The following announcement was written by the folks at Fold3:

We have some exciting news to share. Ancestry^® and the National Genealogical Society^® have recently finalized a contract with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to resume digitization of the War of 1812 Pension Files. Like so many other things, this ongoing project came to a screeching halt during the closure of NARA due to COVID‑19.

This massive undertaking to digitize some 7.2 million pages in this collection began in 2010. So far, we’ve completed 83% of these records. We’re just finishing up the final files for surnames beginning with ‘R’ and will move on to files with surnames beginning with the letters ‘Sj to U’ next. These digitized records are available to view for free on Fold3^®.

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com:     

From the MyHeritage Blog:

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Wisconsin is celebrating its 175th anniversary Monday, a day that will feature modest celebrations and an official acknowledgement of the state’s “countless contributions to the fabric of the nation and the world” in agriculture, industry, art and culture.

A proclamation signed by Gov. Tony Evers honors the state’s admission to the Union May 29, 1848, while celebrating the Indigenous tribes that have occupied the land “since time immemorial.”

“Through times of adversity and prosperity, Wisconsinites are helpers by nature, often going above and beyond to serve their communities, look out for their neighbors, and exemplify the state’s shared values of kindness, empathy, respect, and compassion, earning them the ‘Midwest Nice’ reputation that is cherished by visitors and residents alike,” Evers said in the proclamation.

Little else is planned to celebrate the anniversary. Perhaps that’s what you get when you’re celebrating a demisemiseptcentennial — a fancy term for a 175th anniversary — and not a more commonly recognized birthday like a centennial or a sesquicentennial.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has launched a new website celebrating a list of Wisconsin “visionaries, changemakers and storytellers.” And the first territorial capital of Wisconsin in Belmont, where legislators gathered for 47 days in 1836.

You can read more in an article by Alexander Shur published in the madison.com web site at: https://tinyurl.com/5n7un65n.

A bid to save a collection of almost 1,000 historic newspapers has succeeded after raising more than £115,000 ($141980 US dollars) in six months.

The National Library of Scotland launched the ‘Save Our Stories’ campaign, backed by The Scotsman, after warning around two-thirds of the newspapers in its archives risked being lost unless “essential conservation and preservation work” was carried out.

The collection, which dates from as early as 1641, comprises 961 titles from all over Scotland and features rare editions such as the first copy of The Scotsman, pictured, from 1817.

The required work will now be carried out following the successful fundraising drive.

You can read more in an article by David Sharman published in the holdthefrontpage.co.uk web site at: https://tinyurl.com/48c49r4f.

From an article by John O'Brien published in the LegalNewsline.com web site:

A Chicago federal judge won't second-guess herself for tossing a proposed class action lawsuit that accused Ancestry.com of violating the Illinois Right of Publicity Act.

The suit concerned old yearbook photos the company used when advertising its pay service. In September, Judge Virginia Kendall granted summary judgment to Ancestry, finding plaintiff lawyers failed to work around the IRPA's one-year statute of limitations.

They tried to argue each payment Ancestry made to a company that licenses yearbook names and images started the statute over. Lawyers at Clifford Law Offices, Morgan and Morgan and Bursor & Fisher filed a motion for reconsideration that was rejected May 23.

They said the Illinois Supreme Court's recent ruling in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, which denied a one-year statute of limitation on cases brought under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act.

The full article may be found at: https://legalnewsline.com/stories/642699029-judge-ill-supreme-court-s-biometrics-decision-doesn-t-apply-to-class-action-over-yearbook-photos. 

