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IS GENEALOGY EXPENSIVE?

Genealogy has become less expensive in recent years because of databases. Because of databases it can take much less time to find documents needed for a professional standard research and the hours put in. However it is not true that any database has everything that is available. Databases can also come with certain issues that a beginner may not have a clue about  My warning is to not look at the charts that other people have put up because so many of them are not up to pro standards. Don't start by networking for information. Get yourself situated and do your own research. Only reach out to others when you've hit into a brick wall and then, still insist on documentation. You may find that there are many people stuck at the same point and maybe all of you can work on the problem together. Being a hobbyist is no excuse for doing or accepting sloppy research. 

A researcher may have to revert to old but good methods, such as engaging the assistance of librarians and archivists who can go into the stacks or the boxes and pull up what is needed. How efficient, how much time one must wait for response and how expensive it will be varies madly from country to country, from county to county, from one location to another.  It has always been a concern when it comes to hiring people in other countries who claim they can physically go into archives for you and find what you need.  It's difficult to negotiate when there is a language barrier especially. Yes, some - probably most - of these people are trustworthy.  However money sent to another country is difficult to get back if the contract is not fulfilled. Interacting with archivists via e-mail is essential now.

If you are considering working with a professional, get everything you can in order, and copied, to hand over to that person, which may help tremendously. This can include vital record documents such as birth, marriage, and death certificates.These documents are vital in a chain of documentation. A genealogist may prepare letters and fill out forms but your cooperation - signature is still a requirement on many of these.

Your pro genealogist will keep your privacy. You might be working with a lawyer to draw up a will for inheritance purposes, be seeking lost relative or a birth child.  Whatever the situation I believe a pro genealogist should not post the results of an ancestry quest on the Internet.  

Be sure to discuss all these things in your first meetings with your pro.

C 2023 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

DNA GENEALOGY and THE BRYAN KOHBERGER MURDER CASE : IS THE DNA ENOUGH? CAUTIONS ON THE USE OF DNA SERVICES

DAILY MAIL UK - KOHBERGER IDAHO TRIAL UPDATE 

I've been following this murder case, perhaps uncharacteristically so, since the four college students in Idaho were found stabbed to death in their close-to-campus rental house late last fall.  Bryan Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at another university across state lines but only about 20 minutes away by vehicle, was arrested as the only suspect about a month later.  The crime-investigation buffs all over the world, including several who run crime-oriented YouTube channels immediately got interested in the case. My concern was and is that almost everything I have heard and read has him guilty before being proven so.  Can he get a truly fair trial?  I read that there have been over 40,000 articles and videos about him and even those that have people who should know better - such as FBI agents and police detectives - talk about him as if this were so.

It's IMPORTANT.  Any of us could be arrested for a crime we did not commit and lack the resources for our legal defense.  Any of us could be falsely accused of anything. So this is a test case for what happens in today's world of easy information and world wide coverage.

Meanwhile there are literally many thousands of unsolved murders in the United States that get no attention. 

Bit by bit his defense attorney or his defense has provided information that would indicate that Kohberger may very well be innocent of the crimes. Seems as if a tiny bit of DNA that was taken off the metal button of a knife sheath left at the scene is now being refuted.  The party house, one in which parties went on when none of the renters were there to host or keep control, was one in which strangers could easily attend. DNA from others was found there. In addition, there was reported (and i can't verify) that despite what was said to be an extremely bloody scene, no blood evidence was found in Kohberger's apartment, car, or parent's house...

In the article above, which I'll excerpt from below, the difficulty of being sure of results is stressed.

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Excerpt:

A poor quality kit might have too few matches or it just might have phantom matches that are not real measures of relationship,' the document reads.

Larkin notes that sites such as AncestryDNA, 23ndme and MyHeritage prohibit forensic/investigative genetic genealogy in their databases, but there isn't really a way to enforce it.

'In the absence of effective oversight, forensic genetic genealogists are on an 'honor system' to obey the Terms of Services and the Department of Justice Interim Policy on forensic genetic genealogy.'

Larkin explains that the science used by these sites is not perfect, and 'any given centimorgan amount can represent more than one possible relationship.'

She notes one example that has nearly 20 possible relationship lines listed for a match - and says that's considered a close match.

Larkin points out that unlike DNA tests that find an individual, which are standard forensic STR tests, genetic genealogy testing identifies possible relatives. 

She then goes on to note cases she's allegedly aware of where genetic genealogy has been wrong, as well as cases where the databases were used improperly by authorities.

WHY GENEALOGY? STEREOTYPES OF GENEALOGISTS

Although genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies in the United States, there are still plenty of people who are not at all interested in pursing a study of their ancestral heritage, and some of them want to know why I do genealogy.  There are so very many reasons why some people are genealogy aficionados , and there are stereotypes attached.

Stereotypes include:

That genealogy is done by retired people or old people, assuming they finally have the time off to do so.

That genealogy is about out who you are or 'finding yourself.'  I know a popular series and magazine is entitle Who Do You Think You Are?  I love that genealogy series.  However, who you are as a human being in the here and now may have little to nothing to do with your family of origin, the way you were brought up, and everything to do with what you make of yourself. It's interesting to discover through historical and documentary evidence how your ancestors, or people in general, lived fifty or a hundred, or five hundred years ago, but the world has changed dramatically and rapidly so...

That genealogy is about snobbishness.  Aristocratic, arrogant, elitist... snotty.  (I.e. my people are better than your people.)  While there are those who brag of their ancestry, it seems to me that what databases and do-it-yourself genealogy has done is open knowledge in a democratic way.  In America, discovering how ancestors lived, how they endured or survived or escaped carries with it pride and inspiration.

C 2023  Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot

THE WONDERFUL MODERN PORTRAITS OF HISTORICAL PERSONALITIES BY ROYALTY NOW : SUMMER PHOTO PROJECT

https://www.royaltynowstudios.com/    Be sure to link to Becca's blog too..

I just love the work of Royalty Now studios and I suggest you link over to her George Washington history and portrait.  When you get to the very end you'll see what he would look like if he were President of the United States now.

ROYALTY NOW YOUTUBE STATION   Harriet Tubman,  Mary Queen of Scots, Vincent Van Gogh and many more.

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PRESERVE YOUR OWN PHOTO's...

Be sure that you have them in plastic or paper that does not have acid in it.  You can usually purchase the right stuff at art supply stores. It's usually advertised as 'archival."

Go ahead and photograph your photographs, upload them, but think carefully about putting any photos on the Internet or uploading them to databases. I know some of them are prompting you to upload and add to family charts.  Read the fine print and be sure that you retain the copyright as well as the right to remove those images that belong to you and your family.

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy