Ancestry.com's AncestryDNA Tests are Now Available Without Invitation

Ancestry.com has now officially opened the floodgates on their new AncestryDNA autosomal DNA test.  It costs $129 ($139 with tax and shipping), which is more expensive than the $99 dollars they offered it for during their invite only period.

Now, you can also order more than one test, although I could only order one at a time when I tried.  That just meant I had to go in and place four separate orders. :)

- Happy Wednesday!

www.GenealogyPlace.com is a Great Free Resource

I had a conumdrum yesterday trying to substantiate whether or not a Susannah Seymour(b 1738) in my tree was the child of a Daniel Seymour (b. 1698).  Because that would mean that my 10th great grandfather was an earlier governor of one of the 13 colonies in early america named John Webster.   I found several trees in ancestry that supported this but not one source in those trees that actually validated the connection.

I did some extensive Google searching and got a result from  http://www.genealogyplace.com.

I found over 10 references to Daniel Seymour (b. 1698) in Connecticut.  The resource helped me find one book written in the 20th century that validated the claims based on another old resource I couldn't find, it does help in my mind that the person who wrote the book was the main vital records guy for that county in the early 20th century.   I found another  resource that validated the information but I couldn't find the original source volume but I did find other volumes in that series, so it is just a matter of time.  I also found a third resource that at least validated the number of children.   I did find one resource that purported something completely different but based on the other three resources the number of kids weren't right (there were way too many) and neither were any of the kids names. 

As a result I am reasonably certain that Daniel is really Susannah's dad and that my 10th great grandfather is actually John Webster.

You Can Search the Census for Free on Ancestry.com This Weekend

I am a member already, but I thought this was interesting.  They are allowing free census searches (with a free account) through midnight on September 3rd.  Not a bad way to expand your marketing list.

http://www.ancestry.com/census?o_iid=52246&o_lid=52246&o_sch=Web+Property

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Identifying the Artist Signature on the Mystery Family Painting

My grandma showed me a painting that an old veteran of the Civil War named Josiah E Cass got while on a train in France.  Supposedly there is a big write up about this thing in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram in or around the forties but I can't find it in any of my searches.  The thing might be worth tons of money but probably not if it can't be identified.

I don't suppose anyone has any thoughts.

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Genealogy is Really a Big Deal!!!!

Seriously... I don't feel like I have ever been a part of something so important as my family.  To capture and record their history for future generations digitally has been a great undertaking but an amazing experience so far.  I know it will take years but I also know that it is worth every second.

Just a thought!

Jamie

Odd Site SortedByName is an Amazing Genealogy Resource

SortedByName.com conglomerates info on people from a number of great Genealogical sources.  It links the original source and the info provided.  The site has people basically listed by name.

Ok, if you go directly to the site SortedByName.com you might be confused as it's hard to figure out it's navigation successfully so I recommend instead starting from Google.  I typed in the site name followed by my last name, followed by the county in Ireland I wanted.  I got several pages that came up all from there.

So my google search was: "sortedbyname miley wicklow"


I then just clicked on any one of them and then did a find on page for "Wicklow".  This lead me to MANY, MANY genealogical sources for Mileys that lived in Wicklow, Ireland.  These included obscure resources like US local municipality websites that had local obituary listings of pioneers that came from Wicklow but also had many mainstream resources like the 1901 and 1911 census from Ireland.

Again, amazing genealogy resource, but the site design needs work.  It's like a harder to navigate craigslist feeling site.  Again, just start from Google.

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Friends Don't Let Friends Scrapbook Family History

So, every once in awhile when I am taking in family history collections and things I am planning to scan it is so annoying to find that it's SCRAPBOOKED!!  Seriously, we are talking about family history that should be preserved forever digitally.

So just remember before you scrapbook the family history that someone someday will just tear it apart anyway to run it through the scanner.

It just had to be said...

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RootsIreland.IE Has a Cool July Promotion

I know I just mentioned this site, but I thought this was pretty cool.

For every credit you buy in July you buy in July you get that many free result page views.  This is a huge help looking for your long lost relatives in Ireland.

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Can't Find Your Old Irish Relatives, Try RootsIreland.ie

I checked out the RootsIreland.ie site the other day and it blew the doors off of the limitations I have had previously in trying to find good information about my ancestors in Ireland.   The family lore was always that we came from Cork, but it seems everything thinks that because it's probably the biggest port and it's where many immigrants left Ireland.

The site is ran by a non-profit organization in Ireland that has been working to compile databases church records from all of the various parish's and counties in Ireland in one place and one contiguous database that is searchable.

From their site:

"This website contains a unique set of Irish family history records including Birth, Death, Marriage and Gravestone records the majority of which are only available online on this website and cannot be found online elsewhere.

This website was created by the Irish Family History Foundation (I.F.H.F.), an all Ireland not-for-profit organization, that is co-ordinating the creation of a database of Irish genealogical sources to assist those who wish to trace their Irish ancestry."

I started searching for my family and would type in the name of the person in baptism records along with the parents names and dates of birth and several times there would be ONE MATCH.  This amazingly happenned for 4 of the 6 children I knew came over in 1853.  I was floored.  So far I have been able to definitively trace my family roots to Blessington Parish in Wicklow county.  This is huge because now I have a jumping off point to continue my research.

There are pro's and con's to this site.  

Pro's:

- Easily searchable, most complete, set of church parish records I have seen to date. 

Con's:

- It's not free.  You get 10 free pages of search results but after that you pay for everything.  It's not terrible but it's pay-per-view.  You will pay 1 credit for additional search pages and 25 credits to view a record's details.  I bought 320 credits for 32 euro's (about $40 bucks USD) and that basically got my 12 document views and 20 pages of search results.

- The records are basically transcriptions, which means you will find errors.  The biggest example was looking at the last name of the mother of the six kids that came over from Ireland.  On three of their baptism records there were three different spellings for her last name (Mahan, Mahon, and Malone).  This could also account for why I couldn't find the other two kids in the family at all.

I hope this helps!

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My Cousin, Once Removed? What Does Once Removed Mean?

I was researching the familial link today between me and Albert J Dunlap (Chainsaw Al).  He married my grandfather's half-sister's daughter Judy Stringer.  I thought this was interesting because when I looked up what he would be to me he is the husband of my 1st cousin, once removed.   I had no idea what once removed meant but basically it means that he is one generation off.

This means that my mother's first cousin is my first cousin, but once removed.  My grandmother's first cousin would be my first cousin, but twice removed.

I hope this helps!