A trio of codebreakers has found and deciphered a treasure trove of lost letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots.

The 57 secret letters, from Mary Stuart to the French ambassador to England between 1578 and 1584, were written in an elaborate code. The findings come 436 years after Mary’s death by execution on February 8, 1587.

Most of the letters were kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris, mainly in a large set of unmarked documents that were also written in cipher — special graphical symbols. The documents were listed as dating from the first half of the 16th century and thought to be related to Italy.

Then, a trio passionate about cracking historical ciphers stumbled upon the documents.

George Lasry, a computer scientist and cryptographer from France; Norbert Biermann, a pianist and music professor from Germany; and Satoshi Tomokiyo a physicist and patents expert from Japan, all worked together to find the truth behind the documents.

The multidisciplinary team has worked together for 10 years to find and understand historical ciphers. Lasry is also a member of the DECRYPT Project, which digitizes, transcribes and identifies the meaning of historical ciphers.

Once the researchers began working through the unique ciphers, they quickly realized the correspondence was written using French, and there was nothing Italian about it.

The team spied verbs and adverbs that used a feminine form, mentions of captivity — and a keyword: Walsingham. Sir Francis Walsingham was Queen Elizabeth I’s secretary and spymaster. Together, all signs pointed to the fact that the team may have found letters of Mary Stuart thought lost for centuries.

The results were published Tuesday in the journal Cryptologia.

You can read more in an article by Ashley Strickland published in the CBB web site at: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/07/world/mary-queen-of-scots-lost-letters-scn/index.html.

You inherited your blood type from your ancestors. Now it seems that includes higher risk of a stroke (for some people).

People with one of the type A blood groups are more likely to have a stroke before the age of 60 compared with people with other blood types, research shows.

Blood types describe the rich variety of chemicals displayed on the surface of our red blood cells. Among the most familiar are those named A and B, which can be present together as AB, individually as A or B, or not present at all, as O.

Even within these major blood types, there are subtle variations arising from mutations in the genes responsible.

In a study published last year, genomics researchers uncovered a clear relationship between the gene for the A1 subgroup and early onset stroke.

Researchers compiled data from 48 genetic studies, which included roughly 17,000 people with a stroke and nearly 600,000 non-stroke controls. All participants were between 18 and 59 years of age.

You can read more at: https://www.sciencealert.com/your-blood-type-affects-your-risk-of-early-stroke-scientists-find.

New and Updated

UPDATEDTerritorial Enterprise (Virginia City, Nevada), 1886-92	2/6/2023
UPDATEDSouth Carolina, U.S., Death Records, 1821-1971	2/6/2023
UPDATEDNew Jersey, U.S., Compiled Marriage Records, 1684-1886	2/2/2023
UPDATEDLicking County, Ohio, U.S., Farm Directory, 1915-1920	2/2/2023
UPDATEDCarroll County, Kentucky, U.S., Marriages, 1838-1920	2/2/2023
UPDATEDAudrain County, Missouri, U.S., Marriages, 1870-1917	2/2/2023
UPDATEDCohasset, Massachusetts, U.S., Directory, 1894	2/1/2023
UPDATEDTexas, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1837-1965	1/30/2023
NEWOhio, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800s-current	1/30/2023
NEWMinnesota, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index	1/30/2023
NEWNorth Carolina, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800s-current	1/30/2023
NEWMassachusetts, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-current	1/30/2023
UPDATED1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules	1/26/2023
UPDATEDU.S., Select Crew Lists and Manifests, 1903-1962	1/25/2023
UPDATEDUtah, U.S., Select Marriage Records, 1860-1944	1/25/2023
UPDATEDU.S., Find a Grave™ Index, 1600s-Current	1/20/2023

Gramps is a free software project and community. The folks who produce Gramps strive to produce a genealogy program that is both intuitive for hobbyists and feature-complete for professional genealogists. It is a community project, created, developed and governed by genealogists.

Gramps is available for Linux, UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh.

Focus on Your Research

Every person has their own story but they are also part of a collective family history. Gramps gives you the ability to record the many details of an individual’s life as well as the complex relationships between various people, places and events. All of your research is kept organized, searchable and as precise as you need it to be.

Here are some screenshots from Gramps:

Pedigree Chart

Descendant Fan Chart

Geography Chart

Media List View

The number of options and features is lengthy, too lengthy to list them all here. However, you can find them at: https://gramps-project.org/blog/ and at: https://gramps-project.org/blog/features/

Gramps is written for Linux. Installing it on Linux is simple, probably simpler than installing similar programs on Windows or Macintosh. It later was adapted for Windows and Macintosh. The Window and Macintosh versions do require a bit more work to install and configure.

Gramps is an impressive genealogy program. It's price tag (FREE!) makes it even more attractive. You can learn more about Gramps at: https://gramps-project.org/blog/.

NOTE: This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, I think it is "cute" so I decided to share it with my readers.

“Addams Family” fans can get into the spirit with this custom 1950 Cadillac hearse, which is now available to rent. This should be just the vehicle to drive to the family reunion. Or perhaps a teen-ager might take his favorite girl to the Junior Prom in this. (Must be 30+ to book so maybe Dad will have to drive the couple.)

Check it out at: https://tinyurl.com/yw36b4dd (there’s lots of photos there also).

Please note that you have to pick up the vehicle and drop it off afterwards in Burbank, California and there are mileage fees involved. This probably is not a good idea for someone on the East Coast.

On Finding Your Roots, Viola Davis and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. dive into her family's past, and with the help of DNA and local records, discover a surprising secret her grandfather kept to himself. 

