Pope Francis has ordered the online publication of 170 volumes of its Jewish files from the recently opened Pope Pius XII archives, the Vatican announced Thursday, amid renewed debate about the legacy of its World War II-era pope.

The documentation contains 2,700 files of requests for Vatican help from Jewish groups and families, many of them baptized Catholics, so not actually practicing Jews anymore. The files were held in the Secretariat of State’s archives and contain requests for papal intervention to avoid Nazi deportation, to obtain liberation from concentration camps or help finding family members.

The online publication of the files comes amid renewed debate about Pius’ legacy following the 2020 opening to scholars of his archives, of which the “Jews” files are but a small part. The Vatican has long defended Pius against criticism from some Jewish groups that he remained silent in the face of the Holocaust, saying he used quiet diplomacy to save lives.

You can read more in an article by Nicole Winfield published in the Washington Post at: https://wapo.st/3tV0o7R.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Two sets of viable DNA have been recovered from remains found at a potential Tulsa Race Massacre mass burial site.

The lab responsible for processing, analyzing, and mapping the genealogy of the obtained DNA said in a virtual meeting Tuesday that “we’ve got two good samples, and we’re really excited to move on in the process.”

Danny Hellwig is the Laboratory Development Director for Intermountain Forensics, the Utah-based lab where the 14 remains discovered last year were sent for analysis.

Hellwig said that out of the 14 remains, only one bone and one tooth from two of the remains contained enough viable DNA to move forward with the genealogy mapping.

You can read more in an article by Mike Creef that has been published in the Black Wall Street Times web site at: https://bit.ly/3yeMqjB.

Thousands of photographs of Communist Romania and of Romania as a Constitutional Monarchy between 1921-1947, managed by The National Archives are going to be scanned and digitized. The Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile will collaborate with the National Archives of Romania on this project.

The Institute for the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism and the Memory of the Romanian Exile (IICCMER) is a governmental structure whose role lies in the scientific analysis of the totalitarian period and its consequences. One of its main areas of activity is collecting, archiving, and publishing documents related to the memory of the Romanian Communist regime.

The project they have planned is the digitization of the National Archives’ photograph collection. Over the next six years, around 100,000 photographic materials from 1921-1989 will be digitized and uploaded to IICCMER’s online photo library in two sections: 1921-1944 and 1945-1989. Here they will be freely available to the public.

You can read more in an article by Maia Van Kline and published in the Romania Insider web site at: https://bit.ly/3yew2Qb.

From an article by Corinne Reichert published in the CNET web site:

Dark clouds are gathering over Old Lick Cemetery on a cold April morning. The tiny parcel of wooded land in Roanoke, Virginia, just north of downtown, is the burial ground for hundreds of Black people.

It's enclosed by a chain-link fence on a thin strip of land wedged between the interstate highway and a busy main road, and marked by a deteriorating, hand-carved wooden sign, a silent reminder that this cemetery used to be bigger. When Virginia wanted to build I-581 in 1961, the highway took priority. Most of the cemetery was unearthed and its occupants shifted to this tiny spot.

Hundreds of gravestones are scattered haphazardly, some as grave markers and some strewn unceremoniously in piles.

"They excavated 960-something people and transferred them. And unfortunately, they did not take the time to identify those bodies," says Trish White-Boyd, the vice mayor of Roanoke. "Just horrifying."

The cemetery's disturbing story would likely remain a footnote in the city's history were it not for a project called Hidden in Plain Site, the brainchild of creative agency BrownBaylor. It's designed to resurface the lost narrative of marginalized Black people across the US with experiences you can view through a browser or virtual reality headset.

You can read the rest of the (lengthy) story at: https://cnet.co/3nbAvg9.

The Book of St Albans, one of the world’s finest medieval manuscripts, has been digitized for the first time, and the Library of Trinity College Dublin has made the 13th-century masterpiece globally accessible.

Matthew Paris’s Book of St. Albans, one of the most finely illustrated medieval manuscripts, has been digitized by the Library of Trinity College Dublin for the first time.

The 13th-century masterpiece features 54 individual works of medieval art and has fascinated readers across the centuries, from royalty to renaissance scholars.

