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  • 18 Feb 2025 3:31 PM | Anonymous

    The following book review was written by Bobbi King:

    Book Review: The Deserter’s Tale

    by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. Self-published. 2023. 147 pages.

    Here, Nathan Goodwin sends his protagonist, the seasoned forensic genealogist Morton Farrier, out and away from his cozy home in historic Sussex, England, to the crowded, expansive and world-wide gathering of genealogists whose calling brings them to the nexus of genealogy, the Mormon-founded city of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the arid Great Basin of the United States. Genealogy professionals, scholars, and enthusiasts annually attend the grand and venerated gathering known simply as RootsTech. 

    Farrier will be a featured speaker for RootsTech, and his presentation preparations are incomplete. Furthermore, he has been tasked with the usual work of solving a family mystery, the familiar position genealogists finds themselves in as their experience and expertise accrue “fame” throughout the family, and relatives come calling with queries and questions they expect the genealogist to embrace with ardor and enthusiasm, but which actually induce chagrin and annoyance at the prospect of unpaid and unsolicited work. 

    In the comfortable family warmth of Farrier’s household hangs a vague, gray cloud of ‘Why’ over the consciousness of Farrier’s wife Juliette. Whenever she pauses to consider the baffling desertion of her great-grandfather of his family, her family, her heart reverberates with the sorrow of lingering questions, the bitterness of broken family ties, and the nebulous feelings of loss that a century-old family disappearance conjures.

    As Farrier prepares to depart England for his arduous trip to the States, his unease is magnified, not so much over his scheduled presentations to hundreds of eager classroom attendees, but rather, by an unresolved romantic relationship, years in the past and nearly forgotten, but soon to be uncomfortably refreshed when he likely meets up again with an old flame, as her own RootsTech participation brings her to the same corridors as he will soon be navigating through. Meeting his bygone love will leave him no choice but to come to terms with his emotional memories; their parting was irresolute, could their meeting bring settlement?

    Fans of Nathan Dylan Goodwin will recognize this tenth book in the Morton Farrier series. We’ve enjoyed his books for some twenty years now. His novels weave back and forth between the dual timelines of the past and present, doling out revelations in the back story just at the right moments, before returning to present-day suspense. Tangled webs of mystery and unanswered questions stymy Farrier’s search for truth, and keep us, the readers, turning pages far into the night.


  • 18 Feb 2025 2:46 PM | Anonymous

    It is with great sadness that I pass along the word that  Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, passed away yesterday. He was a friend and the renowned author and director of the Great Migration series and study project at American Ancestors (NEHGS). 

    I don’t think I can write a proper obituary. Instead, I will refer you to a (much too brief) article (that I suspect was written by Bob) at: https://www.americanancestors.org/robert-charles-anderson-fasg-0 and another article written by Cyndi Ingle at: https://www.facebook.com/cyndi.ingle2  

  • 17 Feb 2025 11:34 AM | Anonymous

    One week after President Trump fired the head of the National Archives and Records Administration, the second-in-command, the deputy archivist, has informed colleagues of his intent to retire, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to CBS News Friday.

    William “Jay” Bosanko served as chief operating officer for the National Archives when the FBI served a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022 in order to seize boxes of Trump records, including classified material, that the agency said had not been properly transferred to the Archives at the conclusion of Mr. Trump’s first term.

    According to two sources familiar with the situation, Bosanko was pushed out by Jim Byron, a 31-year old who was recently president of the Richard Nixon Foundation. Byron delivered Bosanko an ultimatum: Resign now or be fired next week.

    Reached by phone Friday evening, Byron declined to comment.

    Byron has been working out of the Archives’ offices as a political appointee representing the White House. Byron has often described himself as a mentee of Hugh Hewitt, an ardent pro-Trump commentator who preceded Bryon as head of the Nixon Foundation and who now sits on its board. (The Nixon Foundation and the Archives have occasionally been in conflict with each other, which often happens with presidential foundations and the government agency that oversees presidential libraries, according to an Archives source.)

    The first notice to staff came in an email Friday from Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko, who told members of his team that he was retiring and that it had been “a privilege and an honor to work” at the Archives for the last 32 years.

  • 17 Feb 2025 11:15 AM | Anonymous

    If you have been waiting for the right to test or gift a DNA kit, this is it.  

    Order MyHeritage DNA today

    Hot DNA Sale

    We recently updated our Ethnicity Estimate model, which nearly doubled the percentage-based ethnicities identified by MyHeritage from 42 to 79. MyHeritage DNA also pinpoints your origins across 2,114 geographic regions, reveals matches to new relatives around the world, and offers the most comprehensive set of genetic genealogy tools available. 

  • 17 Feb 2025 10:40 AM | Anonymous

    President Trump named Jim Byron, the president and CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, to a senior archivist role at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

    In a post Sunday on Truth Social, Trump said he was pleased to announce Byron would be serving as “Senior Advisor to our Acting Archivist, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at the National Archives and Records Administration.”

    “Jim will manage the National Archives on a day-to-day basis, while we continue our search for a full-time Archivist,” Trump posted. “Jim has worked with the National Archives for many years, and understands the great responsibility and duty we have to preserve the History of our Great Country.”

