NPE: Get your head around it & use the Leeds Method

My last 6 month during this worldwide health crisis and year of turbulent politics in the U.S. has been spent absorbing, reflecting, and distracting myself to find what really matters most to me. Working from home has been exhausting and, at the same time, just fine. It's made me mushy though - mentally and physically and thus I struggle to stay sharp. 

One of the skills I have worked to sharpen this year has been in interpreting DNA results. Not only can I evidence this work by pointing to the 100+ DNA cousins I have linked to my Ancestry tree, I have also helped several people in their search to find their DNA relatives. In one instance in particular I assisted a woman in locating her biological father. If she reaches out to him is yet to be decided but with 99% confidence, we know who he is because I could find DNA matches between my client and 3 of his 4 grandparents.

Like most family stories, hers is one that is complex and emotional. She, like so many now, experienced what is often referred to as an NPE; Non-Parentage or Non-Paternity Experience. In short this is when someone takes a DNA test and discovers their parent or parents are not their biological parent(s). In my client's case she always suspected her father was not her biological father but a DNA composition of 50% of an unexpected ethnicity confirmed it. 

Those pie charts and ethnicity estimates are not really very meaningful to me. I don't feel ethnically anything. I don't hyphenate myself. I'm not Irish-American, German-American. You never hear Canadian-American really. I think of myself as a long-term American, from a really well stirred melting pot, if you will. I don't care very much if I am 23% French or 37%. I'm not swapping my kilt for lederhosen because frankly, I wear jeans. But when you see an ethnicity which you don't expect in such a large percentage in your ethnicity estimate, it's a tell-tale sign that something is amiss. "How can I be 50% Italian when I don't have a single Italian surname in my family tree?" Um, well you can be if you really don't know half of your genetic tree.

Sorting out your matches is how you determine your biological parent(s). And, I have found, that you need close matches. By that I mean people with more than 100 centimorgans of DNA in common with you, and several of them. They also need to have a comprehensive family tree that you can view and/or you need to communicate with them.

Typically people think they can click a button and get their answer. It doesn't work like that. It is a long, slow, arduous process but the desired results are totally possible. 

The first step in any of it, though is that if you or someone you know experiences an NPE is to first relax. Get your head around it before you start your search. The older you get the easier it is, I think, to see your parents as people; people who did some things, made some choices, didn't know what they were doing, etc. Once you have a grasp on that - which can take a really long time....

Then, sort those matches. The Leeds method has been the most useful took I have employed. Use it!: https://www.danaleeds.com/dna-color-clustering-the-leeds-method-for-easily-visualizing-matches/

100+ AncestryDNA Matches in My Tree

So I did it! Two weeks ago I set a goal for myself; to get 100 of my AncestryDNA matches linked into my family tree. I did it! 

I have a lot of DNA matches. At present I have 693 people who matches me as 4th cousins or closer and that number is ever increasing as more and more people invest in these genetic testing kits. Of course those 693 people are matches to people who have taken a DNA test through Ancestry - no other company and, no, the system is not just guessing based on some fancy algorithm if I could be related to those people. I am related to those people. Our DNA matches.  I have an ancestor in common with each and every one of them. Which ancestor? Well, that's the puzzle. 

In some instances I knew right away who the common ancestor was given the fact that my father, my sister, several of my first cousins, many of my known first cousins once removed, and their kids (my second cousins) have all taken DNA test through AncestryDNA. 

A good 50% of the 100 matches I could reach out to right now via phone, text. email, or FaceBook Messenger. No problem! 

I recognize that for other connecting 50 DNA matches to their family tree could be a big challenge but I come from a very big family. Some branches are incredibly close. Most of my very best friends are my own second cousins. Many people do not even know their second cousins or even really know what that term means. (Your second cousins are those people with whom you share great grandparents. In other words your parent's first cousins' kids.)

Another factor that contributed to being able to link so many matches into my family tree is the fact that I have been at this family history research thing for over 30 years now. I've gone to several family reunions in my time and have been able to collect names and birth dates of many, many living family members. Looking over some old paper written list of reunions put about another 20% of my found matches into my tree. These were living people who took DNA tests and that I knew of. That is to say I probably met one of their parents at a family reunion. Their names were not in my family tree on Ancestry until I gave myself this challenge of linking living AncestryDNA matches into my tree. I might have had their parent or grandparent in my tree but not them. They are in there now.

For the other 30% of my now linked matches, they were the real puzzles. The success of linking them to my tree took a combination of reaching out to them or those that manage their DNA kits through my Ancestry membership's email feature. Typically you don't hear back through Ancestry's email. People typically use Ancestry for a brief time and then check-out. Maybe they used the free 2 week trial of Ancestry or they just took a DNA test to see their ethnicity profile. they are not active users. But I got lucky with a few contacts. I had a wonderful exchange with my paternal grandmother's second cousin. I was able to fit her and her sons into my tree. She shared with me recollections of my grandmother and her siblings. Uncle Bobby Henry was a talented musician and my grandma and grandpa Earle attended this cousin's wedding.

In other cases I could put those other 30% in my tree by looking at their trees. This requires that both of us had to have pretty fleshy trees. To match a 4th cousin you have a 3rd great grandparent in common. Now fortunately I have been able to connect my research to all 32 of my 3rd great grandparents. They were all born between 1782 and 1855. 

Having researched all of my 3rd great grandparents I was able to recognize common surnames right away. For example, when I saw the surname Goodyear in one person's username I knew right away that cousin was probably connected to my 3rd great grandmother; Sophia Goodyear-Earle (1808-1877). 

Opening that cousin's public tree concealed his living father's name but showed his Goodyear line back to Sophia's brother. I had never research Sophia's brother. I didn't have any of her siblings listed in my tree - - but now I do. I combed through enough records to confirm this Goodyear cousin and I have my 4th great grandparents in common; James Goodyear (1787 - unknown) & Susanna French-Goodyear (1797 - 1829) of Twillingate, Newfoundland by way of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland.

Did I learn anything new?

Well, no. Not really. I added over 1,000 names to my tree working on this project during the last 2 weeks but I didn't really learn anything new or alarming in some way. 

I met a few nice relatives.

There are a few people that I have pretty significant matches with that I can't fit in my tree. In many cases that is because they don't have a family tree on Ancestry. Again, maybe they just checked-in for their ethnicity profile but in some cases I do suspect an adoptions or misattributed fathers are in their trees.

So what did I get out of this other than a much bigger tree and a few nice conversations?

Well, I feel very well prepared now to help others sort out their DNA matches; others who might be adoptees or those who have discover that they do not genetically match their father. If you need help sorting your DNA matches don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Each New Match is a Puzzle

On my recent days off and evenings I have been plugging away at analyzing my AncestryDNA matches and adding all those I can identify to my family tree. It's tedious and time consuming but of my thousands of matches I now have more than 40 of them identified and in my tree.