The precious manuscript survived the chaos and trauma of the dissolution of the monasteries and came to Trinity College Dublin in 1661. Created by the renowned scribe, the Benedictine monk, Matthew Paris of St. Albans Abbey in England, the manuscript chronicles the life of St. Alban, the first Christian martyr in England. It also outlines the construction of St. Albans cathedral.

You can read more in article in the IrishCentral web site at: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/book-st-albans-trinity.

Are you looking for Black ancestors from the Caribbean? If so, an article by Katie Mather and published in the Yahoo Sports web site may provide some guidance.

"Many of these cultures didn’t have paper records — preferring instead to use oral history — and many people of color who came from African and Caribbean countries were enslaved and not included in usual historical records.

"That’s why TikTok user Jel’s (@parttimebooknerd) account is so worth following.

"Jel is not a professional genealogist, and actually holds a full-time job working as a nurse, but she was still curious about her family history. After about a year of looking into her Caribbean ancestry, Jel realized how complicated the process was. So she decided to start posting about her findings and her recommendations on TikTok for other Caribbean Americans looking to learn about their roots.

"But it’s not just a labor-intensive process. Jel notes in one of her first videos that there’s an emotional element to reading so much about colonization and enslavement that Caribbean Americans should be prepared for before diving in."

You can read a lot more at: https://sports.yahoo.com/tiktoker-offers-resources-caribbean-americans-140536686.html.

From parish records to tithe listings, an expert gives his top tips on hunting down your Irish ancestors through history. Derry City and Strabane genealogist shares his top tips for finding out as much as possible about your Irish ancestor using public records and archives.

There are 2,508 parishes in Ireland. You can identify the civil parishes of Ireland, and their associated townlands, at John Grenham's Civil Index by selecting the county of interest on the map. To gain insight into the economic and social landscape of 19th century Ireland you can consult A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published in 1837, by Samuel Lewis. Arranged in alphabetical order by parishes, towns, and villages this book can be viewed online at Library Ireland. An excellent starting point for surname research is the "surname search" option at JohnGrenham.com where you can explore the location, frequency and history of Irish surnames.

You can read the article by Brian Mitchell published in the Irish Central web site at: https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/tracing-irish-ancestors-guide.

Note: The following article has nothing to do with genealogy, DNA, or any of the other topics normally found in this newsletter. If you are looking for genealogy and similar articles, you might want to skip this one. However, this article references a recent article in ZDNet that I believe will interest many genealogists and non-genealogists alike:

The Filecoin ecosystem announced that with today’s release of Brave browser 1.40, the wallet feature now supports FIL, the token for Filecoin, the storage layer of Web3. Brave’s 56+ million users can now use FIL natively in the browser’s wallet, easing access and usage of Filecoin.

Brave added the native wallet to the browser in late 2021 with support for EVM compatible blockchains and L2s, with an open source license to enable community participation in the development. Filecoin support means users can create and manage FIL wallet accounts, and send and receive Filecoin directly in the browser. The feature also works with the Ledger hardware wallet, with the ability to import FIL accounts from the device.

NOTE: for background information about for background information about Filecoin and other Decentralized Cloud Storage systems, see my earlier article, Decentralized Cloud Storage Explained, at: https://eogn.com/page-18080/12495519.

Note: The following article has nothing to do with genealogy, DNA, or any of the other topics normally found in this newsletter. If you are looking for genealogy and similar articles, you might want to skip this one. However, this article references a recent article in ZDNet that I think all computer owners should read.

Zoom works great for conference calls, but you’re limited to 100 people and just 40 minutes in the free version. This isn’t always ideal, especially for longer meetings. Luckily, there are a variety of Zoom alternatives that don’t have as many restrictions in their free versions. Plus, some don’t even require people calling in to have an account.

The alternatives include: Skype, Jitsi Meet, Facebook Messenger Rooms, RingCentral Video Pro, FreeConferenceCall, Lark, Butter, Discord, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and Zoho Meeting.

Details may be found at: https://www.maketecheasier.com/zoom-alternatives-for-free-conference-calls/.