Using FamilySearch Wiki

A wiki is a website with content written by users. The most famous wiki in existence today is wikipedia.org. Wikipedia is the largest encyclopedia in the world and written entirely by volunteers.

In 2008, FamilySearch launched a wiki to provide guidance about how to do genealogical research. The FamilySearch Wiki is about finding records that may have been generated about your ancestors and the places in which the records might be found.

The staff of the Family History Library, and the genealogical community at large, use the Research Wiki to offer free advice about how to find, use, and analyze records of genealogical value.

Continue reading on how to use the FamilySearch Wiki …

Finding Female Ancestor’s Maiden Names

Finding the maiden names of the women in our tree is one obstacle that, at times, seems to be insurmountable. Often they are found with their husband’s names, like Mrs. John Williams or Mrs. A. Smith. Even after the husband dies, you may see them listed as Widow Williams. But there is hope.

Family History Daily has a new post on their website, “7 Little-Used Tricks for Finding That Missing Maiden Name” that may give you some clues to help find the maiden name for that elusive ancestor. Using one or more of their suggested tips may just be what you need to open a new and, hopefully, successful search.

Good luck and happy researching!

DNA and Ethnic Identity

During the past decade, commercial DNA testing has been made available to the public. Tens of thousands of persons in the United States and additional tens of thousands worldwide have purchased DNA tests to identify their paternal, maternal, and biogeographic ancestries. These tests promise to link persons to ancestors and locales in their distant past, but the tests can also have a profound impact on personal conceptions of identity and ethnicity.

It ought to be possible to compare the DNA of a random individual with DNA from around the world to make a call on ethnicity but there are problems with tests of this kind states author Alva Noë.

The answer as to whether a DNA test can tell you your ethnic identity? Yes — and no… In principle, then, it ought to be possible to compare the DNA of an arbitrarily selected individual with DNA from around the world to make a judgment of that individual’s genetic origins.

The full article by Professor Noë gives a very thoughtful overview of this topic.

For further reading and another point of view on DNA testing and ethnicity, there is a very long and in-depth article “Deep Roots” by Jennifer McAndrew that gives even more insight into this subject.