The Modern Ancestrix

06/09/2024

05/11/2023

Science keeps advancing and we learn more everyday. Do these new discoveries affect your lineages? Read on and find out!

Explore the latest research on ancient DNA from the Xiongnu Empire, Paleolithic Iberia, and a Central Asian deer tooth. Discover the diversity of these lineages and how they fit into your genealogical research through FamilyTreeDNA's Discover™ tool.

05/11/2023

I VGS. Do you?

Do you VGS? Here’s a sneak peek of the latest issue of the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, edited by the one-and-only Barbara Vines Little. Join VGS to snag your very own. Link to join in pinned post.

04/24/2023

Well this looks like a great read!! And there’s an event online as well!

Captain William Kidd was one of the most notorious pirates ever to prowl the seas, but few people know that he had an accomplice who enabled his plundering and helped him outpace his enemies.

Tune in Wednesday, April 26, at 1 pm ET, to hear author Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos discuss her book "The Pirate’s Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd." Geanacopoulos draws on archival material from London, New York, and Boston to trace the life of Sarah Kidd, wife of notorious pirate Captain Kidd. She discusses Sarah’s transformation from a 17th- and 18th-century New York socialite to an international outlaw and explains how pirate wives lived during this “Golden Age of Piracy.”

You can register for this free virtual program here:
https://www.archives.gov/calendar/event/the-pirate-s-wife-the-remarkable-true-story-of-sarah-kidd

Explore a wide variety of free virtual public programs on the National Archives Calendar of Events:
https://www.archives.gov/calendar

12/06/2022

If you’re thinking about a Big-Y 700 DNA test for your paternal line, now is the time to take advantage of their sale price!

The Big Y test unlocks your most specific Y-DNA haplogroup possible, finding the connections you need to uncover the origins of your father’s line. Order now for access to your confirmed haplogroup! http://bit.ly/3iuIvJX

10/26/2022

Well, this is an amusing clip. It's, also a great reminder of why we don't accept what we read as fact without some supporting evidence. It's only 2 minutes, take a listen!

Jake is an amateur genealogical researcher.

10/25/2022

Living descendants of Mark Antony. An interesting genealogy from antiquity to present day royalty.

THEODORE KOPALIANI Lifting a 2,000-year-old veil.

10/24/2022

Preservation of records is so important to genealogists and family historians.

10/19/2022

Join us at our amazing FREE Virtual "The Ancestral Summit - 101 Voices & Perspectives of Ancestral Connection," hosted by the brilliant mastermind behind the Ancestors Within book series project, Amy Gillespie Dougherty.

On Day 2 - November 8, 2022, I will be joining the ever-amazing Megan Reilly Koepsell, Cyndie Kramer, and Melissa McGlone, where we will bring you education about Discovering and Connecting with our ancestors who live on within us....including some discussion about DNA testing, and what tests to use when attempting to answer certain questions.

Sign up for our amazing free online summit today -- Attend our FIVE "Themed days" and discover your ancestors in a whole new way --

10/06/2022

Congratulations on this prize winning work in the new field of Paleogenomics. He is a second-generation Nobel Laureate!

Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo has won the Nobel Prize for medicine for pioneering the use of ancient DNA to unlock secrets about human evolution.

09/23/2022

Both books, The Ancestors Within Vol 4 and companion Journal II, have made it to #1 New Release on Amazon! And the Journal is a currently a pre-release Kindle (at a great price!).

09/19/2022

A new tool to explore at FamilyTreeDNA.

The Time Tree puts ancient DNA, notable connections, current testers, and the TMRCA age estimates into a single view for you to explore.

09/14/2022

Well this looks like a fun one.
Free Webinar October 20th. Register Here: https://hubs.americanancestors.org/salem-witches

In this online lecture, we will discuss how to verify your lineage from someone accused of witchcraft in Salem during the Hysteria

09/08/2022

Would you like to be on the launch team for the upcoming book? I'm a contributing author in The Ancestors Within: Celebrate and Honor Your Sacred Origins.

The book is scheduled to be released on Amazon between 9/14-9/16. We ask that you read the free ARC copy, write a review, and then purchase the Kindle version for $1.99 on release day. Pretty simple!

The Advance Reader Copy (ARC) is now available. Find out details and register by following this link: https://www.lauradifranco.com/ancestors-within-launch-team/

Thank you in advance for your support!

08/23/2022

Did you know the first Jews arrived in America in 1654?

