The Commonwealth of Kentucky announced it has partnered with FamilySearch to digitize and preserve tens of thousands of primary records, such as birth, death and marriage certificates that are currently on microfilm reels.

The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) and volunteers from the Kentucky Genealogical Society (KYGS) are now reaching out to the state’s county clerks, the official custodians of these records, to notify them of the opportunity to have their records digitized free of charge by FamilySearch. They can take advantage of this opportunity simply by advising KDLA that their records may be digitized using a records release form. In return, the clerks and KDLA will receive copies of the digitized records, and FamilySearch will post a copy on their free online database.

“Local records are some of the most irreplaceable resources for the discovery of documentation of the commonwealth’s populace. Records like those of marriage, probate and land ownership have been created from each county’s origins, resulting in some of the most continuous sources of the state’s history,” said Rusty Heckaman, state archivist for KDLA. “Together they are invaluable to the genealogist and researcher alike for the picture they can help paint of our ancestors’ lives. The participation of FamilySearch in the digitization of these records presents a huge opportunity to make these records more accessible to the public. Their increased use can only further promote the value these records hold and increase awareness of the wealth of resources in repositories like KDLA and in the courthouses throughout our state.”

For more information, contact: Rusty Heckaman, KDLA, rusty.heckaman@ky.gov or Susan Court, co-president, KYGS, susancourt@kygs.org.

The man law enforcement officials say is responsible for the long-unsolved death of 15-year-old Danielle Houchins at a popular fishing access site a few miles south of Belgrade, Montana, nearly 28 years ago has been identified.

Investigators, family members and other sources with direct knowledge of the details of the case told Montana Free Press that cutting-edge forensic DNA genome sequencing and forensic genetic genealogy recently led authorities to the man they say killed Houchins: 55-year-old Paul Nathaniel Hutchinson, of Dillon.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer confirmed that at a Thursday press conference in Bozeman that was streamed live on the department’s Facebook page.

According to Springer, Hutchinson died by suicide on July 24, 10 hours after Gallatin County investigators approached him outside his office in Beaverhead County to interview him about Houchins’ death. Days later, DNA collected from Hutchinson after his death matched DNA evidence collected from Houchins’ body, providing what Springer described as “100% confirmation” that Hutchinson was the killer.

You can read more in an article by John S. Adams published in multiple news sources by The Associated Press at https://bit.ly/3yMBM6G and elsewhere.

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

Comments posted to this newsletters' website recently have highlighted a common problem: not all the information on the World Wide Web is available worldwide. For example, many television programs are converted to computer videos and made available online. However, the audiences often are restricted. Web users in the United States are blocked from watching the BBC version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" This is because the BBC wishes to restrict access to episodes of "Who Do You Think You Are?" to U.K. residents, and the web server in the U.K. knows whether you are in the U.K. or not by looking at your IP address– that is, the Internet Protocol address your computer is using while you are online. 

Actually, many websites do the same, even if they are not providing television programs. For instance, I have been told that web users in Australia are frequently blocked from accessing some of the books on Google Books in the USA. In this case, the reason for the blockage is that Google Books has to deal with copyright laws in all countries, and those laws vary from one country to the next. Google doesn't always know all the laws in all the countries; so, the company takes a conservative approach. Google typically complies with U.S. laws and therefore allows U.S. residents to access all content. Users in other countries often are blocked from some books because Google cannot guarantee compliance with all copyright laws in each country. 

As one newsletter reader wrote, "It is disappointing to see a book mentioned on a genealogy mail list only to find we can't download it because we don't live in the USA." 

These examples of blocked web access point to a reality of the online world: your connection to the internet has an IP address (Internet Protocol address). This is your online identity, and it is exposed every time you visit a website. 

When you try to visit a desired web page, web servers can look at your IP address and, if it is not an acceptable address, decide to block your access.

