries, some are medical doctors, some are biologists and geneticists, some are project administrators, most are genealogists—professional, forensic, genetic, and family, or all of these—or have an interest in genealogy. A selected group of genealogists and genetic genealogists outside of the original discussion group were asked for comments prior to making the document available to the public.

Blaine created a website to allow the document to be available for public comment at Genetic Genealogy Standards.

Please take the time to download and review the document then use the website to provide official feedback. The feedback period ends June 15th. The more reviewers we have, the better the final document will be.

Blaine blogged about this on 12 May 2014 at Announcing the Creation of Genetic Genealogy Standards.

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Standards for Genetic Genealogy," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 29 May 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

SCGS Jamboree streamed and recorded sessions

I won't be able to attend the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree this year, but I can see some exciting sessions from the comfort of my home without airport hassles and travel costs. Yay!

For details see the Jamboree Live Streaming Schedule.

These DNA Day sessions will be streamed, require a fee to view, and will be available for viewing for 30 days only (not a part of the general archive of sessions for members):

• CeCe Moore: "Real World Stories from the Desk of a Genealogy DNA Detective"
  
• Diahan Southard: "Lab Tour: How Your Data is Generated"
  
• Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD: "Using Autosomal DNA to Explore Your Ancestry"
  
• Dr. Maurice Gleeson: "Which DNA is Best for You?"
  
• Tim Janzen, MD: "Advanced Techniques for Use of Autosomal DNA Tests to Break Through Genealogical Brick Walls"

These sessions will be streamed, are free to view, and many will be available for viewing (as part of the general archive of sessions for members) after the conference:

• Friday, June 6 - Four sessions 1:00pm to 6:30pm PDT
  
  • Judy G. Russell JD, CG, CGL - "Dowered or Bound Out: Records of Widows and Orphans"
    
  • Blaine Bettinger PhD, JD - "DNA and the Genealogical Proof Standard"
    
  • Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA - "Manuscript Finding Aids: Locating Migrating Family Records"
    
  • F. Warren Bittner, CG - "Proof Arguments: How and Why"
    

• Saturday, June 7 - Six sessions 8:30am to 6:00pm PDT
  
  • F. Warren Bittner, CG - "Elusive Immigrant!"
    
  • Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL - "Staying out of Trouble: The Rights and Responsibilities of Today's Genealogist"
    
  • Michael Leclerc - "Researching Your New England Ancestors"
    
  • Bennett Greenspan - "The Future of Genetic Genealogy"
    
  • Dr. Maurice Gleeson - "Researching Your Irish Ancestry"
    
  • Cyndi Ingle - "The Internet: A Genealogist's Printing Press"
    

• Sunday, June 8 - Four sessions 8:30am to 3:30pm PDT
  
  • D. Joshua Taylor - "Resources of the DAR: Beyond Revolutionary War Soldiers"
    
  • Dawn Thurston - "How to Write a Personal History that Captures your Interesting Life"
    
  • Dr. Maurice Gleeson - "Ireland and the Slave Trade"
    
  • Denise Levenick - "Dirty Pictures: Save Your Family Photos from Ruin"
    

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "SCGS Jamboree streamed and recorded sessions," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 29 May 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

MyHeritage offers free access to military records May 23-26

This Friday through Monday, May 23-26, MyHeritage will offer free access to U.S. military records in honor of our Memorial Day. MyHeritage is a subscription site offering access to record images and databases, family trees, and many other things useful to researchers. One of those useful features is a SmartMatch service. Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings discusses the feature here http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/05/looking-for-cousins-in-myheritage-smart.html and in many other posts you can find by searching his website for "myheritage."

Here is the announcement from MyHeritage:

In honor of Memorial Day, MyHeritage is offering FREE access to millions of US military records, which will be available to search from May 23 to May 26.

Military records are valuable resources that provide insight into the lives of those who have served in the armed forces, as well as their families. With these records, users can learn about their ancestors and honor their memory and service to their country.

Please see our special search page for the military collections that will be free over the Memorial Day weekend: www.myheritage.com/memorialday

The link is already live, but the collections will be free starting on Friday, May 23.

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "MyHeritage offers free access to military records May 23-26," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 19 May 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

DNA Day 2014

Today is DNA Day—celebrating publication of the structure of DNA and the announcement of "completion" of the mapping of our DNA by the Human Genome Project.¹

Big things happening today include the updated Y-DNA Haplotree from Family Tree DNA. The tree is being expanded from 400 to over 1000 branches and will sport a new design interface. A free webinar today at noon Central Time (5pm UTC) will provide details on and demonstrate the new tree. Register for the live webinar at http://bit.ly/1dGbbbx or catch it later when it will be posted online at http://www.familytreedna.com/learn/ftdna/webinars/.

AncestryDNA is offering a $20 discount on their autosomal DNA test.

23andMe isn't advertising a sale today as they did a sale earlier this year. This is another good place for a DNA test for genealogical purposes.

Check the websites of other testing companies to see what they may be offering today. But if you are ordering an autosomal test for genealogical purposes be sure you are getting a test that includes 500,000 markers or more and not one of the lower resolution tests.

