The acting head of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has said that the agency is not against former President Donald Trump.

“The National Archives has been the focus of intense scrutiny for months, this week especially, with many people ascribing political motivation to our actions. NARA has received messages from the public accusing us of corruption and conspiring against the former President, or congratulating NARA for ‘bringing him down.’ Neither is accurate or welcome,” Debra Wall, the acting archivist, said in an Aug. 24 message to staff members that was made public on Aug. 30.

“For the past 30-plus years as a NARA career civil servant, I have been proud to work for a uniquely and fiercely non-political government agency, known for its integrity and its position as an ‘honest broker.’ This notion is in our establishing laws and in our very culture. I hold it dear, and I know you do, too,” she added.

“Our fundamental interest is always in ensuring that government records are properly managed, preserved, and protected to ensure access to them for the life of the Republic. That is our mission, and what motivates us as we seek to uphold the public trust. I thank all of you for your dedication to that mission and your professionalism and integrity in carrying it out in a non-political and diligent manner.”

You can read more in an article by Zachary Stieber published in the ntd.com web site at: https://bit.ly/3KzvFEh.

The following press release was issued by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration:

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Washington, DC

Acting Archivist of the United States Debra Steidel Wall announced the appointment of 20 individuals to the National Archives and Records Administration’s 2022–2024 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee. The individuals named will serve a two-year term and begin meeting in September 2022. 

The FOIA Advisory Committee consists of no more than 20 individuals who are all FOIA experts from both inside and outside of government. Members of the FOIA Advisory Committee foster dialogue between the administration and the requester community and develop recommendations for improving FOIA administration and proactive disclosures. Ms. Wall has appointed the following individuals: 

Government Members 

• • Paul Chalmers – Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation 
  • Carmen A. Collins – U.S. Department of Defense 
  • Allyson Deitrick – U.S. Department of Commerce 
  • Gorka Garcia-Malene – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
  • Michael Heise – U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
  • Stefanie Jewett – U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General 
  • Catrina Pavlik-Keenan – U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
  • Alina M. Semo – Chair, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Government Information Services 
  • Bobak Talebian – U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy 
  • Patricia Weth – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

Non-Government Members 

• • Jason R. Baron – University of Maryland 
  • David Cuillier – University of Arizona 
  • Alexander Howard – Digital Democracy Project 
  • Gbemende Johnson – University of Georgia 
  • Adam Marshall – Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 
  • Luke Nichter – Chapman University 
  • Ginger Quintero-McCall – Demand Progress 
  • Thomas Susman – American Bar Association 
  • Eira Tansey – University of Cincinnati 
  • Benjamin Tingo – AINS 

Background
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) established the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee (Committee) in accordance with the United States Second Open Government National Action Plan, released on December 5, 2013. The Committee operates under the directive in FOIA, 5 U.S.C. §552(h)(2)(C), that the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) within NARA “identify procedures and methods for improving compliance” with FOIA. The Committee is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. NARA initially chartered the Committee on May 20, 2014. The Archivist of the United States renewed the Committee's charter for a fifth term on April 28, 2022, and certified that renewing the Committee is in the public interest. OGIS provides administrative support along with chairing the Committee in accordance with the charter.

Dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries, the historic Irish records contain census substitutes, church records, and headstone records.

Here's a breakdown of the Co Armagh records recently added on Roots Ireland:

Census substitutes

• • 1615 to 1746 - Archbishops of Armagh Rentals
  • 1696 - Lurgan Quaker Subscribers
  • 1714 - Manor Court Rolls
  • 1752 - Rent Rolls
  • 1817 to 1827 -Middletown Church of Ireland Poor Lists
  • 1824 - Eglish Church of Ireland Church Subscribers
  • 1839 - Armagh City Government Valuations
  • 1845 - Armagh City Rates & Assessments
  • 1849 to 1924 - Vinecash Presbyterian Church Notes
  • 1855 to 1870 - Land Court Records

