CITIZENSHIP : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : #3 EVOLUTION OF THE DECLARATION OF INTENT "FIRST PAPERS" : IS CITIZENSHIP A RIGHT OF BIRTH IN THE UNITED STATES

 ARCHIVES GOV : HISTORY OF THE DECLARATION OF INTENT (CITIZENSHIP)

Read here about the changes through history and the Old Law (1795 till 1906) in which various courts had different forms, and the New Law (in which the forms were unified).

The "3 papers" we often seek were in general from 1906 until 1952.

Excerpt: Waiting Period between filing the Declaration of Intent and more paperwork.

January 29, 1795 and June 17, 1798	3 years
June 18, 1798 and April 13, 1802	5 years
April 14, 1802 and May 25, 1824	3 years
May 26, 1824 and December 23, 1952	2 years

Remember that filing a Declaration of Intent does not meant the person(s) followed through and actually became citizens.

Check by state for "walk into the courthouse and swear on a Bible" Citizenship. A typical walk in would be a person who just turned 18, who was brought into the country by immigrant parents (or who was born in the country to them) and they didn't complete the process due to their deaths or some other factor. Such a person and their situation was usually known to the community.

Has BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP in THE UNITED STATES CONSITUTION - The 14th Amendment - always been interpreted the same way? 

This has become controversial.

Here is a link to THE FEDERAL REGISTER at the NATIONAL ARCHIVES (NARA), a Daily Journal of the United States Government in which President Donald Trump's notions have been published: A Presidential Document by the Executive Office of the President on 1/29/2025

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/29/2025-02007/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship

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A FATHER NURTURES A SON'S INTERESTS

 It's not easy to find a free downloadable vintage public domain image

 of a father nurturing a son.

I think the dearth of these images, compared to those available

 for mothers and Mother's Day, is telling. 

 

 

 

WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY COMING UP JUNE 15th : USC CENTER FOR ELDER JUSTICE

ELDERMISTREATENT USC EDU - JUNE 15 2025 

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

image of grandma from Graphics Fairy

CITIZENSHIP : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : RESEARCHING DEPORTATION RECORDS? : U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES #2 (LOTS OF GOOD STUFF!)

USCIS : FEE BASED DEPORTATION SERVICE 

Yes you do have to pay a fee for their research but there are exemptions.

There is way more here at the USCIS than DEPORTATION:

WHY MIGHT REQUESTING THE FILES FOR YOUR ANCESTORS TURN OUT TO HAVE MORE THAN ANY DATABASE? (My question.)

 Excerpt:

The question is important because it speaks to the most common misconception about USCIS historical records, namely that USCIS C-files are exact duplicates of court records. Yet C-Files are not exact duplicates of court records for three reasons:

1. Technically, the duplication is not exact because C-Files contain a copy of the naturalization certificate issued to the new citizen in addition to duplicate court forms. That said, if the C-File contains only a certificate, petition for naturalization, and declaration of intention, researchers might consider that C-File as little more than a duplicate of court records available from the National Archives (NARA) or from a courthouse.

2. Not all C-Files are small. Millions of C-Files contain a variety of additional forms and documents generated before or after the naturalization date. To see some examples visit the C-Files Image Gallery.  Please go to this link as it lists a number of documents that might be especially interesting, some I personally had not encountered.

3. Many C-Files relate to citizenship, not naturalization, and so contain no court records at all. For example, minor children listed on a father’s petition could later apply for their own certificate of citizenship, creating a derivative C-File. Read more about Naturalization Records Not Duplicated in Court Records, or review our table of Certificate Series showing the series-specific numbering.

It could be terrific to have a copy of the ancestors actual CERTIFICATE, which might have a photo of them.

Give this site some attention.  There is a lot to learn! 

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CITIZENSHIP : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : CITIZENSHIP RESEARCH BE HELPFUL TO YOUR GENEALOGY QUEST and FAMILY HISTORY STORY : REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENSHIP CHANGED! #1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : 

CAN CITIZENSHIP RESEARCH BE HELPFUL TO YOUR GENEALOGY QUEST?

THE ANSWER IS YES.

I think we should include a bit about what the citizenship laws were at the time our ancestors applied for citizenship, which might vary by state, and how they perhaps changed while in process. This can add some understanding to the history they lived through and the attitudes that prevailed about immigrants, ethnicity, and gender. 

You might be surprised at how long it took.

After the American Revolution, people might have not needed a Visa to enter the colonies, but simply have been sworn in after spending a number of years, which might be seven years or more, in which they proved themselves to be self-supporting and good neighbors (rather than criminal). 

The general term for this is "One Paper" naturalization.

Prior to that, if one lived in a state that was ruled by Great Britain, then they might have declared their citizenship as British - though they came from Germany. (And then they would, though having come from Germany and had a German surname, give up allegiance to the British King or Queen, rather than a German one.)

Recall that Great Immigration period caused by the Industrial Revolution, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, in which people moved from agricultural work to factories. For some time there was a process which started with "First Papers" called "Declaration of Intent." The Declaration in itself had to be updated if there was a change of address or more children were born, or if someone died. The process had to be kept up with, as it was considered suspicious if more than seven years went by and there was no further contact.  "Final Papers" are the NATURALIZATION ("Citizenship") papers.

Perhaps because they were Italian - or another "suspicious" ethnicity, an immigrant's citizenship applications were frozen because of World War I. You'll notice it's well after that war before the processing for them continues.

For some time it was only the Head of Household who could apply, implied is a husband, and when he got the citizenship it was for the whole family, his wife and children who were not yet adults. A widowed head of household could apply for herself and her children.

And then there were the women who would loose their citizenship if they married a man who was not a citizen.  (I consider that one particularly draconian!)

Women got the vote.  And with that came the right and responsibility for adult women to apply for their own citizenship.  But check by state because, for instance, women were allowed to vote in Wyoming in 1869, and Utah in 1870 for elections that were not national.

Try on this less thought of scenario.  Your ancestor came to the United States and was DEPORTED.

Yes it happened.

Or this one: THEY GAVE UP THEIR U.S. CITIZENSHIP BUT CHANGED THEIR MIND, and had to be REPATRIATED.

On the next couple posts I'm going to refer you to some web sites where you can find out more!

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ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

Our genetic and spiritual ancestors help us with our research quests 

and, while we follow a linear research path, 

amazing dreams and synchronicity abound. 

We explore multicultural ancestry worship 

and the use of genealogy for past-life verification, 

as well as practical ways and means to achieve your research goals.

SCOTLAND CLANS : BUY A SQUARE FOOT - HAVE SOME FUN WITH YOUR NEW LORD OR LADY TITLE - VISIT THE PRESERVE! VERY COOL!

I found this web site, which is commercial - selling plots of land in Scotland ie "Become a Lord or Lady Now" ! I must say that the preservation of clan history, maps, and so on here is impressive, so OK, a link to them and some hits for them are in order.... HIGHLAND TITLES COM  You can buy a  square foot plot of land in Kilnaish and see your plot of Google Maps... No, they have not solicited me or paid me for an ad.

Excerpt:  Clearly, our small family business is in no position to bestow honours in the way that the reigning Monarch can do, but our “Laird/Lord/Lady of the Glen” titles are far from meaningless. Gifts are highly personal in nature. No one person is in a position to say whether a gift is with or without meaning. To do so would constitute a breathtaking feat of arrogance.

• For some of our customers, our gift is fun. That fun has meaning.
• For others, it’s romantic. That has meaning.
• For many, it’s a way of strengthening their ties with Scotland. That has meaning.
• We can say without any doubt that our Lairds, Lords and Ladies have helped us create a real feeling of community amongst our customers.
• Tens of thousands of our customers have visited their plots and met with our team on the land. They have seen the huge amount of work we have put into creating one of the most popular nature reserves in the country, including an official Guinness World Record for World’s Biggest Bug Hotel!

Highland Titles now manages more than 800 acres in the beautiful highlands of Scotland, and the nature reserve at Duror, near Glencoe, is one of the most popular nature reserves in Scotland.

***

OK FREE TO USE MAPS are available on this site.

 

HIGHLAND TITLES - SCOTTISH CLANS AND FAMILIES

Some good information and an opportunity to see the tartan.

THE INDIAN CARD : OTHER CRITERIA FOR TRIBAL ENROLLMENT? DNA TESTS?

THE INDIAN CARD by CARRIE LOWRY SCHUETTPELZ

Excerpt page 24 : In addition to lineage and blood quantum, some Tribes add other criteria to the mix.  Some have requirements around culture and tradition - my own Tribe, the Lumbee, for example, now requires completion of that Lumbee history class before someone can enroll. A handful of Tribes take into consideration which side of your family your Native ancestry is on. Some Tribes require applicants to enroll within a certain period after their birth.  Some maintain a residency requirement: the applicant must have been born or currently reside on the Tribe's lands.

... In recent years, and with the advent of consumer ancestry tests, a misconception has emerged that DNA spit tests can be used to gain Tribal enrollment.  That's not quite true.  No federally recognized Tribe in the United States allows someone to apply for enrollment using just their 23andMe report. Tribes that use DNA tests in their enrollment processes generally do so for maternity or paternity purposes - that is, to determine a person's biological parentage.

(For people were not born in or residing in their Tribal Community. (I note, in common language, "on the reservation" do an enrollment application.) ... Usually an extensive family tree must be filled out usually, historical birth certificates of ancestors must be submitted. Often the process must be completed in person. ...

Excerpt page 25 : ... One of the biggest obstacles people face with Tribal enrollment is verifying their ancestry. It is generally the case that Tribes don't release their historical rolls to the public. Certainly, from a sovereignty perspective, this makes sense. After all, the U.S. government doesn't maintain a public-facing list of all its current citizens. I can think of  a hundred reasons this sort of public cataloguing would be problematic. The same goes for Tribes.

Lesson: For Native American Tribes, citizenship is never geographical.  It's always relational.

PUBLIC NATIVE AMERICAN ROLES (Commonly called THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES)

Cherokee Nation

Chickasaw Nation

Seminole of Oklahoma

Choctow of Oklahoma

Muscokee (Creek) Nation

According to an expert of the Chickasaw Nation, the further from these roles (called The Dawes Rolls) they get, the harder it is to prove Native Tribal affiliation.... And some people with common names erroneously "prove" they are not

Notes:  Author Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz also discusses the founding of the United States census and the evolution of questions asked. Until the 1850 census race was not asked. She explores the question of dismissiveness and also racism. She brings up the Nazi's and extermination of a people, her visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, dealing with National Archives and Record Administration.  She explores treaties and agreements between tribes and government and also individuals.  

Again, I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history or the genealogy!

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Book Review and Excerpt selections

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THE INDIAN CARD : UNDERSTANDING A TRIBE'S ENROLLMENT PROCESS : LINEAGE OR HOW MUCH ANCESTRY? FIRST STEP IS TRIBAL CONSTITUTION

THE INDIAN CARD by CARRIE LOWRY SCHUETTPELZ

Excerpt: page 21: To understand a Tribe's enrollment process, the first place to look is at its constitution. Not every Tribe has a constitution, but for those that do, the section related to enrollment is generally right p front.  It's an important element of the systems that Tribes have put into place - the element of defining membership.

Together with my research assistants, I am able to locate 285 tribal constitutions.  That is, for all but 62 federally recognized Native American tribes in the continuous United States, we find some sort of official document - called a constitution and outlining its principles and procedures - that was passed by the Tribe's leadership.  Some constitutions are relatively recant: the Kowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma passed is most recent constitution in 2017. Some date back centuries : The Choctaw Nation first passed its constitution in 1826 although the Tribe currently operates under a constitution ratified in 1983.

Page 22 Excerpt about Tribes without a constitution. .... One notable exception is the Navajo Nation, whose enrolled population hovers around four hundred thousand members...

Page 22: Regardless of whether a Tribe has a formal constitution or has opted for alternative systems and processes, most have an enrollment office - sometimes a fully staffed organization, sometimes one person located inside the Tribes' government office; sometimes it's a person who doesn't earn a salary from the Tribe, but who serves in the role as a volunteer or an elected official..

TRIBAL MEMERSHIP BASED ON LINEAGE OR HOW MUCH ANCESTRY

Excerpts page 22-23 : ... Specifically; with regard to determining membership, Native American Tribes fall into one of two categories.  For about 120 Tribes for which I can find information, Tribal enrollment is based on lineage. That is, in order to enroll in the Tribe, an applicant must demonstrate that a direct relative (a parent, grandparent, great-grandparents, etc.) was a member of the Tribe. Tribes use a census or roll particular to their community as the basis for this determination.

Note: SOME TRIBES HAVE THEIR OWN CENSUS ROLLS, so the "CIVILIZED TRIBE" ROLLS ARE NOT THE ONLY ROLLS OF TRIBAL CENSUS AVAILABLE, but these others are held within the tribe...

Excerpts page 22-23 : The other main way that Native American Tribes determine memberships by using a calculation of how much ancestry a person has from that particular Tribe. This number is usually represented as a fraction, and usually called blood quantum.  For about 170 Tribes for which I find information, Tribal enrollment is based on blood quantum.  And for the vast majority of those, the blood quantum calculation is made from one Tribe alone...   

Sure, they can have a blood quantum from other Tribes, but it won't be factored into the calculation. No Tribes in the contiguous United States, that I can find, have a four-fourth blood quantum requirement; most, or about 69 percent of those that use blood quantum, use one-fourth as their cutoff; you must prove that you have at least one-fourth blood quantum from that Tribe alone.

The requisite blood quantum can be achieved a few different ways. For example if someone wanted to enroll in the Oneida Nation, whose requirement is one-quarter blood quantum, they would need to demonstrate that amount through one or several ancestors...

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Book Review and Excerpt selections

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THE INDIAN CARD : SELF IDENTIFYING AS NATIVE AMERICAN : THE CHEROKEE and also MISINFORMATION BY FAMILY : ANCESTRY WORSHIP BOOK REVIEW

THE INDIAN CARD by CARRIE LOWRY SCHUETTPELZ

Excerpt page 2: Self-identifying, though, is just one piece of a very convoluted puzzle. In the United States, there are myriad ways a Native person may be required to demonstrate their identity. That list includes Tribal enrollment. Yet, at the same time that the number of people self-identifying as Native in this country has increased to over 9.7 million, the number of people enrolled in Tribes is much, much lower.

This nuance is particularly pronounced among people who identify as Cherokee.  As of 2023, just over 450,000 people were formally enrolled members (called citizens) of the Cherokee Nation.  That is, 450.000 people have some sort of card, which they applied for and received through the process the Cherokee nation determined.  Another (approximately 14,000 people are enrolled in the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. Together, about 480,000 people in this country are enrolled in one of three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes.

Excerpt pages 2-3 : Scholars have written a lot about this phenomenon - that because of  complex issues that includes patterns of disconnection, relocation, and misrepresentation in family lore, the number of people claiming Cherokee heritage is very high. But we see this not just with Cherokee. This same gap, between claiming Native identity and being formally verified as having it, exists for many other Tribes in the United States.

As a note, in my experience a number of persons I've met who self -identify as African-American (Black) have been told there is an "Indian Princess" in their heritage. I've seen photos of ancestors who lived in the South in which some children appear to be "White" and others appear to be ? On the census they are listed as Mulatto, but in fact the family was a mix of Cherokee and Scotts-Irish or British pioneers. DNA tests I've heard about from those person told the "Indian Princess" story have proven that to be just a story. This is admittedly a small sampling of possibilities.

