SEEING THE PICTURE IN BLACK AND WHITE GAVE ME A SHOCK OF RECOGNITION

During one of my forays into tracing an ancestor, I went to a famous art library which happens to have some excellent genealogy resources.  Based on a translation, I wanted books about one of the "German Towns" in a country outside Germany. 

For those of you who don't know, Germans migrated out of Germany for hundreds of years with the understanding that they would always be Germans and welcomed back. 

There were rather strict rules about who inherited the family farm, usually the youngest son who would also stay to take care of his elderly parents. As families were generally large there were many Germans who left what would become unified nation-states and became Germany to go to other countries to establish life there based in economic need.  Generally Germans were welcome in other countries, including the United States, and were invited to settle because they were thought to be industrious.

So I began to page through the books looking at old black and white photos of these settlements. Then as I turned the page of a particular book and saw the photo of a large building and a road going past it, I was struck with a shiver of recognition.  None of the other photographs I saw had this effect on me.  

These shivers I call Truth Shivers.  Be it remembering a place from a dream (which might mean having seen it before) or a past life, the shiver made me focus on the time and place of the photo. Was this perhaps the place to next look for the ancestor who was listed on a marriage document as having come from a place with this name.

Forward several years later, I learned that the translation was correct but that another place in another country (much closer to the place the person lived for many years hence) was ALSO given this name. I know that the names of places often come from where the residents left or lived prior to moving. In the United States many settlements are named after places in England, for instance.

Unable to yet establish the person's link with BOTH places, I've let this one rest.  Maybe synchronicity will bring the answer. 

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POLITICALLY INCORRECT VALENTINES

This past winter came the controversy of the Christmas Song titled "Baby It's Cold Outside."  I listened to different versions.  Some better than others.  Some more flirtatious than others.  I learned the original song debuted in the 1930's and the singers - one male - one female - sang it so that at first it sounded like the male was flirting - seductive - with the female and then that reversed.  In any case, I thought it was ridiculous to pick on this particular fun song, when we've had the sexist, woman objectifying and disrespecting rap phenomena for so long.

But as I went through Google Images looking for a vintage and public domain Valentine to post on ANCESTRY WORSHIP - GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT, I was sensitive to the fact that so very many of them sounded stalkerish.

Keep those Valentines for your family history project. They are quite telling about attitudes and values in boys' and girls' and mens' and womens' relationships in their time and place.

ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

CENSUS WORKERS for the 2020 CENSUS

I got a call from a friend, asking me if I was going to apply to be a census worker for the 2020 census or volunteer for the 1950 census project. These projects are going to be a HUGE endeavor, the 2020 many times more HUGE than the 2010.  The population expanded rapidly. It was the post World War II baby boom. Suburbs were being built and Americans were expanding out from living in cities. GI's were using the low interest mortgage rates for veterans to be home owners.  Stay at home moms were financially possible. Some of us are going to read this 1950 census in 2020 (or thereafter) and just wish we were living back in the day.

Genealogists get very excited about census and census is called "The backbone of American genealogy."

I have such memories of the 2010 reveal. The NATIONAL ARCHIVES SITE was not functioning completely or well for a while as people rushed to use it. Of course other database owners attempted to have theirs up better and faster.  Indexing lagged behind. Some pages were missing or out of order. I used the National Archives site at a few libraries including my local LDS Family History Center to get in there with my list of people who had not appeared on 1940.

These mix ups and frustrations one also experienced when the Ellis Island ship manifests site first went up.  I remember finding ways to get what I needed, ways to mine the data.  

I spent hours reading 1940 census pages one after another because they were not indexed yet with mixed results. I still wish I were turning microfilm rather than clicking the mouse till I need a forefinger joint replacement. 

I've learned a bit about the data on census and why looking at the name of the census taker can be a good thing. For instance I noticed German surnames of census takers associated with assignments of going into Polish and Hungarian neighborhoods. The language the census taker speaks may reflect the spelling of the surnames.