If your IP address causes a web server to block your access to a TV show, a book, or any other online content, you still may be able to get to that content. All you have to do is use an IP address that shows it is in the country where such information is displayed. 

Can you change your IP address to appear to be located someplace else in the world? Yes, in fact, the process is actually quite simple. However, once you have an IP address showing in another country, you can access all content available to residents of that country. For instance, with an American IP address, you can access all of Google Books' U.S. content even though you might be in Australia. If you have a British IP address, you can watch the online version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" even though you may be in the United States.

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/13392239 (A Plus Edition password is required to access that article.)

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077. 

A man suspected in a violent rape in Framingham more than 34 years ago was taken into custody in Los Angeles Thursday, according to 7News sources.

In May, the Middlesex District Attorney announced they had linked Stephen Paul Gale to the cold case using DNA, with the help of forensic genealogy. However, they did not know his location.

In December 1989, investigators said Gale robbed and raped two female employees at gunpoint inside a women’s clothing store at Shoppers World on Route 9 in Framingham.

Sources told 7News it is unclear when Gale will return to Massachusetts.

Lilith Dorsey is an American citizen living in New Orleans, but it is in Benin that she could end her days to "feel closer to her homeland".

In the coming months, the author, dancer and filmmaker aims to take advantage of a new law in the West African state granting Beninese nationality to the descendants of enslaved Africans.

Adopted by parliament on July 30, the legislation is Benin's latest attempt to attract people drawn to their cultural and historical roots on the African continent -- a legacy of a slave trade which left a deep mark on Benin.

Millions of enslaved Africans departed from the shores of West Africa, not least from Benin's beaches, to be shipped across the oceans.

The law's text, set to be approved by Benin's President Patrice Talon, will allow "any person who, according to their genealogy, has an African, sub-Saharan ancestor deported as part of the slave trade" to obtain a Beninese passport.

"What the government of Benin has done is extraordinary and will bring us closer to our brothers here," Dorsey told AFP.

Officials say the law is a response to the difficulties of "the search for identity faced by Afro-descendants".

The following is a blog entry written by the folks at Findmypast.co.uk:

These new additions may help you to trace the lives of East Midlands ancestors in more detail than ever before. 

We added over 28,000 Northamptonshire records to our collection this week. Consisting of tax lists, poll books and licenses, these three brand-new sets can help you trace the lives of your East Midlands ancestors like never before. 

But that's not all - we also added a new Yorkshire title to our newspaper archive this Findmypast Friday, with a total of 245,806 historical pages for you to explore.

Northamptonshire Land, Poll & Window Tax Lists

These 15,995 transcriptions document various taxes paid by Northamptonshire residents in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

'A Vision of the Repeal of the Window Tax', Wellcome Images via Wikimedia Commons. 

The taxes included are:

• Land Tax: These 18th and 19th-century records can help you identify the head of a household. 
• Window Tax: Introduced in 1696 and repealed in 1851, this banded tax was based on the number of windows in a house. 
• Poll Tax: This was taxation on goods and/or income - the index of names can act almost like a census, with heads of households for each parish listed. These records document many of those who paid the poll tax in Northamptonshire's administrative areas

Northamptonshire Poll Books

This new set comprises 7,463 Northamptonshire poll book records which span the period 1768 to 1835.

Northamptonshire Quarter Sessions Licences

The 5,093 records in this brand-new set are transcriptions of licenses that were awarded by the County Quarter Sessions court between 1689 and 1932. 

'The Noble Higglers', Rambler's Magazine, c. 1786. 

There are three licence types included:

• Non-Conformist Meeting House Licenses: A licence was required for an individual or group to hold non-conformist religious services between 1689 and 1852. This index contains 1,777 names, covering 1689 to 1851.
• Gamekeepers' Licenses: All gamekeepers had to be licensed between the 18th and 20th centuries. These records contain a name, the year of the licence, a home address and the location of the land. These records contain 2,490 names covering the period 1709 to 1932.
• Badgers and Higglers: Badgers and higglers were wholesalers and travelling salespeople who sold food and other commercial products, and required a licence to do so. This index covers 1693 to 1773 and contains 1,777 names. 