On August 22, 1654, Jacob Barsimson arrived in New Amsterdam. He is the first known Jewish immigrant to America. Barsimson had been sent out by the Jewish leaders within the Dutch Republic to determine the possibilities of extensive Jewish immigration to New Amsterdam. With the fall of Dutch Brazil, it was imperative for Jews planning to leave Europe to find other new homes. He arrived on the ship Pear Tree on August 22, 1654, having left the Netherlands on July 8. Barsimson was followed by a party of 23 Jews, who arrived at New Amsterdam in September, from Recife, Brazil, and established the first Jewish settlement in what would become the United States. When met with hostility from Governor Peter Stuyvesant, Barsimson succeeded in securing from the Dutch municipal court in New Amsterdam a ruling allowing them to stay.

Image: Manischewitz matza box cover issued in honor of the Tercentenary depicting 1654 arrival of the first Jews of New Amsterdam.

08/22/2022

Ancestral Healing and Transformation Starts With You! A discussion with some of my fellow amazing authors from the upcoming book, "Ancestors Within, Celebrate and Honor Your Sacred Origins": bookhttps://youtu.be/n0NvT0fKVrw

Ancestral healing is a powerful topic that can change your life. . . . . . and in today's conversation you'll enjoy some of that magic from the authors of Th...

07/24/2022

A very interesting story about Henrietta Woods, a former slave, who as a freed woman was kidnapped and and forced back into slavery. Years later after being frreed again, she was successful in suing her captor and awarded $2,500 in reparations, a first. A book written about it is referenced towards the end of the post.

The amount given to Wood after the case remains the largest known sum ever granted by a U.S. court in restitution for slavery.

07/14/2022

This is a great resource.

Last year I took a one week course at GRIP on reading old handwriting and transcribing and abstracting documents.

National Genealogy society also offers a course.

Old handwriting can sometimes look like a completely different language. If you are stumped by a difficult document, the State Archives of North Carolina has your back! They have compiled a list of handwriting helps that can help you transcribe many English documents.

https://archives.ncdcr.gov/researchers/transcribenc/transcribenc-handwriting-resources

06/25/2022

A busy week of learning! "Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy" (virtually) through the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. This specialty includes unattributed parentage, missing & unknown heirs, real estate, military repatriation (MIA/POW), natural resources & mineral rights, and investigative genetic genealogy (IGG).

04/23/2022

This weekend is jam packed with genealogy education. Thank goodness some are being recorded!

1. East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference - April 23 & 24, 9:45 am - 7:30 pm

2. Virginia Genealogical Society Spring Conference - April 23, 9:45 am - 4:00 pm

3. Fairfax Genealogical Society Special Education Series - Maryland Research, April 23, 10:00 am

03/17/2022

I was online yesterday downloading like crazy! Now if we could get property records too, I would be ecstatic!

The largest collection of publicly available New York City birth, marriage, and death records is now online and free to access! The New York City Municipal Archives has been working to digitize the millions of birth, marriage, and death records it holds since 2013. With the project now 70% complete,...

02/28/2022

RootsTech by FamilySearch is a place to learn, be inspired, and make connections. Starts in just a few days on 3 March 2022.

12/17/2021

This is an interesting concept. If you’re of Italian descent, did your ancestors come from Salerno to New York through Ellis Island?

The City of Salerno, with the support of the Presidency of the Campania Region and Scabec, with the extraordinary collaboration of Ellis and Statue of Liberty Island Foundation, the Consulate General of Italy in New York and Slideworld, will implement the project SLIDEDOOR: The World Needs a Door.

12/17/2021

Do you know how many direct line ancestors you have as you go back each generation? It’s a math equation, and a miracle we are here!

12/01/2021

RootsTech 2022, the largest family history event in the world, will be held virtually again next year. The conference will be hosted online March 3–5, 2022, and registration is now open at rootstech.org.
https://youtu.be/o7XQ0i_Bm_I

RootsTech by Family Search: 2022 Registration is Now Open!The World’s Largest Family History Conference is back to bring you inspiration, learning and innova...

10/22/2021

Boost your DNA research with powerful import functionality

01/01/2021

It’s a new year and with that brings new genealogy trails to blaze and ancestors to discover!

12/06/2020

The Enslaved.org database can help pro and amateur genealogists amd family historians find histories of the enslaved going back several hundred years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/12/01/slavery-database-family-genealogy/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_optimist

Explore or reconstruct the lives of individuals who were enslaved, owned slaves, or participated in the historical trade. Learn More

12/02/2020

Do you have any Scottish Ancestry? This lovely short film gives you an insight into how they lived.