THE CONCEPT OF SOVEREIGNTY

Excerpt page 8 "One of the primary reasons that enrollment, why Tribal membership, exists is because of the underling principle of Tribal sovereignty.  For Native American Tribes, sovereignty is boss.  I's king.  Sovereignty is the key that opens all the doors.  It's the thing upon which all other things rest.  Throughout Indian Country, sovereignty is the shared love language.  To understand any Native person's story, its important to understand the concept of sovereignty.

Over the last 250 years, the U.S. government has ping-ponged between full-scale "termination" of Native peoples to (alleged) protectionism of them to everything in between.  And often what has been at stake - besides the obvious human lives and land rights - is sovereignty. That is, in losing their land and, often, their lives, Tribes have clung to their rights of self-determination for continued survival.

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Book Review and Excerpt selections

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ROCKING THE CRADLE

One foot out to rock the baby cradle at the bow, 

while sewing with two hands, 

a woman's work is never done.

in this vintage illustration provided by Graphics Fairy.

What memories do you have of your own mother. grandmother, and aunts?

THE INDIAN CARD by CARRIE LOWRY SCHUETTPELZ : ANCESTRY WORSHIP BLOGSPOT BOOK REVIEW (AND A LIST OF TRIBES MENTIONED IN THE BOOK)

THE INDIAN CARD by CARRIE LOWRY SCHUETTPELZ

In this blog I sometimes post about Native American as well as African-American research as UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / AMERICAN research. From the hits I get on posts about Native American ancestry, I know that some of my readers are interested in making a claim to be considered "a member of the tribe." But I may have said this before; I have never gotten cooperation from the few tribes I've contacted, hoping that someone on that side would help a client become a member of the tribe. In the years since, as the Internet grew, more tribes have websites that provide information on what they consider and how they process enrollment, which is helpful. I've heard various "reasons why" some tribes are not helpful, including that those who have rights to money from casinos do not want to further share it. I'm always interested in what the processes to claim tribal membership might be.

The Indian Card, subtitled Who Gets To Be Native American, is a book about tribal enrollment from the perspective of a woman who is part of the Lumbee tribe in North Carolina. Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz has other heritages, but she focused on claiming the Native American aspect of her ancestry. Her mother had enrolled her when she was six. She was not raised to feel a part of that tribe, living over a thousand miles from where the Lumbee tribe is headquartered, but the card would be back in her hands years later after testing and reenrollment. In this book, she wrote about her personal experience as well as the frustrations of the attempt to collect information that might be valuable to anyone who wishes to do the same. 

In this book author Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz brings up the different ways that Tribes consider people for membership, the questions asked by the United States Census, the Dawes Rolls, and much more. 

You will find the following tribes mentioned - some detailed information, some just a note.

The Lumbee, Cherokee,  Navaho, Meskwaki, Oneida, Apache, Blackfeet, Checotah, United Keetoowah-Cherokee, Chickasaw, Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Dakota, Seminole, Hopi, Iroquois, Kalona, Lakota, Lenape, Mohawks, Muscogee (Creek),Naticoke, Nooksack, Ojibwe, Quechan, Seneca, Seminole, Shawnee, Sioux, Tohono O'odham, Tulalip, Tuscarora, Wyandot, Wyandotte....

I highly recommend this book, which was so well written and thought out - so informative. For the purposes of Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot, I will excerpt information that will be especially interesting to my readers in the next few posts.

THE GROWING NUMBER OF AMERICANS WHO REPORT BEING NATIVE AMERICAN ON UNITED STATES CENSUS

Excerpt  Introduction : If you, like me, track the results of the U.S. Census because nothing in this cold world makes sense except the hard facts of multivariate data analysis, you've seen it, too: the population of people in this country who self--identify as Native has exploded.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, about 4.1 million people checked the Indian box, a term I use to describe the carousel of options that have appeared for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. By 2010, that number had increased to 5.2 million.  And in 2020. 9.7 million people - more than twice the 2000 county - self-identified as Native.

Certainly, there have been a few changes to the way we count. In 2000, for example, for the first time in census history, people could check more than one box for race. So, if we assume that people were previously choosing between their racial identities, the 2000 census presented an interesting change in methodology.  In deed, the number of people who identified as Native in the 1990 census was just under 2 million, less than half the number in 2000. There has also been a significant push to count more of the Native people living on reservations, a population that has a higher census :undercount" of any population in the United States, at 5.6 percent...... Over the last ten years, increased Tribal consultation has taken place, as have efforts to "get out the count" in native communities.

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Book Review and Excerpt selections

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ABOUT CHILDREN BEING "PARENTIFIED" : THIS WAS HOW LIFE WAS LIVED FOR CENTURIES : OPINION BY ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY

I recently read an article that was clearly influenced by the latest notions about child abuse coming from the psychology profession.  I remembered when I took Psych 101 in college and my professor said that one of the reasons the profession existed, a kind of manifesto, was to make the world a better place. Well, has it?  Sometimes I think this profession is responsible for making just about everyone diagnose-able in some way and looking for more patients. I'm all for children being wanted and loved, and parents taking responsibility for raising them  But the article railed against the latest notion of child abuse and that is "parentifiying" a child.