New pages from Derby to Dunstable

There are 245,806 brand-new pages for you to explore this week. We added a brand new Yorkshire title - the Hebden Bridge Times.

Hebden Bridge Times, 5 March 1884.

We also updated 15 of our existing publications, with new pages from across England. Here's everything that's been added this week. 

New titles:

• Hebden Bridge Times, 1884-1885, 1888-1889, 1894, 1976-1977, 1980-1981, 1989-1991, 1994-1995, 1998-2002

Updated titles:

• Banbury Guardian, 1995-1996
• Biggleswade Chronicle, 1990-1991, 1997
• Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press, 1995, 1997-1999
• Derbyshire Times, 1991-1993
• Dunstable Gazette, 1989, 1991, 1993-1994, 1998-1999
• Eastbourne Herald, 1998-1999, 2001-2003
• Galloway Gazette, 1988-1989, 1991-1992
• Harrogate Advertiser and Weekly List of the Visitors, 1988, 1992-1993, 1998
• Lancing Herald, 1992
• Milton Keynes Citizen, 1996-1997, 1999, 2001-2002
• Newton and Earlestown Guardian, 1890-1895, 1946, 1951, 1953-1962, 1965-1972
• Rugby Advertiser, 1996, 2001
• Shropshire Star, 1996, 2000-2001
• Thame Gazette, 1995-1996
• Todmorden & District News, 1988-1991, 1998-2001

Explore the past with Historical British Newspapers

Would you like to discover the rich tapestry of Britain's history through old newspapers? Whether you're a history lover or a genealogy enthusiast, our new Facebook community is a space where you can immerse yourself in the captivating world of Britain's printed history.

Tim Walz, Kamala Harris' vice-presidential candidate, has Luxembourgish roots. His great-great-grandfather, Nicolas Reiser, was born in Kehlen, Luxembourg and this connection makes Walz part Luxembourgish. 

Indeed, Tim Walz's maternal lineage traces back to Luxembourg. His great-great-grandfather, Nicolas Reiser, was born in Kehlen in 1836, according to Luxroots, the Genealogy Center of Luxembourg. Reiser moved to the United States at the age of 18 but returned to Luxembourg to marry Susanne Pütz from Septfontaines. The couple then emigrated back to the US, where they had 12 children, including John Francis Reiser who is Walz’s great-grandfather.

John Francis Reiser, together with Barbara Lucy Engelhaupt, had Mary Helen Reiser, who is Tim Walz’s grandmother. Mary Helen Reiser’s daughter, Darleen Rose Walz, married James Frederick Walz, and they had Timothy James Walz in Nebraska.

This makes the US Vice-Presidential candidate approximately 12.5% Luxembourgish! Additionally, Walz has German, Swedish, and Irish ancestry, according to EthniCelebs.com.

The man law enforcement officials say is responsible for the long-unsolved death of 15-year-old Danielle Houchins at a popular fishing access site a few miles south of Belgrade nearly 28 years ago has been identified. 

Investigators, family members and other sources with direct knowledge of the details of the case told Montana Free Press that cutting-edge forensic DNA genome sequencing and forensic genetic genealogy recently led authorities to the man they say killed Houchins: 55-year-old Paul Nathaniel Hutchinson, of Dillon.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer confirmed that at a 10 a.m. press conference in Bozeman that was streamed live on the department’s Facebook page. 

According to Springer, Hutchinson died by suicide on July 24, 10 hours after Gallatin County investigators approached him outside his office in Beaverhead County to interview him about Houchins’ death. Days later, DNA collected from Hutchinson after his death matched DNA evidence collected from Houchins’ body, providing what Springer described as “100% confirmation” that Hutchinson was the killer. 

