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Honoring Our Ancestors
August 15, 2010
www.honoringourancestors.com
www.rootstelevision.com

Greetings Fellow Family History Sleuths,

Just back from vacation in Ireland where I got to hang out in a castle, meet some of my until now virtual genealogical friends, visit with the Lord Mayor of Cork(!), see where Annie Moore lived before coming to America, and so much more! Definitely a roots-theme to this year's jaunt! I hope all of you are enjoying your summer and that you, too, are finding ways to slip a little genealogy into your vacations! See you in September!

Megan

Hr

Genealogical Round Up, July 1

Latest genealogy videos on @RootsTelevision - cemeteries and Angela Walton!
Roots Television | Og Blog

Megan's Roots World: April Grant Awarded
Roots Television | Megan's Roots World: April Grant Awarded

Genealogy interview with Voice of America & comments from abroad
Becoming an Explorer of Your Family History | U.S. History | Learning English

If, like me, you love London, you're going to enjoy this: "You've Got to Love London"
You've Got to Love London - ReflectionOf.Me

Start of Freedmen Letters indexing on Family Search!

Unfortunately, an all too familiar tale
Libraries and Librarians Are Endangered Species: What You Can Do to Help

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Genealogy Round Up, July 8

Another cool case I got to work on: "Tombstone Found on NY Sidewalk Posed a Mystery - NYT"
http://nyti.ms/d1MRPp

Stumbled on this by accident - one of my cases! "NY Soldier Missing Since WWI, Finally at Rest"
New York Soldier Missing Since World War I, Finally at Rest

Roots Television | Og Blog: New Genealogical Video: Dirk Schweitzer Talks About Genetic Genealogy

Yay, Maureen!
Extraordinary New Photo Collection Paints a Picture of Nation’s Revolutionary War Generation

Can't wait for this book! "Shaking the Family Tree"
Buzzy Jackson | Author

Smitten by the exotic unearthing of family history - The Irish Times - Thu, Jul 01, 2010

New World Had at Least 15 'Founding Mothers' Says Latest Study from SMGF and Univ of Pavia, Italy
New World Had at Least 15 'Founding Mothers' Says Latest Study from Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Fou

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Hr

Celebrating 10 Years of Genealogy Grants

Celebrating 10 Years of Grants

In honor of celebrating 10 years since the start of the grant program, we are thrilled to award our May grant to the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), which is also celebrating 10 years of existence!

SMGF provides collection and analysis of genetic and genealogical data to assist people in extending and verifying their ancestry. One of SMGF's recent initiatives is an ongoing project that involves an in-depth analysis of the Native American mtDNA phylogeny. There were two science papers published (Achilli et al. 2008, PLoS One and Perego et al. 2009, Current Biology), which have been highly used by the genetic genealogical community by those interested in verifying and studying their maternal Native American ancestry.

Ugo Perego from SMGF is currently completing a third paper on this topic. The grant will be used to cover the lab cost to produce additional complete mtDNA sequences necessary for this type of research.

You can apply for a grant here.

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Hr

Genealogy Round Up, July 15

Can't tell the difference between family history and junk? 3 easy tips to help you.
Ellen Lupton can't tell the difference between family history and junk? 3 easy tips to help you.

WWI Soldier Laid to Rest at Arlington National Cemetery

Think I'll raise a Beine stein (though they don't rhyme!) to "130 Years of the Beine Family in America"
Genealogy Roots Blog: 130 Years of the Beine Family in America

I called - not knocked! "90 years after his death, remains of WWI soldier found
90 years after his death, remains of World War I soldier found

1st high profile US case hinging on Y-DNA: Grim Sleeper arrest marks advance for controversial #DNA evidence
Grim Sleeper arrest marks big advance for controversial DNA evidence | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

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Hr

Genealogy Round Up, July 22

Scottish Author Seeks Descendants of 6,500 Lost...

