About a third of all cancer cases can be blamed on inherited genes, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It’s the biggest and longest study yet done to examine the family links to cancer and it finds that certain types of cancer seem to have very strong genetic links — testicular cancer and melanoma, especially.

The overall findings are not a big surprise. They support earlier findings that show about a third of all cancer cases can be blamed on faulty genes. Most of the rest are due to so-called lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet and lack of exercise.

Details may be found in an article by Maggie Fox published by NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/just-how-much-cancer-due-genes-about-third-study-finds-n490731.

The following announcement was written by MyHeritage:

We are pleased to announce the publication of two important collections from the French department of Nord: Nord Civil Births, 1820–1915 and Nord Civil Deaths, 1820–1935. The collections together comprise 13.7 million historical records and feature a detailed searchable index that is only available on MyHeritage.

The French Republic began collecting civil vital records in 1792, the very same year the new republic was declared. In August 2019, we released the France, Nord Civil Marriages, 1792–1937, a collection of 5.4 million marriage records. Our two latest collections, Nord Civil Births, 1820–1915 and Nord Civil Deaths, 1820–1935 complete our set of vital record collections from Nord during this period in French history, and together comprise 19.1 million records. If you have family from the department of Nord, the most populous department in France, these collections are sure to provide you with a wealth of information on your French ancestors.

Here are more details about each of the new Nord collections.

France, Nord Civil Births, 1820–1915

This collection of 6.7 million records consists of civil births in Nord from 1820 to 1915. While other sites may have similar data listing the name of the child and the event date, the MyHeritage collection uniquely includes the birthplace, as well as the names of both parents, including the mother’s maiden surname.

Births were usually recorded by the child’s father a few days after the child’s birth. If the father was absent, a relative or friend typically registered the birth in place of the father. Marginal notes may be found if a correction was made for an illegitimate child. If a child died at birth, you might only find them in the death registers instead of in the birth registers.

Search France, Nord Civil Births, 1820–1915

France, Nord Civil Deaths, 1820–1935

This collection of 6.9 million records consists of civil deaths from the French department of Nord from 1820 to 1935. Like Nord Civil Births, 1820–1915, the MyHeritage index for Nord Civil Deaths, 1820–1935 features additional details not found in other indexes. In addition to the name of the deceased and the date of death, the collection includes the birth date, birthplace, and the names of the parents and the spouse when applicable. 

Deaths were usually recorded within a day or two of the passing in the same town or city where the person died. Typically, these records will have two secondary individuals mentioned, with at least one of them being a close relative of the descendant.

The collection also includes records of untimely deaths such as stillborns and the deaths of soldiers, though these records should be read with some caution. Because the records were subject to the details the informant provided, which was sometimes a few years after the death event, these records can contain some misinformation.

Search France, Nord Civil Deaths, 1820–1935

Summary

The new Nord Civil Births, 1820–1915 and France, Nord Civil Deaths, 1820–1935 alongside the previously published Nord Civil Marriages, 1792–1937 provide new avenues of information for those seeking to learn about their French heritage. The Nord collections on MyHeritage are the best you will find on any website.

Searching the Nord collections on MyHeritage is completely free. If you have a family tree on MyHeritage, our Record Matching technology will notify you automatically if records from these collections match your relatives. To view these records or to save records to your family tree, you’ll need a Data or Complete plan.

The following is an excerpt from a very long announcement written by FamilySearch:

Check out this week on FamilySearch 8M new parish and civil registrations for Isere, France (1540–1900), 2M Catholic Church records for North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (1580–1975), 350K Borough (1519–1905) and Tax and Valuation records (1897–1949) for Devon, Plymouth, England; plus additions to collections for Brazil, Peru, S. Africa, and the United States (California, Maryland, Mississippi, Washington) US Bureau of Land Management Tract Books (1800–c.1955). 

The full announcement is too long to be published here. However, you can read the full announcement at: https://media.familysearch.org/new-free-historical-records-on-familysearch-week-of-4-january-2021/ or go to FamilySearch to search over 8 billion free names and record images.

The following was first published in the IAJGS Records Access Alert mailing list and is republished here with permission:

The IAJGS Records Access Alert previously informed its readers that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) approved closing its facility in Seattle—without any public input. The sale is  due to the recommendation for sale by the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) and approved the sale by the Office of Management and Budget. See: https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2020/nr20-37. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the PBRB will offer the buildings early this year for an expedited sale in a single portfolio. 