What this was explained to be, by this article, was children having to raise their siblings. Well, that is exactly how it worked in the past, when entire families had to work together also in the fields and many families had numerous children who had to help out in the house and yard and care for their siblings.  We called them "farm families" but it was not just agricultural life that required big families. Many immigrant families, and families in which both parents needed to work, relied on family members to also work, especially in maintaining the household and the younger siblings. Ten children - sometimes more - were not unusual.  Many of you are descended from families in which a mother had a child every couple years, had them in her own bed with a midwife, breast fed the babies, and the older children helped out as she went back to work cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry.

It may be rare, but I've met people in their teens and early twenties who took responsibility for younger siblings when parents died.  I've meet the teens who, being raised by single mothers, were the ones who were also caring for their parent who was terminally ill, while also going to high school. Someone had to step up to the plate, these people did, and I admired them for the courage and fortitude. (They're the kind of people worth hiring in the workplace too when their in home caregiving is done.)

In particular, back in the day, older sisters were helping bath, diaper, and feed babies, playing with them, and having their younger siblings tag along, watched out for them on the school yard, and in the process not only bonded with their siblings but learned the skills needed to be a mother themselves. 

This was how "baby-sitting" otherwise known as child care was perceived, which is why as a teenager I and so many others were paid, but barely, so that a neighbor could go out for the evening or take care of business elsewhere.

I realize that child labor is usually defined as labor in which a child earned money - outside the home - and did not go to school. However, children, especially sons, often worked with their fathers and other members of their family in the trades, learning skills such as weaving, tailoring, and cobbling, and were only considered qualified to marry if they could, through apprenticeship and moving into the family business or a trade guild, support a family.

I've been doing the genealogy for a family that landed in the United States as German immigrants to Pennsylvania after the American Revolution and it is clear on the census that the children were all working by the time they were teens. They may have gone to the first three grades, maybe eight, and then it was time to work at a bakery or as a seamstress.

Children were considered to be adults earlier back in the day, or, as a friend called them "small adults."  While I think teens today feel pressure to grow into adulthood too soon, I also see that parental expectations of their children is that they will not truly be released into adulthood until they are educated and have established careers.  All of this would be considered the indulgence of the rich a hundred or more years ago.

Do you have an opinion?

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ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

Our genetic and spiritual ancestors help us with our research quests 

and, while we follow a linear research path, 

amazing dreams and synchronicity abound. 

We explore multicultural ancestry worship 

and the use of genealogy for past-life verification, 

as well as practical ways and means to achieve your research goals.

THE BRYAN KOHBERGER TRIAL NEARS and I'M JUST AS INTERESTED IN THE INVESTIGATIVE GENETIC GENEALOGY DNA EVIDENCE ASPECT OF THE CASE

It's been a while since I posted about my interest in the "Idaho Four" Murder case.  Although I'm not a follower of True Crime podcasts in general, I have spent many hours listening to various podcasts about this one. Some of the podcasters and the people they interview make me crazy because, overall, the man has been convicted and is assume to be guilty even when they make a mention of that fact that in the United States we presume innocence, while going on to talk about him specifically as the murderer. Listening to a variety of opinions is good because it certainly opens one's mind to possibility. For instance, I do think there is reason to consider that there was more than one murderer involved in the killing of the four students, two weapons, two styles of stabbing or gouging, and a timeline that would mean to me that a person would probably have to be a killing professional to kill four persons so quickly.  Day by day, as more information that was kept away from the citizen and the media, is released, some notions are challenged, while others make more sense.

It's been a couple years now since Koberger, once a PhD. candidate student studying criminology, was arrested.  His lawyers are thorough and a third has recently been put on a case in which many thousands of documents must be looked over by attentive staff. This case includes much that is modern such as videos, door bell cameras, cell phone pings, and the DNA  which is "Touch DNA." Using Genealogy database as well as going through his family's garbage cans, the FBI matched his father with "Touch DNA" on the metal button of a leather knife protector left at the scene.  The knife itself has not been found. The database and the relative did not give permission. But what's in place to stop law enforcement?

As a genealogist, the use of Genealogy databases and DNA testing service databases is of the most interest to me. It's clear that everywhere we go and everything we do, we are leaving trace evidence of our existence. I was thinking about this the other day because I'm the only person on earth besides her owner, a friend of mine, who can hold a small Jack Russel terrier named Princess. Princess is extremely protective of my friend and/or is terrified of just about every other human or dog that lives. Princess has been shedding all over me, all over.  I see that and I think about shedding a few skin cells wherever I go.

I think we are all challenged with a conflict here of wanting a murderer caught but also wanting our personal privacy. In a recent court pretrial ruling it was determined that this DNA evidence would not be used...

KREM : KOHBERGER PRETRIAL DETERMINATION DNA

Excerpt: Both sides agreed not to introduce evidence obtained through Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG). Instead, the state will rely on a "tip" that led to Khoberger. The court also reserved ruling on a motion involving evidence of alternative perpetrators, requiring the defense to submit offers of proof by a set deadline.

On the topic of DNA evidence, the court granted a motion to exclude misleading population comparisons related to likelihood ratios presented to the grand jury. However, it would not restrict similar questioning during the trial. A defense motion to exclude testimony about an "inconclusive" DNA likelihood ratio was denied as moot, as the state said it would not use it as inculpatory evidence.

Here is an explanation of TOUCH DNA https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46051-9

Touch DNA: impact of handling time on touch deposit and evaluation of different recovery techniques: An experimental study

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CAROL BOWMAN ON CHOOSING ONE'S PARENTS IN THE PRE-EARTHLY EXISTANCE

The options are plentiful but not unlimited. 

