How do you find out where your ancestors lived?

You can answer this question by using different approaches –even combining a few- and this basically depends on the information you actually have and which you can use as firm ground upon which to start your search for ancestors.

Why are we looking for this information?

Genealogy is America’s 2nd most popular hobby.  Did you know this?  It might sound amazing, but if you think it, most of us care about family members that preceded us because they share some of our genes, thus it is intrinsic to human beings to be curious about our ancestors, that is, about our heritage.

What information do we need to gather?

The first source of information are of course family members. Unfortunately, sometimes this information is not available –for example in case of closed adoptions- or is incomplete.

In the case of incomplete family records, we should start filling in the gaps by getting vital records of our ancestors.  As stated in our blog https://rebelato.org/birth-marriage-and-death/ vital records like birth certificates, baptism faiths, marriage and death certificates, normally include our ancestor´s places of origin.  Starting by the closest record, each record will take us to the previous, and so on.

Is it hard to get this information?

Nowadays vital records can be obtained on line or can be officially requested at public offices, normally at least for our first 3 and up to our 5th generation.

Whenever we arrive to a dead point, or in case there is no much ground to start our research, we can always try with a genealogy DNA test.  As stated in our blog https://rebelato.org/find-your-genetic-ancestry/  genetic ancestry testing is being offered by several companies and organizations that also provide online forums and other services to allow people who have been tested to share and discuss their results with others.  DNA tests are able to map our ethnicity going back multiple generations of ancestors and to provide us insight about our ethnicity.

On the other hand, our surnames can also tell us a lot about our ancestor´s place of origin.  In our previous blog https://rebelato.org/the-meaning-of-surnames/ we indicated that the meaning of most surnames in use nowadays either relate to a person name -normally a male ancestor- (patronymic surnames), a place name (topographical surnames), a physical characteristic of an ancestor (descriptive surnames), or to an activity performed by an ancestor (occupational surnames). By digging deeper in the meaning of our surnames and the way they are currently pronounced, we would get a lot of insight regarding our ancestor´s place of origin. Patronymic surnames are surnames derived from names and most of the time is easy to source the region of origin of these surnames by its particular characteristics. For example the prefix “O” –meaning “son of”- in a surname can be an evidence of an Irish origin (O`Donnell for example).  Some topographical surnames can also make evident the place of origin of the ancestor that originally carried it (the Spanish surname “Castro” or the Italian surname “Piacenza” for example).

It is advisable that as soon as you decide to find your ancestors and in order to properly collect and preserve all the information concerning them, you do set up a way of organizing yourself.  To preserve my data my choice has been an online genealogy site (check my suggestions at https://rebelato.org/genealogy-websites/) but you can also opt by using downloadable genealogy software like the ones indicated in our blog https://rebelato.org/genealogy-software/

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

How far back can I go to find my ancestors?

 For the amateur genealogist, the answer depends on many issues.

• Up to the early 1800´s is not too difficult provided you have reliable sources of your 3^rd generation to make ground to go further. With some patience, you will be able to get a big part of the necessary information online. In order to help you with your online check- up, we have published a list of the top genealogy websites at https://rebelato.org/genealogy-websites/  and top 10 places to search for vital records: https://rebelato.org/birth-marriage-and-death/
• Vital records are the best sources of family information. We have published an article you can refer to, to learn more about them: https://rebelato.org/birth-marriage-and-death/ I would like however, to add something to what I wrote before: vital records – even if they are the best sources of information- might be tricky, so it is important, to check them carefully and compare them with other records –either vital records or any other kind or records- so as to get the real picture. In my journey to find my ancestors, what amazed me most was the lack of coincidence in dates when comparing some vital records. I.e. according to my great-grandfather´s –Ferdinando Varini Paderni- birth certificate, he was born in 1854.  But his death certificate, indicates he died in 1936 at the age of 78.  This means that he either had 82 years old by the time he died or that he was actually born in 1858 and thus, he really died at 78.  His wedding certificate is still missing but when I go to his daughter´ birth certificate, I find that she was born in 1888 and that he declared to have 30 years old by then (meaning he was born in 1858). From the 3 vital records, his daughter´s birth certificate is the only one signed by him, and it is hard to believe he was not aware of his real age.  So going back to his birth record, I realize that in fact it does not look like any other birth certificate: it is typewritten and has a logo of the Comune di Correggio. This makes me guess it might not be the actual birth certificate but a notary public testimony done after birth and before photocopies were invented, so there is a big possibility mistake is there.
• If you reside in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia or New Zealand and your ancestors came from Europe, Asia or Africa in the last 100 years or earlier, you might face some extra difficulties. However, if you have a clear picture of what their places of origin are, and if you have at least an estimated date of departure/arrival, then you can check migration records, registers of passports issued in the country of emigration, passenger lists, etc. Nowadays much information of this kind is also available on line. For example, FamilySearch has great resources on line for this.  You can also get information at immigration museums or libraries with specific immigration databases.

And once I exhaust online sources what can else can I do to find my ancestors?

• In many countries like the United States, Canada and France, civil registration is not a federal jurisdiction thus vital records are administered by each province and therefore not available in a unique database. In this case it is advisable that you check local archives. Sometimes, local archives can be checked online, otherwise, local archives, local libraries and immigration museums are a good source.
• If your ancestor´s origin is England or Wales you will face and extra difficulty when trying to get before 1837, cause for instance civil birth, marriage and deaths records only go back to that date. In this case, you have to look at public libraries for the parish records, which are incomplete and sporadic from parish to parish.  For the best known English surnames, you can also check British periodicals, such as Gentleman’s Magazine (1731-1907).

For more information about these issues, please refer to our article:  https://rebelato.org/local-library-genealogy-search/

And if this does not work, are there any other strategies I can follow to find my ancestors?

As follows I provide 5 additional search strategies you can follow once you exhaust your online sources. I combined some of them to find my ancestors.

• 1) Find your ancestor´s records indexed at LDS family search. Indexes are references to the documents LDS people have available even if they are not yet digitalized and published on line. If you find your ancestor in an index, be sure to click on the database title and look at the description to learn how to request the actual record. The full record will typically include details not found in the index.  For more information on how does LDS family search work, please refer to our article: (here we could place a link to article nor. 14 as soon as it is available online).
• 2) Visit local public libraries and immigration museums. Local libraries usually have specific records on microfilm such as census, births, deaths, and marriages certificates, and also use to have phone books and directories going back a number of years. Many local libraries have a Family History section equipped with microfilm, fiche readers, printers, photocopiers and dedicated computers with Ancestry Software. Check our blog on the subject: https://rebelato.org/local-library-genealogy-search/
• 3) Take a DNA test. You are welcome to review our blog on the subject: https://rebelato.org/find-your-genetic-ancestry/
• 4) Get professional aid. Bear in mind that most professional genealogists tend to specialize in specific geographic areas, time periods or types of research. Please check our blog with information on the subject: https://rebelato.org/genealogy-research/
• 5) If you suspect or if you already know that any of your family lines has a coat of arms, you might find details of the 16th and 17th centuries in the manuscripts known as the heraldic visitations,many of which have been published by the Harleian Society. Numerous university and genealogical libraries have these publications.  You can also ask support from heraldry associations. In England, the College of Arms is unsupported from public funds and access to its records is not fully available to general public. However, the heralds do undertake searches in the records on payment of professional fees. Besides England, some other countries have today Colleges or Arms and/or Heraldry Associations, that deal with all issues related both to historical and modern coats of arms.  At: http://www.theheraldrysociety.com/treeview/links.htm you will find links to all Heraldry Associations in the UK and abroad, to the International Associations together with some other resources that could be useful to your search.  You can also refer to our article: https://rebelato.org/family-coat-arms-heraldry/

As previously mentioned, to find my ancestors, I employed a combination of some of the above mentioned strategies and of course I suggest the same to any person interested in reaching further with family research.

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

What type of records are held online, by the LDS family search?

The FamilySearch.org website offers free access to digital images of genealogical records (i.e. birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, census registers, etc.). Whenever images are not yet available, still a reference to the records is provided.   Besides this, other valuable genealogical information  is either directly offered on line or thanks to partnerships, links are offered to easily access to things such as  -in the case of emigrants or immigrants- passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, records of passports issued, or lists of prisoners deported. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ name, ages, occupations, destinations, and sometimes place of origin or birthplace.

LDS family search also offers lineage-linked genealogies that are family trees released to LDS family search for publication on line that can be helpful at the time of filling in the blanks in your own family tree.

Last but not least, LDS family search offers information on the genealogy of specific lineages that correspond to certain communities and historical periods.  Some of these collections have been released by professional genealogists that have researched on such specific communities while others have been created by LDS church members.

In the last two cases, and as this information has been generated by other users and not all has been already checked by LDS family search, new users are encouraged to validate the information.

What is LDS family search?

Family Search -historically known asGenealogical Society of Utah (or “GSU”) – is a non-profit organization that since 1894 has consecrated itself to family history becoming the biggest genealogical organization in the world. Family Search is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church or, informally, the Mormon Church) and has besides employees, the help of hundreds of volunteers that perform different activities, indexing among others. Anybody interested in genealogy no matter what religious belief has, can be a volunteer, and even join the group of volunteers on line.

A goal of LDS Family Search is to provide “one complete, accurate record for each person who has lived on the earth, linked to other records by correct relationships (parents, spouses, and children)”.

