This week's suggested reads follow. If like us you are experiencing the dog days of summer with air temperatures into the 90s with enough humidity to make it feel like 100+, then it is a good time to spend in the air conditioning reading and working on your genealogy. 😀
1. For those of you who are members of NGS (National Genealogical Society founded in 1903), I highly recomend reading the articles, "Inconvenient Facts" and "The Zeitgeist and Serendipity" in the June NGS Monthly. As someone who is old enough to recall 1960 and especially the years of that decade, I was shocked to read "Inconvenient Facts." Access to the articles might require an NGS membership. Perhaps your local library has a subscription, if not you can try this link and see if it works.
2. Of the facts that genealogists hunt in their research of the lives of ancestors, perhaps the details of what their everyday lives were like are among the most difficult to find (unless you are lucky enough to have a skilled and dedicated diarist in the family tree). The details of what the day-to-day experience of an occupation was like is an example that can elude a researcher seeking to understand what an ancestor described as a "mechanic" in a census actually did to support himself and his family. Another everyday detail that can get lost is the actual culinary experience of ancestors at a given period long the family history timeline. Many of us know bits and pieces about what ancestors ate since there are menu items we know because they were great grandma's recipe. [In my own family from Rhode Island, Johnny cakes is an example that came down the generations.] So this leads to an article highlighted in The Weekly Genealogist of American Ancestors/NEHGS. If you have American ancestors in the years 1838-1865 and they were affluent enough to dine out at well-established restaurants, then you should read "The First American Restaurants' Culinary Concoctions" here and see how many of the dishes you have atually experienced. Lamb fries anyone?
3. Judy Russell, of The Legal Genealogist blog, often addresses issues of copyright and this week she answered a question about the ability to copyright a very old photograph where the photogragher is unknown (and perhaps unknowable at this point) and even the people in the photograph are not identified. Many of us have been faced with folks who get very touchy about sharing old photographs and claim ownership that comes across as tantamount to a claim/threat of having an actual copyright when it is obvious they are not the "creator." The Legal Genealogist post here sheds light on how such touchiness could be handled with some diplomatically provided facts about copyright. [Be sure to read the comments and responses to the post!]
4. For those with Irish roots--especially around the time of the 1901 and 1911 censuses–Mr. Barry Griffin has developed maps showing the location of Irish surnames based on the enumerations from those census years. You can use his search engine to see maps for any Irish family surnames you are looking for. Mr. Griffin's website is located here. Be mindful that exact spelling counts when entering a surname in the search bar!
5. If you have had a DNA test done on yourself or some family member(s), then you really should read a few posts this week by Jacqi Stevens, of A Family Tapestry blog. Jacqi read the news that Ancestry DNA is moving to cull matches they consider to be possible or probable "false positives" and she took action. Read "Save Your Sevens" here and then read Jacqi's posts over the following two days.
6. Heather Rojo, of Nutfield Genealogy blog, posted a piece this week that really caught my eye. It is about the Nurse Cadet Corps during WWII. My 93-year-old mother was one of the young nurses in that program and I have posted about her membership and service here (where a photo of her in uniform can be seen). Heather's aunt was recently honored for her service as shown in Heather's post, but Heather also puts out a call to support legislation to give the women of the Cadet Corps some long delayed recognition and honor for their service. Read Heather's post here. [My late father was a graduate of Kings Point, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and he served as an officer in the Merchant Marine delivering supplies and munitions during WWII. Even though the Merchant Marine suffered the highest per capita losses of any uniformed service during WWII, it took a long time for the service of those men to be fully recognized and honored too, so I understand the push for legislation to grant the women of the uniformed Cadet Corps to received similar recognition and honor. I hope readers will register their support for the legislation that Heather brings to our attention by contacting their representatives in Congress . I know I will.]
7. And finally, another interesting article this week from The Weekly Genealogist. It is about the role of the English coroner in determining what is and is not considered "treasure" and–perhaps more importantly–which finders get to keep the find or not. The English coroner had a very different role and influence than the American holding the same titled office. Read here about the English coroner.
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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew
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