As reported by ABC News, Washington, Oregon and two dozen Native American and Alaska Native tribes and cultural groups are suing the federal government to stop the sale of the National Archives building in Seattle. The sale would force the relocation of invaluable historical records thousands of miles away—to Riverside, California and Kansas City, Missouri.

The PBRB is selling the property under a law aimed at unloading excess federal property. The lawsuit disputes that contention saying the building is anything but excess. The documents included in the building are used for research from everything from tribal history to Japanese internment during World War ll and fur seal hunts on remote Alaskan islands.  While the federal government says they will digitize many of the items that could take excessively long periods as these documents are not currently digitized. 

The sale is opposed by all 8 US Senators and many US Representatives from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington State. 

For more information see:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/washington-oregon-29-tribes-sue-plan-move-archives-75045982

Thank you to Barbara J. Mathews, CG CG, FASG, President of the Massachusetts Genealogical Council for sharing the article.

To read the previous IAJGS Records Access Alert postings about the Seattle, WA NARA Building pending sale and removal of documents to 1,000 miles and more away, go to the archives of the IAJGS Records Access Alert at: http://lists.iajgs.org/mailman/private/records-access-alerts  You must be registered to access the archives. To register for the IAJGS Records Access Alert go to: http://lists.iajgs.org/mailman/listinfo/records-access-alerts.  You will receive an email response that you have to reply to or the subscription will not be finalized. It is required to include your organization affiliation (genealogy organization, etc.)

Jan Meisels Allen

Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee

Since 2008, GenSoftReviews has had users write 5,874 reviews for the 1,041 different genealogy-based programs listed at the site. Every year, the reviews are summarized and published online. While somewhat unscientific, the result is a list of the genealogy programs that others are using and an analysis of which ones were the higher-rated programs.

NOTE: The word "programs" includes the cloud-based programs including: The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding© ("TNG"), Genealogie Online, GedSite, and others.

As written in the summation, "The goal of GenSoftReviews is to encourage developers to build genealogy software that their users like. Congratulations to the award winners. You have a majority of users who are willing to praise you for your software."

You can find the 2020 GenSoftReviews Users Choice Awards at https://www.beholdgenealogy.com/blog/?p=3625 and many details of the programs listed at http://www.gensoftreviews.com/.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to go back in time and talk with your ancestors? Unfortunately, technology hasn't progressed that far... yet. Not even for our English-speaking ancestors.

However, Simon Roper is an expert in the English language as it changed over the years. He has now recorded a YouTube video in which he speaks in what is believed to be an example of "modern English." He provides an example of English as it was spoken in southern England every 60 years, starting in the year 1346 A.D.

English? I couldn't understand a word of English in the year 1346!

2020 may have been the year of cloud storage. It has become a useful tool for all computer owners. I have become more productive in the past year because of the ease of having all my data with me wherever I go.

At the moment, the biggest hurdle to actually using all that storage is bandwidth. Even on a relatively fast connection in the United States, it can take weeks to upload a terabyte of data.

The availability of safe and secure online storage available at very low prices has changed the way I work forever. My personal backups are in pCloud.com additional copies backed up on mega.com to make sure everything remains available in case pCloud ever becomes unavailable for some reason. Yes, I have backups to my backups. I suggest you do something similar also.

I haven’t given up local backups, of course, because old habits die hard. I also keep backups of every file that ever existed on my Macintosh systems by using Apple’s TimeMachine backup software and external hard drives that plug into each Mac. That includes my laptop and the two iMac desktop systems I have at my two locations.

In the not-so-distant future, we’ll marvel at the old-fashioned idea that people used to keep terabytes of data on big in-home hard drives where they were subject to hardware failures, fires, floods, and other things that destroy such drives.

Where are your backups?

According to an article by Darrell Etherington published in the TechCrunch web site:

"DNA testing technology company 23andMe has raised just shy of $82.5 million in new funding, from an offering of $85 million in total equity shares, according to a new SEC filing. The funding, confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, comes from investors including Sequoia Capital and NewView Capital. It brings the total raised by 23andMe to date to over $850 million.

"There’s no specific agenda earmarked for this Series F round, according to a statement from the company to the WSJ, beyond general use to continue to fund and grow the business. 23andMe’s business is based on its distribution of individual home genetic testing kits, which provide customers with insights about their potential health and their family tree based on their DNA."

You may find the article at: https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/29/23andme-raises-82-5-million-in-new-funding/.