Suspect Paul Hutchinson, 57, of Dillon, Montana Credit:Courtesy Gallatin County Sheriff's Office

Hutchinson, who authorities say was previously unknown to law enforcement, was a longtime fisheries biologist for the Bureau of Land Management based in the agency’s Dillon Field Office. An avid outdoorsman and family man with a 22-year marriage and two adult children, Hutchinson had been living beneath law enforcement’s radar about 100 miles southwest of the crime scene until new forensic DNA technology and a West Virginia-based genetic genealogist connected him to Houchins. 

You can read more at: https://bit.ly/4dBNO1K.

The following is a press release written by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs:

Release of the Historic Lahaina Photography Collection will go live on the one-year anniversary of the Maui wildfires

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs will release the first of five digitized historic Lahaina collections on its Papakilo Database tomorrow, the result of a collaborative partnership with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation (LRF).

LRF was critically affected by the Maui wildfires that tore through Lahaina with eight historic sites owned by the foundation either destroyed or critically damaged, including the Baldwin Home Museum and the historic Lahaina Courthouse. Tens of thousands of objects and archives were lost.

In 2022, LRF marked its 60-year anniversary by agreeing to a partnership with OHA that would assist LRF with the digitization of various collections within its archives, including the Baldwin Family Collections, the Historic Lahaina Photograph Collection and the Pioneer Mill Collections. In return, the agreement would provide OHA with non-exclusive dissemination rights to feature selected collections within the Papakilo Database, a free online digital archive consisting of 1.2 million historical Hawaiian documents.

Fortunately, the digitization process was completed before the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, which saw LRF lose roughly 95 percent of its collections including 100 percent of the physical archives involved in the OHA partnership.

“The digitization done with the OHA partnership literally saved irreplaceable handwritten personal thoughts, emotions and stories from Lahaina’s past,” said Theo Morrison, executive director of LRF. “My advice to others would be that safeguarding the tangible objects of the past with which we are entrusted needs to be a daily priority.”

The first of the five collections will go live tomorrow in remembrance of the one-year anniversary of the wildfires. The Historic Lahaina Photography collection consists of 298 historic photos of places and people in the Lahaina area ranging from 1900–1992. The photos range from a picture of the renowned Lahaina Banyan Tree in 1908 to a photo of the 1943 Lahaina Memorial Day Parade.

The release of the Historic Lahaina Photography collection will be followed by the Baldwin Photography Collection (80 records), Baldwin Letter Collection (167 records), Pioneer Mill Housing Maps Collection (74 records) and the Pioneer Mill Housing Records Collection (879 records). All the remaining collections are slated to be released later this month.

“While we are all devastated by the destruction caused by the wildfires, OHA’s partnership with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation serves as a timely example of the importance of digitizing historic documents for the purpose of preserving Hawaiʻi’s history to be accessed and treasured by future generations,” said OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey.

“The purpose of the Papakilo Database is to serve as a waihona (repository) of the life experiences and manaʻo of our kūpuna for the purpose of educating and guiding future generations. The collections that were preserved by LRF’s partnership with OHA will be one of the many foundational pieces that will support Lahaina’s residents as they rebuild and redefine their future.”

To view the Historic Lahaina Photography Collection, log on to www.papakilodatabase.com.

Join the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center for another awesome and insightful virtual genealogy program presented by Terri Meeks.  More popularly known as Orphan Trains, thousands of children were sent westward in hopes of a better life. Learn the history of this movement and the documentation associated with these children.

This program is free and open to the public. To register for this program please go to the museum’s calendar which can be located at https://www.canoncity.org/Museum to register for the event. Please register online or contact the museum for more information. This program will be held over Zoom from 9-10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Museum and History Center is located in the City of Cañon City’s former Municipal Building at 612 Royal Gorge Blvd. The hours of the Museum and History Center are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  For more information, call the museum at (719) 269-9036 Colorado time zone or send an email to historycenter@canoncity.org.