Church Records

• • 1821 to 1865 - Seagoe Church of Ireland - Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths
  • 1824 to 1860 - St. Aidans Kilmore Church of Ireland -  Deaths
  • 1804 to 1827 - Mountnorris Presbyterian -  Baptisms & Marriages
  • 1845 to 1882 - Killylea Church of Ireland -  Burials

Headstone inscriptions

• • Derrynoose - St. John’s COI Madden - Church of Ireland
  • Derrynoose - St. John’s COI Madden - Roman Catholic
  • Derrynoose - St Mochuas RC - Roman Catholic
  • Keady - Ballymacnab Old RC - Roman Catholic
  • Killevy - Killevy Old RCRoman Catholic
  • Killevy - Lissummon RC - Roman Catholic
  • Killevy - St Peter’s & St Paul’s RC Bessbrook - Roman Catholic
  • Kilmore - St Aidan’s Kilmore - Interdenominational
  • Lisnadill - Redbarns Presbyterian - Presbyterian
  • Lisnadill - St Johns Lisnadill - Church of Ireland
  • Mullaghbrack - St James RC Mullabrack - Roman Catholic
  • Mullaghbrack - St John’s COI Markethill - Church of Ireland

Irish Family History Foundation

Roots Ireland is brought to the public by the Irish Family History Foundation. The Irish Family History Foundation has been the coordinating body for a network of county genealogy centers and family history societies on the island of Ireland for over thirty years.

The genealogy centers’ databases include parish church records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths, many civil records, census returns, and gravestone inscriptions. Millions of these records are searchable online, providing a unique resource for family historians not available on any other website. New records are added as the computerization of sources continues in the local genealogy centers.

For more, visit RootsIreland.ie.

The following announcement was written by MyHeritage:

What did your ancestors do for a living? How did they support their families? Learning your ancestors’ occupations can help paint a richer picture of their lives — and one of the best resources for discovering occupations is census records.

We’re pleased to announce that in honor of Labor Day, from August 30–September 6, 2022, we are offering free access to all U.S. census records.

The United States has conducted a census of its population every 10 years since 1790. MyHeritage offers the full set of currently available U.S. census records from 1790 to 1950, including high-resolution scans. These records offer important snapshots of the lives of people living in the United States throughout its history. Censuses are particularly valuable in that they can help you watch the lives of your ancestors unfold as they move from location to location, get married or divorced, have children, or change careers. They often include important details on each person’s occupation, including their trade and industry.

Search U.S. censuses on MyHeritage now for free

Records on MyHeritage are always free to search, but to view the records, you generally need a paid Data or Complete plan. This week, however, all U.S. census records are completely free for all to access and enjoy.

The Census Helper™

Before you dive in, have you tried the Census Helper™ yet? The Census Helper™ is a free tool that scans your family tree and automatically produces a list of individuals in your family who are likely to have been included in a given census. The tool works for all major censuses from the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Denmark, and Norway.

You can check out this Knowledge Base article to learn more about how to use it: Jump-start Your 1950 Census Research With Census Helper™ 

This offer ends September 6, so don’t wait — search U.S. censuses on MyHeritage now for free!

Talk about advance planning: "Early planning for the 2030 Census program began in Fiscal Year 2019."

Here is an article describing the planning process, written by Edward Graham and published on the Nextgov.com web site:

The U.S. Census Bureau is asking the public for suggestions to help guide the planning and design of the 2030 census, with an eye toward soliciting recommendations on how to use new technologies, data sources and other tools to encourage more people to respond to the next census.

The request, published in a Federal Register notice on Aug. 17, comes as the Bureau continues to work on the early stages of its design selection phase for the next decennial census. The public feedback will help guide the initial operational design of the 2030 census, which the Census Bureau said it plans to decide in 2024. 

“For the first time, the public can formally give input on planning and designing the next census,” a spokesperson for the Census Bureau said.

The notice cites a variety of factors that could affect participation in the 2030 census, including constrained fiscal environments, rapidly changing uses of technology, distrust in government, declining response rates, increasingly diverse populations and a growing mobile population that makes it difficult to locate individuals. The Census Bureau said in its request for comment that public feedback could help address these challenges and encourage more participation in the next count of U.S. residents. 

You can read a lot more at: https://bit.ly/3Rcg67M.

The actual request for suggestions to help guide the planning and design of the 2030 census may be found at: https://bit.ly/3KwnrwF.

The following announcement was written by Fold3:

We are pleased to announce a new collection of military records from the United Kingdom. The UK, British Air Force Lists, 1919-1945 contains a list of people who served in the British Royal Air Force between the end of the First and Second World Wars.

Sample page from WWI Air Force List

The Royal Air Force (RAF) was established on April 1, 1918, when the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service merged during the final year of WWI. The Royal Air Force lists in this collection were published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office in London and could be purchased there or at bookstores. The lists were initially produced monthly in pamphlet form beginning in February 1919. The publications were later changed to bi-monthly and then quarterly. The pamphlets contained lists of those serving in the Royal Air Force and were arranged according to role and rank.

You will find lists of officers in order of seniority, retired officers lists, and alphabetized indexes. The lists may also contain information about medical staff, nurses, chaplains, decorations and awards, and holders of the Victoria Cross. An explanation of abbreviations used in the lists can be found here for earlier WWI records and here for later WWII records.

Each name that appears on the lists has been indexed and is searchable, but in many cases, the lists contain initials and last names. When searching for a specific person, try different variations of their name in your search.

Records in this collection may include the following information:

• • Name
  • Rank
  • Date the individual joined the Royal Air Force
  • Military unit or organization
  • Military occupation

If you have an ancestor that served in the Royal Air Force, these lists allow you to trace their military career across time and identify changes in rank or title.

Explore this new collection of RAF records today on Fold3®!

Ancestry.com DNA user Carolyn Bridges of St. Clair County petitioned U.S. appellate judges to review rejection of a claim that purchase of the website by Blackstone Group violated privacy of every user in Illinois.

She posted an appeal notice on the docket of District Judge David Dugan on Aug. 23, a week after he entered judgment.

He granted leave to amend the complaint in July but Bridges didn’t amend.

Attorney Gregory Shevlin, of Bruce Cook’s firm in Belleville, filed the complaint in St. Clair County circuit court last year.

He alleged Blackstone violated Illinois law on privacy of genetic information by taking possession without consent and proposed to certify Bridges as leader of a statewide class action for perhaps hundreds of thousands of users.

He listed three Chicago area lawyers as associates and one from Pennsylvania.

He claimed Bridges wouldn’t have provided genetic information to Ancestry if she had known Blackstone would compel disclosure.

Blackstone counsel Martin Roth of Chicago removed the complaint to district court on the basis of diverse citizenship.

He moved to dismiss it and Bridges amended it.

Her team wrote, “Defendant disclosed on Ancestry’s website that customer’s genetic information would be released or disclosed to defendant for its own use.”

They claimed Blackstone paired genetic information with first and last name, email address, home address, and other information.

“Blackstone disclosed in regulatory findings that agreements to share information between its affiliated entities have already been implemented and that its effort to package and sell data to unaffiliated third parties is underway," the suit claimed.

You can read more in an article by Steve Korris published in the madisonrecord.com web site at: https://bit.ly/3AXOgGV.

The following press release is from the International Confederation for Genealogy and Heraldry (CIGH):

Cambridge. On August 17, 2022, the General Assembly of the Confédération Internationale de Généalogie et d`Héraldique (CIGH) elected a new board of the International confederation. The representatives of the CIGH met on the occasion of the 35th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences in Cambridge, England (see: www.congresscambridge2022.com). The CIGH represents as umbrella organization the internationally organized genealogical-heraldic world family, which organizes and promotes the international exchange between associations and institutes for the promotion of genealogy (family history research) and heraldry (heraldry).