It used to be that I really only had my past relatives in my tree; not many of my living relations. Then, many years ago now, Ancestry assured users that the identity of living relatives would be concealed in public trees so I added my cousins and a bunch of living relatives but I didn't go nuts. My tree is at a nice compact 2200 or so members.

Now though that all these people are taking DNA tests - living people - who are third or fourth or even more distant cousins, if I can identify our connection I want to put them in my tree.

Each new match is a puzzle to figure out.

If you have a very full fleshed out family tree on Ancestry, if you see this symbol appear above a relative's name, it means it may be them who has taken a DNA test and matches to you.

You can then confirm it and link that DNA match to your tree.

I highly recommend doing this is you have both an Ancestry Tree and have taken an AncestrDNA test.

Genealogy Lesson #22: Vital Records in the U.S.

Sorry for the pause in posting online genealogy lessons. Working from home during this world-wide pandemic is much more exhausting than it sounds.

In any case, my last few lessons focused on accessing the New York City Municipal Archives Death Records Indexes through a variety of websites. The hope is that you see that not every index is built the same way. Some are better than others. AND Ancestry.com is not the end-all be-all of genealogical resource websites. There is a lot out there and vital records are critical genealogical resources.

Vital records are birth, marriage, and death records. They only really came into existence in the U.S. in the late 1800s. If you are looking for documentation to verify a birth in the 1600s or 1700s, you’re not going to find a state issued certificate. Nope. Not gonna happen. They didn’t exist. Instead, you would more likely want to look for church registers or family bibles. However, if you can get an existing birth, marriage, or death certificate, they hold an awful lot of detail that can push your research further back.

Now maybe your family did not reside in New York City and thus you are wondering where to look for indexes of vital records for other locations.

You need to know when and where a vital event (birth, marriage, death) occurred in order to locate a certificate. That’s the whole battle. That’s why you need to pay very close attention to the locations presented in the census records you are able to find for your family. Where someone lived is often where these vital events took place. Although, that is not always the case. Sometimes they surprise us. Maybe they lived their whole life in New York City and maybe their body is interred in a New York City cemetery but if they died in some accident in New Jersey or while in some nursing home there, then their death certificate will be held by the State of New Jersey. Just something to keep in mind.

These days, with all this Coronavirus news, you hear a lot from the CDC. You probably all know it stands for Center for Disease Control. Besides keeping on top of the COVID-19 world health crisis, they have a great webpage listing where to obtain vital records from each state and U.S. territory. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/index.htm I use it all the time.

Even though the webpage is called “Where to Write for Vital Records”, often you are led to a state’s website where records can be ordered online. You usually do not have to actually “write” to anyone.

This ordering of records can become very costly very quickly. You want to be sure you “know” the record you want and that you aren’t just taking really expensive guesses.

How will you KNOW what to order? Leave the ordering until you have exhausted all your research locations.

Next up: Cemeteries as a research location.

Genealogy Lesson #21: Vital Records: A Different Death Index

In the last lesson, posted on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, we moved from searching the NYC Municipal Death Records Index on the German Genealogy Group (GGG) website to the NYC Municipal Death Records Index provided by FamilySearch.org.

If you were able to find the death of my 3rd great aunt, Gertrude Joyce-Sheridan (born circa 1865 - died 1934) in the FamilySearch index, you can see their index provide much more detail about the death certificate. FamilySearch’s index provides the following data:

Gertrude M. Sheridan
New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949

Name: Gertrude M. Sheridan

Event Type: Death

Event Date: 21 Apr 1934

Event Place: New York City, Queens, New York, United States

Address: 905-Troy Ave

Residence Place: B'klyn, N.Y.

Gender:Female

Age:70

Marital Status: Married

Race: White

Occupation: Domestic

Birth Year (Estimated): 1864

Birthplace: U. S. A.

Burial Date: 24 Apr 1934

Cemetery: Calvary Cemetery

Father's Name: John Joyce

Father's Birthplace: U. S. A.

Mother's Name: Mary O'Neil

Mother's Birthplace: Ireland



These are details taken from the actual death record. The name of her parents and thus Gertrude’s maiden name confirms that this indeed is MY Gertrude Sheridan.

This death certificate could now be ordered if one desired or one could got to their local Family History Center and view an image of the document for free.

It is good to also see the actual document because sometimes there are details that are not in the index, such as the cause of death, which might be of use or interest to the researcher.

You can certainly see though that not all indexes are built the same. Some of you might wonder why then anyone would look at this New York City Municipal Deaths Index anywhere other than FamilySearch. In short, human error. That is to say that sometimes there are records that make it into one index and not the other. 

When doing genealogy research you want to make sure you look everywhere possible and thus conduct what is known as an exhaustive search. It should be noted that there is also an index for New York City Municipal Death Records on Ancestry.com if you have access to that database.

Before moving on to marriage records, in the next lesson I will write about death records outside of New York City.

Genealogy Lesson #20: Vital Records: A Different Death Index

In the last lesson, posted on Friday, April 24, 2020, we investigated the NYC Municipal Death Records Index as provided by the German Genealogy Group (GGG).

Looking for my 3rd great aunt, Gertrude Joyce-Sheridan (born circa 1865) who died sometime between 1930 and 1940. Using just her name in the GGG’s New York City Municipal Archives Death Records Index should have resulted in 5 hits.

Using Gertrude’s estimated date of birth, 1865, which I derived from census records we can do some simple math to compare the ages of the individuals listed in our search results.

• Gertrude #1 born in 1919 - died at age 4 = born in about 1915
• Gertrude #2 born in 1925 - died at age 40 = born in about 1885
• Gertrude #3 born in 1934 - died at age 70 = born in about 1864
• Gertrude #4 born in 1945 - died at age 54 = born in about 1890
• Gertrude #5 born in 1945 - died at age 45 = born in about 1900

It is Gertrude #3 that is likely our Gertrude Sheridan. However, there isn’t enough information in this index to really know for use.

Ordering this document from the New York City Municipal Archives would cost you about $20. I think that is a very expensive good guess. Before taking that step, let’s look at the New York City Municipal Archives Death Record Index through another source.

Sign into your FamilySearch.org account.

Click on Search. This is usually located in the top navigation bar.

Choose Records. This is usually accessible by hovering on the work “Search” in the top navigation bar.

Go to the “Find A Collection” section of the search page. This section is usually on the bottom right.

Type into the search box “New York, New York” and you will see a drop down menu appear for the New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949.

Do a search again for Gertrude Sheridan with the date of death range 1934 to 1934.

Can you find her death record in the index? If so, what other details have you learned from the data listed? 

I will share with you what I have found in my next post.

