Episode 210

The Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #210 with Lisa Louise Cooke In this episode: You’ve heard of “burned counties,” a phrase used to describe places where courthouse fires or other disasters have destroyed key genealogy records? In this episode, a listener presents the problem of her burned city—Chicago. Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard shares some of the latest buzz about DNA health reports you can get with your DNA tests for family history—and some opinions about them News from the Genealogy Gems Book Club Get-started Swedish genealogy tips from Legacy Tree Genealogist Paul Woodbury The Archive Lady Melissa Barker shines the spotlight on archival collections that haven’t even been processed yet (and suggestions for getting to them) Five years away from the release of the 1950 US census, Lisa has tips on researching your family in the 1940s and preparing for its release MAILBOX: GEMS FOR YOU AND YOUR SOCIETY Gail mentioned the free step-by-step Great news! Your genealogy society or group may reprint articles from Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems blog! to learn more. MAILBOX: GENEALOGY GEMS BOOK CLUB by Frank Delaney (Thank you for supporting the free podcast by using our links to get your copies of these books.) by Frank Delaney   Book Club Guru Sunny Morton recommends the novels of Frank Delaney, beginning with (and now she’s reading ). Frank is a master storyteller, and family history themes wind throughout his stories. Tip: he narrates his audiobooks himself. They are well worth listening to! But they’re so beautifully written Sunny is buying them in print, too. MAILBOX: THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE Resource:  (an index of Cook County marriages and deaths) Recommended: : “I discussed a book specifically on Chicago research:  by Grace DuMelle. As I recall, it was a very comprehensive book and could give you good leads on where to look.” by Lisa Louise Cooke : Johnstown Flood story : Eastland disaster story and tips on researching disasters in your family history (includes mention of GenDisasters)   Lisa Louise Cooke uses and recommends . From within RootsMagic, you can search historical records on FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and MyHeritage.com. RootsMagic is now fully integrated with Ancestry.com: you can sync your RootsMagic trees with your Ancestry.com trees and search records on the site.     Keep your family history research, photos, tree software files, videos and all other computer files safely backed up with Backblaze, the official cloud-based computer backup system for Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Learn more at . ARCHIVE LADY: UNPROCESSED RECORDS As an archivist, working in an archive every day, I get very excited when someone walks through the door with a records donation in hand. Many of our archives would not have the genealogical and historical records they have without the generosity of others that make records donations. Archives receive donations of documents, photographs, ephemera and artifacts almost on a daily basis. Many archives have back rooms full of unprocessed and uncatalogued records collections. Sometimes they are even sitting in the original boxes they were donated. These records collections have not been microfilmed, they are not online anywhere but they exist and the genealogist needs to seek them out. Images courtesy of Melissa Barker and Houston County, TN Archives. One tip that I like to share with genealogists is to ask the staff at the archives about these unprocessed and uncatalogued record collections. Many times these record collections haven't even been processed yet but the archivist might let you look through a specific collection. Be prepared, sometimes the archivist doesn't allow patrons to view unprocessed collections. But like I always say "It doesn't hurt to ask!" The archivist should know what they have in those collections and should be able to help you decide if a particular collection will be of help to you and your genealogy research. Many of our archives and archivists are very busy processing records, helping patrons, answer email and much more. Maybe the archive is short staffed and can’t get to the unprocessed records as quickly as they would like. This is why there are record collections sitting on shelves in back rooms waiting to be processed. If you have made a research trip to an archive, it wouldn't hurt to ask about any new record donations or collections. There could very well be records in those boxes about your ancestors. If you are emailing or talking to the archives by phone, be sure and ask about any new records collections that have been processed or that have recently been donated and are waiting to be processed. Most likely you will have to travel to the facility to see the records but you can get an idea of what is available.  Archivists love to share the records in their care and usually know what is contained in those boxes that haven’t been processed yet. The answer to your genealogical question could be sitting in a box of unprocessed records. I like to always encourage genealogists to put “unprocessed records” on their to-do list. As genealogists, we should leave no stone or box of records, unturned. DNA WITH DIAHAN: MORE DNA HEALTH REPORTS Recently, offered its customers a new $49 add-on product: a wellness report that promises to “empower you to make more informed decisions about your nutrition, exercise, and supplementation.” The report comes via a partnership with Vitagene, a nutrigenomics company. How does it work? When you order the report, Family Tree DNA shares the results of your  with Vitagene and gives you a lifestyle questionnaire. According to the site, “this information, along with your DNA raw data results, will be analyzed using the latest research available in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and genomics. You can expect your results to be available on your dashboard within one week of purchase.” At this point, the test is only available to those who have taken the Family Tree DNA Family Finder DNA test (we called to check with them specifically about those who , but the Wellness Report isn’t available to them, either). Those who qualify will see a  option on their Family Tree