American Ancestors' newest initiative, 10 Million Names, combines the work of historians and genealogists to bring the past to the present. 

It’s a sad fact that identities of people who were enslaved in the United States have historically been obscured, if not completely unreported. But a Boston-based non-profit organization hopes to bridge the gap between living descendants of Africans today and their often forgotten ancestors. 

The long-term goal of American Ancestors’ 10 Million Names project is to recover every name of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children enslaved on the land that became the United States.

American Ancestors is the global brand of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. NEHGS was the first genealogical society in the nation, established in 1845. Their newest initiative, 10 Million Names, combines the work of historians and genealogists to bring the past to the present. 

American Ancestors has shifted to a broader perspective in recent years, moving well beyond New England. Recently, for instance, they worked with Richard Cellini — now a member of the 10 Million Names advisory board — on the Georgetown Memory Project. 

Through their collaboration, the memory project presented the family history of 272 people found on a bill of sale between Jesuit priests of Georgetown University (then Georgetown College) to plantations in Maryland and Louisiana. 

You can read more in an article by Adora Brown published in the boston.com web site at: https://tinyurl.com/wfzjn3mp.

In Tennessee, there's a proposal to make it illegal for first cousins to marry each other. Representative Darren Jernigan introduced the proposal in the House, and Senator Jeff Yarbro introduced it in the Senate.

The proposal wants to change a part of Tennessee law about who can marry who. Right now, it's not allowed for cousins to marry, but the proposal wants to make it clearer by saying descendants of grandparents can't marry either.

The bill states, "Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-3-101, is amended by deleting the language "nor the child of a grandparent" and substituting "nor the lineal descendant of a grandparent."

You can read more in an article at: https://97x.com/tennessee-lawmakers-outlawed-first-cousin-marriages/

Genealogists typically read lots of obituaries but very few of them match the one for George Ferguson of Oak Bay, British Columbia. Quoting from George's obituary:

"What to say about George? Certainly, no one could accuse him of having been a loving son, brother, or father. He'd gladly have stolen the shirt off your back and he was generous to a fault with other people's money. Was he a small-time con-man with grandiose schemes? Probably. But another view of him is that he was the most exciting member of his family and of the families he married into. He was a poor man's rhetorician who beguiled certain woman into buying into his promises and dreams."

"...he was a United Church minister who passionately improvised sermons for congregations in Quesnel, Barkerville, Bella Bella, Greenwood, Nipawin, Sask. and Kelowna. It is impossible to say whether or not George was actually religious. Anyway, God's name rarely came up when George was flush."

As to his death:

"The next day, we brought in some beer, toasted his life with him, drank with him, and helped him to make several thoughtful good-bye phone calls. He reminisced a bit and gave us a few unhelpful instructions. He died without pain the next evening..."

I never met George Ferguson and I feel that is my loss. I suspect I would have liked him and probably even admired him for being such a scoundrel. After reading his obituary, you may have a different opinion of George.

This was a man who will long be remembered, although perhaps not for his charity and strong morals. You can read the full obituary at http://goo.gl/EdI8op.

I’m excited to share that the MyHeritage DNA kit is now on sale for a rare low price: only $36 USD!

Especially with Mother’s Day coming up, this is the perfect time to order a MyHeritage DNA kit. It reveals your origins across 2,114 regions and helps you find new family members across the globe, and as the DNA company with the most comprehensive set of DNA tools and the widest geographic reach, it’s the best option for genetic genealogy.

The following words were written by the folks at MyHeritage:

Buy a kit today!

As the world bursts into spring, it’s the perfect time to dig into your family history and discover your roots. And if you’re looking for a unique and meaningful Mother’s Day gift, a MyHeritage DNA kit is the perfect present. Together you can explore your family’s lineage and the stories that have shaped your family.

We recently featured the story of Peter Stefanovic, a MyHeritage user in the U.K. who used a MyHeritage DNA test to uncover his family’s hidden history. After his mother passed away without knowing her father, Peter’s test revealed three half-siblings and identified his grandfather, solving a longstanding mystery. This DNA discovery connected Peter with family members he had never met, providing closure and new relationships.

This sale is for a limited time only. Take advantage of our low price and order your MyHeritage DNA kit today.

Who knows what discoveries await?