Genealogy Lesson #19: Vital Records: Death Certificates

Vital records are the documentation of life events kept under governmental authority. In other words, official birth, marriage, and death records. Just like with our census research we are going to work backwards through time beginning with someone’s death and moving back to the person’s marriage, if they had one, and then their birth.

Vital records are managed by the individual states in which the event occurred. There is no centralized location of birth, marriage, and death (BMD) records for all of the United States. Therefore it is critical for you to know where the event occurred.

Frequently the state in which an individual dies is also the state in which they were born but this is certainly not always the case. Often we also assume that the individual died close to home but that is also not always the case. I have several ancestors who were away from home when they died. You might know where the family lived for decades but you may come to find out your relative died in say an accident that occurred far from home. I offer the example of my 3rd great grandfather, John Joyce.

The Joyce family owns a huge plot in Calvary Cemetery in Queens County, New York; one of the largest cemeteries in the United States. I was certain John had to be interred in that plot. Unlike so many of my family gravesites, their plot had a huge headstone. John’s name does not appear on that stone. Sometimes a family doesn’t keep up with the engraving on a headstone; maybe they can’t afford to. For whatever reason I have discovered many interments not listed on a headstone but recorded in the cemetery’s records.

Calvary Cemetery charges an exorbitant amount of money to tell you the names of all the individuals buried in one plot. I paid them only to find out John Joyce is not buried in the Calvary plot he paid for.

For years I combed through the NYC Death Indexes available through several databases looking for John; convinced he had to have died in NY. Then last year a little shaky leaf appeared on John’s name in my family tree suggesting records from the U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938. I sincerely doubted these could be records for my John Joyce; a man with a very common name. Upon careful review of the image of the document I saw the name of his wife listed; also a very common name, Mary Ann Joyce. 

What was not common about the record though was the family’s address. Listed right there was the address I knew to be that of my Joyce family in New York City in 1910. So as it turns out John Joyce died in a Soldier’s Home in Dayton Ohio. His death certificate will therefore be in Ohio.

Be careful to recognize what you know AND what you think you know.

For this exercise we are going to compare the New York City Death Index as recorded in a variety of databases.

For the first part you will need to use the website: https://www.germangenealogygroup.com/

They provide free access to the New York City Municipal Archives Death Records Index as they were one of the groups who originally volunteered to index the New York City Municipal Archives Death Records.

Why are we using New York City records, you might ask, as opposed to looking at records for your specific ancestors located wherever they may have died. Well, because it is estimated that approximately 40 percent of all Americans are descended from people who immigrated through Ellis Island during its years of operation; 1892 to 1954. Although not all of those immigrants ultimately settled in NYC, potentially a good percentage of you will have some relative who experienced some life event in NYC.

Go to https://www.germangenealogygroup.com/

On the left navigation bar, click Database Searches. That will expand the list and several boxes down you will see a button for Death Records. Click on the link for Death Records. That will expand again and several boxes down you will click on the link to NYC Municipal Archives. That link will open a search page for you.

Note that it will show you want date ranges are available for each county of New York City. Scroll down a bit and you will see a green button that reads “Continue to Database Search Form.” Click on that button.

Search for Gertrude Sheridan. She is my 3rd great aunt; the daughter of the aforementioned John Joyce. Therefore her maiden name was Joyce. She appears in the 1930 U.S. Census but I can’t find her in the 1940 census. I am assuming she died in the 1930s. According to census records she was born in about 1964 or 1965.

Can you find a death record in the German Genealogy Group’s index of NYC Death Records for Gertrude?

If so, record all the given details provided in the index.

Last Name, Given Name, Age, Date, Year, Certificate Number, and County.

Genealogy Lesson #18: End of Working with the Census and Introducing Vital Records

First, here are the answers to the scavenger hunt questions from lesson #17 posted on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

Looking in the 1850 Census:

1. Where is the family of Leonard and Lydia Losee living in 1850?

• Leonard and Lydia Losee were living in Huntington, not Freeport Long Island. Huntington is a town on the North Shore of Long Island while Freeport is on the South Shore.

2. What is Leonard’s occupation?

• In the 1850 census Leonard’s occupation is listed as Hotel Keeper as opposed to Fisherman in the 1860 census.

3. Name the children living with Leonard and Lydia?

• Three children are living with Leonard and Lydia Losee. Mary J. Losee (age 10), John M. Losee (age 9), and Theodore Bennett (age 2)

Who the heck is Theodore Bennett and where are the children from the 1860 census that should be in the 1850 census, Benjamin F. Losee (should be age 7), Leander Losee (should be age 5)? These questions remain unanswered for me. 

One good records often answers some questions but stirs a few more.

What we have learned through using the census, though, is that it helps genealogists to see a family line evolve. It helps us to move back through time watching parents regress to children, as it were, and their parents become children as well. 

The census groups together family sets that we can watch grow and diminish, separate and come together. It is a handy, handy tool for genealogists. A tool that was not created for the needs of genealogists but one we most certainly benefit from. So fill out your 2020 census for the sake of generations to come.

For the next few lessons we are going to examine vital records. Vital records are the documentation of life events kept under governmental authority. In other words, official birth, marriage, and death records.

Just like with our census research we are going to work backwards through time beginning with someone’s death and moving back to the person’s marriage, if they had one, and then to their birth.

I encourage you to search in your own family documents to see if you own a family member’s death certificate. In our next lesson we will be dissecting the critical bits of data supplied by a death certificate and comparing death records to death indexes.

Genealogy Lesson #17: The 1850 U.S. Federal Census

First, here are the answers to the scavenger hunt questions from lesson #16 posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.

In the 1860 census you were look John Losee who was born on 17 August 1841 and his father Leonard Losee.

1. What is John Losee’s occupation?

• Fisherman

2. Is John’s occupation the same as his father Leonard’s?

• Yes, Leonard Losee is also listed as a fisherman.

3. How many children do Leonard and Lydia have living with them?

• 5

4. What are the children’s names?

• Mary Jane (age 20), John (age 19), Benjamin F (age 17), Leander (age 15), Sarah (age 4)

5. Which of the kids attended school in 1860?

• Benjamin and Leander.

6. What town and “Post Office” is this family residing in?

• Town of Hempstead, Post Office: Hempstead

Now, try your hand at finding my Losee line in the 1850 census.

As you recall, you can access the individual U.S. Federal Census record sets through a multitude of databases, however, we were using FamilySearch.org.

Sign into your FamilySearch.org account.

Click on Search. This is usually located in the top navigation bar.

Choose Records. This is usually accessible by hovering on the work “Search” in the top navigation bar.

Go to the “Find A Collection” section of the search page. This section is usually on the bottom right.

Type into the search box “United States Census” and you will see a drop down menu appear listing all the U.S. Census records sets.

Choose United States Census, 1850.

The 1850 census is the first to list every household member by name. Keeping in mind that enslaved people were not listed by name, instead they were listed on what are known as the Slave Schedules. Whereas the 1870 census often proves to be a stonewall for African-American genealogy researchers, the 1850 census often proves to be a barrier for those with Early American non-enslaved (white) lineage.

We won’t be examining the 1840-1790 census for now as those records only list the head of household followed by marks to indicate the number of family members categorized by race, sex, and age. Instead, we will be moving on to discuss other important genealogical resources; specifically, the vital records.

This 1850 census, though, is a curious census for me. Let’s see if your review of my Losee line in the 1850 census brings up the same questions for you as it does for me.

Look for John Losee (born on 17 August 1841) living in the household of his father Leonard Losee (born in about 1817). Remember that Leonard’s wife’s name is Lydia A. She was born in about 1820.

1. Where is the family of Leonard and Lydia Losee living in 1850?
2. What is Leonard’s occupation?
3. Name the children living with Leonard and Lydia?

Have fun and stay tuned!

Genealogy Lesson #16: The 1860 U.S. Federal Census

First, here are the answers to the scavenger hunt questions from lesson #15 posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2020.

1. Being that John Losee Jr. was born in 1870, he may not appear in the 1870 census. Although maybe he does. Can you find him?

• You should be able to find him.

2. If you can find John Jr., how old is he on the record?

• John Jr. is listed as being 2/12 in the 1870 census which means 2 months old. This is actually the record in which I learned his month of birth. Unlike the 1900 census which we learned listed everyone’s month of birth, the 1870 census listed the month of birth for anyone born within a year of the census which was taken in June of 1870. It clearly lists that John Jr. was born in March. Thus he was almost 3 months old.

3. What are the names of John Sr.’s children?

• John Losee St. is living with his wife and 4 children in his parents’ home; Leonard and Lydia Losee. His children’s names are Benjamin F (age 6), Georgianna (age 4), Oliver (age 2), and John Jr. (age 2 months)

4. John Sr.’s has a sister living in the household. What is her name?

• Right below John’s mother Lydia’s name, we see John’s younger sister Sarah Losee (age 14) listed as living in the household too.

In the 1870 Census an important detail disappeared from the recorded data. It didn’t list the relationships between the head of household and the people in the house. So you are left making assumptions about the relationships. For instance, is the younger woman really the wife and the little ones all that man’s children or could, on the rare chance, that younger woman really be the head of the household's widowed sister living there with her brother and her children? These things most certainly happened. 

In genealogy it is important to recognize the difference between what is stated in documentation and conclusions you are drawing on your own.

For now, try your hand at finding my Losee line in the 1860 census.

John Jr. won’t be there as he was after 1860, as were all his siblings. Look instead for his father John Losee who was born on 17 August 1841 in Freeport, NY and John Sr.’s father Leonard Losee. Also remember that Leonard had at least one other child, Sarah Losee who was born in about 1856.

After you find the census record answer the following questions:

1. What is John Losee’s occupation?
2. Is John’s occupation the same as his father Leonard’s?
3. How many children do Leonard and Lydia have living with them?
4. What are the children’s names?
5. Which of the kids attended school in 1860?
6. What town and “Post Office” is this family residing in?

Answers to these questions will appear in the next lesson as long as a bit of info on the 1850 census.

Have fun!

Genealogy Lesson #15: The 1870 U.S. Federal Census

Before delving into the significance of the 1870 census, here are the answers to the scavenger hunt questions from lesson #14 posted on Monday, April 13, 2020.

1. What are the first names of the other married couple in this household?

• The other married couple at the address Leonard Losee (age 64) and Lydia A. Losee (age 60)

2. How do you suppose the other married couple is related to John Sr.?

• Leonard and Lydia are John Losee Sr.’s parents

3. For how many months, if any, was John Sr. unemployed?

• 3 months. The question asks how many months the person has been unemployed in the census year, not in the last 12 months. This census was taken in June 1880 and already John Sr. has been unemployed for 3 months.

4. What was John Sr.’s occupation?

• John Sr. is an oyster planter as is his father, Leonard.

5. What is John Sr.’s wife’s name?

• Susan A. Losee

6. How was John Jr. feeling on the day this census was taken?

• John Jr., who was only 9 years-old on the day this census was taken, is listed as ill. He, along with his older brother Oliver C. (age 11) have chills and fever.

Now, the 1870 Census is of critical importance for those doing African-American family history research because it is the first one in which formerly enslaved individuals are recorded by name; meaning this may be the furthest back one can find their African-American ancestor in a U.S. Federal census record. Making the jump from the 1870 census back to the 1860 census can often prove to be challenging, if not impossible, for most African-American genealogy researchers. For a lot of African-American family lines 1870 is the brickwall. However, that is not always the case. So if you are of African-American descent, don’t resign yourself to thinking 1870 is the end of your research. It may be the end of researching that line in the census but it is not the end of your research.

Some African-American genealogy researchers may come to find that their people were actually free people of color in 1860 though, or they may be able to see how their surname was derived from a white slave owner and pinpoint the owner in the 1860 census. This is presented in many genealogy reality shows such as Finding Your Roots.

However, there are also other significant records that may extend one’s African-American research, such as the U.S., Freedman's Bank Records, which I will post about in the future.

For now, try your hand at finding my Losee line in the 1870 census.

To facilitate your search recall that my great-great grandfather, John M. Losee Jr. was born March 1870 in Freeport, NY and died 24 May 1940 in Freeport, NY. His father, John Losee was born on 17 August 1841 in Freeport, NY and died on 10 February 1918 in Freeport, NY.

After you find the census record answer the following questions:

1. Being that John Jr. was born in 1870, he may not appear in the 1870 census. Although maybe he does. Can you find him? 
2. If you can find John Jr., how old is he on the record?
3. What are the names of John Sr.’s children?
4. John Sr.’s has a sister living in the household. What is her name?

Answers to these questions will appear in the next lesson as long as a bit of info on the 1860 census.

Genealogy Lesson #14: The 1880 U.S. Federal Census

This week we’re going to finish up our scavenger hunt through the U.S. Census using my Losee family line.

As you recall, you can access the individual U.S. Federal Census record sets through a multitude of databases, however, we were using FamilySearch.org.

Sign into your FamilySearch.org account.

Click on Search. This is usually located in the top navigation bar.

Choose Records. This is usually accessible by hovering on the work “Search” in the top navigation bar.

Go to the “Find A Collection” section of the search page. This section is usually on the bottom right.

Type into the search box “United States Census” and you will see a drop down menu appear listing all the U.S. Census records sets.

Choose United States Census, 1880.

My great-great grandfather was John M. Losee Jr.(born March 1870 in Freeport, NY - died 24 May 1940 in Freeport, NY) Being a junior (Jr.) we can safely assume that his father was John Losee Sr. Although, one should keep in mind that Senior (Sr.) is not part of a man’s official name until he names a son after himself. For most of John Sr.’s life he was just known as John Losee. My 3rd great grandfather, John Losee was born on 17 August 1841 in Freeport, NY and died on 10 February 1918 in Freeport, NY.

You can search the 1880 Census for either John Losee, Jr. or Sr., as both would have been alive and well in 1880.

Answer the following questions:

1. What are the first names of the other married couple in this household?
2. How do you suppose the other married couple is related to John Sr.?
3. For how many months, if any, was John Sr. unemployed?
4. What was John Sr.’s occupation?
5. What is John Sr.’s wife’s name?
6. How was John Jr. feeling on the day this census was taken?

Stay tuned for answers in tomorrow’s post.

Only at Weddings and Funerals

I am taking a pause from posting genealogy lessons. The last few days have been especially rough as associates and family members are reporting more and more cases of Covid-19.

A colleague at work lost her husband to coronavirus and on Monday, April 6, 2020, my great aunt, Anna Marie Henry-Cramer succumbed to it at the age of 92. Her passing is especially painful in that the family cannot gather. Her children, most of which live outside of NY, are cousins we rarely get to see.You know that terrible fact that some relatives only get to see each other at weddings and funerals; well, not this time.

Genealogy Lesson #13: The 1890 U.S. Federal Census

I hope that you used this past weekend’s lack of lessons to reflect on what you have learned so far; especially from the maternity questions in the 1910 and 1900 census records.

You should have seen that Flora Losee had two children between 1900 and 1910; both of whom had survived until 1910. The one child she lost died before 1900.

A look at the numbers of births compared to living children on those two census records for all the adult women reveals a sad rate of infant mortality. Miscarriage is still common today, much more common than most people realize, but children born today have a much better chance of survival than they did 110 - 120 years ago. Thank God.

Turning our attention to the one more step back in the census, today’s info is about the 1890 Census.

The 1890 census, as most genealogy researches are sadly aware, was destroyed as a result of a fire where they were stored in the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. on January 10, 1921. The the first census to be tabulated by a machine known as Hollerith’s Machine, didn’t actually go up in flames, though. It suffered water damages and was later destroyed in 1935. Many years after the fire, the Bureau of Census sent a list of papers no longer needed to the Librarian of Congress. The list included item 22, "Schedules, Population . . . 1890, Original." The Librarian didn’t identify the item as permanent and thus Congress authorized its destruction on February 21, 1933. The actual destruction didn’t take place for at least another 2 years. You can read more about the 1890 Census’s fate here: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1996/spring/1890-census-1.html

It really is a terrible loss for genealogists because based on the existing aggregate data it represented a population increase of about 25% since the 1880 Census. That increase was in part the result of a tremendous amount of immigration that took place between 1880 and 1890. It also would have reflected a great amount of westward migration.

About 1% of it did survive though. Perhaps you are lucky enough to find your ancestors in the fragments that exist from Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and the District of Columbia. Give it a shot. Take a look. My family isn’t in there though.

Genealogy Lesson #12: The 1900 U.S. Federal Census Uniqueness

1900 is my favorite census because it is the only one which records every person’s month of birth; not just the year. This is really helpful when you are looking for birth certificates. In a few days we’re going to start to discuss vital records. Vital records are birth, marriage, and death records. For now though, let’s reflect on the maternity questions which only appear in two censuses; 1910 and 1900.

In Lesson # 11, we looked for Ethel Losee-Earle’s mother, Flora Losee, and her answers to the maternity questions in the 1910 Census. It was reported that Flora had given birth to 7 children, 6 of which were alive in 1910.

Today when you look for Flora Losee (born about 1875), wife of John Losee Jr. of Freeport, New York, in the 1900 census you will see the answers gathered for the same maternity questions. Compare Flora’s 1910 answers to her 1900 answers. What can you deduce from both sets of responses?

Genealogy Lesson #11: The 1910 U.S. Federal Census Maternity Questions

Part of the reason I have chosen my Losee line for these exercises is that I have already traced this line though more than 100 years of U.S. Census Records. I want you to see what can be learned by really reading a record.

This line arrived on this continent in the mid-1600s. I am not oblivious though to the fact that you may not have ancestors who lived in the U.S. this far back or even as far back as the 1940 Census. If you have found your family in previous census searches you might have seen that years of immigration and naturalization status were part of the data collected. I have lessons coming on searching for immigration records in the near future. Let’s see these census searches through though.

The 1910 Census is one of my favorites because it is only 1 of 2 census that collected data for what are known as the maternity questions. In 1910 and 1900 all adult women were asked 2 questions; how many children had they given birth to and how many of those children were now living.

When you go looking for my great-grandmother, Ethel, at age 14 living in Freeport, NY with her parents John and Flora Losee, I want you to scroll up and down the page; take note of the difference between the numbers reported by each mother. The difference between the two columns often indicates that there were children who didn’t live long enough to be reported in any census records. Now granted there are instances when a child was alive in 1900 and didn’t live to see the 1910 census. Maybe those “children” were even adult children. We are going to see if that is the case when we compare today’s search of the 1910 census with tomorrow’s search of the 1900 census.

If you have any questions, just message me. AND please continue to explore census records for your own ancestors if you can.

Genealogy Lesson #10: Reflection on U.S. Census 1940, 1930, and 1920

A critical part of learning is reflection; pausing to ask one’s self what did I do, what have I learned, what more do I need to know, what worked, what didn’t work.

At this point you have looked at 3 datasets; The U.S. Federal Census records for 1940, 1930, and 1920.

Alongside looking for your own family in these record sets through FamilySearch.org, we learned a lot when looking for my great grandfather, Abram Earle.

Based on the 1930 Census, we hypothesized that Abram’s wife’s maiden name was Losee because there was a man living in the household named Forest Losee and Forest was listed as Abram’s brother-in-law. In Lesson #9 you were asked to examine the neighbors which revealed a Losee family living right next door.

In the 1920 census, the Losee family next door to Abram Earle was comprised of the following people:

• Losee, John Jr. Head 48
• Losee, Flora Wife 45
• Losee, Luman Son 25
• Losee, Forrest Son 22
• Losee, Marion Daughter 21
• Losee, Fred Son 17
• Losee, Chancy Son 10
• Losee, Georgianna Sister 53

Ah, there we see Forrest Losee. Even though the spelling of his first name is different from what we saw in the 1930 census, we can conclude that this is the same man. His name is unique enough and his age lines up with the man listed as the brother-in-law to Abram Earle in the 1930 census.