DNA dashboard: There are several components to the Family Tree DNA and Vitagene Wellness Report. The site describes them as follows: Nutrition Report. “Personalized, actionable recommendations designed to help you reach your weight goals. Learn how your DNA affects traits such as obesity risk, emotional eating, weight regain after dieting, and more. Included Reports:  Obesity Risk, Alcohol Metabolism, Cholesterol Levels, Triglyceride Levels, Lactose Sensitivity, Gluten Sensitivity, Emotional Eating, Weight Regain After Dieting, Fat Intake, Sodium Intake.” Exercise Report. “Outlines the optimal physical activities for your body to start seeing better results, faster. Included Reports: Power and Endurance Exercise, Muscle Strength, Muscle Cramps, Exercise Behavior, Blood Pressure Response to Exercise, Weight Response to Exercise.” Supplementation Report. “Reveals which deficiencies you are more inclined to suffer from and recommends a supplement regimen that will help keep you healthy and feeling 100%. Included Reports: Full Supplementation Regimen, Vitamin D Intake, Vitamin A Intake, Folate Intake, Vitamin B12 Intake, Iron Intake.” And what about your privacy? According to Family Tree DNA’s Q&A, “Your data is 100% secure and protected by industry standard security practices. We will not share your information without your explicit consent.” This is just one of many services that are cropping up or will crop up in the future to offer additional interpretations of our DNA test results. (23andMe was the first major company in the genealogy space to offer these– to read about their health reports, and click  and  to read about the company’s long road to FDA approval.) Essentially, each DNA test you do for family history looks at a certain number of your SNPs, or little pieces of DNA (not your entire genome, which is costly and isn’t necessary for genetic genealogy purposes). A nutrigenomic profile compares your SNPs with SNPs known to be associated with various conditions or ailments. (These genetic markers have been identified by researchers, many in academia, and deposited in ClinVar, a large, publicly-accessible database that itself is part of an even larger genetic database, SNPedia.) In this case of Vitagene, they are likely mining ClinVar for specific places in your DNA that pertain to nutrition, and were also evaluated as part of the Family Finder test. Of course, many factors affect your health, nutrition, exercise capacity, and other wellness indicators, not just your genes. The purpose of reports like these is to give you just one more piece of information to weigh personally or with your health care provider. When considering whether to purchase a nutrigenomics report such as this, I’d look carefully at what’s promised in the report, as well as the company providing it and the cost. Vitagene does also sell vitamin supplements, so they have a clear motivation to tell you about what supplements to take. And, for your information, Vitagene also offers this . Of course, if it is health advice you want, for only $5 you can turn to  and receive a health report–based on any testing company’s autosomal DNA report–that includes some nutritional factors. (I’ve blogged recently about Promethease and another inexpensive recommendation for DNA health reports.  to read it!) Or, I will just tell you right now, for free, without even looking at your DNA: Exercise more and eat more green vegetables and less ice cream. There. I just saved you some money. You’re welcome. GEM: COUNTDOWN TO THE 1950 CENSUS: 5 TIPS Get a copy of a census record for yourself or a relative (1950-2010) This costs $65 per person, per census year. In addition to genealogy uses, census records are legally-recognized documents to prove your identity, citizenship or age if you’re applying for a passport and you’ve lost your birth certificate or other situations like that. Order it through the . : How to obtain a copy of your census record Find your family in all possible records before and during WWII City directories, , , the , military enlistments, and even alien registrations or internment camp records for foreign-born residents during WWII. 5 places to find city directories: (subscription required) to see holdings at different libraries (may require copy service request, since originals may not circulate through interlibrary loan) Local public libraries/societies Find your family in all possible records AFTER the war City directories, yearbooks, deeds, divorce records (the ) Post-WWII draft registrations: to order copies of draft registration records for men born 1897-1957. Requires full name of applicant, address at time of registration (tip: get it from a city directory).  Help create location tools for the 1950 US Census ” Google your family’s history during the 1940s and 1950s (FREE) Premium video: 2nd ed, by Lisa Louise Cooke (there’s an entire chapter on YouTube) Follow-up your discoveries with Google and YouTube search questions. Example: You find your grandmother working as a telephone operator in the 1940s in a city directory. What would her job have been like? Search YouTube: It appears from these videos that operators essentially served as emergency dispatchers. When did 9-1-1 service begin? Search Google: LEGACY TREE TIP: START YOUR SWEDISH GENEALOGY to read Paul Woodbury’s tips on the Genealogy Gems website. Receive $100 off a 20-hour+ research project from with code GEM S100. Expires Oct. 31st, 2017. PROFILE AMERICA: THE OPEN ROAD “The busiest spot on the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” Library of Congress photograph; image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. to see full citation. BONUS CONTENT for Genealogy Gems App Users If you’re listening through the Genealogy Gems app, your bonus content for this episode is a lightning-quick tech tip from Lisa Louise Cooke on how to undo that last browser you just closed and didn’t mean to! The and is only $2.99 for PRODUCTION CREDITS Lisa Louise Cooke, Host and Producer Sunny Morton, Editor Diahan Southard, Your DNA Guide, Content Contributor Hannah Fullerton, Audio Editor Lacey Cooke, Service Manager FREE NEWSLETTER: Enter your email & get my Google Research e-bookas a thank you gift! to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter, with tips, inspiration and money-saving deals.