The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will award fellowships of up to $2,000 to support individuals hoping to locate information related to their family history using resources available at MDAH. The fellowships are a part of a year-long initiative in 2022 to expand understanding of the Great Migration and its impact on Mississippi and the nation.

“The Great Migration is the largest internal migration of people in U.S. history. Many families who left Mississippi still feel a close connection to our state. We’re glad to be able to help them come back to Mississippi and research their roots,” said MDAH director Katie Blount.

Ten research stipends of up to $2,000 will be awarded to ten researchers to travel to Jackson, MS, and conduct three consecutive days of research at MDAH.

Details may be found at: https://bit.ly/3eOyTon.

Did you inherit old postcards or letters from the family? If so, you have another source of genealogy information that perhaps you have not considered: DNA extracted from saliva used to attach stamps.

NOTE: This isn't terribly unusual. I know at least two people who frequently purchase old letters written and presumably mailed by famous historical individuals. They purchase these letters for the sole purpose of extracting DNA information from the postage stamps and from the glue on the envelopes left when the original person licked the envelope to seal it.

The Wired web site has published a new article showing how one family solved a mystery in the family tree by using DNA information from an old postcard. The family found the information when they found an old postcard sent by the ancestor when he was fighting in World War I and apparently was on postwar trips. You can find the article at: https://www.wired.com/story/dna-artifact-testing/.

Now, go to your attic and look again at old love letters and other correspondence from your ancestors. You may have the solution to family mysteries already in your possession.

The David Rumsey Map Center has published an article that will interest many genealogists:

"The map center, home to an estimated 250,000 physical maps and more than 200,000 digital maps from 1500 to the present is a cross between a library and a laboratory, replete with leatherbound atlases, spinning globes, enormous high-definition touchscreens and several virtual reality stations."

Map collector and authority David Rumsey with wallpaper made from one of his most treasured maps.

Further in the article, there is the following statement:

"Throughout the next few years, the center will continue to advance the technology it makes available to visitors, Rumsey and Mohammed said. They hope to incorporate artificial intelligence to make it possible to search for words on digitized maps regardless of their orientation or position, as well as a framework for systematically searching digital map files across platforms and databases. They're also looking to put greater emphasis on data visualization and to expand into the metaverse, which could "pull users into the map world," Rumsey said."

You can read this and a lot more in the full article at: https://bit.ly/32OTnuX.

Here is another case of a previously-unknown skeleton in the family closet. Jay M. Ritt writes about his surprise at learning about a previously well-guarded family secret at: https://forward.com/opinion/480175/my-wife-gave-me-dna-test-kit-it-revealed-family-secrets-changed-my-life/.

Thanks to the New Bern-Craven County Public Library and funding from the State Library of North Carolina through IMLS’ LSTA program nearly 600 issues spanning 1976 to 1987 of The Pamlico News, is now available on the  Digital NC website.

The paper was first published in the late 1960s as The Pamlico County News, but in 1977 the paper’s name was changed to The Pamlico News. The newspaper is still published under this name today.

The following is a press release written by the Family History Federation:

Dating by Design: 1840-1915

This NEW BOOK by Stephen Gill, Dating by Design, fills a much-needed gap in the family history repertoire.

Dating by Design is a most readable book! The subject has been tackled in a very detailed yet organised manner which makes it extremely easy for the reader throughout the book. How many family historians have a box of old photographs of their ancestors lurking in a drawer somewhere? And they are not sure who it is or what date it is or what period it was taken. Well, help is at hand with this excellent book enabling them to date photos to a year!

The book is colour-coded by five-year periods based on the year the image was taken. Readers can read through the book or dip into it for whatever year particularly interests them. After a brief history of photography, the author then gives explanations as to the different types of images – daguerreotype, ambrotype, etc, and the various smaller cards like carte de visite and cabinet car.

The colour illustrations are exceptionally clear and show every detail. As the

author notes…when looking at your old photograph, once you have decided which type it is, start by looking at the sitter’s hair. He goes on to show a breakdown of all the style changes of women’s hairstyles from 1840 up to 1900. He applies the same thorough investigative method to other fashions of men, women, children with regards to hair, headwear, neckwear, skirts, trousers, jackets, shoes and so so .on for each period. No detail is missed out.

This new book truly is quite fascinating. And who knew it all began with the death of Prince Albert in 1861.

Federation chairman, Steve Manning, comments “This book takes a different approach to previous publications. It therefore is a must for all needing to accurately identify or date old photographs.”

Produced using quality materials to provide excellent  reproduction of colour and detail. Available in hardback format.

Dating by Design is available NOW from Family History Books. £18.95 plus post and packing.

www.familyhistorybooksonline.com/dating-by-design-1840-1915-311

This article has nothing to do with the normal topics of this newsletter: genealogy, DNA, history, or any related topics.  However, it is something that I use daily and I think everyone should be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage.

If you are not familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage, you probably should read an article by Fergus O'Sullivan at https://www.howtogeek.com/775235/what-is-cloud-storage-and-why-should-you-use-it/.

A woman bought two Ancestry DNA kits as gifts. She gave one to her mother and the other to her father. At least, she gave the test kit to the man she believed to be her father. The test results proved otherwise.

It seems that her mother kept the young lady in the dark for 30 years, which made her feel betrayed.

You can read the story at: https://bit.ly/3G2djso.

The moral of this story is: Don't be surprised by skeletons that appear when you open the door to a closet.

Thanks to the Thelma Dingus Bryant Library in Wallace, NC (Duplin County), twenty years of the local paper The Wallace Enterprise is now online.  Over 1,000 issues covering 1931 to 1955 were digitized from microfilm.  The paper covers many local topics of the day in Duplin County and wider eastern North Carolina and had the tagline “Devoted to the Best Interests of the People of Wallace and Duplin County.” 

Front page of the June 17, 1937 issue of the Wallace Enterprise covering both Eleanor Roosevelt’s visit to the town and a better than ever Strawberry Festival that year.

The local strawberry festival which brought in crowds from all over the state to “the largest strawberry market in North Carolina” was covered yearly, as were local elections, school board discussions and lots of coverage of agriculture topics, including crop control measures, which directly affected the largely agricultural workforce in the area.  Eleanor Roosevelt visited in 1937 and gained a lot of glowing coverage when she came.  

To view all the issues of the paper, visit here.  To look at all the online North Carolina newspapers, visit the North Carolina Newspaper Collection.  

The following is a press release issued by the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA):

Take some time out from the seasonal festivities and the 1921 Census build up to listen to AGRA’s latest monthly podcast, all about researching Liverpool ancestors. Available from the 1 January 2022, three of AGRA’s professional genealogists – Sharon Grant, Rachel Rick and Grace Tabern – will talk you through some of the records, resources and strategies for researching your family history in this historically and culturally unique city.

With its rich history so intertwined with the lives of those who lived there, or passed through its port, the location lends itself to a fascinating, multi-stranded ancestral research journey. Liverpool became a colourful melting pot of immigrants from Ireland and North Wales, as well as having strong connections with the slave trade, and developing into a centre for migration. Its growth from a fishing village to a major shipping and trading hub, with the attendant population increase, industrial growth, varied occupations, and demographic span from extreme poverty to incredible wealth, all provides a rich canvas for family history research.

In a discussion moderated by AGRA genealogist Nick Serpell, our three experts with years of experience of research in this city, will guide you through all the intricacies.

Nick Serpell said: “Liverpool is rich in terms of the potential for family historians. A trading port into which tens of thousands of people came, mainly from North Wales and Ireland. Some moved elsewhere in the UK, many more went abroad to the United States and other destinations. Some stayed to take advantage of Liverpool's increasing wealth as a trading port. There is something for everyone here.”

AGRA’s podcasts are released on a monthly basis. Each edition tackles a different aspect of family history, and links to a section on the AGRA website with details of helpful resources and search tools.

The podcasts are available on the AGRA website https://www.agra.org.uk/ as well as on a range of podcast hosts, such as Apple.

In addition to this latest podcast, topics already covered by AGRA’s professional genealogy experts, and available to listen to are:

• House Histories.
• Ancestral Research, Getting Started - including understanding BMD and Census records.
• Research Before 1837.
• Military Research - including British service in India.
• DNA Testing and Use in Conjunction with Genealogical Research.
• Using Land Records, such as maps and tithe maps for further research.
• Commissioning Effective Research, to ensure you get the results you want and the best value for money when using a professional genealogist.
• Legal and Chancery Records.
• Researching Welsh Ancestors.

The final podcast in this latest series, to be released in early 2022, is:

February: Poor Law, Settlement Records, Workhouses & Asylums. Before the Welfare State the Poor Law was the only source of relief for the poor and destitute. Our experts examine how it worked and what records it produced.