We wanted to provide a progress report on the digitization of the War of 1812 Pension Files. We’ve added over a thousand new pension files to Fold3 in the past three months. Most of these are for surnames beginning with the letter “S” or “T.”  Pension files contain clues about your ancestors, their family, and their military service. We’ve randomly selected one pension file to illustrate the type of details you can find in these important records.

David Swinehart is a Pennsylvania veteran of the War of 1812. His 92-page pension file was recently digitized. His file reveals:

1. Name: The cover page of Swinehart’s pension file reveals two possible spellings for his name (Swinehart and Scheinhart). That’s our clue to remember to search for additional records using both spelling variations.
2. Widow’s Name: A widow’s name was commonly included. In Swinehart’s file, we learn his widow Catharine’s maiden name was Longaker.
3. Birthdate: Sometimes, you will find a birthdate for veterans and widows in pension files. Other times, you’ll find the veteran’s or widow’s current age when certain records were submitted. With that information, you can still narrow down a veteran’s birth year.  
4. Death: Pension files often contain the death date for both veteran and widow. 
5. Physical Description: Your ancestor may have died before photography was available, but a pension file may include a physical description.  
6. Occupation: Pension files may reveal the soldier’s occupation before and after the war.
7. Did a Widow Remarry: If a soldier’s widow remarried, the pension file usually includes her new husband’s name and death date if he is also deceased.
8. Dependents/Children of Veteran: Affidavits supporting a pension application may list the names and birthdates of the veteran’s children. This pension file reveals two of Swinehart’s children’s names, birthdates, and residences.  
9. Military Regiment/Militia: A pension file contains information on which unit a soldier served with and who the commanding officer was. Be sure to search for records related to both. You might uncover details that don’t mention your ancestor by name but provide a greater understanding of his military experience.  
10. Widow’s Certificates: When a veteran or widow applied for a pension, officials created a file and gave it a number. W.O. or S.O. refers to the Widow’s or Survivor’s Original. When pension officials granted the pension, it became known as the W.C. or S.C. for the Widow’s Certificate or the Survivor’s Certificate.
11. Residence: By the time Swinehart applied for a pension, he was living in Ohio – even though he served in Pennsylvania. Be sure to search records in both states. Swinehart’s pension reveals that he moved to Ohio in 1849. Even if you are confident your ancestor lived in a particular state, don’t limit your searches for pension files to that state. He may have enlisted in a different state.
12. Bounty Land: You might find evidence of bounty land or a bounty land certificate in a pension file. Your veteran may be living in a different state because he received bounty land there. This pension file reveals a Claim of Widow for Bounty Land and a Land Warrant.
13. Dates of and Locations of Enlistment and Discharge: In many cases, the original records proving enlistment or discharge were lost or destroyed. Swinehart’s pension file notes that his discharge papers were lost but includes dates for enlistment and discharge.
14. Proof of Marriage. A veteran’s widow needed to provide proof of marriage. Pension files might include a page from the family bible, affidavits from extended family, neighbors, or clergy, or even a marriage certificate.
15. Ability to Read/Write: We commonly encounter pension files in which the pensioner or spouse signs their name with a mark, indicating they are illiterate.
16. Affidavits: Pension files contain affidavits from family members, neighbors, and fellow soldiers to prove the applicant served in the war or to prove his marriage or dependents. These affidavits are a great way to make connections. David Swinehart’s file includes an affidavit from his brother, Joseph Swinehart. George Swinehart, likely another relative, witnessed Joseph’s affidavit. These names give us more clues to research.
17. Varied Details: Each pension file is unique. Swinehart’s file contains a tracing of his original signature and letters from 1914, where his descendants appealed to the Bureau of Pensions to determine if David Swinehart ever claimed his Bounty Land.

Explore our free War of 1812 Pension Files Collection today and learn more about your ancestor’s military service on Fold3.

Understanding AI in Genealogy: Foundations and Tools

Presented by Diana Elder

Learn how artificial intelligence can help with your family history research. This presentation covers what AI is, how it works, and which tools are most useful for genealogy. We'll look at popular AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini and discuss what each one does best. You'll learn how to work effectively with AI, including how to ask questions that get the best results and how to verify the information it provides. Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with it, this session will help you understand how to use these tools responsibly in your genealogy work.

Diana Elder AG^Ⓡ, AGL^TM, is a professional genealogist accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States. Diana authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-authored the companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence. Diana and her daughter, Nicole Dyer, host the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast and share research tips on their website, FamilyLocket.com.

When:  Saturday, April 19, 2025

Time:  11:00 am - 12:00 pm  EST 

Where:  Online 

Price:   FREE to AGS members and $10 for nonmembers

The registration deadline is April 17.

Augusta Genealogical Society

Augusta Genealogical Society Find out more about your family history with the Augusta Genealogical Society.

Click above link to register

Limited seating is available to view the virtual presentation at the Adamson Library.  ​To reserve a seat, please call (706) 722-4073.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) has completed the return of thousands of documents that were stolen from its archives and from other UK institutions by a single individual between 1949 and 1980.

NRS recovered around 3100 items in total, mainly family, estate and business correspondence, that its archivists believe were stolen by one individual, Professor David Macmillan (1925-1987).

Most of these documents were found in Canada after his death and the investigation, audit and return of the items to their original collections represents an unprecedented piece of work by NRS.

Of the 3100 items returned, around 2000 were stolen from the NRS archives. These were owned by NRS, deposited by their owners or held by NRS on loan from another institution. 

Around 500 of the documents had been stolen directly from other institutions across the UK. These organisations included The National Archives, the University of Aberdeen, Glasgow City Archives, the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh and the National Library of Scotland. 

Around 500 items were found to belong to collections held by private owners. A further 100 items are as yet of unknown origin. 

Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of NRS, said:

"These historical thefts were on an unprecedented scale and carried out we believe by one individual who was a regular visitor to the institutions he stole from.

“Thanks to the highly detailed and painstaking work of NRS archivists, we have been able to restore these records to their original collections and ensure they are available for study once again.

“We have also been working closely with the other institutions affected by these thefts to ensure their items are also returned to their rightful collections."

Work by NRS archivists led them to conclude that Professor Macmillan had stolen the items between 1949 and 1980, when he was caught taking a single item in an NRS building and his access was immediately revoked.

A number of items were recovered through a private sale in 1994 following the deaths of Macmillan and his wife, however, the full scale of the thefts became apparent in 2012.

A researcher saw a reference in an online catalogue at Trent University in Canada to an item which he thought may have belonged in Scotland and raised concerns with NRS. Subsequent research by NRS archivists, working with colleagues in Trent, uncovered around 2900 items which had been stolen by Macmillan.

These documents had been gifted to Trent University Archives after Macmillan’s death.

Through collaboration between NRS and Trent University, the documents were successfully repatriated to Scotland in 2015. Since then, NRS archivists have been working to return the thousands of items to the archives, as well as carrying out an extremely detailed audit of the collections held by NRS which were accessed by Macmillan.

NRS has also been engaging with owners whose privately deposited collections were impacted by the theft.

In an audit of deposited collections accessed by Macmillan a further 200 items were found to be missing and NRS archivist experts conclude he is likely responsible for their loss. This means it is believed he stole at least 3,330 individual items.

Archivist opinion is that the historical integrity of none of the collections has been significantly compromised.

Karen Suurtamm, University Archivist and Head of Special Collections at Trent University said:

"The successful repatriation of these items is a testament to the productive collaboration between Trent University and NRS over many years and to the dedication and expertise of archivists who carefully steward these collections.

“This is meticulous work that ensures valued historical and cultural materials are preserved and properly documented, so they can return to their rightful homes. Archives play a critical role in supporting researchers, and maintaining the integrity and security of our vast collections ensures the integrity of academic study and discovery.”

John Chambers, Chief Executive, Archives and Records Association UK & Ireland, said:

“We are pleased to see that international co-operation between archivists and archives has brought these records home. When these thefts began (in 1949) the profession was in its infancy. Improvements in processes and security have been many since then and it is good to see the detailed work by NRS over many years that has led to a successful outcome.”

Background:

Professor David Macmillan was born in Scotland in 1925. He was an archivist who worked for the Scottish Record Office in Edinburgh in 1949-1950.

He then worked at the University of Sydney from 1954 to 1968. He left Australia in 1968 to go to Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, where he was a professor for 20 years and taught History from 1968 to 1987. He died in 1987. Records show he made annual visits to the NRS archives as a user from 1969 until 1980.

Although he was not convicted of the offences, NRS is confident Professor Macmillan did carry out the thefts given the documents that were recovered that he was known to have accessed and the detailed collection audit that archivists have undertaken.

NRS today maintains robust security measures to protect its vast holdings, which comprise the 38 million documents spanning nearly 1,000 years of Scottish history.

These security measures are regularly reviewed and updated in line with best practice for institutions of this kind and size.

Our policies, plans and processes were evaluated by the UK Archive Accreditation Panel in 2022 and NRS was awarded accredited archive status. 

In total, NRS holds around 38 million documents and the physical archive collection, including paper documents, parchments, photographs, maps, fabrics and objects, currently occupies 80 kilometres of shelving.

All owners who have collections deposited with NRS have been contacted directly if their records were impacted.

Images for this story can be found in a NRS Google Drive along with background information. They include a portrait of NRS Chief Executive Alison Byrne OBE and scanned images of some of the returned letters. 

NRS does not own a photograph of Professor Macmillan. An image of him is available on the University of Sydney online archive. Please take care to avoid confusing him with living persons of the same name. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning about a risk to their data from a company that recently reported it was in financial distress.

According to the Attorney General’s office, 23andMe said in security filings that there is “substantial doubt” about the genetic testing-focused company’s future.

Bonta advised California residents of their right under the Genetic Information Privacy Act and California Consumer Protection Act to request their data held by companies be deleted and genetic materials be destroyed.

“California has robust privacy laws that allow consumers to take control and request that a company delete their genetic data,” Bonta said. “Given 23andMe’s reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.”

Bonta’s office compiled the following steps to request data be deleted:

1. Log into your 23andMe account on their website.

2. Go to the “Settings” section of your profile.

3. Scroll to a section labeled “23andMe Data” at the bottom of the page.

4. Click “View” next to “23andMe Data”

5. Download your data: If you want a copy of your genetic data for personal storage, choose the option to download it to your device before proceeding.

6. Scroll to the “Delete Data” section.

7. Click “Permanently Delete Data.”

8. Confirm your request: You’ll receive an email from 23andMe; follow the link in the email to confirm your deletion request.

Co-founder Anne Wojcicki to pursue independent bid as California attorney general tells users to delete data.

The US genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US to help sell itself, as its chief executive quit to pursue a bid for the business after several unsuccessful attempts.

23andMe said late on Sunday that it had started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to “facilitate a sale process to maximise the value of its business”.

The loss-making company, which provides saliva-based test kits to customers to help them track their ancestry, added that it was operating as usual throughout the sale process. “There are no changes to the way the company stores, manages, or protects customer data,” it said.

The San Francisco-based company said its chief executive and co-founder Anne Wojcicki was stepping down. She has been pushing for a buyout since April last year but was rebuffed by 23andMe’s board.

The company is still reeling from a huge data breach in 2023 that affected the data of nearly 7 million people, about half of its customers. Revenues have fallen as many of its 15 million customers scramble to delete their DNA data from the company’s archives.

Over the weekend the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, urged the company’s users to ask it to “delete your data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company”.

Mark Jensen, the company’s chair, said: “After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximise the value of the business.

“We are committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”

Fighting for survival, 23andMe has cut the jobs of 200 people, amounting to 40% of its workforce, and stopped development of all its therapies in November. Wojcicki’s ambition has been to turn the company into a drug developer.

Wojcicki will be replaced by its chief financial officer, Joe Selsavage, until a permanent replacement is found but she is staying on the 23andMe board.

She co-founded the business in 2006 with Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza. In a post on X, she said she was “disappointed” by the bankruptcy filing and that her bid to take the company private was rejected. She explained she had resigned “so I can be in the best position to pursue the company as an independent bidder”.

She added: “If I am fortunate enough to secure the company’s assets through the restructuring process, I remain committed to our long-term vision of being a global leader in genetics.”

Wojcicki offered to pay $0.41 (£0.32) a share earlier this month, down by 84% from an offer in February. Her private equity partner walked away after the board’s rejection of that bid.

Her latest offer valued 23andMe at $11m, below its current market value of just under $48m, and a long way from its $5.8bn peak in February 2021 after its stock market float on the Nasdaq exchange.

Last autumn, 23andMe agreed to pay $30m and give three years of security monitoring to settle a lawsuit accusing it of failing to protect the privacy of 6.9 million customers whose personal information was exposed in the data breach.

23andMe said it had received a commitment for debtor-in-possession financing of up to $35m from the Los Angeles-based private equity firm JMB Capital Partners, to support the business in the months ahead.

NOTE: This article refers to the BBC version of  "Who Do You Think You Are?"

The latest series of genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? will return to BBC One and iPlayer this Spring. The 22nd series features Andrew Garfield, Diane Morgan, Mishal Husain, Ross Kemp, Aisling Bea, Will Young, Fred Sirieix and Layton Williams.

Comedian Diane Morgan steps away from her role as clueless historian Philomena Cunk to learn some history of her own from the experts, involving a poignant love story and her ancestor’s brave fight for the rights of her illegitimate children.

BAFTA-winning and RTS nominated actor and writer Aisling Bea discovers how her family’s been shaped by some of the most dramatic moments in Irish history, telling a tale of violent tragedy, female resilience and a passion for Irish independence.

