COMING UP - POLAND RESEARCH - IT'S HAPPENING!

I have an ancestral line to Poland and know some of you are frustrated by POLAND RESEARCH. So I'll be posting on the subject of Poland genealogy soon - come back here to ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BlogSpot on May 5th. See you then!

BLACKSTONE BOUGHT ANCESTRY FOR NEAR FIVE BILLION DOLLARS : HOW PRIVATE IS YOUR DNA ?

LATIMES WHAT MIGHT Blackstone DO WITH ANCESTY'S DNA DATA 

The PAPER version of this article which appeared in the LA Times on April 13, 20121 by David Lazarus was called  "What Might Blackstone Do With Ancestry's DNA Data?"  On line, where it is showing up in Spanish, it is called  "Why Would A Company Invest Millions To Buy Ancestry, If It Is Not Interested In The DNA Data Of Its Users?"

Excerpt: He and other bioethicists were quick to note that existing federal medical privacu laws do not apply to genealogy sites.  These companies are basically free to do whatever they want with people's genetic data.

"A lot of these sites are bait and hoax," Caplan said.  "They offer interesting content, but what they're really looking for is your DNA."

So take the industry's genetic privacy guarantees with a grain of salt.  These companies operate largely in the shadows and their activities are limited almost exclusively by an honor system."

***

But nearly every expert spoke with cited  the partnership  announced in 2018 between Ancestry rival 23andme and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.

***

This is a very important article and if you have allowed your DNA to be submitted to ANY genealogy site, I agree with the journalist who wrote the article.  You have no protection and no company spends billions for data they are not going to use.

REMEMBER THAT GENEALOGY DOES NOT DEPEND ON YOUR DNA. Genealogy depends on DOCUMENTS.

DATA MINING THE DECEASED : FILM REVIEW

Film Maker Julia Creet is curious and a tad skeptical. She is asking questions you ought to.

Are you part of a "captive biomedical community" because you were so eager for your DNA data results that you didn't read the fine print? 

What happens when you submit spit samples to a huge company and the data gets sold and resold? Maybe you can find out if you're Jewish but it won't give you grandma's name. **

Iceland is the big example. Quite genetically related, it's easy to meet and marry a cousin there and young couples don't want to. Presumed Consent of the Icelandic population meant that the data got sold and sold and as of the film production date was in the hands of a company called Amgen. The Icelandic database contains just about every person in Iceland.

Besides if you get real far back your chart will become subject to Pedigree Collapse (a small starter population means you are related to everyone in some way.) And if you're transgender how much do you care about being descended from Vikings?

Refresher: you get your genetics from 1/2 your parents. 1/4 your grandparents. 1/8 your great grandparents. ... Really going so far back can mean nothing at all about your personal genetic composition.

One in four people in the United States are registered with free FamilySearch, owned by the premier force in genealogy in modern times, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint's - LDS. Members trust them. Should you?

What about when members baptised Jewish Holocaust victim Anne Frank or Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl, who was beheaded by terrorists, after their deaths? Jews were not happy about that.

Do you agree to promote LDS when you use FamilySearch? What if you are not Christian? What if you are Pagan? If you upload documents that reveal your religion will it haunt you someday when Thought Police show up at your door? Missionary?

Ancestry, the genealogy database company (not related to this blog) is also extremely popular but costs. Some of the data - collected with the free labor of volunteers - is shared between these two giants and sold.

We really must ask more questions.

**it is possible that by locating others who share your genetics and collaborating you may share the documents that were missing and caused you to hit into a brick wall.

Note: Not everyone wants to spend eternity with the family they knew on earth and certainly not the husband or wife they had on earth. These eternally intact relationships are promised by LDS to those members who perform rituals called Ordinances within Temples. Locating ancestors for this purpose is the given reason for the LDS fixation on genealogy. I personally am into reincarnation and don't think we are in the same Soul Group for eternity. I have performed genealogy with and for LDS members, respect they have a right to their beliefs, and avoid discussion of religion. When needing to go into databases for members only, I have received the assistance of Family History Library volunteers.

C 2021

THANK YOU FOR MUMMY AND DADDY

Some people have wonderful parents and some have not.

I want to acknowledge all the nurturers out there who may not have children of their own but have provided loving and wise guidance to children in order to socialize them, to educate them, to raise them to be productive adults. 

 

YOU CAN ASK : A SEALED ADOPTION STATEGY : ADOPTION #6

As previously stated, it's difficult to impossible to unseal a Closed adoption and judges don't seem to think medical or psychological reasons are enough anymore. However, in thinking about this, I think there may be a way around it that could work. 

If you're in a clinical trial that is about genetics or genes or family inheritance of medical or psychological problems, I think a letter from your doctor to a judge could be persuasive. While I haven't tried this, I do know such clinical trials and research projects do exist. A friend with OCD, whose father and brother also had OCD entered into one of these research studies at a university. They were asked about parents and grandparents.

What's happening with prostate or ovarian cancer research? Does "long illness" in an obituary for GGrandpa mean the same illness your dad or you have? Do you have death certificates?

*****

What you want is the information you would get if your adoption documents were unsealed.

First do a little research on the net or make some calls. Start with the county that has your birth certificate which, if you were adopted, was redone to replace the original.  (Birth certificates should be renamed to PARENTAGE CERTIICATES!) Some county web sites will tell you that they cannot release any information other than non-identifying information. That's a start. You should seek this information out. It may be a little or a lot. Others will actually give you some advice on how to go about things.  It's usually a Children's and Family Services aspect of the government that is in charge of adoption records,

You make an appointment to see a worker at the County where your adoption took place in person. Sometimes when a birth parent has sent a letter in saying it is OK to release more information to the child and it's there in your file, your appointment could go surprisingly well.

Let me explain what an appointment to get that NONIDENTIFYING information can be like. You sit across a desk from another human who has your file - a government employee who maybe has a degree in social work. They can read the file. You can't. 

It's unfair.

No, don't try to bribe them.

YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS WITH A YES OR NO ANSWER.

Such as:

Does my mother's name begin with an A? With a B? Yes, people have gone through the alphabet one letter at a time. Is she between the ages of 21 and 25? Is she 22?

I've been told you should go in with a notebook and that you should persist with your questions and maybe -maybe- you'll find yourself alone with your file for a few minutes. Officially they are legally not allowed to reveal names of births parents, date of birth of the birth mother, and so on.

In today's modern attitudes about Adoption, which have been influenced by television shows featuring reunions and an acceptance of far less privacy than people wished to have in the pre-Internet era, you could find yourself with a sympathetic character who personally believes you have a right. 

Ssshhhh.

It's not in their job description to excuse themselves to use the bathroom and leave your file on the desk.

Have courage.

C 2021 Ancestry Worship Genealogy

Note: A genealogist specializing in adoption swears this scenario has been played out in California. I wasn't there.

Note: In my opinion the information gained from such an encounter will help you add more information in an Adoption Registry. Some counties say they will help you make contact.

Adoption Strategies - AWG

APRIL FOOLS

Ever wonder where you lost your glasses?

I thought this image was hilarious. Again, sent to me, I have no idea of the source. Do you?

 

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy