The devastation of the plague pandemic left such an incredible genetic mark on humanity that it's still affecting our health nearly 700 years later.

Up to half of people died when the Black Death swept through Europe in the mid-1300s.

A pioneering study analysing the DNA of centuries-old skeletons found mutations that helped people survive the plague. But those same mutations are linked to auto-immune diseases afflicting people today.

The Black Death is one of the most significant, deadliest and bleakest moments in human history. It is estimated that up to 200 million people died. Researchers suspected an event of such enormity must have shaped human evolution. They analysed DNA taken from the teeth of 206 ancient skeletons and were able to precisely date the human remains to before, during or after the Black Death.

The standout finding, published in the journal Nature, surrounded mutations in a gene called ERAP2. If you had the right mutations you were 40% more likely to survive the plague.

"That's huge, it's a huge effect, it's a surprise to find something like that in the human genome," according to Professor Luis Barreiro, from the University of Chicago.

The gene's job is to make the proteins that chop up invading microbes and show the fragments to the immune system, priming it more effectively to recognise and neutralise the foe. The gene comes in different versions - those that work well and those that do nothing - and you get a copy from each parent.

So the lucky ones, who were most likely to survive, inherited a high-functioning version from mum and dad. And the survivors had children and so passed those helpful mutations on so they suddenly became much more common.

You can read more in an article by James Gallagher published in the BBC News web site at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-63316538.

Genealogy information is wherever you find it. Have you ever thought of looking for genealogy books and records at everyone's online garage sale on eBay? I keep an eye on the genealogy-related offerings and have found some interesting items.

Perhaps the best thing I ever purchased on eBay was a tax collector's book from Corinna, Maine for 1907 that listed the taxes my grandfather paid that year. Another was a handmade quilt made by a distant cousin in the 1840s. I have also purchased limited edition history books for several of the small towns that I research with some of those books mentioning my ancestors. Some of the books were original editions that were 100 years old or more although recently I have limited my purchases to scanned images of old books that are sold on CD-ROM disks.

Of course, you can find software for sale as well as microfilm and microfiche copies of old records, old family Bibles, and much, much more. In fact, the major problem is there is too much! You may be overwhelmed with the available items. 

When preparing this article, I checked and found that eBay had 72,000 items listed for sale with the word "genealogy" in the description. I was also amused to find more than 1,400 items listed with a description keyword of "geneology." I guess some people can't spell. In any case, when you are searching on eBay, you might want to try both spellings.

Of course, you don't want to spend hours paging through more than 72,000 listings. You want to quickly narrow the search to items you are interested in. Luckily, eBay makes that easy.

To search for genealogy items related to your family's name, enter a search of GENEALOGY and a surname of interest. For instance, I often search for:

genealogy Eastman

Of course, you are probably searching for multiple surnames (your mother's maiden name, your grandmothers' maiden names etc.) If so, you will want to conduct multiple searches.

I just did that now while writing these words and found a book on one of my ancestral names that I have not seen before. It is a book on CD-ROM: $6.99 and free shipping. I haven't seen that book before on Google Books or any of the other online book services. $6.99 is cheaper than the gas required to go to the nearest genealogy library that might have that book on the shelf.

Excuse me for a moment while I purchase that...

OK, I'm back. I should receive the book on CD within 5 to 7 days.

I also search for items of interest from the towns where my ancestors lived. In my case, most of them lived in very small towns so I simply search for the name of the town and the state. For instance, I have an interest in the town of Corinna, Maine so I simply enter those two words in the search box: Corinna Maine. 

Such a search will find all sorts of items from that town: post cards, old advertisements from merchants, and more. If your ancestors lived in a larger town, you may have to narrow your search a bit. For instance, for Boston, Massachusetts, I might search for:

Boston history

Boston genealogy 

Boston geneology (yes, there is that common spelling error again)

Boston families

In the past, I have purchased a number of pictures and postcards that were 75 to 125 years old, including one of an old-time steam engine crossing the railroad bridge where I used to go swimming as a child. The only thing I ever saw was diesel engines so the picture of that steam engine from the 1880s is especially satisfying. The bridge hasn't changed much, however.

I also purchased a post card showing a trolley car in front of my great-great-grandfather's house. The trolley tracks disappeared many years ago. 

One genealogist reported that she found a 125-year-old book on eBay written by her great-grandfather. It was in pristine condition and she purchased it for $20. I wish I could be THAT lucky! I have purchased books on eBay that were published in the 1840s. 

Even with these methods, searching can be a time-consuming process. However, eBay offers a very powerful tool that can cut down the work immensely: saved searches with e-mail notifications.

When you conduct a search on eBay, the results screen first reports how any items it found that match the search parameters you specified. Just to the right of the number of results found, you will notice a link that is labeled "Save this search." Click on that and you can follow the menus to tell eBay to conduct a similar search for you once every day and, if anything is found, to send you an e-mail message with the results. 

The saved searches is one of the most useful tools available on eBay. It searches for you while you are sleeping. If there are no new matches found in the past 24 hours, there is no email sent. You do have to create a free account to use the saved search features but that seems to be a minor requirement. You will need an account anyway if you wish to purchase anything. eBay accounts are free and painless to obtain.

I use eBay saved searches to look for genealogy materials, historical items from the towns where my ancestors lived, historical items from the town where I now live, Corvette parts, ham radio equipment, accessories for my laptop computer, and much more. The saved searches service is free and, if there is a limit to the number of searches, I haven't found that limit yet. I have a lot of saved searches and I am accustomed to having 10 or 20 new email messages per day from eBay. 

Will you find information about your ancestors on eBay? Perhaps. Will you find information about where they lived and perhaps their lifestyles? That is almost certain. You may even find occasional listings of items about towns and villages in eastern Europe.

To get started, go to http://www.ebay.com. 

Nearly 200 historic documents are being digitally archived for public use. Several are on display as part of the Black founders exhibit, including a discharge paper signed by George Washington.

The Museum of the American Revolution is working to digitize nearly 200 rare documents that detail the names of Black and Native American soldiers who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. 

The Patriots of Color archive will be fully digitized and made available online at no cost to the public thanks to a partnership with the genealogy website Ancestry, museum officials said Friday. The Old City museum acquired the documents in 2022 from a private collection, following contributions from several donors.

The Patriots of Color archive contains original muster rolls, pay vouchers, enlistment papers, discharge forms and other documents assembled from auctions, rare manuscript dealers and other collectors over the past two decades. Once digitized, the public will be able to learn more about the lives of hundreds of veterans of color and understand their relationship to the American Revolution. 

"At least 5,000 men of color fought in the Continental Army, but their stories aren't as known as they should be," said R. Scott Stephenson, president and CEO of the museum. "This archive allows us to explore the extraordinary lives of men who helped to secure independence, yet who have not received the recognition they deserve as American Founders. 

You can read a lot more in an article by Maggie Mancini published in the  PhillyVoice web site at: https://tinyurl.com/3rr5ykm5.

The following press release was issued by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG):

FREE BCG-SPONSORED WEBINAR

“The Bengali and English Ancestry of Thomas Chapman: A Case Study with DNA”

by Meryl Schumacker, CG

Tuesday, February 21, 2023, 8:00 p.m. (EST) 

We often talk about historical context like a side dish: it adds color and life to our narratives and deepens the analysis in our client reports. Rarely, however, do we think of historical research as a main course, a proactive strategy. This case study demonstrates not only the potential of historical research as a tool but how that tool can be effective in the most challenging cases.

Thomas Chapman wasn’t typical of New York City immigrants at the turn of the nineteenth century. His reported birthplace of Bengal prompted more questions than answers, and FAN (Friends, Associates, and Neighbors) searches in New York produced no leads. Ultimately, a combination of historical research, DNA evidence, and traditional genealogical methods across three continents revealed the identities of his parents.

Meryl Schumacker, CG®, is the founder of We Go Way Back LLC in New York City. Meryl specializes in New York City genealogy from the 17th-20th centuries; Jewish genealogy in the United States, Europe, and Central America; and genetic genealogy. Meryl has compiled multigenerational family histories and located elusive ancestors for private clients, biographers, nonprofits, and corporations. Her work has been published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, NGS Magazine, and the APG Quarterly. She has contributed research to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central), Who Do You Think You Are? (NBC), and several biographies. In 2017, Meryl was awarded the Walter Lee Sheppard Jr. Prize (BCG/IGHR) and the Association of Professional Genealogists’ Young Professional Scholarship.

BCG’s next free monthly webinar in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree Webinars is “The Bengali and English Ancestry of Thomas Chapman: A Case Study with DNA” by Meryl Schumacker, CG. This webinar airs Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. EST. 

When you register before February 21 with our partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=8099) you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Anyone with schedule conflicts may access the webinar at no charge for one week after the broadcast on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

“We appreciate the opportunity to present these high-quality educational webinars,” said President Faye Jenkins Stallings, CG. “At BCG, our purpose is to promote public confidence in genealogy by supporting uniform standards of competence. These webinars help to achieve that by providing educational opportunities to family historians of all levels of experience.”