From the York Dispatch web site:

The South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and the History Center will present a half-day seminar Saturday focusing on research resources that can be accessed online.  

Presenters include experienced members of the field.  

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Historical Society Museum, 250 E. Market St. Tickets are $10 for History Center members, $20 for non-members. To register, visit www.yorkhistorycenter.org/event/genealogical-seminar. 

The Augusta (Georgia) Genealogical Society Quarterly Virtual Genealogical Program will be held Saturday, 23 March 2024. It will be FREE to AGS members and nonmembers. Details may be found in the flyer here.

To cope with today’s digital era, the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) reported that it’s halfway through its digitalization thrust that, in turn, has encouraged more people to go back to the country’s official repository of information on cultural heritage and other literary resources.

According to NLP Director Cesar Gilbert Q. Adriano, they have digitized roughly around “50 percent” of their big collection of rare old books and other learning materials published up to the 1950’s.

He has no inkling, though, as to when they can fully digitize their vast collection of reading and learning tools.

“If given the budget and everything, we can give what’s our definite timeline for that. What is important to us right now is our rare collection is digitized. That’s our target because new books can be bought now,” he told the BusinessMirror at the recent launch in Quezon City of the inaugural Philippine celebration of the International Children’s Book Day (ICBD).

For him, digitization is a part of the regular function and a never-ending drive of the National Library.

You can read more in an article by Roderick L. Abad published in the BusinessMiror.com web site at: https://tinyurl.com/ydnkvvbd.

Alabamians have no guarantees of privacy for their data after submitting genetic samples to private companies to learn about their ancestry, but state lawmakers would like to change that.

A bill filed in the state legislature this session, called the Alabama Genetic Privacy Data Act, would require companies to get consent from consumers before sharing their genetic information with anyone else.

Currently DNA testing companies like 23andMe and Ancestry can sell customers’ data to other companies. That puts consumers at risk of having health insurers considering their genetic backgrounds when determining coverage, said the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Chip Brown, R-Mobile.

“That potentially could lead to them being discriminatory on issuing policies to certain individuals based on family histories,” he said, “And that’s something we have to protect.”

You can read more in an article by Sarah Whites-Koditschek and published in the al.com web site at: https://tinyurl.com/wprnep7j

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum will launch its first digital exhibition tomorrow March 8 in celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. “Becoming Visible: Bringing American Women’s History Into Focus” is an interactive exhibition available for the public to explore on the museum’s website that confronts how women’s stories have been in a constant state of becoming visible in American history. Actor and singer-songwriter Lynda Carter, a member of the museum’s advisory council, will share introductory remarks for a virtual look inside the exhibition March 14 at 3 p.m. ET.

The 10-minute digital experience created by the woman-led digital design firm Forum One takes audiences on a visual and emotional journey through five women’s lives: Elizabeth Keckly, an author and formerly enslaved woman who became a lauded dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln; Margaret Knight, a 19th-century inventor who mechanized the production of flat-bottomed paper bags; Hisako Hibi, a Japanese American artist who lost much of her work after spending over three years in government detention during World War II; Isabel Morgan, a scientist who was instrumental in the development of the polio vaccine; and Hazel Fellows, a seamstress who helped create the Apollo space suits.

Narrated by curators from across the Smithsonian, the five stories are organized into themes that express how women’s history has been treated—either excluded, forgotten, almost lost, erased or obscured. Each story comes to life through objects from the Smithsonian’s collections, archival records, recorded interviews and original illustrations and animations. The exhibition opens with an introduction narrated by actress, designer and producer Rosario Dawson, who serves on the museum’s advisory council.

“This exhibition demonstrates that the disappearance of women’s stories is a systemic problem that impacts all aspects of American history,” said Melanie Adams, interim director of the museum. “Our goal is to create a more accurate and inclusive record of American history that truly honors the vital roles that women play in our nation.”

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum will also host a Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon March 27 where attendees will edit and create Wikipedia articles about the women represented in the exhibition. This event is presented with support from Wikimedia DC.

You can read more in a news release written by the folks at the Smithsonian available at: https://tinyurl.com/35y5ewyj

More than 60 new links have been added to the Online Death Indexes for the USA website, which is a directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. Included are indexes for death records, death certificates, death notices and registers, obituaries, wills and probate records, and cemetery burials.