Genealogy Research & Assistance

04/27/2026

I know it is 2026, and Family Tree Maker was updated in 2024, however was not available for me until 11 May 2025 when it was Here! p.s. that is not me pictured below.

What’s New, How to Upgrade & Why It Matters

In this full breakdown, you’ll learn:

⏩ What’s new in Family Tree Maker 2024
📱 How the new FTM Connect 2.0 mobile app works
🖼️ How to restore old photos with Photo Darkroom 2.0
🔁 How to undo changes with the new “Turn Back Time” feature
🧭 Why the new Connect Workspace makes collaboration easy
🔧 Step-by-step guide on how to upgrade to FTM 2024
🎓 A tour of the brand new Resource Center
🔗 Helpful Links:
👉 Upgrade Center: https://support.mackiev.com
Drop your thoughts in the comments—are you upgrading to FTM 2024? What features are you most excited about?

144 likes, 19 comments. "Family Tree Maker 2024 Is Here! What’s New, How to Upgrade & Why It Matters"

04/27/2026

Ancestry's 2025 DNA update allows you to uncover your roots like never before! With new and updated regions, you can now get an even more precise understanding of your roots, even if your results don't show DNA from a new region. Watch this video and then check to see your 2025 results!

29 likes, 2 comments. "AncestryDNA: Updates for 2025 | Ancestry"

03/31/2026

John Howland of the "Mayflower"

The "Providential" Survival

During a fierce Atlantic storm, Howland went onto the upper deck—against orders or perhaps to assist the crew—and was swept overboard into the freezing, raging sea. His survival is considered "providential" (an act of God) for several reasons:

Mayflower Heritage

The Miraculous Catch: As he was plunged underwater, he managed to grab hold of a topsail halyard (a rope) that was trailing in the water.

Despite being "sundry fathoms" (several feet) deep, he held on until the crew could haul him back to the surface and rescue him with a boat hook.

The Impossible Odds: In the 17th century, a man overboard in the middle of a violent ocean storm was almost certain to drown; the ship could not easily turn around or stop in such conditions.

The Massive Lineage: Had he drowned, an estimated two to ten million Americans would never have been born.

His descendants include:

*Three U.S. Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.

*Cultural Figures: Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, actor Humphrey Bogart, and Mormon founder Joseph Smith.

*Because of this rescue, Howland not only survived but went on to become a prominent leader in the colony, a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and the patriarch of one of America's most expansive family trees.

Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), is my 6th Cousin 3x removed; 32nd US President

03/31/2026

Historic Trivia: The Woman Who Married Charlie Chaplin | The Genealogy Roadshow | Ancestry®

The Genealogy Roadshow traces the story of Oona O'Neill, who had to choose between her father and her true love, Charlie Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin was married four times, most notably to his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill (Lady Chaplin), from 1943 until his death in 1977.

They had eight children together.

His previous wives were actresses Mildred Harris (m. 1918–1920), Lita Grey (m. 1924–1927), and actress Paulette Goddard (m. 1936–1942), with O'Neill being his final spouse.

https://youtu.be/OVkdwjR64Vo?si=Xu9tObaS6h68REQz

03/14/2026

Mayflower DNA Project utilizes Y-DNA and mtDNA. It does NOT utilize autosomal DNA (such as 23andMe and Ancestry DNA).

I personally have taken 3 DNA Tests 2 of which were Autosomal and a YDNA

*AncestryDNA Autosomal (16Dec2016)
*CRI Genetics Kit No. WH904440 (25Jun2021) Cellular Research Institute
and FamilyTreeDNA *FTDNA Y-DNA Kit No. 892549 (24Dec2018)

This wiki traces the Y-DNA and mtDNA of Mayflower passengers, their spouses, and the spouses of their children and grandchildren. It does NOT work with autosomal DNA tests (such as AncestryDNA, 23andMe, etc.). Because we inherit autosomal DNA from both of our parents (who in turn inherited their DNA...

03/10/2026

Ancestry's QI Beta
https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/blog/ancestry-brings-family-history-to-life-with-new-ai-powered-stori

03/09/2026

My first ancestry DNA test was December 2016, here are the facts in the cost of that DNA test in December 2016.