Spelling never counts. Think about the situation in which this record was created. A census taker came to the door and hand wrote what was said to him or her. You’re going to find a wide variety of spellings of surnames and first names as you go through records. You have to use the other details to help confirm if you have the right individual.

Based on the 1920 census we can now say that Ethel Losee-Earle was the daughter of John Losee Jr. & Flora Losee; the couple that lived next door. We can also see that Ethel was the second oldest child of at least 6 siblings; Luman, Ethel, Forrest, Marion, Fred, and Chauncy. It also appears that John Losee Jr., who will likely be the son of John Losee, had an older sister named Georgianna.

From the 1920 record we can also do some math and determine approximate years of birth for the family member. Like spelling, these dates may be off for several reasons. Perhaps the person who answered the door wasn’t sure of the household member’s age. Also, these censuses were taken in the spring so sometimes the family member hadn’t had his or her birthday yet.

• Losee, John Jr. Head 48 (born about 1872)
• Losee, Flora Wife 45 (born about 1875)
• Losee, Luman Son 25 (born about 1895)
• Losee, Forrest Son 22 (born about 1898)
• Losee, Marion Daughter 21 (born about 1899)
• Losee, Fred Son 17 (born about 1903)
• Losee, Chancy Son 10 (born about 1910)
• Losee, Georgianna Sister 53 (born about 1867)

We learned a lot from the census about the family and its members.

In the next lesson we will continue to push back through the U.S. Census. For now though, take some time today to reflect on what you have learned thus far about your family by looking at them in the 1940, 1930, and 1920 U.S. Census.

Message me if you need any help at all.

Genealogy Lesson #9: Moving Back a Generation in the 1920 Census

If you followed Lesson # 8 you learned that there was one person living in Abram Earle’s household that did not have the surname Earle. That was Abram’s brother-in-law, Forest Losee. Using our powers of reasoning, we can assume that Losee was Abram’s wife’s maiden name. It could also mean that Abram had a sister whose husband was living with Abram; that would also be a brother-in-law. However, no sister to Abram is living at the address and Forest is listed as single; not divorced or widowed. So let’s assume for the time being that Ethel’s maiden name was Ethel Losee.

Today, when you use FamilySearch.org to find Abram & Ethel Earle in the 1920 census, make note of the family names listed on the same page. We are looking for Losees.

It is not always true that people live near relatives but family lore tells me that prior to the Great Depression which began in 1929, several Losee families lived together on a family farm in Freeport. Does the 1920 census confirm that for us?

What are the names of the other families living on Stevens Street in 1920 alongside Abram and Ethel Earle?

To answer the other question from Lesson 8, it appears that none of the men in the household serve in WWI. At the far right of the 1930 census there is a column that records the answer to the question regarding military service. Did you see that?

In a later lesson we're going to look at military records and specifically the WWI Draft Registration Card. Today though let's look for Abram and Ethel Earle in 1920.

Reach out to me if you need any help.

Genealogy Lesson #8: Following that same line into the 1930 U.S. Federal Census.

Several people have reached out to me for the answers to yesterday’s scavenger hunt of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. Abram Earle and his family were living at 79. West Roosevelt Ave. His wife Ethel was listed as 44 years-old.

Yesterday you tried your hand at finding my family and yours in the 1940 Census using FamilySearch.org. Today we’re going to do the same for the 1930 Census.

Sign into your FamilySearch.org account.

Click on Search. This is usually located in the top navigation bar.

Choose Records. This is usually accessible by hovering on the work “Search” in the top navigation bar.

Go to the “Find A Collection” section of the search page. This section is usually on the bottom right.

Type into the search box “United States Census” and you will see a drop down menu appear listing all the U.S. Census records sets.

Choose United States Census, 1930.

Do a search for my great-grandpa Abram Earle. Again, we know he was born in 1891 in Twillingate Newfoundland. After he immigrated to the U.S. he lived in Freeport, Roosevelt, Bellmore, and Merrick; all communities on the South Shore of Western Nassau County on Long Island, NY. His wife’s name was Ethel. And in addition to my grandpa, Edwin born in 1925, he has another son named Allen who was born in about 1915.

Find the record. After you find it in the list of hits. Click on the icon that looks like a sheet of paper. From there you can also access the image of the actual record.

Click on the image and tell me the name of the person in the household who is not an Earle. What is the person’s relationship to Abram? Did any of the men in this household serve in WWI?

Then try finding your relatives you found in the 1940 census yesterday in the 1930 census.

Online Genealogy Lesson #7: The 1940 U.S. Federal Census

Genealogy Lesson #7: Today you are going to search the 1940 U.S. Federal Census for one of your relatives and one of mine using FamilySearch.org.

The U.S. Federal Census you are responding to now in 2020 will not be made public until 2092. Long after most of us are passed. The aggregate data (the total population, the number of residents in your town, their ethnicities, ages, etc.) will be available within weeks of the conclusion of the census taking but the actual records do not become public until 72 years later. This is true of every U.S. Census and it’s done as a means of protecting privacy.

The most recent Census made available to the public is the 1940 Census which was released in 2012. The 1950 Census will be released in 2022. I can’t wait to see the 1950 because that will be the first time I can see my father listed in it.

Sign into your FamilySearch.org account.

Click on Search. This is usually located in the top navigation bar.

Choose Records. This is usually accessible by hovering on the work “Search” in the top navigation bar.

Instead of searching by first name and last name of the person try searching in a specific collection.

To do this go to the “Find A Collection” section of the search page. This section is usually on the bottom right.

Type into the search box “United States Census” and you will see a drop down menu appear listing all the U.S. Census records sets.

Choose United States Census, 1940.

My grandpa was somehow left out of the 1940 census but you are going to look for his parents.

Now do a search for my great-grandpa Abram Earle. He was born in 1891 in Twillingate Newfoundland. After he immigrated to the U.S. he lived in Freeport, Roosevelt, Bellmore, and Merrick; all communities on the South Shore of Western Nassau County on Long Island, NY. His wife’s name was Ethel. In addition to my grandpa, he had another son named Allen who was born in about 1915.

Find the record.

After you find it in the list of hits, click on the icon that looks like a sheet of paper. From there you can also access the image of the actual record.

Click on the image and tell me the address the family is living at and how old Ethel is.

Then try your hand at finding one of your relatives in the 1940 census.

Online Genealogy Lesson #6

Genealogy Lesson #6: The next series of lessons are focused on the U.S. Federal Census.

A census is a systematic recording of information about a specific population. It is often a regularly occurring official government count of the population of a country but they also exist for states, provinces, cities, and religious bodies.

Primarily the U.S. Federal Census is created to count the population in order to calculate each state’s representatives in Congress. However, it has become a really important genealogical resource because it presents families grouped together and provides basic demographic information which can help in the tracking down of other genealogical resources such as immigration records, vital records, and military records.

