There are an estimated 9 million Americans who have Polish ancestry. Connect to your rodziną, or family, in the old country with this three-session course. Join us for live broadcasts starting June 16.
The Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center's Tenth Anniversary Celebration
Join us for a lively evening celebrating history and community, and marking the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center’s first decade at NEHGS. We'll be honoring Margot Stern Strom with the Tzedakah Lifetime Achievement Award. Virtual event, June 10, 5:30 p.m. ET.
This week we’re announcing the addition of 44 new volumes and 3 updated volumes to Massachusetts: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Records, 1789-1920 from Sacred Heart and St. Joseph (Amesbury); St. Agnes and St. James the Apostle (Arlington); St. Mary (Ayer); St. Lazarus (East Boston); St. Adalbert (Hyde Park); All Saints, St. Patrick, and St. Philip (Roxbury); and Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Augustine, and Sts. Peter and Paul (South Boston).
Spotlight: Digitized Newspapers, Huron County Library, Ontario
by Valerie Beaudrault
Huron County is located on the shore of Lake Huron in southwest Ontario. The Huron County Library’s Special Collections department has made a newspaper database available on its website. There are 39 titles in the newspaper collection. They cover the period from1848 to 2018. Click the Access the Collection button to begin. Next, click the Newspapers link. The database can either be browsed by town or by year. Click through the location, newspaper title, and date links to find and view the individual page images, which are in PDF format.
Gabrielle Glaser with American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption
In an evening full of surprises, journalists Gabrielle Glaser and Peter O’Dowd will discuss the adoption industry in postwar America, Glaser’s acclaimed new book, and the lasting impact of the “baby boom.” Join us on June 15 at 6 p.m. ET.
Last week's survey asked about your opinions on DNA testing. We received 3,772 responses. The results are:
72%, I had my DNA tested and I am glad I did it.
1%, I had my DNA tested and I am sorry I did it.
13%, I had my DNA tested and I don’t have strong feelings about it.
4%, I have not had my DNA tested but plan to do it.
9%, I have not had my DNA tested and do not plan to it.
2%, My situation is different than the options listed above.
This week's question asks whether your ancestors were involved with organized sports as adults. Take the survey now
Want to share your thoughts on the survey with us? We are always happy to hear from our readers. Email us at weeklygenealogist@nehgs.org. Responses may be edited for clarity and length and featured in a future newsletter.
Readers Respond: DNA Testing
By Lynn Betlock, Managing Editor
Last week's survey asked your opinion on DNA testing. Thank you to the many people who responded. Below is a selection of reader responses.
George McKinney of Santa Rosa, California: My wife received a stem cell transplant from her brother. That's when your own stem cells are destroyed and another person's replaces them. The result is that she's now a 100% DNA clone for her brother and a sibling to her old self (we were able to test her original DNA from an old blood sample). Now she shows up in DNA analysis as her brother's twin. It even means she has Y-DNA. This phenomenon has been seen in at least one criminal case. So, you can never be sure that someone's DNA results are their own.
Emily Hegarty of Brooklyn, New York: I had already had my DNA tested for medical reasons, so I figured the cat was out of the bag and I could go ahead and do an ancestry test. I’m glad I did but there are important privacy issues to consider as we see some genealogy testing companies trying to morph into medical research companies. Without a national health care system in the U.S., I worry that data leaks (or data sales) will make some people uninsurable.
Steve Althoen of Dexter, Michigan: I knew my great-grandfather was a church official in Jamaica, but his obituary gave no details about his origins. My grandmother had told me that he was born in Falmouth. I had assumed this was Falmouth in England, and I even visited churches there in 1979 looking for his birth record. I also searched in London and wrote letters. It was very frustrating. Finally, after I took a DNA test, I was contacted by a newfound cousin who told me that my great-grandfather was born in Falmouth, Jamaica. I then found the birth record, which contained his father's name and his mother's first name and confirmation that she was born in Africa. This was corroborated by my DNA test. Without my cousin, I don’t think I ever would have found the birth record.
Jimmy Dodge of Santa Clara, California: My parents divorced when I was five. My father remarried a year later but my mother never even dated until 1963, when she married a long-time family friend. Forty-five years later I realized that when I looked in the mirror, I resembled my stepfather, not my father. In 2017 I took a DNA test and, after 69 years, I found out my stepfather was my father. I was always closer to him than my original father. I feel that I'm still me and am in better touch with who I should have been all along. I also gained 4 half-brothers who had been my stepbrothers. All my parents and other older relatives are gone so I can't ask what happened—but I already know what happened. My biggest problem was cutting my tree in half and repairing it.
Annual Stakeholder Report Now Available Online
Our Annual Stakeholder Report is now available to download from our website. Highlights include A Year in Review by President and CEO Brenton Simons, increases in online programming related to the pandemic, Mayflower 2020, progress on our historic Cornerstone Project headquarters expansion, and more. To receive a printed copy, email Advancement@nehgs.org, or find it in the most recent issue of American Ancestors magazine.