    Shortly before taking office, Trump said he would be replacing the NARA leader. According to federal law, the president has the power to fire the archivist but must tell Congress the reasoning for removal.

    Trump dismissed Colleen Shogan, the first woman to lead NARA, last week.

    Earlier Sunday, it was reported by The Washington Post that the acting archivist and several senior staff members at NARA resigned. It’s the latest in agency shake-ups as Trump looks to restructure the federal government and its spending.


  • 17 Feb 2025 10:16 AM | Anonymous

    The following is a press release issued by the Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies:

    Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies have developed an online database of papal dispensations for marriage, intended for use in genealogical investigation.

    Until recently, the papal dispensations granted for marriages in Britain and Ireland between those related within the prohibited degrees and covering the period 1198 to 1534 were not available in a single place online.

    The ‘Papal Dispensations for Marriage Project’ funded by the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, has been focusing on creating a database that will initially cover volumes 1 to 20 and volume 23 part 1, by extracting entries relating to marriage – specifically papal dispensations for marriage – from the published calendars of papal registers/letters in a consistent format, to develop a searchable online database.

    The aim of the project is the ongoing development of an easily accessible online relational database that will be useful for academic and genealogical research by medieval historians and in particular by medieval genealogical researchers.

    The papal dispensations database can be viewed and searched by visiting https://papaldispensations.org.uk/



  • 11 Feb 2025 10:34 AM | Anonymous

    Toronto police say they have cracked a 1998 cold case after arresting a suspect wanted for the death of a 24-year-old woman, who was sex trade worker at the time, using genetic genealogy.

    Det. Sgt. Steve Smith made the announcement on Friday in the homicide case of Donna Oglive, who was found dead on March 8, 1998 at a rear parking lot of 130 Carlton St., near Jarvis Street, by a concerned resident.

    “It looks like it may have been a sex trade transaction, and it ended in the death of Ms. Oglive,” Smith said, adding she died by strangulation and was pregnant at the time of her death. She also had another child.

    Oglive was a resident of British Columbia and was in Toronto for five weeks before she was found dead, police said.

    On Wednesday, Smith said officers arrested Ronald Gordon Ackerman, a 50-year-old man from Gander, N.L., at Toronto Pearson airport. Ackerman was on a flight from Edmonton and was intercepted in Toronto.

    He has been charged with first-degree murder.

    “It’s our belief he was a client that night,” Smith said, but noted he did not know if it was consistent or just the one time.

    The area of 130 Carlton St. at the time was just a large parking lot and Smith said “there was a lot of sexual activity from sex trade workers at that parking lot.”

    Smith said it was the use of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) with the help of Othram Inc. that led investigators to the offender’s family from a DNA sample. Investigators had developed a male DNA profile from evidence collected at the scene but no match was ever found, police said.

    IGG is a forensic technique used by law enforcement when all other leads have been exhausted, as it can identify relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the crime scene. Investigators then use that information to zero in on a suspect.

    “It’s really a game-changer for us,” Smith said. “This change in science has really allowed us to look at DNA in a different way, if we have offender DNA, to solve virtually any case that’s out there.”

    Smith said Ackerman was working in the oil fields in northern Alberta for two weeks at a time and then flying back to the East Coast for the other two weeks.

    “These historical cases, they’ve gone on for so long…. We have over 800 historical homicides alone. When you’re able to solve these cases, it’s a great feeling. You’re able to notify the family,” Smith said.

    “When these people are still alive that they have to face justice.”

  • 11 Feb 2025 10:03 AM | Anonymous

    Inline image"The U.S.Census Bureau is conducting its Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, which provides an opportunity for the public to provide feedback on how detailed race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations will be coded when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the ACS and the 2030 Census. As in previous updates to the code list, all updates will be based on three criteria: (1) Federal scientific research and evidence; (2) stakeholder feedback, and (3) alignment with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget's updated 2024 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (see https://spd15revision.gov). The Census Bureau anticipates publishing a summary of the feedback received and the final code list in a future notice. An upcoming live question-and-answer webinar will provide an opportunity for the public to ask any procedural questions about how to respond to this Notice."

    “As part of the Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, the U.S. Census Bureau (Census Bureau) is seeking feedback on the proposed race/ethnicity code list that will be used when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2030 Census. The Census Bureau aims to enhance and improve the code list that was used in the 2020 Census and is currently used in the ACS to ensure that detailed race and/or ethnicity responses are accurately coded and tabulated in future data collections.”

    The Census Bureau is seeking feedback on how race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations are coded, and it is not seeking feedback on how the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defined race/ethnicity categories through Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which are a minimum set of categories that all Federal agencies must use when collecting information on race and ethnicity, regardless of the collection mechanism, as well as additional guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of these data.

     https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

     Comments must be received on or before February 18, 2025.

     To submit your comments go to:

    1. Go to www.regulations.gov and enter Docket Number USBC-2024-0022 in the search field. 

    2. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields.

    3. Enter or attach your comments. 

     All comments responding to this document will be a matter of public record. Relevant comments will generally be available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov.

