Genealogists often find references to money in old deeds and other documents. Even U.S. census records frequently recorded estimates of a person's real estate. The natural question is, "I wonder what that would equal in today's dollars?" There are several web sites that can answer this question.

S. Morgan Friedman's Inflation Calculator can convert a U.S. dollar amount for any year from 1800 through 2015 into the equivalent amount, adjusted for inflation, in any other year of that range. In other words, if you find that your ancestor purchased land for $400 in 1805, the Inflation Calculator will tell you that the money he spent is equivalent to a purchase of $7279.3 in 2023.

The pre-1975 data comes from the Consumer Price Index statistics published in the Historical Statistics of the United States (USGPO, 1975). All data since then is from the annual Statistical Abstracts of the United States. You can access the Inflation Calculator at: http://www.westegg.com/inflation. 

Another somewhat more sophisticated “inflation adjuster” (especially for use by historians and genealogists) is MeasuringWorth.com, which is an academic nonprofit public service. The calculator adjusts old dollar amounts using three different methodologies, each of which might be more appropriate than the others in certain contexts. Moreover, the U.S. data goes back to 1774 and the service also available for the U.K. and Spain. See: https://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/.

Canadians will find a similar Inflation Calculator for the years 1914 through 2024 at the Bank of Canada's web pages at: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/.

DNA evidence preserved after a 1956 double homicide and the use of forensic genealogy has helped a Montana sheriff's office close the books on the 65-year-old cold case, officials said.

Investigators with the Cascade County Sheriff's Office concluded Kenneth Gould — who died in Oregon County, Missouri, in 2007 — more than likely killed Patricia Kalitzke, 16, and Duane Bogle, 18, the Great Falls Tribune reports. Both were shot in the head.

Detective Sgt. Jon Kadner, who took over the case in 2012, said Tuesday it was the oldest case he could find nationwide that has been solved using forensic genealogy, which searches commercial DNA databases to find familial matches to the DNA of a crime suspect.

On Jan. 3, 1956, three boys hiking along the Sun River near Wadsworth Park northwest of Great Falls found Bogle dead near his car. A day later, a county road worker found Kalitzke's body north of Great Falls.

Kalitzke was a junior at Great Falls High School, and Bogle was an airman at Malmstrom Air Force Base from Waco, Texas.

Officers investigated for years, but they were unable to make an arrest.

The case went cold for decades until 2001, when then-Detective Phil Matteson sent the slide of a vaginal swab gathered from Kalitzke's body to the Montana State Crime Lab for analysis. The lab found a sperm cell that did not belong to Bogle, officers said.

In the following years, law enforcement compared the DNA sample to about 35 other men, including gangster James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. They were all ruled out as suspects.

When Matteson retired, he said he didn't believe the case would be solved. "A lot of different people had a turn at this, and we just weren't able to take it to conclusion," he said.

In 2018, however, forensic genealogy, which was used to help adoptees find biological family members, was used to identify Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. as the Golden State Killer. The new method has led to the identification of dozens of suspects in cold cases.

In 2019, Cascade County detectives had Bode Technology perform additional DNA testing on the evidence found on Kalitzke's body. It was uploaded to voluntary genealogical databases, where they discovered a possible family connection — leading investigators to Gould.

Kadner had to reach out to Gould's children and ask for DNA samples to verify the match.

You can read more in an Associated Press story at: https://bit.ly/3KRT5G8.

Aboriginal Peoples: Fact and Fiction, a new, unique and user-friendly website, was launched last night by Institut Tshakapesh and the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. The organizations joined forces for this major project to strengthen ties between Indigenous Peoples and all Quebecers.

The new mythesetrealites.ca/en website, available in French and English, was created from the content of the third edition of Aboriginal Peoples: Fact and Fiction, a vital reference work in terms of education and awareness-raising for over 20 years. The web platform provides a better understanding of Indigenous Peoples and tackles the stereotypes and prejudices that stand in the way of closer bonds and dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Are Indigenous people "privileged members of the system" with more rights than other Quebecers? Do they have distinct rights? How did the emancipation of Indigenous Nations begin? mythesetrealites.ca/en answers a host of sensitive questions and debunks myths by offering reliable, interactive content and image-rich itineraries that broaden the scope of the printed work. The site includes portraits of key figures, a glossary, a quiz and a timeline recounting key moments in our shared history.

mythesetrealites.ca/en was made possible by financial support from the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Premières Nations et les Inuit (SRPNI), the ministère de la Justice and the ministère de l'Éducation du Québec.