Following the free period for this webinar, BCG receives a small commission if you view this or any BCG webinar by clicking our affiliate link: http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=2619.

To see the full list of BCG-sponsored webinars for 2023, visit the BCG blog SpringBoard at https://bcgcertification.org/bcg-2023-free-webinars/.  For additional resources for genealogical education, please visit the BCG Learning Center (https://bcgcertification.org/learning).

The following is an announcement from MyHeritage as published in the MyHeritage Blog:

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, and what better time could there be to explore the love stories of your ancestors? For a limited time only, we’re offering free access to all marriage records on MyHeritage! The records will be free to search and view from February 13–19, 2023.

Search marriage records on MyHeritage for free

Beyond the romance factor, marriage records contain a wealth of genealogical information and can help paint a more complete picture of your family’s stories. You may learn how old the bride and groom’s age at the time of marriage, where the bride and groom lived, when and/or where they were born, the names of their parents, where their parents were born, what their occupations were, and more.

MyHeritage is home to 194 marriage record collections containing 614 million records from all over the world, some of which include beautifully scanned images, and some of which are exclusive to MyHeritage. Since last Valentine’s Day, we’ve added 30 new collections containing around 14 million records from the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and other countries.

Normally, a Complete or Data plan is required to view these records, but for 6 days only, you’ll be able to search and view them even if you don’t have a paid subscription. Free registration to MyHeritage will be required for non-MyHeritage users.

Enjoy!

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com:

(+) CDs Are Not Forever

Facing Up to the Long-term Future of Your Genealogy Society

Audrey Collins, R.I.P.

Access the GPC eBook Library at Your Convenience With GPC's New Subscription Platform

Do Police Have Access to Your DNA? What to Know About Investigative Genetic Genealogy

Gramps - Free Genealogy Software

Pharos Tutors Releases New Two-Part Beginners’ Course

USCIS Genealogy Program Fee Fight (Again)

Codebreakers Find and Decode Lost Letters of Mary, Queen of Scots

Mapping the Stories of Formerly Enslaved Black London, Ontario Residents Focus of New Research

Augusta Genealogical Society presents “Finding Dan and Jane: A Case Study in African American Genealogy”

Bosnia’s Jewish Community Putting Together an Archive for an Eventual Museum

The Hidden Truth in Viola Davis' Family Tree

U.K. Veterans Data Dashboard Live

Digital Access to a Collection of Rare Revolution-Era Books and Publications

TheGenealogist Adds More Than 342,500 to Their 1939 Register, Opening Previously Closed Records

FindmyPast Adds Nearly 60,000 New Records

Recently Added and Updated Collections on Ancestry.com

Your Blood Type Affects Your Risk of Early Stroke, Scientists Find

Rent a 1950 Cadillac Hearse Edition

Historian Eli Tauber, leading the project, says it will be a challenge to piece together family histories and destinies that cover 500 years.

As their numbers dwindle, Bosnia’s Jewish community is creating an archive of Balkan Jewish history, including documents, photographs, artifacts, and genealogies to preserve the Bosnian Jewish story.

The Jewish Community of Bosnia Herzegovina group acquired a 7,500 square-foot space in downtown Sarajevo in the fall, with the hopes of turning the eventual archive into a museum.

Eli Tauber, 72, who has written several books on Bosnian Jewish culture and history, is leading the project.

“Our idea is to write the history of the Jewish people in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Tauber told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “But this is not so easy, we are talking about 500 years of history and not just history but people, families, and the destinies of all those people across 500 years.”

Today, at most 900 Jews live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, around 500 in the capital Sarajevo. But before the Holocaust, Sarajevo was about 20% Jewish and known lovingly as “little Jerusalem” for its variety of synagogues, mosques and churches — both Catholic and Orthodox — all in close proximity.

Sephardic Jews first arrived in the region during the time of the Ottoman Empire, after fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. Ashkenazi Jews followed suit when the area fell under Austro-Hungarian rule in the 1870s.

Tauber said he hopes the archive — which is still at least two years away from completion — will help reconnect all those who left to the country they or their ancestors had come from.

“What is important is that at the end we will establish some computer program with family trees, for all those people who have their roots in Bosnia, and find all that they did,” Tauber said.

You can read more in an article by David I. Klein published in The Times of Israel at: https://tinyurl.com/t7euca5m.

The (UK) Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) has launched a Veterans Data Dashboard with information on ex-armed forces personnel.

It brings together data from different public bodies for the first time, provides scope for veterans and the public to learn about the community, and information on support services.