In 2016, an AncestryDNA test kit generally cost $99 in the United States, often featuring in sales for lower prices around events like DNA Day.

This price covered the autosomal DNA test, which analyzed over 700,000 locations in the genome to predict ethnic origins and connect with relatives.

The AncestryDNA test, which costs as little as $99 or Euro135, uses microarray-based autosomal DNA testing, which tests a person's genome at more than 700,000 locations via a small saliva sample.

Analysis of the DNA data provides a prediction of an individual's ethnic origins from 26 separate world-wide populations including Great Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and nine regions in Africa.

About Ancestry

Ancestry, the leader in family history and consumer genomics, harnesses the information found in family trees, historical records and DNA to help people gain a new level of understanding about their lives.

Ancestry has more than 2.2 million paying subscribers across its core Ancestry websites and more than 1.5 million DNA samples in the AncestryDNA database.

Since 1996, more than 17 billion records have been added, and users have created more than 70 million family trees on the Ancestry flagship site and its affiliated international websites.

Ancestry offers a suite of family history products including Archives, Fold3, Newspapers.com and AncestryDNA sold by its subsidiary, Ancestry.com DNA, LLC, and the AncestryHealth product, offered by its subsidiary AncestryHealth.com, LLC.

For more information visit www.ancestrydna.com.

The largest online newspaper archive. Used by millions every month for historical research, family history, crime investigations, journalism, and more.

03/02/2026

Will YOUR DNA help solve a mystery? DNA Justice
|
3 easy steps to begin assisting law enforcement

By uploading your DNA test results, you can help: catch killers, lock up rapists, and identify the nameless.

I D.R. "Doc" Young Sr. Author of Genealogy Research Assistance suggest to learn more about sharing your DNA with Law Enforcement Agencies at any Level. Your Personal Ethics aka moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity, as Your DNA could connect with Someone in Your DNA Tree to a Cold Case or Active Working Crime Investigation.

If already taken a DNA Test, check whether to Opt In or Out of Sharing With Law Enforcement at any Level/Agency. You may wish to consider the possible Outcome, Possible Retribution(s) of severe, deserved punishment or vengeance for wrongdoing, often described as "paying back" someone for a bad deed, like an "eye for an eye". It's a formal word for punishment.

Discuss with Your Family.

DNA Justice | 807 followers on LinkedIn. Helping law enforcement agencies solve their most intractable cases & providing answers to victim's families.

02/16/2026

Ancestry member since 13 May 2004. My DNA shared Tree has 18,100+ individuals.

A few of my direct lineages are back to 9th-12th Generations. A result of 33 years of Genealogy Research.

This image is of my Paternal Grandparents. I descend from "Francis Eaton" of the "Mayflower" my 9,th Gr-Grandfather.

02/15/2026

How I am Using AI (artifical intelligence) in many areas that I research daily, more so now with my Genealogy Research of 33 yrs to date. AI is becoming more Awesome Daily to use in many other areas of interest.

Which this AI Search did not reveal what I was hoping to find,

However interesting are results...since I have been Online since 1983, before the Web came to the forefont of the existing Internet (FYI before the World Wide Web became the dominant interface of the internet in the early-to-mid 1990s, the network was primarily a text-based environment used by researchers, academics, and military personnel.)

I also began Web Authoring in 1995 via Prodigy first to offer on Social Media HTML making your own Home page (FYI In June 1995, Prodigy became the first major online service to allow its members to create and host their own personal web pages using HTML.)

Is when I became a "Web Access Pioneer" I may receive a little flack from the post of said names.

01/27/2026

San Francisco has a population of over 883,000 residents, but it only has two cemeteries for the entire city. However Neither of them perform active burials. So why are bodies showing up under the city?

San Francisco has a population of over 883,000 residents, but it only has two cemeteries for the entire city. But neither of them perform active burials. So ...

01/27/2026

FTDNA Donald Young - Kit No. 892549 - Haplogroup R-M269 Story
https://discover.familytreedna.com/y-dna/R-M269/story