A gathering and a launch

The website was launched as part of the "Kwe!" event held in Québec City until 16 June. The unveiling of this major project took place in the presence of its creator, Pierre Lepage, and the collaborators and dignitaries who have contributed to this initiative in various ways. 

Representatives from the ministère de l'Éducation and the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Premières Nations et les Inuit were also present, and the minister responsible for First Nations and Inuit Relations, Ian Lafrenière, expressed his congratulations and appreciation for Aboriginal Peoples : Fact and Fiction over video. Institut Tshakapesh was represented by its Executive Director, Marjolaine Tshernish, and the Commission by its Vice-President, Myrlande Pierre.

Quotes

"My approach is based on the principle that no one should feel guilty for not knowing. The most important thing is to be open to others, to be prepared to listen to what they have to say. Then, we have to accept that our perception of things is all too often distorted by preconceived ideas." - Pierre Lepage

"We're particularly proud to continue sharing our story, who we are, what we've been through and what we've achieved. We're even prouder to use this platform to spread the word and, above all, to bring us closer together! We're here to continue our challenge of raising awareness, to enable respectful relations, for the future of our nations and that of future generations, in the footsteps of our ancestors." - Marjolaine Tshernish

"The new Mythes et réalités site is a crucial project for the Commission des droits and for all of Québec society. It is a rich and reliable source of information, and this is invaluable in the current context. We need to know, learn and understand the realities of Indigenous Peoples in order to counter stereotypes, prejudices and systemic discrimination, which have devastating effects." - Myrlande Pierre

About Aboriginal Peoples, Fact and Fiction

Aboriginal Peoples, Fact and Fiction was first published in November 2002, then republished and expanded in 2009 and 2019. Enhanced in 2023 to create the mythesetrealites.ca/en site, the book has been used for more than 20 years as a training and awareness-raising tool in the education community and the workplace, and is part of the mediagraphy of several anthropology and political science courses in Québec CEGEPs and universities.

About the author

Anthropologist Pierre Lepage worked at the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse from 1976 to 2009. For nine years, he co-ordinated the program to raise awareness of the Indigenous reality on the theme "the Quebeçois-Indigenous encounter."

As part of this program and in the wake of the Oka crisis, he came up with the idea of writing this book to discredit preconceptions and prejudices about Indigenous people.

Institut Tshakapesh

Institut Tshakapesh, at the service of its member communities and the Innu Nation, works to safeguard and promote Innu-aitun (Innu culture) and Innu-aimun (Innu language). It provides support for preserving cultural heritage and for language planning and fosters artistic expression. Institut Tshakapesh plays a key role in education, particularly in the academic success and identity development of Innu youth.

The Commission des droits

The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse promotes and upholds the principles of the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. It also ensures that the interests of children are protected and that their rights under the Youth Protection Act are promoted and upheld. The Commission is also responsible for administration of the Act respecting equal access to employment in public bodies.

The following announcement was written by the folks at TheGenealogist:

Find the vital details of your ancestors from the Stuart Era to the Victorian Era, recorded at the time of their deaths 

TheGenealogist has added obituary records from the Index Society, Musgrave’s Obituaries and the Society of Friends to its record collection, with obituaries dating back to the 1600s.

Family Historians can now access a set of intriguing records covering three important publications from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Firstly, the Index Society’s Obituary Notices for 1880, 1881, and 1882 include obituaries for many industry journals and periodicals, such as The Lancet and The Law Journal, along with local and national newspapers like The Hertfordshire Mercury, The Guardian, and The Times.

Also included in this release is Musgrave’s Obituaries, with records as early as the 1400s but mainly covering 1600 to the 1800s. This publication is named after Sir William Musgrave who had originally assembled the slips or extracts taken from various works, such as The London Magazine and The Gentleman’s Magazine. These had been neatly written up before being pasted into books in alphabetical order. These manuscripts were then published by The Harleian Society and it is these printed versions that are now digitised on TheGenealogist.

Additionally, several Society of Friends records from the 1880s are included. These Quaker records, known as the Annual Monitor or Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends, are for the years 1880, 1882 and 1885. Apart from many names and dates, these book records also include some expanded “memoirs” recounting anecdotes about various members and their families.

The value of these newly released obituaries to researchers lies in the information they provide. The entries give the dates not only of the individuals' deaths but also their birth dates or ages and often other useful observations such as occupation details and other family members.

Obituaries often cite their sources, for example providing a newspaper page, edition, etc., which can be very helpful for the family historian in conducting further research into ancestors.

TheGenealogist has added over 20,000 individuals to its record collection with these newly released obituaries dating back to the 1600s.