Viola Davis is a critically-revered, award-winning actress, producer, and New York Times Best-Selling Author. She is the first black actress to win two Tony Awards (“Fences” & “King Hedley II”), an Oscar (“Fences”) and an Emmy (“How to Get Away with Murder”). Davis also won a Grammy in 2023 for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording.

You can watch the interview in a YouTube video at: https://youtu.be/PPGJPw1QL_g.

Pharos Tutors releases new two-part beginners’ course

Pharos Tutors are delighted to announce the launch of our two-part Foundations of Family History course. This is an Anytime course, so there is no fixed start date, students simply work through the material at their own pace. 

When you embark on your family history journey there can be a lot to take in, with so many different records available, how do you know where to start? Developing an understanding of the records you work with increases your ability to get the most from them. Just as important as understanding records is methodology and technique, how to most effectively build a family tree in which you can be confident. This two-part course will introduce you to the four fundamental genealogical sources in England and Wales: records of civil registration (birth marriage death certificates), census records, parish registers and wills and probate records, and start you off with some good methods and techniques that you can continue to apply as you progress your family tree further. The topics covered in the two parts of this course are as follows:

Foundations of Family History Part 1 - Getting Started 

Lesson 1 - Gathering information and interviewing relatives

Lesson 2 - Storing your family history research (including software options)

Lesson 3 - Civil Registration (birth, marriage and death certificates)

Lesson 4 - The census records

Lesson 5 - Building your tree with confidence

Foundations of Family History Part 2 - Next Steps 

Lesson 1 - Introduction to parish registers

Lesson 2 - Deaths, burials and obituaries

Lesson 3 - Getting started with wills and probate records

Lesson 4 - Problem solving

Starting with an Anytime course gives students a feel for how Pharos course materials are presented, without the need to set aside fixed times for tutorials or complete work by particular date. Anytime courses are made up of a number of ‘lessons’, where one week is about equivalent to the amount of material we would teach on a tutor-led course in one week, but you can set your own pace. Each ‘lesson’ includes exercises for students to work through, websites to visit and search techniques to try out, so there is plenty of ‘doing’ as well as reading.

You can read more about how Pharos Tutors courses work here: 

How Courses Work 

https://www.pharostutors.com/howcourseswork.php

You can read more about the new courses here:

Foundations of Family History Part 1 - Getting Started 

https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=030

Foundations of Family History Part 2 - Next Steps 

https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=031

LAUNCH OFFER: We are offering students who buy Part 1 and Part 2 of this course as a single purchase a £10 voucher off their next Pharos Tutors course.

Augusta Genealogical Society
Augusta, Georgia
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Virtual Genealogical Program
“Finding Dan and Jane: A Case Study in African American Genealogy”

When:      Saturday, February 25, 2023
Time:       11:00 - 12:00 pm EST
Where:    Online - Register at Augusta Genealogical Society 

The Registration deadline is Feb 24.  Registration is required to receive the Zoom link

Price:       FREE  to AGS members or $10 for nonmembers

Limited seating will be offered at Adamson Library to view the virtual presentation. To reserve a seat, please call (706) 722-4073.

Speaker:  Tamika Strong

Subject:  Oral history and family stories are the beginning point for many genealogists. Using a case study, genealogist Tamika Strong will share research methodology and tips on how to connect the dots between the generations using oral history.

Tamika Strong graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies. She received a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Archival Studies from Clayton State University. 

Mrs. Strong spent 15 years serving as a librarian in the DeKalb County Public Library System and the Georgia Public Library Service. Since becoming an archivist more than five years ago, she assists researchers by connecting them to the vast resources available at the Georgia Archives.

Mrs. Strong discovered her passion for genealogy after planning a successful series of family history workshops at a library where she worked. Since then, she has presented workshops at various institutions, including Emory University, the DeKalb History Center, and the Digital Library of Georgia. She leads a genealogy discussion group and is active in several genealogy organizations. She serves as the Technology Director of the Georgia Genealogical Society and is on the Board of the Georgia Archives Institute. A thrill-of-the-hunt type of researcher, Tamika enjoys assisting others in discovering their ancestors while trying to find her own.

Attached here is the program flyer.

JOIN AGS NOW and enjoy the benefits of several programs, which will be free to members in 2023 - 2024.

I have used this new service briefly and found it to be a great service. This is a great method of accessing genealogy information (mostly in the U.S.) without purchasing 800 books. There is a fee for using the new service but it is much, much cheaper than purchasing the books individually.

Here is the announcement from the Genealogical Publishing Company: https://genealogical.com/subscriptions/.

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com:

(+) Does It Still Make Sense to Buy CDs?

Don't Store Books or Documents in Sealed Plastic!

The World’s Largest Family Tree?

Finding Your People: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Documenting Black Families in Special Collections and Archives

The Alliance Heritage Center to Preserve Jewish Farming History Receives Grant

Target Dossiers Pertaining to the British Isles, 1938-1945 Now Fully Digitized

German Genealogy 2023 International Conference

New Talks for this month's The Family History Show Online

Three Alexander the Great Manuscripts Newly Digitised

Fun Game Makes You Guess What Year a Photo Was Taken

Findmypast Adds Northumberland Records

This Smart New Search Site Is Like a Mashup of Google and ChatGPT

‘De-Extinction’ Company Will Try to Bring Back the Dodo

Queen Camilla Replies to Collector Who Found Her Ancestor's Photo

The History of Groundhog Day

Skiff - Private, Decentralized, Encrypted Emails, Notes, and Drive

Microsoft 365 Integration Is Coming to Chromebooks