The U.S. Federal Census is taken every ten years on the years ending in “0”. Right now, in 2020, Census surveys are being mailed to homes across the country. Your responses to the 2020 will be collected online for the very first time in history. When the U.S. Federal Census began in 1790, though, the data was collected by a census taker who walked door-to-door asking a series of questions of each household.

For the first 50 years of the U.S. Federal Census the questions asked by census takers consisted of the name of the head of the household and how many individuals resided on the property catagorized by sex and age. That is pretty much it. As time has gone on though the number of questions and the amount of data collected has increased.

Before searching for specific census records, I’d like you to look at the wide variety of information the census will contain about your family throughout history. Check out: Measuring America: The decennial censuses from 1790 to 2000 by Jason Gauthier, written in 2002. Keep in mind this does not include information about the 2010 or 2020 census; still it is a wonderful resource. Check out pages 119-124. http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02-ma.pdf

Online Genealogy Lessons #1-5

We are in the midst of a global health crisis. Beginning in late December of 2019 there was an outbreak of coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Wuhan, China. This world health issue has resulted in a nearly complete and utter halt to our lives as we knew them to be. 100% on non-essential employees in New York State have been ordered by the Governor to work from home if possible.

We are living through history. Unfortunately though, the pandemic still has an increasing death toll, mostly on those with underlying health conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and otherwise compromised immune systems.

In an effort to provide some my Facebook friends with some distraction and activity to fill their new found time at home, I have been offering Genealogy Lessons online.

For those of you who would like to follow along here are the first 5 lessons to get you started:

Genealogy Lesson #1 (posted on Facebook on Sat. March 21, 2020):

Anyone really bored? I'm thinking of teaching a genealogy research class to anyone who is interested. First step. Fill out this form with everything you *think* you know your direct ancestors; parents, grandparents, great grandparents... You go on line #1, Dad on line #2, Mom on line number #3. Men are the even #s, Women are the odd numbers. Keep women with their maiden names. Surnames in all caps. Let me know if you are working along with my posts.

Genealogy Lesson #2 (posted on Facebook on Sun. March 22, 2020): 

If you missed it, yesterday I posted Lesson #1 which required filling out the attached pedigree chart. http://misbach.org/download/pedigree_chart.pdf

In genealogy research, just like on that pedigree chart, you start with yourself and move back through history. Think about it, your birth certificate is really your very first piece of genealogical documentation. It shows the connection between you and your parents.

Today's assignment is to look through and gather all the documents you already have that has genealogical value. One example, I already gave you, is your birth certificate. What other genealogical documentation do you have? Let's build a list of what we have that has info about our family on it. Go - - -

Genealogy Lesson #3 (posted on Facebook on Mon. March 23, 2020): 

The next few lessons focus on Living Resources.

I know you're wondering when we will get to really searching online for documents. Trust me. This is research. You want to collect all the family info you can before you start searching documents.

The pedigree chart you filled out in Lesson #1 is not documentation. It is a form genealogists use to organize the information they are collecting. Today I introduce you to a Family Group Sheet (FGS).

A pedigree chart does not allow you to record the names and vital dates of siblings, aunts/uncles, or cousins. An FGS does.

Fill out the FGS using your parents as the husband & wife. You and your siblings will be the children on the form. Save the file to your computer. http://misbach.org/download/FamilyGroupRecord.pdf

Genealogy Lesson #4 (posted on Facebook on Wed. March 25, 2020): 

You living relatives are a good source of information for your genealogy research. Now is an ideal time to reach out to a cousin to see what information they might have before you dig into your research online.

Call a cousin!

While talking with them try filling in another FGS, this time with your share grandparents as the couple at the top and your aunts and uncles as the children on the form.

Be sure to ask questions about names and vital dates they might know, locations where family members lived, causes of death, fond memories, and recollections of family events. I always start with questions like, "Tell me about grandpa/grandma."

Have fun. Enjoy talking with a relative.

Genealogy Lesson #5 (posted on Facebook on Fri. March 27, 2020): 

Now that you have gathered up all the info that you and your family members know, including info you have lying around your house, it is time to start searching in your online resources.

Today, I just want you to find out how you can access Ancestry for free or set-up a FamilySearch account.

Ancestry.com provides a free two week subscription. Many public libraries subscribe to the Ancestry Library Edition which one would need to use for free at their public library. However, during this health crisis, Ancestry has permitted many public libraries to make Ancestry Library Edition accessible to their patrons from their homes. Check your public library’s website for more details.

Regardless of your access to Ancestry, you can all subscribe to FamilySearch.org for FREE. Go to FamilySearch.org today to create a free account.

Tomorrow’s lessons will begin to focus on the U.S. Federal Census, it’s history, and how to search for your family in the records. Stay tuned.

Earle DNA Matches

In my last post I wrote about matching up with a cousin in Newfoundland.

My great grandfather, Abram Thomas Earle, was born in Twillingate, Newfoundland on January 13, 1891 to Abraham Earle and Sarah Samms-Earle. That I know and have documented.

Abram's sister, Susanna "Susie" Earle-Gilvey, left in her papers a handwritten list of names.

I don't know how she developed this list but it wound up in my grandmother's papers. I clearly see Aunt Susie's name at the bottom of the list though. 

Above her name is that of her father's; Abram is a common nickname for Abraham. I know my great grandfather's proper name was Abram, though, not Abraham and that he was named after his father who died at sea before great grandpa was born. Thus, I believe Aunt Susie is listing her father's name above hers. 

I think this is a family tree. I don't know how she made it; meaning that I don't know her sources but this list leads me to believe that Aunt Susie's grandfather is Elias; the name listed above Abram Earle - her father.

I've done quite a bit of research on Elias Earle and have very little proof that Abraham was his son.

What I find is that the eldest son of Elias was William Earle born in about 1829. Abraham, who I think is the youngest son of Elias was born in 1849. A 20 year gaps is a big difference between siblings but not unheard of. 

Is Abraham the youngest child of Elias or could perhaps he be the eldest child of William? 

My most recent DNA match, Cousin Tina, is descended from William. It is my hope our match could help me answer this question.

Scenario 1: Abraham was the youngest child of Elias thus William's brother.

Scenario 2: Abraham was the son of William thus the grandson of Elias.

According to these charts my father, who has the DNA match with Cousin Tina, is either Tina's 3rd cousin once removed (3c 1r) or her 3rd cousin twice removed (3c 2r).

They share 47 centimorgans (cM) on 1 segment of DNA. Using The Shared cM Project 3.0 Tool called the DNA Painter at https://dnapainter.com/tools/sharedcm. 

