Final Week of Sales and Coupons at Family Tree DNA

Family Tree DNA's sale on genetic genealogy kits ends December 31.

Below are coupon codes to use on the discounted prices.

Discount	Code   EXPIRES DECEMBER 31, 2017
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34CKLY98MZC
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34PVSUZ4Q7F
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34YQVAUMN18
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34XJQ0F2BDL
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34NDTZL82TF
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34G9FPT0J8H
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R347CGCALDSM
$5 off any purchase of $39 or more	R34H03O3UE3Y
$10 off any purchase of $100 or more	R34CGQEJ4YWW
$10 off any purchase of $100 or more	R34IY3GD3FIO
$10 off any purchase of $100 or more	R34JQSV84S5U
$10 off any purchase of $100 or more	R34HPIKVV114
$10 off any purchase of $100 or more	R34RCQQYAVCI
$10 off any purchase of $100 or more	R34Z4Z57X5LK
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34B6PNTKQ36
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34P0VN1ZG1L
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R345XJG2DC0P
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R340NRWY2BUR
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34G8R8X5VD0
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34GECNW2W7D
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34NZE5CAKJ4
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34C2WAILVS0
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34JBS4UT2C7
$20 off any purchase of $175 or more	R34ZR6DQQJQF
$50 off any purchase of $350 or more	R34PCKFH33W6
$50 off any purchase of $350 or more	R34FVUITT73L
$75 off any purchase of $475 or more	R34MYMSKWGAO
$75 off any purchase of $475 or more	R344AVAVER68
$100 off any purchase of $525 or more	R34VXY7DP4HB

Birth Certificates of Adoptees in Pennsylvania

In November of 2017, Pennsylvania began providing adopted persons information from their original, sealed birth certificate.

The disappointment was that the document was a limited transcription and not a copy of the original record, in contrast to the title.

In response to criticism about the limitations of this document, Pennsylvania re-issued the birth records on nicer paper.

The problem here is that the law (2016 Act 127) authorizes release of a "summary" of the original birth certificate and not the original birth certificate. Pennsylvania Department of Health labels the document "Noncertified Copy of Original Birth Record," and not something more accurate such as "Selective Extraction of a Birth Record."

The information available is the date and county (not town) of birth, original name of baby, and names and ages of parents. This information could lead adoptees to find their biological families. But the missing information might be needed if the named parent or parents is not enough. More information increases the chances of success.

The person who kindly supplied me with her "original birth certificate" identified her biological mother shortly before receiving the document. That will be explained in an upcoming post. The biological father has not been identified (yet) through DNA testing and unfortunately was not named in this birth record.

In January of 2017 neighboring New Jersey unsealed birth certificates to adoptees. In contrast to Pennsylvania, New Jersey's document for adoptees is a copy of the actual birth certificate and not an extraction.

For the person who kindly supplied this unsealed New Jersey birth certificate, the biological mother was previously identified in the adoption records of the court, which were not sealed because the adoption was before 1940. The father was identified through DNA testing before the release of this certificate. The names of the parents on this certificate, however, do not match the court records and the interpretations of DNA testing.

Microscopic View of Irish Origins

Some additional insight into the place of origin in Ireland of my Sheehy and Frawley ancestors. We have come a long way from merely stating Ireland.

Bridget Sheehy (1857-1916), my great great grandmother, was baptized in Lurriga (also called Patrickswell), in Limerick in 1857.

The baptismal record of two potential siblings are on the same microfilm roll as Bridget, except that Ancestry.com calls the place Clarina.

My (probable) cousin in Ireland helped clarify for me that my family was actually from Corcamore and that all these places are within a larger area called Clarina. He also assured me that Irish ways of designating and naming places are confusing.

Clarina, Kilkeedy, Pubblebrien, Limerick, Ireland.
Is that how I should write this?

Location of Corcamore within Clarina.
Any Sheehy and Frawley cousins still living there?

Corcamore is only about two square miles. It would be great to find additional records, if any exist.