Read TheGenealogist’s feature article: Dead but not Forgotten

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2024/dead-but-not-forgotten-7506/

Lifetime Discount Offer!

For a limited time, you can claim 25% off a 6 Monthly Diamond Subscription to The Genealogist, making it just £59.95! Plus, you’ll also get a free year’s subscription to Discover Your Ancestors Online Magazine (Worth £24.99)

To find out more and claim the offer, visit: https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/MGBOBR624

This offer comes with a Lifetime Discount, meaning you’ll pay the same discounted price every time your subscription renews.

This offer expires on 30th August 2024.

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, who put a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections. 

TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations, Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

#####

For more information on TheGenealogist, please contact Nick at nick@thegenealogist.co.uk

Included in this collection are the following:

1880 Annual Monitor No.38 Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends

1882 Annual Monitor No.40 Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends

1885 Annual Monitor No.42 Obituary of the Members of the Society of Friends

Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 A - Ch

Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 Ci - F

Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 G - K

Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 L - Pa

Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 Pe - Sta

Musgrave's Obituaries prior to 1800 Ste - Zyte

Obituary Notices for the Year 1880

Obituary Notices for the Year 1881

Obituary Notices for the Year 1882

The Nordic countries have kept crime and punishment records for almost 200 years. Accessing early records has been difficult, requiring year-by-year searches of handwritten documents. An internet database provides historical criminal statistics to everyone.

University Lecturer Miikka Vuorela of the University of Eastern Finland Law School has produced a database of crime and punishment information from Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden dating back to the early 1800s.

“The openly accessible statistics show how many convictions there have been of each crime annually, how many crimes have been reported to the police, what kind of punishments have been sentenced, and how many prisoners there have been,” Vuorela said of his findings.

Statistics from 1810 to 2022 are gradually added to the database based on authentic sources. Finnish conviction and sentence statistics, prison population statistics, and police offense statistics are available from 1842 to 2022.

The database contains detailed criminal justice statistics from four nations, making it unique. Most of the data has only been provided as annual government reports, never as uniform time series.

The Nordic countries' lengthy history of collecting criminal justice statistics makes them distinctive. Vuorela notes that many countries may not be able to create a similar database.

The user-friendly database allows fresh historical and comparative study on crime and criminal policy in the Nordic nations and is a great resource for crime and punishment history.

The database is at www.criminalstatistics.fi.

Taylor Swift’s Irish roots have been traced back to Derry.

Genealogy experts have pieced together the global icon’s ancestry and found that her forebearers departed for a new life in America on board a ship that left Derry in 1836. 

Ahead of the American popstar’s arrival to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium next week, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, along with their genealogy partners The Irish Family History Centre, has revealed the superstar’s ancestral ties to Ireland.

On September 12, 2008, Taylor catapulted to stardom with her song Love Story, which explored themes of romance, growth, and heartache. Long before this chart-topper, however, a love story unfolded aboard the ship AMY, sailing from Derry on June 11, 1836. 

Susan Davis, a 21-year-old dressmaker, and Francis Gwynn, a 21-year-old weaver, embarked on a journey across the Atlantic, seeking a better life. They left from Derry, though it is unclear where exactly they hailed from. 

Their meeting aboard the ship marked the start of a love story that would transcend generations, laying the foundation for a far-reaching legacy. After a two-month voyage, the AMY arrived in port in the United States. 

Susan and Francis settled in Philadelphia, marrying in 1839, raising a family of six children, two girls and four boys. Francis Gwynn established a successful soap-making business, and the family prospered. 

Their idyllic life in Philadelphia was touched by tragedy. Five of the Gwynn children died before their parents. Only one, Mrs Mary Douglas (née Gwynn), Taylor Swift’s great-great-great-grandmother, outlived her parents.

You can read more in an article in the belfastlive.co.uk web site at: https://bit.ly/45uAvNw.

Here is an article that is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I have written several times about the activities of Proton, the non-profit organization specializing in making online activities private and secure. I would suggest that all computer owners should use the services of Proton.

The following was written by Andy Yen, the founder and CEO of Proton:

From the very beginning, Proton has always been a different type of organization. This was probably evident from the way in which we got started via a public crowdfunding campaign that saw 10,000 people donate over $500,000 to launch development. As a company created by scientists who met at CERN and that, to this day, remains run by scientists, Proton has never been led by people who are driven by the maximization of profit. What has always mattered most is impact, led by a deeply held belief that people must come before profits.

