On the cusp of turning 70 Linda learned that she wasn’t an only child after all, not only that but her newfound sister, Cheryl, was a former co-worker and good friend.

Linda and Cheryl’s story aired recently on the Today Show. If you didn’t get to see Anne Thompson’s report on the sisters take a moment and check it out here:

For Cheryl learning that her father, the man who raised her, wasn’t her biological father was a shock. But reconnecting with her old friend Linda and learning that they were in fact sister, has been a joy.

“It’s been a blessing really,” she said.

Not only have the two reconnected but they learned that for a couple of months each year they live just a mile apart making it that much easier to get reacquainted and build memories as sisters and friends.

You can watch a video about this story at: https://on.today.com/3F3ILpM.

The Jamaican Jewish Cemeteries Preservation Fund (JJCPF) launched its database of Jewish burial grounds in Jamaica today. Volunteers conducted extensive cataloguing of the sites across the island between 2008 and 2017. They recorded 33 burial locations including synagogue-purchased cemeteries, family burial grounds, those that were sold and no longer exist, and plot markers which were part of an interment ground that is now on residential property.

Details may be found at: https://petchary.wordpress.com/2021/12/15/jamaican-jewish-cemeteries-preservation-fund-launches-its-database/.

One of three class action claims against Ancestry.com will continue as a result of a federal judge’s recent ruling.

Chicago judge Virginia Kendall on Dec. 7 allowed lawyers to pursue recovery for alleged violation of the Illinois Right of Publicity Act, while tossing claims made under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

The lawsuit seeks to penalize Ancestry.com for using old yearbook photos without permission to advertise its pay service. Lawyers at Clifford Law Offices, Morgan and Morgan and Bursor & Fisher had defended their claims by pointing to a Seattle judge’s decision to let a similar case go forward against Whitepages.

Ancestry.com said it was protected from suit by the Communications Decency Act.

More information may be found at: https://legalnewsline.com/stories/614428335-ancestry-com-will-have-to-face-illinois-class-action-lawsuit.

A Northern District of California Magistrate Judge ruled against plaintiffs last Friday, dealing another blow to their efforts to hold Ancestry.com accountable for the alleged misappropriation of their names, images, and likenesses by the world’s biggest online genealogy company through its collection of their yearbook photos and information for commercial purposes.

After their case was dismissed for lack of constitutional standing and they appealed, the plaintiffs sought an indicative ruling from the court. The request asked Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler to either grant a motion to reconsider her dismissal ruling or make an indicative ruling that the motion presents a “substantial issue” and that she would accept remand from the Ninth Circuit to hear it.

In last week’s decision, the court said it would only partly consider the motion because of a lack of an underlying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) “extraordinary circumstance” motion. “Because there is no pending Rule 60(b) motion, there is no basis for the court to say whether it would deny or grant the motion. The court can, however, state whether the proposed Rule 60(b) motion would raise a ‘substantial issue’ without tying ‘the district court to a particular ruling on the motion after remand,’” the court explained.

(Some) details may be found at https://lawstreetmedia.com/news/tech/court-denies-motion-for-indicative-ruling-in-ancestry-com-case/.

I must admit this is new to me. I have been involved in genealogy research for more than 40 years but I never heard of anyone researching their ancestry based on the shape of their foot...

According to an article by Camila Barbeito and published in The List web site:

"Today more than ever before, genetic makeup doesn't necessarily coincide with birthplace. While most people of ancient history could trace back their ancestors to the same place they called home, few can do the same in 2021. Even if you were born in Philadelphia or San Diego, you might trace your forefathers back to Ireland, Nigeria, China, Italy, or India, even if you never knew you were connected to those places. While that's all well and good, and definitely makes for an interesting day checking out your results (not to mention fun conversation at the dinner table), what's anyone to do once their DNA test is over with? If you're interested in examining your ancestry further, we present you with another alternative: the shape of your foot. Unexpected? Maybe. But the results are actually surprisingly accurate."

The article then goes on to describe the Egyptian foot shape, Greek foot shape, Celtic foot shape, Roman foot shape, and the German foot shape.

OK, I am not sure I believe these claims but I do think it is interesting. You can read the article at: https://bit.ly/3dPU6ho.

In case anyone is interested, I seem to have Egyptian feet which strikes me as a bit strange. After 40 years of tracing my family tree, this is the first clue that I have encountered that claims I have Egyptian ancestors. Perhaps a few thousand years ago...

The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Minnesota-based Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition have signed an agreement to collaborate in the search for records of Indian boarding schools.

The goal is to establish an online archive of the records starting late next year, so families can access them.

A memorandum of understanding will allow for the sharing of records and information in support of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, which was announced earlier this year.

Details may be found in an article by Dan Gunderson and published in the MPRNews web site at: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/12/12/search-for-indian-boarding-school-records-gets-a-boost

An online database is using 19th-century census records to provide a detailed ancestral history of more than 2,000 Cavan townlands.

Michael McShane, who launched the website Cavan Townlands with his wife Catherine Kerr, has recently uploaded a new dataset of census records and census substitutes from the 19th century focusing on the towns of County Cavan.

Although not a Cavan native, McShane has traced his family heritage back to the county and is now sharing his extensive research with others who are keen to trace their ancestry.

He has uploaded records from the 1821 census, which covers 17 of the 36 parishes in Cavan, in addition to the records of the Tithe Applotment Book of 1832, which covers most towns in the county.

You can read more in an article at https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/family-cavan-irish-census-records-online.

This isn't related to the normal subjects of this newsletter (genealogy, DNA, legal issues, etc.) but it does contain information that I believe every computer user should be familiar with.

Everyone should be using a VPN in order to protect their privacy and to avoid hackers. An article by David Gewirtz and published at https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-vpn/ gives some excellent choices as to state-of-the-art VPNs available today.

I use a VPN all the time whenever I am online, just for safety's sake. I use Private Internet Access (usually called PIA) which is not mentioned in Gewirtz's article and I am very happy with it. However, if I was to select a new VPN nowadays, I probably would choose ProtonVPN which IS mentioned in the article.

Based in Switzerland, where local laws prohibit anyone from spying on your data and for allowing up to ten simultaneous connections (use your desktop plus laptop plus smartphone plus tablet computers simultaneously), ProtonVPN would be a good choice.

If you do not have a VPN installed, take a look at either PIA or ProtonVPN or at any of the others listed in Gewirtz's article at: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-vpn/.

The following should interest many people reading these articles:

The following announcement was written by the Southern California Genealogical Society: