New Shades Of the Departed Magazine Issue Published!

I just learned from reading Randy Seaver's post that a new issue of the Shades of the Departed magazine was published yesterday, and you can read the issue here. Enjoy!

July 2013 Edition of the Going-In-Depth Magazine Published!

I just learned from Randy Seaver's post that the July 2013 edition of the Going-In-Depth genealogy magazine has been published. You can read it here. Enjoy!

July/August Edition of the Shades of the Departed Magazine Posted!

The July/August edition of the Shades of the Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

Does Anyone Study History Anymore? - Or, Why Studying History is Important ...

Well, the question is supposed to be rhetorical, but sometimes I just want to shake my head when I read articles on supposed shocking finds in history. Within the past couple of weeks, I just read an article online about an archaeological finding. (I realize the article is a couple of weeks old now, but I'm only commenting on it now since I finally have some time to write about it now.) I'm apologizing now, in advance, because my thoughts about this article will probably turn into a rant.

The Geneanet.org blog posted a link to an article about DNA testing on the ancestry of the British peoples. (Well, to be more accurate, the findings really only pertain to those who have English ancestry.) The article, through the examination of DNA, concludes that about 50 percent of English people have Germanic (The article says German, but Germanic would be more correct as I'll explain in a moment.) ancestry, and that the finding was a surprise to the researchers. Shocking? Well, not quite, if one examines a history book on the United Kingdom, he or she would learn about invasions of the British Isles that occurred in the past. In the early Middle Ages, England was invaded by the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, and these tribes pushed the native Britons into what are now present-day Wales and Cornwall. A couple of centuries after the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons, as the Germanic tribes have become called in textbooks, the Vikings (who also came from Germanic tribes) raided and eventually settled in England and other places in the United Kingdom.

The information I presented in the above paragraph shows that the article's purported findings are not new. Any general history of the United Kingdom would mention the invasions of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings and describe effects of the invasions. The only thing that is remotely new in the article would be the use of DNA testing, and the testing only confirms what is already known. For someone to suggest or claim otherwise would be false.

So, why am I frustrated? Well, if someone is going to claim in an article that a historical discovery has been made, he or she should examine the historical literature first. The author of the article implies that this is a new discovery which is false. An examination of a general history of England or the United Kingdom would have noted the invasions. Sometimes I just wonder in frustration: Does anyone study or care about history?

So, what do you think? As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

May 2010 Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Posted!

The May 2010 issue of the Shades of the Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

April 2010 Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Posted!

The April 2010 issue of the Shades of the Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

March 2010 Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Posted!

The March 2010 issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

(I'm very sorry for the delay in posting this. I've just been very busy over the past several weeks.)

February 2010 Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Posted!

The February 2010 issue of the Shades of the Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

January Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Posted!

The January issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine has been posted! You can read it here. Enjoy!

Holiday Issue of the Shades Of The Departed Magazine Available!

The Holiday edition of the Shades Of The Departed magazine is now available. You can read it here. Enjoy!

Shades Of The Departed Has A Magazine!

I just happened to take a look at footnoteMaven's blog, Shades Of The Departed, and learned that footnoteMaven has created a magazine from her blog. November 2009 is the first edition, and you can read more about it here. Enjoy!

Library of Michigan Update ...

I just happened to take a look at Brenda's post on the Library of Michigan, and it appears that the Library of Michigan isn't out of the woods yet. I guess I was a little too hopeful in my previous post. Does anyone have any additional reports on the status of the Library of Michigan?

Good News for the Library of Michigan?

I just received some news about the Library of Michigan from one of the yahoo genealogy groups I am member of, and looks like the Library of Michigan might be preserved. Of course, that is what it sounds like from this news article. Has anyone else heard the same thing?

Although I haven't posted very much on the threat to the Library of Michigan, I have paid attention to what was going on despite the fact that I have been busy with school work. If this news is correct, then we can breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, I'm being cautious as I do not know if this article is accurate. Does anyone know for sure?

An Award!

Earlier today, I was notified that The Daily Reviewer had included my blog in their list the top 100 genealogy blogs, and I just want to say, "Thank you for the award. It is an honor." Also, I want to congragulate all the other genealogy bloggers who made the list. (You can view the list here.) Congrats!

Days Library of Michigan Will Be Closed ...

I just happened to notice a post on Brenda's blog about a few days where the Library of Michigan will be closed. You can read more about it here.

Michigan Genealogist Newsletter 1st Edition of 2009 Posted!

The first edition of the 2009 Michigan Genealogist Newsletter has been posted! You can read it here! Enjoy!

Michigan Genealogy News: The Death Certificates and Other Things ...

I'm a little late in posting information about the Michigan Death Certificates, 1897-1920, but some of the deaths are up. (About 250,000 are up, or 25% of the death certificates are online.) Of course, I have already found a few people, and I'll probably write about those findings next week.

Before I even got a chance to write about this post, Miriam already posted about the records, and found a way to look at some of the death records online through a different site. (Of course, I should mention that that site only has about 20,000 records online.) Harold has also written about the records, and he posted his thoughts on the search capabilities of the site.

Update, 3/25 at 11:30 a.m.: I have finally gotten around to writing this post, and I thought I should add that Harold has also posted an update to the search problem at the site.

Library of Michigan and State Archives News: Possible Closure?

I've just learned from a genealogy group on yahoo that there is some discussion about closing the Library of Michigan due to the budget. If true, this not good for genealogists. I'll try to find some more information, and post it here later if it is true.

Update at 1:12 p.m.: I've found a message from the State Librarian here. As for whether it is true or not that the Library might be closed, I'm still not completely sure.

Has Anyone Heard Anything New?

I was just wondering: has anyone heard or read anything new about when the Michigan 1897-1920 death certificates will be put online? A few are up on the Seeking Michigan site, but I haven't seen anymore death certificates posted recently. Thanks.

More Records Added to FamilySearch's Record Search

A few more records have been added to FamilySearch Lab's record search. The records added are church records for Aguascalientes parish in Mexico, the 1916 census for Canada and church records for Costa Rica. I hope these records help you. Enjoy!