So pre-2010 of course I applied to be a census worker.  I took a class and the test and got an A.  Soon I got a call asking if I speak Spanish.  I do not.  I didn't get the job.  They wanted people to be in their own neighborhoods and mine at the time probably had a significant percentage of Spanish speakers. I met the man who did get the job.  He was frustrated.  He said that he had to go back to a building three times because he was having trouble being let in. People were not answering their doors. After three tries his supervisor would go with him and then would make the building manager let them in. Overall they thought they were encountering illegal residents who did not want to be on census or talk to anyone governmental. Probably true.

So I suspect in our political climate (i.e "Build the Wall") that the 2020 census next year will be fraught with such issues.  WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CENSUS.  It's a statistical analysis that helps our government understand the population and these statistics are often cited when our officials are looking for causes or funding.

Although I do not believe in the past the census information was shared with the INS (or equivalent) people who are not citizens may worry.

Think of the past census, say taken of those Ellis Island immigrants in which census takers asked people if they were citizens, if they were aliens, if they were in process, and what year they were naturalized.  There is a historical precedent for asking residents about their immigration status. Sometimes when I cannot find people who left a ship on a census I wonder if they hid out for the same reasons as the people do in recent history.

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THE MAN WITH THE NATIVE AMERICAN DATABASE and FREE RESEARCH

Perhaps it's the synchronicity of having a couple potential clients who want to prove Native American ancestry, but the other day, just sitting on a bench outside a restaurant, I met a man who introduced himself and said he was a Native American genealogy expert.  That's not what the outside of his van said, but he handed me his card proving he was accepted into a tribe and said it had taken him 15 years to be accepted.

His route of research was not a steady plan of documentation but I don't hold that against anyone. Most of us have had to go around an individual to find them again such as following a brother or sister or other relative to get back a generation or so.

Then this man blew me away by saying he had a personal database of HALF A MILLION NAMES which he had posted but kept private on a contributory genealogy database you all know of.  He said he paid high yearly fees to have just about everything they offered. Further he said that ALL NATIVE AMERICAN ARE RELATED and HE CAN PROVE THAT.

The more he talked the less convinced I became. Besides the task of listing half a million names, I doubted the privacy he claimed to have.  Mostly I feared that a lot of people who are lazy genealogy hobbyists or simply ignorant will take his word for it and never bother to do the proofing.

I told him I was a genealogist but he wasn't interested in my story, just impressing me with his.

The tribe he is a member of gave him the card saying he was 5/32nd blood. We all have two parents, four grandparents, eight great grandparents, and 16 great great grandparents, and thirty two great great great grandparents.  A simplistic example of how one gets to be 5/32nds Native American would be that five of the 32 great great great grandparents were Native American.  But there are other combinations since it's possible that some or all of these many people in his genetics are some part Native American too.

OK, he looked convincingly Native.  He had studied the tribe and taken on some of their cultural attributes such as, he said, doing free genealogy research - for those who wouldn't mind their charts also being in his database.

Early in the conversation I'd mentioned preliminary research into the tribes of these two people who say they want to know their heritage. He wanted me to tell them their names. It would not be professional for me to divulge this. I felt put on the spot. I did not.

He went into the restaurant before me and that was the end of the encounter.

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CHILDHOOD WITT and SAYINGS a PART OF FAMILY HISTORY WRITING

A new friend and I started reminiscing about all the things our parents said to their children when the children were playing creatively or rough. We were watching some other people's children throw sand in the air and yelled and that sparked the conversation.  We didn't want anyone's children to get sand in their eyes or ears. The children were having such fun though. They proceeded to go exploring on a big mountain of compost.

My friend said his dad used to yell "Don't run with a spoon in your mouth."

I recalled that in my childhood home there were a lot of ways to "break your head open." These included racing up stairs and around swimming pools, swinging on the swing set too high, and well, just about all dangerous activities.

We agreed though that today's children are overprotected, and making them wear helmets to ride bikes and plugging up electric sockets, for instance, makes for the implication that they are fragile and (too) precious.

My friend and I compared notes and decided that though we are of the same generation and the sayings we heard growing up to warn us of danger and injury had seemingly not made it all the way to the next state.

Childhood wit and sayings that are part of your upbringing ought to be included in your family history writing. They tell the story not only of your generation but of race, class, ethnicity, of generations - of time and place. They will certainly sound odd to future generations.

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STARTING THE YEAR OUT WITH NATIVE AMERICAN GENEALOGY QUESTIONS

NATIVE KNOT: Native American Tribal Registration

Two people have asked me to help them with Native American genealogy to prove they should be members of tribes - One Seneca and the other Kiowa. In the past I mentioned that tribes usually expect 16% genetic link - as proven by genealogy documents not DNA - which means one great grandparent or two great great grandparents.  However, I discovered this is NOT the case with the Seneca or the Kiowa. I wonder if it's changed since the days when I sat in on Native American classes at my local LDS Family History library.

I found this web site that has informational links to SOME - not all - of the many Native American tribes that did or do exist. Also there are some generally small groups of Native Peoples that are still fighting for governmental recognition as a tribe for all the benefits possible.

Take a look and see if the tribe you're interested in is listed!

TREE

FINDING A PLACE TO KILL TIME ON CHRISTMAS DAY - IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THOSE WITHOUT A HOME

I'm reminded of this because yesterday, Christmas, I had an event to go to that went from about noon until 2 PM, and then another that started at about 6 PM.  As a result, I had four hours to "kill" because I didn't want to turn it around and commute home, only to pit stop and go out again.  I had a small suitcase and my dog and her carrier with me.  For some reason I thought McDonalds was open on Christmas and headed there on foot, only to find it locked up, as it should be, I suppose. 

I rarely eat at McDonalds but I do like their basic coffee, not too fancy or expensive. The McDonalds I go to has an outdoor area that is OK for tying up the dog, clean bathrooms (always a plus), and is forgiving about hanging out. I've been in there a number of times with my dog in her carrier; she sleeps in it and no one has questioned it.

So we crossed the street and walked to a Starbucks, a small shop that was open. The wind was kicking up and though my dog had on a sweater and I had on leggings under my slacks and layered tops and a hat to keep me warm, I didn't like the idea of sitting outside there for a couple hours. I also didn't like the price on their basic coffee which was more than double that of McDonald's. I went in and asked if I could bring the dog in, in her carrier, and the talk of  making a "special exception" was a turn off.  What if she were a service dog?  I wasn't asked.

At this point we had walked a mile easy. There were some people sitting waiting for buses on the main street. A man without a coat or hat in a wheel chair rode over to me and asked "Do you know anywhere there's food?" He meant free food.  Actually I did know a place that was having a potluck.  A friend who is a member of AA told me they were having an inclusive event, no need to go to a meeting or be a member.  I told him how to get there.

My dog and I continued to walk to an old shopping district that was mostly closed up. As we went we saw so many people who were clearly homeless on the street, bundled up. 

Each and every one of them has a life story.

Each and every one of them was born to parents, alive or dead now, and was or is part of a family.

We found a small, old, independent coffee house open there. No problem about my dog in her carrier. We walked in and ordered a tea, then found a table to share. Though there were some writers on lap tops sitting here and there and there was a television on, there were also obviously homeless people sleeping sitting up. God Bless the owner.  He decided that he would "see how it goes" before making a decision to close up at 7 PM.

I told the clerk I would be hanging out, waiting for a ride to a party, and he nodded.  He had probably heard and seen it all. I tried to keep busy.  I did a little list making, this and that, but mostly I felt bored and lonely. I texted the friend who was having the party to let her know where I was. Shortly she sent a relative over to pick me up around 5:30, as their location is high up and a bit obscure. When he walked in, it was as if the others were startled. When he walked in, what I told them all, that I was just there waiting, turned out to be true.

The party was wonderful.  Possibly one of the best Christmas evenings I've had, and it was so good to be surrounded by other people who were also enjoying themselves in a beautiful home that was welcoming and warm.  My dog fell asleep under a table, after I mixed some stew meat in with her kibble.

And so I was thinking about Mary and Joseph, and no room at the inns.

About Jesus being laid into a manger (a cow feed bin) after his birth. 

Exhausted travelers on a budget far from home, on foot, not quite homeless as we know it to be now.

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THE WALMART CHRISTMAS SHOPPING NIGHTMARE and THOSE DNA TESTS

The holidays as they are celebrated these days add more stress to family life.

I was thinking about this today because I had to go to Walmart.  Yes it had to be Walmart.  I had not been in one since last fall.  But I went.  The place was total confusion. Parents clutching fairy light sets and stacks of toys.  Children running around undisciplined - maybe they lost their parents an hour ago?  Greeters not allowed to leave their post to help you get a cart.

As is usual, it was near impossible to find an employee on the sales floor at all.  I asked one about the pricing of some items that were unmarked and she told me to go scan for the price myself.  And she was on her cell phone.  As was the security guard.  The line for less than 20 items was around and down an isle.  Half way to what I thought was a register I learned I was in the line to check myself out.  This company makes so much money, and they pay badly enough that employees have to get government help for food and shelter and a cashier was replaced by this check yourself out.  I refused so I went into another line. What could I have been thinking when I went shopping at all for the holidays?  There were things on my list that I could have also bought at Walmart, but I got out of there rather than look through picked over departments where things went unstocked or were disorganized.  I once worked retail.  There used to be pride in retail. More and more do it yourself at discount places.

One of the things I didn't find out was if Walmart is, like CVS, and some other places, stocking discounted DNA tests.  CVS sells kits for determining parenthood as well as DNA heritage.

I bring this up because I got a call about helping someone actually figure out what their results meant.

Someone else used two different companies and got different results from each.  What could that mean?

So here goes:

DNA  test results are statistical analysis using a pool of candidates; the other people who also turned in their results to that particular company.  Overall, the more people who contribute and are part of the statistics, the "better" or more accurate the results when it comes to ethnicity.  Even then, ethnicity is rather a broad term because we are just starting to understand how it is that people migrated, how they bred.  Overall, more males migrated than females due to their roles - gender assigned.  For instance, more men were explorers, travelers, traders, in armies, in crusades. Sometimes a man settled somewhere other than where he was born and raised.  (There were also army camp followers who were women - wives, prostitutes, nurses, but you get the idea here.)  If you look at some of the websites that attempt to show the statistics using other kinds of charts - such as maps - you will see that the zones spread out. Also, be aware that as time goes on, there may be discoveries of DNA that is identified with different codes.  When you look at any article or map or statistical analysis of DNA results, try not to read anything more than a year or so old.  Really.  Right now even the Out of Africa theory has a challenge.

Someone "reminded" me that we are all out of Africa.
It's usually someone who wants to "remind" others not to be prejudiced against people who appear Black.

There is more DNA variation in African Black people than anywhere else.
However, ethnicity is considered a fairy recent invention by anthropologists.

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TYING THE KNOT by AMBER KEYSER : ANCESTRY WORSHIP BOOK REVIEW : ALMANACH DE GOTHA as MATCHMAKING BIBLE?

Excerpted from the book Tying the Knot - A World History of Marriage by Amber J. Keyser

EXCERPT:  OLD STYLE MATCH.COM

Between 1763 and 1944, European nobles looking for a marriage partner could consult a reference book called the Almanach de Gotha. Originated by a German chaplain in the city of Gotha, the book sorted and ranked all members of European noble families in great detail. Families used the book to determine which matches were acceptable.  Specifically, marriage partners were supposed to be of the same rank - that is, a duke was supposed to marry the daughter of a duke, not the daughter of a man of lower rank.  If a man did choose a lower-ranked wife, he entered into what was called a left hand marriage. During the wedding ceremony, he held the bride's right had with his left hand instead of the traditional right hand.

In 1998 a British company issued a new edition of the Almanach de Gotha, but critics noted that it was sloppily written.  And even though some Europeans still inherit titles of nobility, these titles are mostly symbolic,  For instance, the United Kingdom still has a queen, princes, dukes, earls, and other nobles, but they no longer run the country.  Instead, citizens of the United Kingdom vote for their leaders.  Since its no longer necessary to maintain power by marrying into another royal family, European noble no longer have reason to consult the Almanach de Gotha.

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