Frankly, I myself have wondered how or why anyone would choose a parent or partner who is abusive to them as the soul plans the next incarnation. So though I'm partial to the idea that we do have many life experiences so that we can learn and improve ourselves, I feel that there is a risk in experiencing a life that makes us a worse person. I feel careful about having a "tit for tat" notion about spiritual experiences and using reincarnation theories as an excuse for bad behavior.

But let's see what Carol Bowman had to say in her book, which I highly recommend.

Page 144 : Not all souls participate equally in the planning process. Some are actively involved and choose carefully; others are passive, drifting into their next lives without much preparation.  Some apparently never leave the earth vibration and wander aimlessly until they fall into a convenient womb.  It's not a tidy process, not uniform or predictable, follows no formulas, and is definitely not the same for every soul.

Page 145 : It seems that in choosing a life the difference in the degree of planning is dependent on the soul's maturity and awareness. Studies agree that advanced souls spend more time in the afterlife learning and weighing plans for their next incarnation than less mature souls do. Since the advanced souls have mastered a higher level of lessons and skills on Earth, they have the understanding to create more ambitious and finely tuned plans.  On the other hand, less advanced "beginner" souls rush through the afterlife without giving much thought to what they are doing and jump back into the first body that seems good enough. These lives have a smaller chance of being productive compared with those that are carefully planned. The unplanned lives are more likely to end up being drab and meaningless or chaotic, or the individual may be overwhelmed by challenges it is not equipped to handle.

Carol Bowman's book was published in 2001 and so about twenty-five years ago.  I'm sure much more has been learned about reincarnation in the Western, Christian world, since then.  I'm aware that some Christian's believe that any belief in reincarnation is wrong, even demonic. I personally do not agree this is so. 

As a genealogist I encounter many family stories, many family secrets, many family scandals, and vow to show respect for those I work with and for by not revealing these to others. There is a lot of pain and shame in some cases. I realize that genealogy is most often promoted as a way to reunite a family, but sometimes the notion of "family" is one that needs to be redefined.

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PEACE BE WITH YOU

 

THE FOLKLORE OF EGGS by RACHEL WARREN CHADD

FOLKLORE THURSDAY - MYSTICAL EGGS - FOLKLORE FROM MANY CULTURES

Rachel Warren Chadd

CAROL BOWMAN ON REINCARNATION : U TURN IN THE WOMB : MISCARRIAGE and STILL BIRTHS

Perhaps this may give some comfort to those of you who've had a miscarriage...

Excerpts page 159 - 160 :

From our ordinary, earth-bound perspective these changes of plan are called by the medical terms miscarriage and stillbirth.  Most people, if they have never been through the experience, can't understand how deeply the parents feel a miscarriage or a stillbirth as a death, an inexplicable loss that leaves them bereft and grieving for a child they never knew.  Their beautiful hopes and dreams for loving companionship with the new baby evaporate.  Adding to the pain, no matter what medical explanation is they inevitable blame themselves at some point, wondering what they did wrong.

Yet looking at miscarriage and stillbirths from the perspective of the incoming soul turns our thinking inside out.  From the soul's perspective, a decision not to be born at that particular time and to a particular mother is simply a detour, a zigzag in the continuing journey through eons of lifetimes.  Souls decide to switch course for any number of reasons; to change sex or birth order, to wait for a more appropriate body for the soul's purposes, to wait until the parent's circumstances improve or to readjust the timing of a predestined rendezvous with another soul already on Earth or yet to incarnate.  Or it may be due to the biological fact that the fetus was defective.

Whatever the reason, it is clear that in some cases souls wait for another opportunity to return to the same family. How do we know? Because some children remember the whole process.  Then one day, in the middle of a causal conversation, they tell their parents about it. They innocently describe earlier attempts to be born to the mother or through another woman in the extended family. The parents are always shocked at first if the child's claim corresponds exactly to a pregnancy loss that had been kept hushed up, a personal secret too painful to talk about, and something beyond the comprehension of such a very young child. But after absorbing the truth of what their child is telling them, their shock turns to joy and relief when they realize the baby who died in the womb years ago was not lost to them forever. 

I've been reading the death records of a town in Europe that experienced waves of Plague - Cholera to be specific. So very many who had a few months or years to live... So rare to find someone who lived to be 70 or 80.

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REINCARNATION SYMPOSIUM WITH CAROL BOWMAN and HER SON CHASE BOWMAN

REVISITING CAROL BOWMAN'S RETURN FROM HEAVEN : RETURNING TO LIFE WITH UNFINISHED BUSINESS

I've posted on Carol Bowman and her work with children who remember past lives, as well as same family reincarnation, before.

Excerpt page 9 : If we die leaving with any kind of unfinished business - ding as a child in an accident or from a disease, as an adult filled with anger over an unsettled dispute, as a mother leaving young children behind, or simply with concern and ongoing for loved ones left behind --- the unfinished business travels with us when we return to Earth in another body, along with the impetus to complete or settle these issues.  If we return to the same family within a relatively short period of time, we practically pickup where we left off before we died.

Excerpt page 48-49 : I've collected hundreds of cases since 1988 when I began investigating children's past life memories. (Note the book was published 2001.) They come to me from people from all walks of life, from all parts of the United States and Canada, and some from Europe.  They come from people who have always believed in reincarnation, and also from people who clearly did not believe in reincarnation before it happened to them.  The cases are everywhere Once people discover that I know something about children's past lives, they open up and confess their "family secret."  I'm continually amazed at how often this happens, and how common these cases seem to be.  And since so many of them are same-family cases, their sheer number convinces me that same-family reincarnation is a much more common phenomenon than anyone suspects.

Bowman discusses the influential work of psychiatrist Dr. Ian Stevenson and questions of the mind-body connection, and the discovery that birthmarks in this life often appear where an injury occurred in another life.

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PRIVACY CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE GENEALOGY RESEARCHER : SENIORS ARE THE TARGET OF CRIMINALS : GRANDPARENT and LOVE SCAMS

PRIVACY CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE GENEALOGY RESEARCHER

It seems to me people are willingly - even joyfully - in the spirit of trust and sharing - giving over information that anyone can access.  This is simply not acceptable in today's world.

I've never posted my research findings on any database and ask that others who receive information from me do not either. Even those databases that suggest you only post the dead can easily be linked to those who are alive. In particular, death certificates revealing cause of death on Find A Grave tm are beyond irksome; no privacy for the dead? Or the family of the dead?

Then there are the prompts: for you to share photos and memories to the world. You really shouldn't... 

Sadly, criminals are using all these details to find and target individuals.

Several years ago a neighbor of mine told me his parents had sent their entire life savings to Mexico because a caller told them that their grandson had gone to a wedding there of one of his frat brothers from UCLA and had gotten drunk and in trouble.  This was the bribe the officials needed to let him out of jail there, the caller said.  Why linger in a rotten jail for years, pay Mexican lawyers, ruin his college career and life?  The caller knew the grandson's name, his fraternity, their names, and many other details that can be found on genealogy databases.

Would it be even more convincing if the caller knew what a person died of or what grandma looked like? Claimed to be at an event that you posted about?

Perhaps even more horrendous was the scam that a senior friend of mine - an intelligent woman with an education and years of experience as a teacher - got caught up in.  She had sent a significant amount of money to a middle-man/banker/broker in another country, knowing that the country is full of corruption, and did so on a monthly basis for two years. The purpose was in order to get a man out of that country. She had met the man in person. They talked about getting married. They were frequently in contact. I didn't ask why he didn't just travel to the United States on a tourist Visa and get married here or why she thought such a large sum was needed. Sure there were serious questions I had.  

However, came the day that she had no more money to send and she called her potential husband and told him so.  At that point the plan was for him to travel to Mexico. He was silent on the other end.  The middle-man/broker/banker was angry and told her she would not get any money back, having missed a payment.  A family member of hers - a business executive yet - believed in this story enough to offer to send the money. However, within a couple days she was getting text messages from two unknown parties - phone numbers from two different states in the U.S. but men with accents from this other country - and one said "Your man is married and his wife has put a contract out to execute you. But if you send me $2000 I will not kill you." This amount was even more than the monthly payment she had been making. These callers had her phone number, they knew her name, they knew she was a teacher. 

Of course this had to be connected to the man she thought to marry. She called the local police who told her to block the number and there was nothing they could do about the money sent to another country. Sadly, because this is a love scam, she believed the execution threat was a scam but not the monthly payments.  She went back to work in order to continue earning enough. 

Unfortunately there are those criminals who target people who believe in love and are kind and generous. These criminals leave you broke, heartbroken, and fearful.

Please - I caution you - be especially careful when the genealogy database prompting you to give up your photos and memories and much else - HAS NO OPTION FOR YOU TO TAKE THOSE THINGS DOWN.

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QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR RELATIVES ABOUT RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

I recall that my dad used to advised that, when visiting, to talk about the weather.  What he meant was that controversial subjects were to be avoided.  Politics...  Religion... Perhaps knowing that these subjects will spark debate - or worse, arguments - during a family get together is trouble and, sure, I wouldn't want you to create an uncomfortable situation at a gathering. But then he was of the Silent Generation, and the Silent Generation wasn't talking about a whole lot.  

Things have changed, at least in some places and sometimes.

I can say that it came as a relief to learn that my ancestors were of various Christian denominations, which I wouldn't have suspected based on my upbringing. In my heritage - and I only know this because of genealogy research I have Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, Reform Protestants (Calvinists), Lutherans, and also, it seems - some would say this doesn't fit the religion category - a Mason.

And so maybe getting a conversation going with relatives about ancestral religious or spiritual beliefs starts with past rather than the present.

It could be that you can't find what you need in the church records of the assumed Faith because those ancestors were converts or belonged to another religion.  And got buried in a churchyard or Faith based cemetery. 

And it seems like everyone in past generations belonged to some church or temple or organization ...

QUESTIONS

Was John baptized?  Who were his godparents?

Did he take part in rituals such as Communion, Confirmation?

Did John belong to a church as a teenager, as an adult?  

Did he sing in a choir?  

Did he do volunteer work for the church? 

Was he devout?  Or Religious. (Did he consider becoming a priest or minister or monk?)

Did he change religions? If so, why and when?  (Some families simply went to the closest church, wherever they moved to. Perhaps John was in a cult?) 

Did he get married in a church? How was it decided where he would marry?

Did he have children? Were they raised in a religion?  (This might bring up some different responses if the marriage was a "mixed marriage."  For instance, perhaps the children were allowed to join a different church or make up their own minds about spirituality as adults, 

Where is he buried? (Is this a Faith based cemetery?) or was he cremated?  Where are his ashes?

These questions can always spark a departure in the conversation. Back when I took Anthropology 101, it was noted that the definition of religion was "a way of life." Life in America has changed. Regular attendance at church services was normal for many people prior to the changes of the 1960's. Today many have decided that church is not for them.  As genealogists, we are looking for church records in addition to or instead of civil records to find our ancestors.

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ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

Our genetic and spiritual ancestors help us with our research quests 

and, while we follow a linear research path, 

amazing dreams and synchronicity abound. 

We explore multicultural ancestry worship 

and the use of genealogy for past-life verification, 

as well as practical ways and means to achieve your research goals.

BIOGRAPHY and THE WRITING OF YOUR FAMILY HISTORY : HERE'S AN INSPIRING EXAMPLE

I was attracted to this book at the library, England's Mistress - the Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton, by Kate Williams, because of its lovely cover. I've read many biographies and memoirs. This impressive one is about a person born in poverty, the lowest of the low, who managed to make it through the ridged English class system and become the wife of Sir William Hamilton. Born Amy Lyon, this woman went from being an orphan to working as a child laborer, from prostitute to mistress to wife. She also became an actress and singer, and was imitated as a force in fashion back in the day. She became the personal friend of a Queen or two. She was exceptional by beauty but also seized every opportunity to educate and improve herself. I think it's one of the most wonderfully written biographies I've encountered. But why?  Because the research and writing brought forth the realities of life in England - as well as Naples (Italy) - in the late1800's.

I present it here because I want to remind my readers to seek out biographies of their ancestors. They probably do not have whole books written about them hundreds of years after their deaths. However, you may find that a person is included in a local biography, a town book (like a yearbook created by a proud town about their pioneers and citizens), newspaper articles, and such. There are still many books on library shelves that have not been digitalized - not scooped up by the big names in genealogy databases.

But also, in writing your family history, in putting a person in their life timeline, you may want to also explain their times - the history of the place they lived - and what it was perhaps like for your ancestor to live in them. 

You of course quote and attribute the passages you use in your work.

Here are some excerpt examples from the book that are excellent.

From page 5, year 1764, in a small village just outside Chester across the Dee River.

Emma's parents were married on June 11, 1764, in Great Neston church. As the wedding was held on a Monday, it is unlikely that any relative...attended.  Like many workingmen, Henry was illiterate and signed the register with an X, Mary also signed with a cross....  First babies were often conceived outside of wedlock; indeed, many communities encouraged it to preclude the disaster or marriage to an infertile wife. .... At twenty-one, Mary was a drudge in a dirty hovel, her day consumed by domestic chores, in a village populated by people who were, in the 1850's according to visitors, "as primitive as their village was secluded."  At four she awoke to fetch water, light the fire, and prepare Henry's breakfast... After he left at five, she began her daily battle against the dirt that silted up the windows and covered every surface with a grimy film. (Coal dust) Outside her window lay a treeless expanse of  scrub scarred by heaps of coal waste, and cheap stone cottages blacked by sooty rain. She knew that soon after she gave birth, she would be expected to work in the mine with the other women.

WHAT DAY OF THE WEEK WAS THE MARRIAGE OF YOUR ANCESTOR HELD? WHAT MONTH? 

Excerpt page 6 : Emma was baptized on May 12. On the register, her name looks like 'Emy" but Emma herself always claimed it was Amy. a common name in the Kidd family. ... One in three children like Emma died within infancy, but she was born in the best season for survival; disease was more virulent from June to September, and babies died of cold from November to February. There was hard work ahead for the infants who lived. Denhall employed most children over nine or ten as cheap labor. All the girls born in Ness were, by the age of ten, pulling baskets to the surface every day, covered in dirt and regularly harassed by the men.  At the end of the day, they returned home to cook and clean for their family or, as was near as likely, since many women died in childbirth, stepmother.

WAS YOUR ANCESTOR EMPLOYED IN COAL MINING?  A CHILD LABORER? 

Excerpts such as these, when appropriate, add color to your family history book, but also give the reader an opportunity for understanding.

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23ANDME DNA TESTS and WARNING ABOUT PRIVACY : DELETE YOUR INFORMATION NOW

CLICK ON THE LABEL 23andme to bring up previous posts that include this topic.

 23andMe has gone bankrupt and your personal privacy and that of your children - relatives - is at risk.  This could effect 15 million people. Since the company is up for sale, it's reasonable to think that your DNA is what would make it interesting to a buyer...

NPR ORG : HOW TO DELETE YOUR 23ANDME GENETIC INFORMATION
Steps to delete are at the link above.

Excerpt: Bonta also provided this advice for destroying your test sample and revoking permission for genetic data to be used for research:

• If you previously opted to have your saliva sample and DNA stored by 23andMe, but want to change that preference, you can do so from your account settings page, under "Preferences."
• If you previously consented to 23andMe and third-party researchers to use your genetic data and sample for research, you may withdraw consent from the account settings page, under "Research and Product Consents."