A new article published in the nature.com web site explores ancestry-related differences in the genetics of African Americans, Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans. Here is the abstract of the article:

We explored ancestry-related differences in the genetic architecture of whole-blood gene expression using whole-genome and RNA sequencing data from 2,733 African Americans, Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans. We found that heritability of gene expression significantly increased with greater proportions of African genetic ancestry and decreased with higher proportions of Indigenous American ancestry, reflecting the relationship between heterozygosity and genetic variance. Among heritable protein-coding genes, the prevalence of ancestry-specific expression quantitative trait loci (anc-eQTLs) was 30% in African ancestry and 8% for Indigenous American ancestry segments. Most anc-eQTLs (89%) were driven by population differences in allele frequency. Transcriptome-wide association analyses of multi-ancestry summary statistics for 28 traits identified 79% more gene–trait associations using transcriptome prediction models trained in our admixed population than models trained using data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression project. Our study highlights the importance of measuring gene expression across large and ancestrally diverse populations for enabling new discoveries and reducing disparities.

You can read the full article at: https://rdcu.be/dc4hm.

The following is from an article published by McGill University in Montreal, Quebec:

First study to incorporate genealogical records to provide an accurate map of genetic relatedness

Though we all share common ancestors ranging from a few generations to hundreds of thousands of years, genealogies that relate all of us are often forgotten over time. A new McGill University-led study is now providing insight into the complex relationship between human migration and genetic variation, using a unique genealogical dataset of over five million records spanning 400 years to unravel the genetic structure of French Canadian populations.

The team, including researchers from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford, developed a new method to simulate genomes based on a population scale genealogy dating back to the arrival of the first French settlers. By comparing the simulations to real genetic data, they were able to prove that the genetic structure of this population was encoded within its genealogy.

“It is the first genetic study, in any worldwide population, that incorporates genealogical records to provide a strikingly accurate map of genetic relatedness at the population scale,” explains Simon Gravel, Associate Professor in McGill’s Department Human Genetics and one of the study’s authors.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Open a window into the lives of your Manchester ancestors, with 4.9 million records added to the collection of Manchester Rate Books 

·         Dig into more detail with the Browse version of Manchester Rate Books 

·         Discover the verdict behind unexplained deaths with Oldham Inquisitions 

·         Plus, three brand new Manchester newspapers have been added, helping you uncover colour and context  

Greater Manchester Rate Books 

The star of the show this week is the addition of 4.9 million new records to this existing collection, taking the total number of records to a staggering 13 million. ‘Rates’ were taxes collected to support local services, such as poor relief and roads, so you should find details of your Manchester ancestors paying the required rates. You’ll see their name, address, and even the name of the person who owned the property they occupied, meaning these records are also handy for house history research.   

Greater Manchester Rate Books Browse 

In addition to the above, 215,002 browse-only rate book images have been released. The indexed collection typically includes all years ending in 1 or 6, while the browse-only collection includes every year in between.   

Oldham Inquisitions, 1905-1917 

If your Oldham ancestor died in a suspicious or unexplained way, there may have been an investigation to determine their cause of death. This new collection of 749 records offers detail-rich original images, including witness statements and the final verdict.  

Newspapers 

Four brand new titles, updates to a further nine, and a total of 63,325 new pages make up this week’s newspaper releases. Three of the four new additions are Manchester titles.  

New titles: 

·         Altrincham, Bowdon & Hale Guardian, 1871, 1874-1887, 1893-1894, 1898 

·         Ashton Standard, 1858-1861, 1865, 1877, 1879, 1889, 1896-1897 

·         Bolton Journal & Guardian, 1876-1877, 1879-1880, 1889, 1897, 1899, 1916-1918 

·         Saturday Telegraph (Grimsby), 1902-1904, 1906-1907, 1910, 1914-1916 

 

Updated titles: 

·         Chester Chronicle, 1958, 1961 

·         Crewe Chronicle, 1989 

·         Dover Express, 1876-1887 

·         Grimsby & County Times, 1901-1902, 1906, 1910, 1914-1916 

·         Huddersfield and Holmfirth Examiner, 1874, 1894, 1896, 1938, 1954 

·         Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1928, 1945, 1949, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1982 

·         South London Observer, 1881-1888 

·         Surrey Mirror, 1986 

·         Vale Advertiser, 1995