LDS Family Search activities can be divided in two basic areas:

• Active collection, preservation and indexation of genealogical and historical records. LDS family search preserves copies of microfilm, microfiche, and digital records from over 110 countries, territories, and possessions, spanning hundreds of years and including over 2.4 million rolls of microfilmed genealogical records; 742,000 microfiche; 310,000 books, serials, and other formats; and 4,500 periodicals. All these records are safely stored in the Granite Mountain Records Vault—a long-term storage facility designed for preservation. So far microfilm has been the standard, but digital is emerging.
• sharing this information  to whoever requires it, on a free basis at FamilySearch.com

 Besides this, LDS family search provides genealogical free lessons, some of them on line, in the format of webinars. The topics range from basic research to training on specific record types and are designed for both beginners and experienced researchers. Personal assistance can also be requested at more than 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries, including the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.  LDS family search also offers research help through the Family History Research Wiki, Forums and digitized books.

LDS family search encourages persons and organizations to share information and provides help in the collection, preservation and sharing of data. LDS family search helps data holders in many ways:

• For those data holders who already have a substantial collection of microfilm, LDS genealogy can help digitalize those images and even provide storage.
• LDS genealogy can also help data holders to get their records online. They can host indexes and records on FamilySearch.org, or they can provide tools and expertise that enable record keepers to create their own hosted access.

Why does the LDS keep genealogy records?

 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is considered by its followers to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ.  Headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide.

The theology of the LDS Church consists of a combination of biblical doctrines with modern revelations and other commentary by LDS leaders, particularly Joseph Smith.

According to LDS Church theology,  people from the same family can be “sealed” to one another so that their bond continues into the eternities thus allowing all immediate and extended family relations to endure past death. The most significant LDS ordinances may be performed via proxy in behalf of those who have died, such as “baptism for the dead”. The great interest of the LDS in genealogy has to do with this belief, as provided a person can be “sealed” to his/her ancestors, pedigree information becomes a must.

What is FamilySearch Indexing?

•  Once an image is digitized, key data needs to be transcribed in order to produce a searchable index that people s around the world can access.
• Family Search Indexing started in 2006, and at present LDS is in the process of digitizing its entire microfilm collection and making those images available online.
• The searchable indexes are created by volunteers using FamilySearch Indexing, a special software that can be downloaded on line. LSD genealogy department has an active search for volunteers to help indexing. They neither require any particular ability nor a disposal of a fixed amount of time, and as previously mentioned, volunteers do not need to belong to the Mormon Church. Family Search online indexing application can be easily downloaded by volunteers  and on line tutorials are provided, so that volunteers can quickly and easily start indexing.  LSD genealogy department  gives volunteers the possibility of choosing among many projects the one that seems more appealing to them.
• To ensure greater accuracy, each batch of records is indexed by two separate indexers and any discrepancies are sent to an expert arbitrator.
• FamilySearch is currently working with genealogical societies all around the world to index local projects.
• In April 2013, FamilySearch Indexing completed their goal to offer 1 billion indexed records online.
• In February 2014 LDS family search announced partnerships with com, findmypast and MyHeritage, which includes sharing massive amounts of their databases with those companies. They also have a sound relationship with BillionGraves, so that the photographed and indexed images of graves remain searchable on LDS family search.
• On Wednesday, June 15, 2016, the indexing program was updated to make a few changes to improve the indexing experience.

 To take note:

•  LDS Family Search is evolving faster than ever. Changes implemented this year are big and volunteers are being key to speed up the process of putting more records at public disposal on line. There are testimonies on line of people that just very recently have found records they have been searching for over 10 years, just because a big amount of information has been released on line lately.
• Provided you have looked a record at LDS Family Search and you haven´t found it, try again, maybe you find it now.  And if you don´t, don´t get discouraged, as you might be able to see it on line on the coming months.
• If you do not want to wait until then, you can always visit the LDS family history center close to your place. Such centers are like branches of the Library on Family History of Salt Lake City. There you would be able to get access to genealogical data still not indexed or digitalized and therefore, not yet available on line.
• Keep in mind that -as mentioned in our previous blogs- Genealogy DNA tests are becoming very affordable and can help you break through brick walls whenever gaps cannot be solved through a study of historical documents.

Picture 1: this I the way you can get a microfilm displayed. Quality is decent; however newspapers as in this case, are sometimes difficult to read. This photo was taken by me at the National Library of Uruguay in Montevideo, on Monday 20^th. 2016, where I went looking for the obituary of my great-grandmother.

Picture 2: I was able to see the microfilm using a device very similar to the one shown here.  This picture belongs to a LDS family history center and was taken from: https://familysearch.org/wiki/es/Utilizar_un_centro_de_historia_familiar_cercano. I found it while I was checking the location of the Family Center closer to my place.

