The following is an announcement from Michigan State University:

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded $1.4 million to Michigan State University for Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade, or Enslaved.org, a first-of-its-kind database containing millions of records cataloging the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

Enslaved.org, developed and maintained by Michigan State University researchers, links data collections from multiple universities, archives, museums and family history centers. The Mellon Foundation funded the initial two phases of Enslaved.org - the first beginning in 2018 and the second in 2020 - which provided support for both proof-of-concept and implementation.

The third phase of funding will run through March 2023 and will expand the reach of the project by refining infrastructure; driving sustainability; strengthening a commitment to the inclusion of underrepresented voices in humanities scholarship; and continuing partnerships with scholars, heritage and cultural organizations and the public.

"The early response to the Enslaved.org project has been overwhelmingly positive, but it also speaks to the great amount of work still to be done," said Dean Rehberger, principal investigator and director of Matrix at MSU. "We could not do this work or envision sustainability for the project without the critical support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation."

The project is a collaborative effort between Matrix: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Department of History both within the College of Social Science at MSU; the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland; the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University; the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture; and the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at Kansas State University.

"Historians, archivists, librarians, genealogists, data scientists and the general public have shown an immense interest in the data that is available on an open-access platform optimized to handle billions of pieces of data in a flexible and open-source manner," said Walter Hawthorne, project co-investigator, professor of African history, and associate dean of academic and student affairs in MSU's College of Social Science. "While we continue to digitize records, such as those that are handwritten, to preserve them, we know there is more to each person's story," he said.

The project team will expand its venture by refining the data infrastructure, publishing both more datasets and narrative stories, and introducing new features for data visualizations.

"I am especially energized by the expanded partnership with Harvard University's renowned Hutchins Center to tell the stories of the lives of the enslaved, as well as a new collaboration with the Omohundro Institute centered around the rigorous historical scholarship of the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation, and inclusive careers in scholarly publication about people in slavery and freedom," said UMD's Daryle Williams, co-principal investigator and associate professor of history and associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Arts and Humanities.

By compiling fragmentary archival information and making it machine readable, Enslaved.org offers us the opportunity to honor and learn from the lives of enslaved people whose stories have not been told.

Hawthorne adds: "The Mellon Foundation's new grant will allow for expansion into the millions the number of enslaved people we have knowledge of, opening up new possibilities for historical research, genealogical discoveries and new understandings of our shared past."

More information about the project can be found at Enslaved.org.

The following is an announcement written by Ancestry.com:

LEHI, Utah & SAN FRANCISCO - (April 12, 2021) Ancestry®, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, today announced the launch of its new Community Impact Program, which aims to mobilize Ancestry resources and products to build more connected and resilient communities through preserving at-risk history and empowering the next generation of history makers.

Research shows that family history is a powerful tool for building resilience, connection and understanding among all ages, and Ancestry is committed to helping even more people unlock their pasts--so we can realize our shared humanity and build a stronger society. Ancestry is fulfilling its commitment through key education programs and preservation initiatives.

Empowering the Next Generation of History Makers

For nearly a decade, Ancestry has offered access to historical record collections and content through its no-cost AncestryK12® program for K-12 schools nationwide to help students personally connect to and learn from history. Today, 5 million students have access to Ancestry in their classrooms. To expand the impact of this program, Ancestry has partnered with Facing History and Ourselves -  a global organization dedicated to empowering teachers and students to think critically about history - to develop a robust collection of resources for educators. The classroom resources, professional learning tools for educators, and Ancestry historical record collections will cover topics including: Race, Slavery & Reconstruction, Immigration, World War II & the Holocaust, and The Power of Identity. These materials will help teachers educate their students on these important topics and use lessons from history to help them learn more about themselves, navigate the world, and become more resilient. 

Educators can visit AncestryK12 at www.ancestryk12.com/k12/Resources/ to access these new educational materials and apply for AncestryK12 access for their school or classroom at https://www.ancestryk12.com/k12/GrantProgram/.

Additionally, Ancestry has made a donation to Facing History and Ourselves to support their crucial work of helping millions of students around the world use lessons from history to better stand up to bigotry and hate.

“It is more important than ever that students understand critical periods in history, as well as the choices that created them,” said Roger Brooks, President and CEO of Facing History and Ourselves. “Our partnership with Ancestry will invite students to bring both their minds and hearts to the study of history, and galvanize the next generation of history makers to shape more connected and resilient communities.”

Preserving At-Risk History

A key initiative of the Ancestry Community Impact Program is digitizing and preserving at-risk history -  unique record collections about a specific time in history that is at risk of being forgotten or overlooked. Ancestry has already made millions of these records available for free, including its Holocaust and Nazi Persecution collections. To continue this philanthropic effort, today Ancestry announced the release of the new Danish West Indies collection.

This collection of more than 1 million birth, death, marriage, census, labor, and plantation records from 1724 - 1916 provides unique insight into the lives of Black people who were enslaved, and then legally free, in the Danish West Indies. Through a partnership with the Danish National Archives, the records in this collection will now be indexed, fully searchable, and accessible to anyone for free.

These records provide insight into the challenging elements of this period, such as the harsh labor conditions that accompanied enslavement. However, they also illuminate many overlooked histories, such as what faiths were observed and other cultural and social traditions in the West Indies.

“The Danish West Indies were a pivotal part of the transatlantic slave trade and the records within this collection can offer important clues for the Black community working to trace their history and better understand their ancestors' experiences,” said Allan Vestergaard, Head of Division at the Danish National Archives. “We are happy to be working with Ancestry to provide more access to these records to more people than ever before. The common goal is to help break down some of the barriers for people seeking information about their families.”

To view this new collection, please visit ancestry.com/blackhistory.

“For more than 30 years, Ancestry has helped millions of people around the world discover and share their family stories,” said Deb Liu, Ancestry CEO. “Family is more important now than ever, and Ancestry’s new Community Impact Program will help accelerate the important work of building a more connected, understanding and resilient world.”

About Ancestry®

Ancestry®, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, empowers journeys of personal discovery to enrich lives. With our unparalleled collection of more than 27 billion records and over 18 million people in our growing DNA network, customers can discover their family story and gain a new level of understanding about their lives. For over 30 years, we’ve built trusted relationships with millions of people who have chosen us as the platform for discovering, preserving and sharing the most important information about themselves and their families.

I’d like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Burger-King. It seems that Joel Burger and Ashley King of Illinois were getting married a few years ago, finally uniting the two warring families of the fast food kingdom and bringing peace to our land.

No, this isn’t a joke. A Burger-King wedding really happened. This should be an interesting entry in some genealogy databases! 

I thought it was a nice touch that the engagement photos were taken at a local Burger King fast food restaurant.

No, this is not the wedding officiant (the person who officiates at a wedding ceremony):

And no, the wedding ceremony was not held at a local BurgerKing restaurant. However,  However, BurgerKing (the restaurant chain, that is) contacted the bride and groom and told them that the restaurant chain would pick up the tab for the wedding.

Details may be found at: https://www.sj-r.com/article/20150402/NEWS/150409862.

The following is an announcement from FamilySearch:

FamilySearch added 3.3M new, browsable images this week from Italy, Lecce Civil Registrations 1901–1941, 2.2M more Catholic Church Records for Mexico from Distrito Federal 1514–1970, Hidalgo 1546–1971, Nayarit 1596–1967, and Sinaloa 1861–1921, plus 1.6M Catholic and Lutheran Church Records from Germany, East Prussia 1551–1992, North-Rhine-Westphalia 1580–1975, Pomerania 1544–1966, Rhineland-Palatinate 1540–1952, and West Prussia 1537–1981.  Also search new censuses from DR Congo (1984) and France, Eure (1836), and more from England and the US (IL, MA, and VA).

Search these new records and images by going to FamilySearch to search over 8 billion free names and record images.

NOTE: The full list is very long, too long to fit in this article. However, you can read the entire list at: https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-12-april-2021/

This was unofficially announced earlier (see my earlier article at: https://eogn.com/page-18080/10134146) but today MyHeritage published the official announcement. It is a "done deal" The transaction was signed on February 24, 2021, and was pending regulatory approvals, which have recently been received, and hence the acquisition was completed today.

All the details may be found in the MyHeritage Blog at: https://blog.myheritage.com/2021/04/myheritage-acquired-by-leading-private-equity-firm-francisco-partners/.

The summation in that article states: "Going forward, MyHeritage will remain the same family history company that you have grown to love. Our mission remains unchanged and we will continue innovating to make family history more fulfilling, enjoyable, and accessible."

Great News! The Biden administration has halted the sale of the federal archives building in Seattle, following months of opposition from people across the Pacific Northwest and a lawsuit by the Washington Attorney General's Office.

A federal judge had already blocked the sale, pending a lawsuit by Washington, Oregon and more than two dozen Native American and Alaska Native tribes. All eight senators from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska opposed the sale, and Murray and Cantwell had been pushing the Biden administration to halt it.

There are many online reports of this cancellation of plans to sell the building without first taking any public input. I read the story first in an Associated Press article by Gene Johnson at: https://bit.ly/3taSoNH.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Explore electoral registers, Catholic records and more this Findmypast Friday.

Findmypast continues to add new records and newspaper pages every week so there’s always something new to discover. Read on to discover what's new this week.

Cincinnati Roman Catholic Parish Registers

Privacy rules have allowed Findmypast to release thousands of new Catholic baptism, marriage and burial records from churches in Cincinnati, Ohio. This includes;

• • Over 22,000 new Cincinnati Roman Catholic parish baptisms now covering records up to 1924
  • Over 28,000 new Cincinnati Roman Catholic parish marriages now covering records up to 1924
  • Over 19,000 new Cincinnati Roman Catholic parish burials now covering records up to 1953

All of these new additions come from Archdiocese of Cincinnati and have been published as part of Findmypast’s exclusive Catholic Heritage Archive. The Archdiocese was erected by Pope Pius VII in 1821 and has a long tradition of being a place of worship for pioneers.

The Church supported the growing influx of German and Irish immigrants and by 1910, around 70% of Cincinnati's citizens were Roman Catholic. These exclusive records detail some of the most important events in their lives.

Cambridgeshire, Licensed Victuallers

Did your ancestor run a pub in Cambridgeshire? Find out with this unique resource, including new records from Newmarket, Ely, Whittelsey and Thorney. Each record normally includes the name and abode of the victualler, the name of the alehouse, tavern or inn, its location and the name and abode of the person providing surety.

The surviving records for Cambridgeshire 1764-1828 are kept in the Cambridgeshire Archives in Ely. They have been photographed and transcribed by members of the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Family History Society, which has kindly licensed the records for the use of researchers on Findmypast.

UK Electoral Registers & Companies House Directors

Search over 2.9 million new entries, perfect for tracing long lost relatives or exploring house history.

Provided by 192.com, these modern records include names, addresses and other details of the UK electorate from 2002 right up to the present day. Business directors also feature.

Newspapers

This week Findmypast have published seven new titles along with updates to 16 others. Brand new to the collection are:

• • Atherstone News and Herald covering 1895-1910, 1913-1949 and 1951-1982
  • Blandford and Wimbourne Telegram covering 1886
  • Bridport, Beaminster, and Lyme Regis Telegram covering 1880 and 1882-1884
  • Bristol Observer covering 1877, 1879, 1886, 1889 and 1898
  • Llanelly Mercury covering 1891-1892, 1894-1896 and 1899-1908
  • Poole Telegram covering 1880
  • Rhos Herald covering 1922-1950

While the following titles have had their coverage expanded with additional pages:

• • Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser from 1880
  • Bootle Times from 1882, 1889 and 1897
  • Bridgend Chronicle, Cowbridge, Llantrisant, and Maesteg Advertiser from 1884
  • Chester Courant from 1867
  • Daily Record from 1905
  • Fulham Chronicle from 1905-1906 and 1979-1980
  • Halifax Comet from 1893, 1898-1901 and 1904
  • Indian Daily News from 1898
  • Reynolds’s Newspaper from 1933
  • Saint James’s Chronicle from 1821
  • Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser from 1880, 1882-1889 and 1891-1892
  • Sun & Central Press from 1871 and 1873-1874
  • Sun (London) from 1873-1875
  • Swindon Advertiser from 1899, 1901-1910 and 1912
  • Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle from 1911
  • Widnes Examiner from 1889

On March 1, 2021, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the Northern District of California dismissed a variety of claims brought against the genealogy website Ancestry.com based on the website’s use of individuals’ personal information obtained from school yearbooks. In so doing, Judge Beeler added to the growing body of case law defining what constitutes an injury sufficient to support Article III standing in the context of data privacy class actions and highlighted the potential utility of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230”) as a tool defendants can use to defeat privacy-related putative class actions.

The case is Callahan v. Ancestry.com Inc., No. 20-cv-08437-LB (N.D. Cal.), and you can read a summation at https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/northern-district-of-california-holds-7920296/ as well as the details Judge Beeler’s decision at: https://casetext.com/case/callahan-v-ancestrycom-inc.

American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society just launched a new project this this week, to be called Ancestor Strong. It depends upon submissions from users who are willing to share stories about the tough times their ancestors (and others) lived through. Wars, pandemics, oppression, displacement, economic crisis, and similar stories are strong candidates for stories that can be shared with others.

If you have a story that should be shared, you might want to contribute. Here is the announcement:

“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” –Maya Angelou

As we all process the last year of tremendous challenge and change, there is an opportunity to reflect upon our lives in the context of history and our ancestors. Many of us have heard family stories about the tough times they lived through. Wars, pandemics, oppression, displacement, economic crisis – our foremothers and fathers often had it rougher than we do now.