     All comments received are part of the public record. All Personally Identifiable Information ( e.g., name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

    The Census Bureau is seeking feedback on how race and/or ethnicity and American Indian or Alaska Native populations are coded, and it is not seeking feedback on how the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defined race/ethnicity categories through Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which are a minimum set of categories that all Federal agencies must use when collecting information on race and ethnicity, regardless of the collection mechanism, as well as additional guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of these data.

     https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

     For questions about this notice, please contact: Roberto Ramirez at Roberto.R.Ramirez@census.gov or (301) 763-6044.

    To read more see:

    https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/11/18/2024-26827/the-census-bureaus-proposed-raceethnicity-code-list-for-the-american-community-survey-and-the-2030

  • 11 Feb 2025 9:55 AM | Anonymous

    The American Historical Association (AHA) has sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump concerning the removal of the Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, from her position. Federal law requires the president to communicate “reasons for any such removal,” so the AHA “awaits the White House’s compliance with the law by informing Congress of the reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal.”

    The AHA’s letter is reproduced below and available on our website.

    _______________________________________________________

    Dear President Trump:

    The Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, has been removed from her position at your direction. Dr. Shogan has served in this nonpartisan role since her appointment was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 10, 2023. Per US federal law, “The Archivist shall be appointed without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist.”

    Federal law (44 U.S.C. Chapter 21 § 2103) requires that “The President shall communicate the reasons for any such removal to each House of the Congress.” The Administration has not yet complied with this statute by communicating reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal. The American Historical Association awaits the White House’s compliance with the law by informing Congress of the reasons for Dr. Shogan’s dismissal.

    Democracy rests on the rule of law. And the history of the United States rests on unfettered access to the archival record.

    Sincerely, 

    James R. Grossman

    Executive Director

    _______________________________________________________

    Founded in 1884 and incorporated by Congress in 1889 for the promotion of historical studies, the American Historical Association provides leadership for the discipline and promotes the critical role of historical thinking in public life. The Association defends academic freedom, develops professional standards, supports innovative scholarship and teaching, and helps to sustain and enhance the work of historians. As the largest membership association of professional historians in the world (nearly 11,000 members), the AHA serves historians in a wide variety of professions and represents every historical era and geographical area.


  • 8 Feb 2025 10:07 AM | Anonymous

    Whitehouse.gov captures from: 2008 Sept. 152013 Mar. 212017 Feb. 3; and 

    2021 Feb. 25

    Every four years, before and after the U.S. presidential election, a team of libraries and research organizations, including the Internet Archive, work together to preserve material from U.S. government websites during the transition of administrations.

    These “End of Term” (EOT) Web Archive projects have been completed for term transitions in 2004200820122016, and 2020, with 2024 well underway. The effort preserves a record of the U.S. government as it changes over time for historical and research purposes.

    With two-thirds of the process complete, the 2024/2025 EOT crawl has collected more than 500 terabytes of material, including more than 100 million unique web pages. All this information, produced by the U.S. government—the largest publisher in the world—is preserved and available for public access at the Internet Archive.


    “Access by the people to the records and output of the government is critical,” said Mark Graham, director of the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine and a participant in the EOT Web Archive project. “Much of the material published by the government has health, safety, security and education benefits for us all.”

    The EOT Web Archive project is part of the Internet Archive’s daily routine of recording what’s happening on the web. For more than 25 years, the Internet Archive has worked to preserve material from web-based social media platforms, news sources, governments, and elsewhere across the web. Access to these preserved web pages is provided by the Wayback Machine. “It’s just part of what we do day in and day out,” Graham said. 

    To support the EOT Web Archive project, the Internet Archive devotes staff and technical infrastructure to focus on preserving U.S. government sites. The web archives are based on seed lists of government websites and nominations from the general public. Coverage includes websites in the .gov and .mil web domains, as well as government websites hosted on .org, .edu, and other top level domains. 

    The Internet Archive provides a variety of discovery and access interfaces to help the public search and understand the material, including APIs and a full text index of the collection. Researchers, journalists, students, and citizens from across the political spectrum rely on these archives to help understand changes on policy, regulations, staffing and other dimensions of the U.S. government. 

    As an added layer of preservation, the 2024/2025 EOT Web Archive will be uploaded to the Filecoin network for long-term storage, where previous term archives are already stored. While separate from the EOT collaboration, this effort is part of the Internet Archive’s Democracy’s Library project. Filecoin Foundation (FF) and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) support Democracy’s Library to ensure public access to government research and publications worldwide.

    According to Graham, the large volume of material in the 2024/2025 EOT crawl is because the team gets better with experience every term, and an increasing use of the web as a publishing platform means more material to archive. He also credits the EOT Web Archive’s success to the support and collaboration from its partners.

    Web archiving is more than just preserving history—it’s about ensuring access to information for future generations.The End of Term Web Archive serves to safeguard versions of government websites that might otherwise be lost. By preserving this information and making it accessible, the EOT Web Archive has empowered researchers, journalists and citizens to trace the evolution of government policies and decisions.

    More questions? Visit https://eotarchive.org/ to learn more about the End of Term Web Archive.

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