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1. "DNA Day," WikiPedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_day : accessed 25 April 2014)

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "DNA Day 2014," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 25 April 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

All images created by and © 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

TSLAC Genealogy After Dark - 25 April 2014

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) is hosting another Genealogy After Dark program on 25 April 2014. Contact them at geninfo@tsl.state.tx.us or 512-463-5455 for more information or to register. Registration is limited to 30 and you must register by 18 April 2014.

The schedule is:

• 6:00 - Sign-in (Note: You must enter before 6:45 p.m. when the building will be locked.)
  
• 6:15 - Presentation by John Anderson, TSLAC Preservation Officer and Photo Archivist: “Researching Prints and Photographs in the Texas State Archives…and Beyond”
  
• 7:15 - Genealogy and Reference rooms open for research
  Orientation: Requesting and Using Materials in the Texas State Archives (required for anyone planning to use archival materials during the event)
  Texas State Archives open for research, immediately following the orientation
  
• 7:45 - Light refreshments in the lobby
  
• 9:45 - Microfilm and photocopy rooms close
  
• 10:00 - Building secured
  

Park on the street or at the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage at 1201 San Jacinto, one block east of the Zavala Building. There is no charge for visitors who arrive after 5:00 p.m.

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "TSLAC Genealogy After Dark - 25 April 2014," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 2 April 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

mtDNA Test Sale at Family Tree DNA

For the next four days Family Tree DNA is offering reduced prices for mtDNA full sequence test orders and upgrades. Orders must be placed and paid for before 11:59 p.m. Central Time on 1 April 2014.

Sale Prices Are

mtDNAFullSequence Addon and New Kits - Now $139 US (Save $60)

mtHVR1toMEGA Upgrade - Now $99 US (Save $50)

mtHVR2toMEGA Upgrade - Now $89 US (Save $70)

The Full Sequence mtDNA test is the most comprehensive mtDNA test available and is only offered by Family Tree DNA. Order Now from Family Tree DNA.

We made the announcement this morning at the Forensic Genealogy Institute and several attendees immediately ordered the test after learning how to use the test results yesterday in the sessions I taught on "Forensic Techniques for Genetic Genealogy." I can't wait to hear what they learn from this test.

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "mtDNA Test Sale at Family Tree DNA," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 28 March 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved

Registration Feb. 12th for Practical Genetic Genealogy at GRIP

Ten or so years ago I wished for an in-depth training class on using DNA for genealogy.

Genetic genealogists were mostly self-taught. Around that time Family Tree DNA started offering a two-day conference for project administrators. I wasn’t an admin at that time so I couldn’t attend. Megan Smolenyak and Ann Turner published their book on using DNA to Trace Your Roots.¹ Colleen Fitzpatrick had a DNA section in Forensic Genealogy.² Ann Turner had started the genealogy-dna mail list on RootsWeb.³ Other educational opportunities were mostly non-existent other than one-hour introductory presentations at conferences and seminars. You can’t do in-depth in one hour when you have to start with the basics.

Five or so years ago a group of professional and aspiring professional genealogists discussed whether or not there was enough a genealogist needs to learn about DNA to fill a week-long institute course. My response was a resounding YES even as I got some very skeptical looks from others. I had already started a list of things I thought should be included. And this was before I knew much about autosomal DNA.

I refined my list of potential topics. I sat in on sessions looking for good speakers who were knowledgeable about the topic. In my opinion, a good genetic genealogy speaker doesn’t just teach the scientific facts. The good genetic genealogy speaker, when speaking to a newbie or general audience, has to be able to choose the part of the science a genealogist must understand and eliminate the part only the scientist or DNA nerd needs. The good genetic genealogy speaker has to be able to relate the required scientific knowledge to what a genealogist already knows about research. The good genetic genealogy speaker has experience using the latest DNA analysis techniques and can demonstrate those techniques so any motivated genealogist can learn them. The good genetic genealogy speaker keeps up with the latest developments in the community.

In 2012 I met and became friends with a group I felt I would enjoy working with and who I knew would present a course I would want to attend myself. In 2013 our course proposal was accepted.

This year all of that planning becomes a reality as CeCe Moore, Blaine Bettinger, and I offer the first week-long genetic genealogy course at a genealogy institute in the U.S. – Practical Genetic Genealogy.

Registration starts February 12th at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) for the Practical Genetic Genealogycourse offered on July 20-25, 2014.

The course outline is available at http://www.gripitt.org/?page_id=1147.

The course is expected to fill up quickly if everyone who has told us they want to attend really tries to register. Tips for Quickly Getting Through Registration is available at http://www.gripitt.org/?p=1296

I am looking forward to this so much as I hope we can help others learn what I wish someone had been around to teach me ten years ago.

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1. Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak and Ann Turner, Trace Your Roots with DNA (Emmaus, Penn., Rodale Press, 2004).
2. Colleen Fitzpatrick, Forensic Genealogy (Fountain Valley, Cal., Rice Book Press, 2005).
3. Ann Turner, founder, Genealogy-DNA List on RootsWeb ( http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/DNA/GENEALOGY-DNA.html).

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To cite this blog post:
Debbie Parker Wayne, "Registration Feb. 12th for Practical Genetic Genealogy at GRIP," Deb's Delvings Blog, posted 9 February 2014 (http://debsdelvings.blogspot.com/ : accessed [date]).

© 2014, Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL, All Rights Reserved