Co-worker of my husband told him I was mentioned in @USATODAY last week. Didn't know
USATODAY.com

Did Wash Post's Rob Stein exaggerate negative stories about personal genomics? : Genetic Future

If ordering genealogical and other DTC DNA tests without medical or other intermediaries is of interest to you, please help spread the word by sharing, tweeting, commenting, thumbs-upping the following!
Don't "Protect" Us from Our Own Genetic Information

WDYTYA spoof: "Roots Television | Og Blog: New Genealogical Videos: Who Do You Think You Are Spoof
Roots Television | Og Blog: New Genealogical Videos: Who Do You Think You Are Spoof


Thx so much for review of my #WDYTYA book, Margaret!
Howell Carnegie District Library: Who Do You Think You Are? The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Fami

Thx for kind comments re: recent burial of WWI soldier!
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: WWI Soldier Laid to Rest at Arlington National Cemetery

Fun video
Happy News - Entrepreneur Recreates Golden Age of Pullman Trains in New Hotel

Yup, agree with this:
Your Genetic Genealogist: Protection or Paternalism? - Part Three on 23andMe's Genomic Policy Forum

Like this!
Footnote.com and Lowcountry Africana Join Forces to Create an Interactive Slave Records Collection |

This will confuse future genealogists:
Utah Woman Pregnant With 2 Babies Due a Week Apart

A Day Out With - Eddie Izzard - Visiting Ellis Island With Eddie Izzard
http://www.nytimes.com/

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Hr

Genealogy Round Up, July 29

One of the more amusing Internet scams
one of the more amusing Internet scams #genealogy - Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's posterous

Food for thought from my friend Curt Witcher
The coming genealogical dark ages

Megan's Roots World: June Grant Award Announcement
Roots Television | Megan's Roots World: June Grant Award Announcement

Protecting Consumers From Their Own #Genetic Data Will Come at a Cost

Will miss her much
Ivy Bean, Known As Oldest Twitter User, Dies At 104 : NPR

Buzzy Jackson Shakes Her Family Tree! Check out these videos
Roots Television | Og Blog

Important. Pls RT/share this from @23andMe
The Spittoon » GAO Studies Science Non-Scientifically

The latest from FamilySearch -- it just keeps coming!
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's posterous - Home

Wondering if I'm going to see some of my old friends on this year's TMG cruise!
Genealogy Conference and Land Cruise

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Hr

Honoring Our Ancestors Grants

Congrats to our recent grant recipient! Don't forget that you can apply here.

June 2010
Dina Scheel of Los Altos, CA is researching the victims of the infamous Triangle Fire in 1911. A lot is known about the fire, the legal aftermath, and its effect on labor laws and unions, but very little is known about the victims. Dina is trying to build a picture of each of the approximate 150 victims. The grant award will go towards ordering vital records for the research project.

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Hr

Upcoming Events

If you plan to be near any of the events where I'll be speaking, I would love to meet you. It's always a kick for me when folks mention that they read this newsletter, my blog, Huffington Post or whatever, so don't be shy about introducing yourself!

For more information on these events, please see my Events Calendar. And if you're interested in scheduling me, just click here.

  • September 18-25, 2010 - 6th Annual Genealogy Conference and Cruise, hosted by Wholly Genes, Inc. - Voyage through the Caribbean while we learn about genealogical research methods, tools, and technologies
  • October 5, 2010 - New York, NY - The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society - "Trace Your Roots with DNA"
  • October 15, 2010 - Louisville, KY - Kentucky Center for African American Heritage - "Michelle Obama's Roots"
  • October 16, 2010 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Genealogical Society - "Trace Your Roots With DNA," "Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options," "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones" and "Find that Obituary: Online Newspaper Resources"
  • November 6, 2010 - Grand Rapids, MI - Western Michigan Genealogical Society - "Michelle Obama's Roots," "Reverse Genealogy," "Tracing Your Roots with DNA," "Right Annie, Wrong Annie" and "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"
  • February 12, 2011 - Largo, FL - Pinellas Genealogy Society - "Trace Your Roots with DNA," "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Find The Obituary! Online Newspaper Research" and "Cold Cases: Genealogists, Coroners and the FBI"
  • April 9, 2011 - Lakeland, FL - Imperial Polk Genealogical Society - "Reverse Genealogy Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Neglected History," "Trace Your Roots with DNA" and "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"
  • April 28-May 1, 2011 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada - Saskatchewan Genealogical Society - "Reverse Genealogy Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Neglected History," "Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options" and "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"


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