British pop icon and actor Will Young uncovers his grandfather’s extraordinary experience as a Bomber Command pilot in World War Two and being captured as a Prisoner of War in Germany. Will then dives back further in time, discovering both villains and royalty in his family tree.

Elsewhere, TV personality and the UK’s number one matchmaker Fred Sirieix sets sail to France to explore his family roots where he discovers a wartime romance worthy of First Dates and is delighted by an unexpected connection to wine making.

Musical theatre and acting phenomenon Layton Williams investigates his London roots, revealing a surprising musical connection, before travelling to Jamaica where he uncovers some distressing family history.

Journalist and broadcaster Mishal Husain traces an illustrious family history, in India she discovers an ancestor who was a personal physician to a Maharaja, and in an unexpected twist finds herself travelling to the East Coast of the USA.

Simon Young, BBC Head of History, says: “The stellar line-up this year is a real treat for our audiences. But so is the history, from the shock of a royal ancestor to epic stories of survival. And that’s why this series endures, because it hints at the amazing family micro-histories that make all of us who we are.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning about a risk to their data from a company that recently reported it was in financial distress.

According to the Attorney General’s office, 23andMe said in security filings that there is “substantial doubt” about the genetic testing-focused company’s future.

Bonta advised California residents of their right under the Genetic Information Privacy Act and California Consumer Protection Act to request their data held by companies be deleted and genetic materials be destroyed.

“California has robust privacy laws that allow consumers to take control and request that a company delete their genetic data,” Bonta said. “Given 23andMe’s reported financial distress, I remind Californians to consider invoking their rights and directing 23andMe to delete their data and destroy any samples of genetic material held by the company.”

Bonta’s office compiled the following steps to request data be deleted:

1. Log into your 23andMe account on their website. 
2. Go to the “Settings” section of your profile.
3. Scroll to a section labeled “23andMe Data” at the bottom of the page. 
4. Click “View” next to “23andMe Data”
5. Download your data: If you want a copy of your genetic data for personal storage, choose the option to download it to your device before proceeding.
6. Scroll to the “Delete Data” section. 
7. Click “Permanently Delete Data.” 
8. Confirm your request: You’ll receive an email from 23andMe; follow the link in the email to confirm your deletion request.

The Attorney General’s Office said customers who requested their saliva sample and DNA be stored by 23andMe can change that preference from their account settings page.

Bafta-winning actor Andrew Garfield will take part in BBC genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? to explore his family history.

The Spider-Man star will learn about his ancestors’ links to pre-war Poland, the Treblinka Nazi death camp and the Hollywood Hills in the latest series of the show.

Eight celebrities, including Garfield, will be taken around the world in the 22nd series of the BBC programme to unearth stories from their ancestors.

The 41-year old is best known for his portrayal of Peter Parker in the Amazing Spider-Man, playing Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network and recently co-starring alongside actress Florence Pugh in the drama We Live In Time.

Andrew Garfield has starred in the Spider-Man films (Ian West/PA)

Simon Young, BBC head of history, said: “The stellar line-up this year is a real treat for our audiences. But so is the history, from the shock of a royal ancestor to epic stories of survival. And that’s why this series endures, because it hints at the amazing family micro-histories that make all of us who we are.”

Comedian Diane Morgan, best known for playing the clueless historian Philomena Cunk, will be joining the series to learn about her own history, uncovering her ancestor’s love story and brave fight for the rights of her illegitimate children.

Meanwhile, EastEnders star Ross Kemp will arrive in Casablanca to try to uncover a family mystery while discovering that his ancestor was a drummer boy during the Napoleonic wars.

British singer-songwriter Will Young will uncover he has both villains and royalty in his family tree while learning more about his grandfather’s experience as a Bomber Command pilot in the Second World War and being captured as a prisoner of war in Germany.

The star-studded cast also includes journalist Mishal Husain, comedian Aisling Bea, First Dates’ Fred Sirieix and actor Layton Williams.

As celebrities search for answers, the series will take viewers across the UK and around the world including to Jamaica, Morocco, India, Poland, Germany, Ireland, the US and France.

Previous episodes saw British singer Olly Murs retrace his family line to Latvia where he discovered his long-lost great grandmother’s grave and learned that she had to give up her son, Murs’ grandfather, and was later imprisoned in a Nazi camp for eight years.

The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? launches on BBC One and iPlayer this spring.

New research has provided fresh insights into Manx emigrants who settled in the United States, revealing the strong presence of Manx communities in Ohio and beyond. 