Re-elected as president of the CIGH was Dr. Pier Felice degli Uberti (Italy). The three vice-presidents are Manuel Pardo de Vera y Díaz (president of the Royal Nobility Society RHAE), Dirk Weissleder (president of the Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft genealogischer Verbaende DAGV) and Valérie Arnold-Gautier (president of the Fédération Française de Généalogie FFG). Dr. Giorgio Cuneo (Italy) is the new general secretary, as successor of Dirk Weissleder (in office since 2019). Dr. Manuel Ladron de Guevara from Spain was elected as the new treasurer. (For more information about the whole international board see www.cigh.info).

The CIGH board of the world confederation regularly exchanges ideas via electronic media and meets in person every two years at the 36th International Congresses of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences. The next worldwide family meeting is scheduled September 24-28, 2024 in Boston, USA (see: BostonCongress2024.org).

The new CIGH Board of Directors 2022 – 2026 (from left to right): Dr. Manuel Ladron de Guevara (Treasury, Spain), Dr. Giorgio Cuneo (General-Secretary, Italy), Dirk Weissleder (Vice-President, Germany), Pier Felice degli Uberti (President, Italy), Valérie Arnold-Gautier (Vice-President, France), Manuel Pardo de Vera y Díaz (Vice-President, Spain)

Genealogy or Family Historian; these words, while used interchangeably, they are so different to some.

Genealogy is defined as the gathering of names, dates and locations of our families. It is documented with sources such as birth/marriage/death records, census and wills. As Joe Friday used to say, “Just the facts. Nothing but the facts.” Researchers use this information to fill out pedigrees and family group sheets and try to fill in any missing family member.

Family History is all of the above but with an additional twist. Why was our ancestors’ given his particular name? Why did they live where they did; why did they migrate to another country? Answering these questions provides a little history behind our ancestors’ lives. As genealogists, we find the basic facts. As we research a little deeper, we become historians. The researcher wants more stories about their ancestry. That is Family History: answering the questions of “Why” and “How?”

Sources we used for birth/marriage/death develop as we read journals, land deeds, letters, newspapers and histories of the places our ancestors’ resided in. Photographs are studied to see their time periods, any familiar resemblances, and the type of dress or uniform they may have worn.

We desire to know more than the basic facts and research accordingly. Interviewing relatives and friends who knew about the family is a great tool.

A lot of county sites have histories of their early pioneers. Learning the occupations may even be listed on that census you researched earlier when looking for that birth or marriage. Some researchers are elated to learn they descended from someone “famous” or a “rich” ancestor. When it comes down to it, we are all happy with all the history we can find.

Genealogist? Family Historian? No matter what we call ourselves, we are first calling ourselves genealogists as we are looking for the same basic information; then later we become family historians, researching a little deeper. We hope to discover what made them like they were and, maybe, in the process learn something about ourselves.

What do you consider yourself to be? Genealogist or Family Historian? Let me know your opinion! (Use the comments section below this article.)

From an article in the Clemson University web site:

Next summer, faculty from Clemson University and Furman University will lead an effort to reconstruct Black history in South Carolina with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Clemson English professors Susanna Ashton and Rhondda Thomas will join Furman faculty members Gregg Hecimovich and Kaniqua Robinson to lead a summer institute entitled “Reconstructing the Black Archive: South Carolina as Case Study, 1739–1895.” The three-week residential institute is designed for more than 20 higher education faculty to study ways of reconstructing Black histories, using South Carolina as a case study. The institute is supported by a $198,317 grant from the NEH.

“The Black archive demands new ways of looking,” Ashton said. “If we look at census data, if we look at property records, if we look at court records—are there new questions we can ask of this material, perhaps in ways that push the boundaries of historical investigation?”

“The Black archive is a diverse collection of documents, artifacts, materials that document the Black experience and the African diaspora,” Thomas said. “So that would include everything from slave narratives to inventories of enslaved people to personal letters, journals, newspaper articles, photographs or artifacts that help to tell the story of Black people.”

You can read the full article at: https://bit.ly/3RkdPY9.