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils

 

Genealogy DNA test

A genealogy DNA test can be useful to you at the time of discovering  distant relatives, uncover your ethnic mix and get a generalized picture of your ancestry from a genetic perspective. It can also be helpful at the time of  finding  where your ancestors might have come from, getting clues for finding your family coat of arms and to look for blood family in case of adoptions.

 Why are we looking for this information?

Your results could be a smart starting point for more family history research or can be a way to dig even deeper into the research previously done. When a genealogy DNA test is checked against family history records, is a highly efficient resource at the time of helping you find your genetic ancestry and outline your family tree.

How does a genealogy DNA test work?

Chromosomes carry hereditary, genetic information in long strings of DNA called genes. Humans have 22 numbered pairs of chromosomes and a single pair of sex chromosomes—XX in females and XY in males. Each chromosomal pair includes one inherited from the father and one from the mother.

https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/science-behind/genetics-overview/

This combination process makes it difficult to study lines of descent because it creates a genetic mix of everyone who has come before but fortunately,  there are parts of the genome that are passed down unshuffled,  and in these parts the genetic code is varied only through occasional mutations. When these mutations are passed down through the generations they become “markers of descent”.

Considering the above, three types of genetic ancestry testing are commonly used for genealogy purposes:

• Y chromosome testing: it is used to check the male branch and can be performed just on men. However, women can always recruit a male relative to have the test done. The Y chromosome is the sex-determining chromosome in humans: while all other chromosomes are found in matching pairs, it is the mismatch of the Y with its partner, the X chromosome, that determines gender. Y chromosome testing is often used to investigate questions such as whether two families with the same surname are related.
• Mitochondrial DNA testing: it is used to check the female ancestral branch. Mitochondria are self-reproducing structures responsible for generating most of the energy used by the cell. Because there are no mitochondria in the head of a mature sperm, they are passed down solely from mother. As both males and females have mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on from their mothers, this type of testing can be used by either sex. Mitochondrial DNA testing can be useful because it preserves information about female ancestors that may be lost from the historical records.
• Single nucleotide polymorphism Whenever a a “mistake” called “misspelling” gets introduced into the DNA sequence, it might be shared by a large number of people and is known as single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs, pronounced “snips”). DNA testing companies use the SNPs to estimate a person’s ethnic background among other things.

However, genealogy DNA tests face some limitations:  due to chromosome recombination events, about 30% of your true relatives will not share any detectable DNA segment with you.  But of course, through the relatives you share DNA with, you can jump above missing DNA links in your family and get a larger number of relatives.

What information do we need to gather to perform a genealogy DNA test?

• None: the way to run a genealogy DNA test is to take a saliva sample at home using a special kit provided by the company preforming the test.
• The main companies performing this test do not just provide detailed instructions with the kit but do also have on line tutorials to help you get your DNA sample by yourself.
• Together with the kit, a Release Form is sent to get your written consent that allows the company to share your name and email address with someone who matches your genetic fingerprint. This of course is optional.

Is it hard to get this information?

• You just have to request your kit to any of the companies engaged in DNA genealogy, take your saliva sample, submit the kit back, and wait for the results.  The results are normally sent by e-mail within 6-8 weeks.
• Costs are accessible and vary from 99 to 150 U$S dollars, not considering mail fees and taxes.

What is the solution and why?

• Genetic testing services are being offered by several companies and organizations that also provide online forums and other services to allow people who have been tested to share and discuss their results with others.

There are three major direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies all US based:

• AncestryDNA of Ancestry.com

Check at: http://dna.ancestry.com/

• Family Tree DNA (FTDNA)

Check at: https://www.familytreedna.com/dna-test-kit.aspx

Family Tree is a partner of National Geographic.Geno 2.0 Project.  Therefore, you can also check:

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?npd&npd&productId=2003825&gsk-

• 23andME

Check at: https://www.23andme.com/en-int/

The top company is most likely Ancestry.com that gives you the possibility of checking your DNA against more than 700.000,00 genetic markers. Ancestry.com also maps your ethnicity going back multiple generations and including information about your ethnicity across 26 regions/ethnicities.   Once your test is done, ancestry.com searches the network of ancestryDNA members and identifies the people who share your DNA.

The National Geographic Project is also very interesting and offers comparable ancestry-relevant information. Both Ancestry.com and National Geographic tests, combine the three types of genetic ancestry tests previously mentioned, while  23andMe’s test is more focused to identifying  genetic markers (SNP´s).

Conclusion:

DNA testing has been questioned as a valid source of medical information. Its interpretation is difficult and often leads to anxiety and to unnecessary spends in medical testing, due to the big scope of diseases that might be potentially carrying our genes, even if at the end they do not “activate”.  As science is advancing on a daily basis, future will tell if at some point, these tests can became useful as prevention and health care tools. However, DNA testing has already proven to be very effective from the genealogical point of view for identifying biological family, and in general, tracing family history.

By, Carmen Vazquez Sibils