Functions include the ability to scroll through data on issues such as population, housing, mental health and employment.

The OVA said it will be updated regularly.

Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer MP said: “In order to step up services for veterans and standardise support across the country, we need a better picture of the community we’re serving.

“So it’s a key part of our job at the Office for Veterans’ Affairs to improve the data we have on the veteran community and today shows that we’re making good strides forward.

“Data and evidence is at the heart of our veterans policy and I encourage everyone to check out the new dashboard.”

Transformation package

The launch of the dashboard has come a year after the Government announced a £44 million digital transformation package to support veterans. This pointed towards the development of a new portal for access to compensation and pension services and work on a digital verification service to prove veteran status.

Alongside the release, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published findings from the 2021 National Census, in which demographics characteristics of the veteran population were covered for the first time – through a question on whether the respondent was a veteran.

The data shows that of the total (just over 1.85 million) UK armed forces veteran population in England and Wales, 13.6% were women and 86.4% were men – and that their overall health was similar to that of the general population when adjusted for age and gender.

The ONS is working to further analyse the data.

The following was written by Rich Venezia, a member of the The Records Not Revenue Team:

Here we go again! A few years ago, I founded Records Not Revenue to combat U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)' outrageous proposed fee hikes to their Genealogy Program. 

USCIS has again proposed substantial increases to the fees required to access historical records held by the Genealogy Program. Many of these records should already be available to the public at the National Archives.

As you may or may not know, USCIS holds tens of millions of records of 19th- and 20th-century immigrants to the United States. These records are unique and can be found nowhere else. USCIS now wants to raise these fees to as high as $340 for a single document. This comes when the wait times for requests and customer service has never been worse.

Please make your voice heard and help stop this fee increase by submitting a comment about the proposed rule. Comments are due March 6th!

The Records Not Revenue website has been updated with information on the proposed rule, a summary of the issues, and comment starters to get you thinking. Please follow the below steps to take action:

Step 1: Review the proposed rule here, and jump to the Genealogy Program section here. You can also read the Summary of the Issues on our website.

Step 2: Write your comments, addressing the issues listed on the website or any issue you think is important. See comment starters on our website.

Step 3: Send your comments BY MONDAY 6 MARCH 2023 to

a.     Federal Rulemaking Portal and refer to DHS Docket No. USCIS-2021-0010-0001. Follow instructions for submitting comments; and

b.     If a US resident or citizen, save and send a copy of your comments to your US Senators and Representative, and refer to DHS Docket No. USCIS-2021-0010-0001. Tell them you care about preserving access to federal records!

You do not need to be a US resident nor citizen to submit a public comment. Any interested party can make their voice heard.

The more individual and unique comments USCIS receives on this proposed rule, the better. Please share our website with your local genealogical and historical societies and anyone else who may be interested in submitting a comment. If you are on the Board of a genealogical society, we would very much appreciate you sending an e-blast to your members.

We are also doing two webinars over the next couple of weeks to discuss this topic and walk folks through the issues and the comment process. Our event for JewishGen is Wed 02/15 at 2 PM EST (free to register) and the event for NGS MemberConnects is Wed 02/22 at 8 PM EST (registration is for NGS members only, I believe).

Thank you for taking action! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. 

 Rich Venezia

The Records Not Revenue team

The many friends and acquaintances of Audrey Collins will be saddened to hear that Audrey passed away a few days ago.

Researcher, author, speaker and records specialist, she was renowned for her good humour, her warm and friendly character and her in-depth knowledge of family history. 

Audrey worked as a freelance researcher for 15 years before joining the staff of The National Archives.

She was employed at The National Archives (TNA) at Kew in England for many years and was a key individual there. One of the things she delighted in was conducting personalized tours of The National Archives for visiting foreigners, myself included. It was the highlight of that particular trip to England and I am sure the same could be said of many other similar tours she conducted over the years.

Audrey was the author of three titles in the ‘Basic Facts’ series of family history guides, co-wrote The Complete Guide to Tracing Your Family History and has also contributed sections in the Family History Companion, and Census: the expert guide. She regularly gave talks at family history events and conferences in the UK, Ireland, the USA, and on cruise ships. She greatly increased the knowledge of thousands of conference attendees who heard her speak.

She was especially noted for her willingness to help anyone and everyone whose path she crossed.

Audrey's research interests included: the history and operation of the General Register Office, Civil Registration and the UK census; Scottish and Irish records in The National Archives; newspapers and periodicals and retail history.

The genealogy community has lost a true legend amongst our community.

Rest in peace, Audrey.