The findings come as part of a new agreement between Manx National Heritage (MNH) and Ancestry.com, which now allows visitors to the Manx Museum Library and Archives in Douglas to access Ancestry Institution for free.

The partnership provides access to over 60 billion records from 88 countries, enabling researchers to explore census data, military records, migration documents, and historical directories to trace family connections.

The new access to Ancestry has already helped MNH uncover stories of Manx emigrants who established themselves in the US.

Sarah Christian, MNH Library and Archives Assistant, shared an example of John Henry Quine, an American drugstore owner with Manx roots. While US census records initially listed his birthplace as England, further research using Ancestry confirmed that he was in fact from Douglas, having lived at 5 Derby Road in 1881 before emigrating to the US.

Ms Christian said: ‘In the MNH Photographic Archive and digitised on imuseum.im are early 20th-century photographs of an American drugstore belonging to John Henry Quine. For us to have these photographs means he must be linked to the Isle of Man, but searching Ancestry, we discovered census enumerators in the US declare his birth country as England.

William Corlett of Ohio, USA (Manx National Heritage) (-)

‘Only one record from the American 1910 census has “Isle of Man”, but it’s crossed out. This illustrates how even if your family story connects you to the Isle of Man, the documents don’t always make it easy. Further research using Ancestry reveals that indeed John Quine’s family came from Douglas, with the 1881 census recording that he lived at 5 Derby Road before emigrating to America.’

Another significant discovery involved William Corlett of Ohio, USA, whose portrait is part of MNH’s digital archive. A search for his name on Ancestry led researchers to the 1860 US census, which showed a cluster of Manx families living and working as farmers in Newburgh, Cuyahoga, Ohio.

Ms Christian added: ‘Next, we explored a photograph of a portrait painting of William Corlett of Ohio, USA, on the Manx National Heritage imuseum.im website. A search for William Corlett on Ancestry led us not only to William appearing on the North American 1860 census but on the next page a whole community of Manx farmers living and working in Newburgh, Cuyahoga, Ohio. As a common name, there is another William Corlett nearby at Warrensville.’

Ancestry Institution provides access to historical records from the Isle of Man, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and across Europe, enabling researchers to trace their own roots or follow the migration paths of ancestors.

As part of the new agreement, Ancestry will add Isle of Man Parish Registers to its platform in 2026.

The Manx National Heritage Library and Archives at the Manx Museum in Douglas is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4:30pm.

A recent paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine calls for regulations to protect customers’ personal and genetic data in light of biotech company 23andMe’s uncertain future.

The genetic genealogy firm, launched in 2007, became wildly popular, with millions of customers sending in saliva samples for analysis to learn about their ancestry and genetic makeup.

The company was valued at $6 billion, or $17.65 a share, shortly after going public in 2021. It has since fallen to about $48 million, or $1.78 per share, after a 2023 data breach and resignation of some board members. The firm said in January that it’s exploring “strategic alternatives,” including a sale of the company or assets, restructuring, or business combination, among other options.

In this edited conversation, I. Glenn Cohen, one of the paper’s authors and faculty director of the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School, explains the legal landscape surrounding genetic data, the reasons for more consumer protection laws, and the steps for consumers to protect their personal and genetic data.

If 23andMe were to file for bankruptcy protection, what might happen with the genetic data of 14 million people the company holds?

As 23andMe faces significant financial distress and might be purchased directly or go bankrupt and its assets sold, all of the genetic and health information provided by people is a valuable asset to the company. Many people have used services like 23andMe, Ancestry.com, and others which are direct-to-consumer genetic tests companies, to answer questions about their ancestry or their genetic code.

But in the course of answering these questions for themselves, they’ve also contributed to these huge genetic databases. Our concern is that they may end up in the hands of somebody other than 23andMe, in a way that many people who have given their information to 23andMe never contemplated and might object to.

What are the possible case scenarios, and what are your concerns?

One is about data security. We saw that 23andMe itself was subject to a massive data breach in 2023, and if the company that takes over the data lacks good data security, there’s a possibility of breach.

Interestingly, once upon a time, the Pentagon told military personnel not to use these at-home DNA kits because it was concerned about national security. A more quotidian concern is that your genetic information might become available to others, and it’s possible you could become reidentified.

To give you an example from a study several years ago, a number of researchers used genetic data to try to identify, through what’s called genome-wide association studies (GWAS) technology and approach, what parts of the genome were associated with being gay. Many people who had given their genetic information were understandably upset at the idea this could be a possible use of their information.

So, while customers have made the decision to share with 23andMe, from whom they get a lot of benefit, they really have very little say about what will happen should the company be taken over or should the company go bankrupt, and its assets sold.