In the spirit of finding inspiration and strength from those who came before us, we’ve asked members and visitors to share interesting family stories for a new web project – Ancestor Strong. The memories provided thus far are a testament to the courage, tenacity, and faith of generations past.

To date we’ve received nearly 50 responses and are looking for many more. We’re hoping an article would help us get the word out about the call for entries, as well as give these stories a wider audience. Anyone can visit the site, and via a simple form, submit a story on behalf of an ancestor who inspired them.

You can page through to see the existing submissions; and scroll down on the home page to see the “Share Your Ancestor’s Story” button, which leads to a submission page.

https://ancestorstrong.americanancestors.org/

Disclaimer: I certainly am not an expert in OPMD or any other medical conditions. However, I became very interested in OPMD when I realized it is frequently found amongst my relatives on the French-Canadian side of my family. (My mother's ancestry is 100% French-Canadian.) Several of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distant relatives appeared to have symptoms of OPMD although several relatives are now deceased so testing of those individuals is not longer possible. I am simply comparing my knowledge of their symptoms with what I have read in medical journals.

I simply have done a lot of reading about OPMD and can offer references to documents written by medical professionals who do have expertise in OPMD. For details, always refer to these articles or to qualified genetics professionals.

If your ancestry is from France, the French-speaking families of Canada, Jewish, Spanish, or Japanese families, and if you or someone in your family is having symptoms of the upper eyelids and/or the throat or muscle weakening, you might want to get tested for OPMD.

Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by slowly progressing muscle disease (myopathy) affecting the muscles of the upper eyelids and the throat. Onset is typically during adulthood, most often between 40 and 60 years of age. Symptoms may include: eyelid drooping (ptosis), arm and leg weakness, and difficulty swallowing (dysphagia).

According to information on the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) website, OPMD is most common among a population of Bukharan Jews living in Israel, where an estimated 1 person in 600 is affected. OPMD is additionally estimated to occur in 1 in 1000 individuals of French-Canadian ancestry and 1 in 100,000 individuals in France. In the United States, the number of people with OPMD is not known, however the majority of diagnosed individuals are of French-Canadian, Ashkenazi Jewish, or Spanish American background.

I don't have statistics but amongst my mother's relatives, there certainly are many more than "1 in 1,000 French Canadians" in this family with these symptoms!

In short, there are two types of OPMD, distinguished by their patterns of inheritance. They are known as the autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive types. Both types are caused by mutations in the PABPN1 gene.

If you or any of relatives have droopy eyelids, difficulty swallowing, arm or leg weakness, or related symptoms and if you or your relative have French-Canadian, Bukharan Jewish, Ashkenazi Jewish, or Spanish American ancestry, you might want to start reading about OPMD.

NOTE: OPMD is found in Spain and in the U.S.A. amongst families of Spanish ancestry, but it does not seem to be common among the Latin American countries. Therefore, it is possible the inherited problem was spread amongst the families who moved directly from Spain to present-day New Mexico in the late 1500s and into the 1600s but not amongst the families that spent generations in Latin America along the way. However, be aware this is conjecture, not a proven fact.

A small number of Japanese families also reportedly have inherited OPMD but I am not able to find much information about them published in English.

Diagnosis

According to the NIH website,:

"The diagnosis of OPMD is established in a proband with a suggestive phenotype in whom either of the following genetic findings are identified: a heterozygous GCN trinucleotide repeat expansion of 11 to 18 repeats in the first exon of PABPN1 (~90% of affected individuals) or biallelic GCN trinucleotide repeat expansions that are either compound heterozygous (GCN[11] with a second expanded allele) or homozygous (GCN[11]+[11], GCN[12]+[12], GCN[13]+[13], etc.) (~10% of affected individuals)."

Diagnosis for you or your family should be made by genetics professionals, not by directly contacting a laboratory. The genetics professional will first screen the individual's symptoms, along with family heritage, and then will send a DNA sample to a genetics laboratory if he or she believe OPMD to be a possibility.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the signs and symptoms present in each individual. Ptosis and dysphagia can be managed with surgery; however, recurrence of symptoms commonly occurs 5-15 years after intervention.

Summation

Again, I am not a OPMD expert. I offer this article simply as an introduction about why you might want to learn more about OPMD.  Always learn from the true experts.

There is a LOT more information available on the NIH website at https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/7245/oculopharyngeal-muscular-dystrophy and in the GeneReviews website at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1126/.

French-Canadian families also will be interested in Genealogy and "The French Canadian Disease": OPMD by Mary Holmes at http://www.cantley1889.ca/english/echo/echocantley_2015-09.html. That article even lists the probable ancestors of thousands of present-day French Canadian families who brought OPMD to New France.