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Family Tree Maker 2012 Syncing feature |
Growing family trees from leaves and branches. Finding lost relatives. Solving family mysteries. Concentrating in New Jersey and New York.
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
Software: Family Tree Maker 2012
In October I purchased the upgrade for Family Tree Maker 2012 from Ancestry.com for $27.99 plus $5 shipping. I have been working well with the 2011 version, but the price is fair and genealogy is one area in which I prefer to be up-to-date. (Ironic, I know.) I think that the main new feature of the 2012 version is syncing trees with Ancestry.com. With older versions, once you publish a tree on Ancestry.com, additional changes to the tree must be made on both your computer and on the website, which can be slow and tedious. With the syncing capabilities of the 2012 version, you can sync a tree from your computer to the website and vice versa. (I do not recommend copying someone else's tree from a website to your computer. Your research should be your own.)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
DNA and Genealogy to solve recent crimes
Floating around the Internet this week were articles concerning an unsolved murder in Seattle, Washington in 1991. DNA of a possible suspect was collected from the scene and it is hoped that the DNA will lead investigators to the person responsible for the killing. What is remarkable about this particular use of DNA to solve a crime is that genealogy is going to play a major role.
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CNN.com article of 10 January 2012 |
Although not specifically mentioned, investigators are probably talking about Y-DNA. Each human has 23 pairs of chromosomes. The 23rd pair is called the sex chromosomes because males have an XY pair and females have an XX pair. To procreate, each pair of chromosomes is separated into half and passed on as genetic material. For the sex chromosomes, a female can only pass on an X. The male can pass on an X or a Y. If he passes on his X, the child will be female; if he passes on the Y, the child will be male. As females do not have a Y chromosome, the genetic material contained on the Y comes the male line only, passed from father to son. This is very useful in genealogy because all males on a direct male line from an ancestor of interest will have virtually identical Y chromosomes. If you wonder if you are descended from a male passenger of the Mayflower, for example, you need to test the Y-DNA of a male who is related to you and who would appear (on paper) to be a direct male descendant of the theorized Mayflower ancestor. Testing Y-DNA is also useful for comparing males with common surnames to see if they might be descended from a common ancestor.
Below are the results of a Y-DNA test for my father by Ancestry.com. His closest match has an estimated most common recent ancestor ("MCRA") over 25 generations ago. This is not particularly useful to me at this time. I erased last names for display here, but none have last names that are even mildly similar to one another. "Surname projects" are also available at Family Tree DNA. A male with a last name of Lutter, Luther, Leuters, and so on could compare his Y-DNA to my father's to see if their last name comes from the same line. It's like a math problem, where you get the answer first (DNA results) and then have to show the work (a paper trail).
Shifting back to the 1991 murder, we have claims that the perpetrator is a direct male descendant of one of the Fuller men who lived in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s. Is this possible to discover through DNA? Absolutely. That is why these Y-DNA studies are so powerful and useful for genealogy. But- the man could also be descended from one of the ancestors of the Fuller men of 17th century Salem. The DNA testing can put a time frame on the most recent common ancestor, but only within a few generations. That is why we cannot tell, based on the DNA results, from which male Fuller the perpetrator descends.
Those of us who have researched back in this time period can tell you that spelling was inconsistent and name changes were frequent. That leads us to another claim in the articles, that the perpetrator’s last name is Fuller. This may or may not be true. Adoption, name changes, non-paternal events (wink wink) were not invented by our generation. The perpetrator could have any last name. I would not like to see this investigation turn into a modern-day Salem witch hunt, but it very well may for men with the last name of Fuller. On the positive side, those of you with Fuller ancestry can expect that your Fuller line is being thoroughly researched through four centuries as I type.
My next point is that the DNA identification to the Fuller line was made through unnamed "genealogy databases." This is a legitimate concern for many of us who realize the valuable resource of submitting our own DNA for genealogical purposes. Police may be able to compare our DNA in a genealogy database to DNA collected at a crime scene and either link us or a close relative of ours to the crime. Is this any different from using yearbooks to try to identify a band of young miscreants wearing jackets from a local high school? It will be interesting to follow this case and to see what other cases arise from the use of DNA and genealogy.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Kings County, New York Wills 1866-1923 online
I continue to be amazed by the growing collection of original records over at Family Search. Original and indexed probate records for wills are available for Kings County, New York, for the years 1866-1923. You can't beat free and online original records, so if you have any lines with any connections to Brooklyn, you best run the names through the search.
Documents accompanying the will can include a date of death. If you are unable to easily locate a death certificate, probate records are another source to try to uncover a date of death. Remember that a date of death recorded on a death certificate is a primary source, while a date of death recorded in the estate file is secondary information at the most.
I used this resource in hopes of uncovering more information about a pair of siblings, Mary and George Hawkins, born in the late 1880s in Brooklyn. Fortunately, all four of their grandparents have records in this collection. Their maternal grandparents, Georgianna and Smith Nostrand, could be considered collateral lines, but I find such lines to be worth researching for at least a few generations. Georgianna's records were most interesting. We were provided with a date of death of 15 May 1917, which will greatly assist in locating a death certificate and obituary. The witnesses to the will were what intrigued me. Marguerite Stewart, formerly Hawkins, was one witness. This provided a married name and made Marguerite easier to trace. The other witness was Walter Phelps. He was a cousin of Marguerite, but on the Hawkins side, not the Nostrand side. So why did Walter bear witness? We do not know. He may have simply been available when Georgianna was creating her will. Or his signature could indicate a deeper relationship among these families that has not yet been uncovered. It is something to bear in mind as research continues on these lines.
Documents accompanying the will can include a date of death. If you are unable to easily locate a death certificate, probate records are another source to try to uncover a date of death. Remember that a date of death recorded on a death certificate is a primary source, while a date of death recorded in the estate file is secondary information at the most.
I used this resource in hopes of uncovering more information about a pair of siblings, Mary and George Hawkins, born in the late 1880s in Brooklyn. Fortunately, all four of their grandparents have records in this collection. Their maternal grandparents, Georgianna and Smith Nostrand, could be considered collateral lines, but I find such lines to be worth researching for at least a few generations. Georgianna's records were most interesting. We were provided with a date of death of 15 May 1917, which will greatly assist in locating a death certificate and obituary. The witnesses to the will were what intrigued me. Marguerite Stewart, formerly Hawkins, was one witness. This provided a married name and made Marguerite easier to trace. The other witness was Walter Phelps. He was a cousin of Marguerite, but on the Hawkins side, not the Nostrand side. So why did Walter bear witness? We do not know. He may have simply been available when Georgianna was creating her will. Or his signature could indicate a deeper relationship among these families that has not yet been uncovered. It is something to bear in mind as research continues on these lines.
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Portion of estate papers of Georgianna Nostrand, 1917. |
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1900 federal census Georgianna and Smith Nostrand with their daughter and her family 914 Greene Avenue, Brooklyn |
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Miniature family tree diagram illustrating relationship between testator, Georgianna Nostrand, and witnesses, Walter Phelps and Marguerite Hawkins |
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