Genetic #ancestry testing has unlocked many family stories, with over 26 million people undergoing #DNA testing to learn more about their own history. In this clip from the show we have several guests who outline how they learned about new siblings from DNA testing, and some family details they would have never known otherwise! To watch this video, hit here
Lost & Found is a New Zealand documentary series that sets about reuniting families, uncovering cultural identity and discovering lost family heritage. Real Families brings you stories of modern day family life from around the world through the eyes of children, parents, and parenting experts. To watch the video, hit here
Mothers reconnect with their children for the first time and spend Mother’s Day together! Watch their touching DNA stories. To watch the video, hit here
We are happy to report that GSHA-SC had representation at the 2021 LA Archives Bazaar at the USC Doheny Library, Oct. 23. GSHA-SC VP of Communications Cheryl Wolfe staffed the table alongside Charlotte Bocage's So. Cal. Genealogical Society table. We genuinely appreciate their outreach efforts on behalf of GSHA-SC and SCGS.
It all started around 2004 when my angry half-sister told me to take her off the family tree I’d been working on for the past 20 years. “Besides,” she threw out, “you are following the wrong family anyway!”
What did she mean?
The tree in question traced her line back to Newgate Prison in London, where our ancestor was found guilty and sentenced to transportation to Virginia Plantation in 1743. Was she saying that this ancestor wasn’t really my ancestor?
The father we had in common had unfortunately passed, but my stepmother was still around, so I called her to ask what my half-sister had meant. My stepmother replied that it was all in the past and there was no sense digging up old dirt. To read the story, hit here
Kara Miller was placed for a closed adoption when she was two days old. Years after taking a DNA test through MyHeritage’s pro bono project DNA Quest, Kara received a match that led her to connect with both of her birth parents. Months later, both her birth dad and her adoptive dad were able to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day — as recently reported in People Magazine.
Kara grew up fully aware that she was adopted. She was the oldest of 4 girls, 3 of whom were adopted, and her family took pride in their identity and encouraged them in their curiosity about their pasts and their families.
To read the whole story, hit here
20 October / Wednesday / 6 pm
On Zoom / Free registration
La Llorona: Community Stories
Join Dr. Fawn Amber Montoya, of James Madison University, and community storytellers from across southern Colorado for a night of sharing legends of La Llorona, the weeping woman who wanders river banks mourning her children.
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please hit here or you can watch the zoom presentation by hitting here
In helping our members (readers) in searching the web on DNA, Genealogy or helpful techniques, we came across a unique blog by Janine Adams. We thought we introduce her and her blog on the subject that we found. To read her account, please hit here
"When you fill out a search form on FamilySearch on Ancestry, you typically enter the name into the search box of the ancestor whose records your searching for. That seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? But if you’re having trouble finding records on a research subject whose parents’, spouses’s or siblings’ names you know, try the leaving the person’s name blank an instead entering the name of one or more of those relatives. Sometimes you’ll find documents that did not come up with a search on the ancestor’s name."
"Why does it work? There are lots of possibilities. Perhaps there was an indexing error on the research subject’s name. Or maybe you were searching on a full name when the document in question uses a nickname or initials. It’s an easy thing to try and you might be pleasantly surprised by the results!"
The Freedmen's Bureau was created to help former slaves and refugees adapt to post-Civil War life in America. The records it left behind can help us identify our ancestors...but they can be tricky to find! In Part 1 of this series, experienced researcher Sharon Batiste Gillins will demonstrate several techniques and resources you can use to find your family within the records, and talk about the history of the Bureau. This program was made possible by generous donations from the Central Library Docents, SCGS, and CAAGS. Streaming Live on Facebook and YouTube.
News 4 meteorologist Kristen Cornett found her long-lost sisters through DNA tests. Recently she received shocking news about who her father was.
To watch this video, hit here
JENNIFER BESS is assistant professor of peace studies at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Pd.D. with a specialization in Early Modern English from the Catholic University America (1995). Her work has appeared in the American Indian Quarterly, Journal of the Southwest, Agricultural History, and Ethnohistory. Her 2015 essay “The Price of Pima Cotton,” published in Western Historical Quarterly, received the James Madison Prize from the Society for History in the Federal Government. She is the author of Where the Red-Winged Blackbirds Sing: The Akimel O’odham and Cycles of Agricultural transformation in the Phoenix Basin. University Press of Colorado, 2021. To watch the zoom presentation by registering in advance by emailing TJAEHN@UNM.EDU to be added to the attendee list. Zoom information will be sent 2 days ahead of each lecture.
Since colonial times, revolts and resistance have been a part of New Mexico history. Join State Historian of New Mexico Rob Martinez as he presents some of these events in New Mexico's fascinating past. Please join FACC GSHA via zoom presentation by registering here for their meeting on time and date.
Oct 9, 2021 10:00 AM PDT