If you have that much DNA in common (47 cM) there are many, many, many possibilities as to the potential relationship represented by the brighter colored boxes above. Both 3c 1r and 3c 2r are likely. However, if you look at the number listed above the range for 3c 1r it says 48, then the range of 0-173. Yup that's right. You may not have any DNA in common with a 3rd cousin. The average amount of DNA 3rd cousins once removed have in common though is 48 and that is pretty damn close to 47. 

Could Tina and my father be 3c 2r? Yes. They could even be 4th cousins 3 times removed. However, I am leaning toward their relationship being 3c 1r and thus scenario 1. That Elias is their common ancestor and that William and Abraham were brothers.

I am always open to other possibilities. What this all confirms for me though is that both my father and Tina are descended from Elias Earle. That much I got right.

Thanks Aunt Susie!

This is Why I Love DNA as a Genealogical Research Tool

I check out my own Ancestry DNA matches from time to time. I neglect to check out all the new matches for the multitude of DNA tests I manage for my other family members though. So yesterday, amid cleaning out files and shredding old papers at work, I looked at my dad's matches.

You don't get all the DNA your parents have; you get half. Thus, my dad is going to have matches that I don't but who undoubtedly are my cousins too. If they are my dad's cousins, they are mine!

And this is why I love DNA as a genealogical research tool...

I found a match in his 4th-6th cousin matches whose username included her maiden name which was Earle; just like mine. Her tree is private so I emailed her with the hope that she would reply eventually. I email users all the time and rarely hear back from anyone quickly, if at all.

She did reply right away! She shared that she was born in Twillingate, Newfoundland. 

BINGO! That is where my great grandfather, Abram Earle was born in January of 1891.

Oh we're related but through who?.

We'll call her Cousin T. She matches my father at 47 centimorgans (cMs). Her father, who we will call Cousin R, matches my father at 62 cMs. I don't match either of them, nor do either of paternal uncles. My sister matches Cousin T at 18 cMs and Cousin R at 19 cMs.

My guess is that her dad (Cousin R) and my dad are at least likely to be 3rd cousins meaning they have great-great grandparents in common.

Cousin T went on to tell me her great-great-great grandfather was William Earle, son of Elias. Um, I think my great-great grandfather Abraham was the son of Elias. Although, Abraham could have been the son of William and thus the grandson of Elias. I am fairly confident that Abraham was the son of Elias and that William was Abraham's oldest brother. They had a significant age gap though. William was born in about 1829 and Abraham was born in about 1849.

So, I am waiting to hear back from Cousin T about what she knows about William. Was my Abraham his oldest son or his youngest brother??? 

Dun-dun-dunnn!

Lessons I have Learned by Teaching Genealogy

In the summer of 2017 I began teaching a genealogy course to graduate students studying library science. I've taught the course four times now; three times as 5-week long summer intensive classes and once as a full 15-week fall semester course. I'm not sure which format I prefer but there have been a few lessons I have learned. First let me describe for you what I teach.

The course consists of readings, discussions, some exercises, a personal research journal, and a culminating project which consists of a family tree, two family group sheets, and a 1000-2000 word biography (which must include extensive footnotes in Chicago style format) on an ancestor who died before the student-author was born. We cover topics including:

1. Organizational forms such as pedigree charts and family group sheets
2. The difference between genealogy and family history
3. The field of genealogy and its relationship to popular culture including discussions of "Roots" by Alex Haley and genealogical television programming with specific attention to the incident which occurred regarding Ben Affleck on Who Do You think You Are?
4. Library services related to genealogy including collection development and programming
5. The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS)
6. Interviewing etiquette and ethics
7. Database search strategies
8. Census records
9. Vital records
10. Community Created Resources including, newspapers, city directories, obituaries and death notices, published family histories, photos, discussion forums, listservs, and blogs
11. Family History Library and Local History collections
12. Ethnicities and cultural identities
13. Annie Moore
14. Cemeteries
15. Government created resources including ship manifests and passenger lists, naturalization papers, military records, court records, wills, probates, estate inventories, guardianship records, land deeds, and maps.
16. Chicago style citations
17. DNA

In short, A LOT!

Initially I thought the 5-week format didn't give students enough time to really think through the research process but students in my most recent 15-week format course seemed generally unfocused. 

Don't get me wrong; they all did extraordinarily well and accomplished an abundant amount of work. And generally, in an online learning environment it is challenging for me to get to know my students. However, there are certain skills and qualities that come through in one's work that makes me confident in saying whether or not a student possesses excellent interpersonal skills and an able to communicate clearly in writing. Additionally, understanding the difference between data and display is a critical library science skill if not one that is necessary for all of us to success in our modern day society. I strive to make certain my students possess the ability to carefully read, decipher, interpret, and convey the meaning of content contained in archival documents. 

This lack of focus I witnessed I blame, in part, on myself and on the nature of the subject. It's difficult to write guidelines or criteria for evaluation for this type of learning as each and every person's research will be different. Genealogists quickly learns that every family is different, every community and culture maintains records to varying degrees of quality, and not everything is available digitally online. 

Thus, I am giving some deep thought as to how to redesign the personal research journal component as it seems to me that most people don't see the purpose or value in journaling one's discoveries or experiences.

So, to walk the walk I talk, this is what I have discovered about genealogy through the experience of teaching genealogy; and these are the lessons I hope to have left with my students:

• This is hard: Despite the fact that many view genealogy only as a hobby, there are serious skills needed to do this type of research well; reason, logic, persistence, compassion, etc. Aside from genealogy though, life is hard, we all struggle at points and surviving the struggle is a noble act. 
• Mistakes were made: Your going to find errors and imperfections in all sorts of information, records, indexes, articles, citations, and people. Do you see what I did there? Digging up the past can be painfully revealing of imperfections. Just go forward knowing that everyone makes mistakes.    
• Spelling never counts: There are many reasons for variations in the spelling of names on records. Never dismiss potential evidence of the truth simply because it doesn't look the way you think it should.
• Truth is elusive: Unless you lived through something yourself you don't really know what happened. In fact, even if you lived through it, you're going to have a different perspective than those around you. My truth might not be yours. Own yours. Make it something that someone else has to cite.
• No one should be graded on the depth or breath of their family tree: Librarians should serve all equally. Again, every family is different, every community and culture maintains records to varying degrees of quality, and not everything is available online. However, no one should be judged based on those who have come before them. As Mr. Affleck stated, "We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors..."
• Lastly, no one reads: Thus if you have gotten to this point of my post, thank you. Some might perceive this to be a vicious statement for a librarian to make but what I have observed is people want to talk, they want to be heard and listened to.They overlook blatant signs. They skip right to the end. They "ctrl-F to find the answers. They want to fast forward to who dun it. And so I want to acknowledge that the exercise of writing is not solely for the reader but a gift to the author as well. Sincerely, THANK YOU.