Proton’s mission has always been unique. Most companies are created to be sold, and they achieve that by placing profit above all other considerations. For most businesses providing “services” to the masses, the easiest way to profit has been to misuse user data and engage in surveillance capitalism to the detriment of society and democracy. At Proton, we have intentionally taken a different path to achieve a more difficult mission. We want to remake the internet in a way that is private by default and serves the interests of all of society, not just the interests of a few Silicon Valley tech giants. In short, we want to create an internet that is able and willing to defend freedom, no matter the cost.

For exactly 10 years, we have done this, as today marks the 10th anniversary of the initial Proton Mail crowdfunding campaign in 2014. Our journey has not been an easy one, but thanks to the support of all of you, we have persevered and thrived despite all the obstacles thrown in our way. For this reason, community is the most important thing to us, and we want to ensure that Proton continues to faithfully serve the community for the next 10 years and beyond. To achieve this goal, I, as Proton’s founder, joined together by Jason Stockman (Proton’s co-founder) and Dingchao Lu (Proton’s first employee), have jointly endowed the non-profit Proton Foundation through a donation of Proton shares. These transfers and commitments from the foundation founders make the Proton Foundation the primary shareholder of Proton and make irrevocable our wish that Proton remains in perpetuity an organization that places people ahead of profits.

Why a non-profit foundation?

The fact that Proton was not previously a non-profit has certainly not prevented us from supporting our beliefs. In the past five years, Proton has given grants worth more than 2.7 million dollars to advance online freedom and democracy around the world. Organizations that have been funded include the Tor Project, the European Digital Rights network, GrapheneOS, and many others. In the world of open source, we continue to develop and freely license some of the most widely used encryption libraries, such as OpenPGPjs, in a bid to make end-to-end encryption more widely available. Proton also continues to fund and operate services that can never be profitable, such as the Proton VPN projects to maintain free and open internet in countries like Iran and Russia, work that was featured on the front page of the New York Times.

However, adopting a Swiss non-profit structure provides additional security, which a corporation cannot achieve. Because Proton has no venture capital investors, we can take this additional step to secure the future. Swiss foundations do not have shareholders, so Proton will no longer be dependent upon the goodwill of any particular person or group of persons. Instead, Swiss foundations and their board of trustees are legally obligated to act in accordance with the purpose for which they were established, which, in this case, is to defend Proton’s original mission. As the largest voting shareholder of Proton, no change of control can occur without the consent of the foundation, allowing it to block hostile takeovers of Proton, thereby ensuring permanent adherence to the mission.

In addition to its governance role, the Proton Foundation will also be consolidating, continuing, and expanding our existing grant-giving efforts to support organizations that are aligned with our mission to defend online and offline freedom around the world. To support this work, Proton is pledging 1% of our net revenues to the foundation when conditions allow, further committing the financial success of Proton to the public good. Finally, the Proton Foundation will also be an investor active in supporting companies and technologies that advance our vision of a free and open internet. In pursuing these activities, the foundation will not act like a traditional venture capital investor. We have no fiduciary duty to deliver a financial return – our success will be measured instead by impact.

A structure for sustainable change

While comparisons may be drawn to the non-profit Signal Foundation or Mozilla Foundation, the Proton Foundation seeks to tread a different path. We believe that if we want to bring about large-scale change, Proton can’t be billionaire-subsidized (like Signal), Google-subsidized (like Mozilla), government-subsidized (like Tor), donation-subsidized (like Wikipedia), or even speculation-subsidized (like the plethora of crypto “foundations”). Instead, Proton must have a profitable and healthy business at its core. For this reason, our services will continue to be offered through the for-profit Swiss corporation Proton AG, which now operates under the supervision of the non-profit foundation, which is its primary shareholder. This change in governance does not signal a shift in how our core businesses are run. Proton is not profit-driven, but we still must retain profitability as a core objective because a cornerstone of safeguarding Proton’s mission is independence through self-sustainability.

As with much of what we do, this approach is unique, but we believe this hybrid model offers the best of both worlds. For instance, the for-profit corporation is not prevented from issuing stock options to attract and incentivize the best talent in tech. Nor would it even prevent the corporation from raising capital on public markets if additional resources are required to win the fight for the future of the internet. However, the foundation’s control would always require the company to act in a way that does not jeopardize Proton’s original mission, and Proton’s financial success is directly committed to the public good. In this way, we seek to preserve not only Proton’s values, but also our culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, and ambition, and our relentless competitive spirit.

The next 10 years and beyond

In the past 10 years, we have launched five services and reached 100 million people. In the process, we have also grown from a team of 3 to a team of 500. But we have not gone far enough or fast enough towards achieving our vision. In the next 10 years, we will work harder, ship faster, and make bigger and bolder bets because in seeking to upend the status quo, sometimes the biggest risk is not taking risk. We enter our second decade hopefully wiser, learning from mistakes and having a better appreciation of the challenges ahead. But most importantly, we remain just as committed to keeping our promises to you.

We believe the change to a non-profit structure is right for the community and allows us to pay your support forward by ensuring that Proton’s mission continues to be protected into the future. We want to thank you for your trust and support for Proton’s mission, from our initial crowdfunding days to the present and into the brighter future we are building together.

Visit the Proton Foundation website

The summer program provides an opportunity for participants to safeguard their personal history while also connecting with those who share similar interests. The GRIP Genealogy Institute is offering a thorough introduction to Ashkenazic Jewish genealogy at LaRoche University from July 14-19.

Organizers have stated that the weeklong course, led by Emily Garber, will enhance students' research skills by concentrating on methodology, genealogical records, and geographic locations.

The summer program provides an opportunity for participants to safeguard their personal history while also connecting with those who share similar interests. The GRIP Genealogy Institute is offering a thorough introduction to Ashkenazic Jewish genealogy at LaRoche University from July 14-19.

According to organizers, the course, which spans a week, aims to enhance students' research skills by concentrating on methodology, genealogical records, and geographic regions. Between June 23-28, GRIP is offering 11 virtual courses.

Prospective participants are required to register and get in touch with Sexton at ksexton@ngsgenealogy.org no later than July 5th.

Visiting a pick-your-own farm is a great experience. It’s fun and healthy for the whole family, and you get the freshest possible products. Pick-your-own also is a way to enjoy the outdoors and appreciate the working landscape. Find a farm to visit by going to vermontpickyourown.org.

The new website will help you find out what is in season and where to pick. Hosted by the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association, vermontpickyourown.org lets you search by crop and location to find what you’re looking for. The listings describe what farms have to offer and when these crops are available along with hours of operation. The descriptions are written by the farmers, and they keep them up to date.

Strawberry pick-your-own is in full swing now across the region. As the growing season progresses, a wide array of crops will become available for customers to harvest. Blueberries, raspberries and flowers come later in the summer. Apples and pumpkins arrive in early fall, and Christmas trees can be cut starting in November. Some farms offer unusual pick-your-own crops like elderberries and herbs.

Visiting farms to buy their products is a great way to invest your food dollars in the local and regional farm community. In turn, these farms spend their money locally and regionally, too.

This website was designed by farmers, University of Vermont Extension personnel and Tamarack Media Cooperative, with funding from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

So check out vermontpickyourown.org today!

The Kurdish Digital Archive, launched in May, is part of the Digital Archive of the Middle East (DAME) project hosted by the UK’s University of Exeter.

The DAME project is a collaboration between the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter and the Institute for International and Area Studies at China’s Tsinghua University. 

The goal of the archive is to digitize and make accessible key Kurdish materials from the University of Exeter’s archival collections, as well as to collaborate with other Kurdish archives and institutions in fostering joint research, the sharing of archival resources, and the preservation and dissemination of Kurdish cultural heritage.

“In this project, key archival materials at the University of Exeter, including materials from the Omar Sheikhmous Archive and the Chris Kutschera Archive, were digitized and made accessible via the DAME website with metadata in English, Kurdish, and Arabic,” Farangis Ghaderi, research fellow and principal investigator of the Kurdish component of the DAME project, told Kurdistan Chronicle. 

“The project also creates a platform for connecting and collaborating with Kurdish archival centers and initiatives in Kurdistan, such as the Zheen Center for Documentation and Research and the Kurdish Heritage Institute, with whom the University of Exeter has signed memoranda of understanding.”

“Through this project we hope to share archival resources and foster joint research with other Kurdish archive initiatives and promote the preservation and dissemination of Kurdish cultural heritage,” she said. 

The archive includes the Chris Kutschera Archive, a collection of photographs compiled by the French photographer Edith Maubec and her writer husband Paul that includes thousands of images taken in the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkiye between 1970 and the early 2000s. 

“These include intimate photographs of individuals such as Jalal Talabani, various members of the Barzani family, Sami Abdul Raman, Franso Hariri, and the poet Hajar Sharafkandi, as well as scenes from Kurdish villages, camps and cultural life, images of political meetings and delegations, and so on,” she said.

“In addition to this, the University has taken over the management of the Kurdistan Photo Library, a continually expanding digital photographic archive established by Edith Maubec and dedicated to Kurdistan and the Kurdish people.”