Week 47 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Prompt - Thankful

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 47

Prompt - Thankful

I sent my sample of DNA in on October 31^st. It seemed like a great day to commit to bringing forward my long lost dead relatives. It was suppose to be 6 to 8 weeks before I received any results. On this past Wednesday, November 21 – just 3 weeks after that, I got my results.

I am definitely in over my head. It is much more complicated than I expected. I think it will be a steep learning curve.

The results are interesting. My DNA shows I am 54% Germanic Europe and 46% England, Wales and Northwestern Europe. That kind of aligns with my research. The Krikaus and The Peters moved to Canada from Russian areas inhabited by displaced Germans. The other 46% is likely due to the migration of peoples. The surprising thing is that there is no mention of Irish DNA! As a reminder my maternal grandfather, who seems to be a mystery in my family, is a supposed to be Irish. Robert Windsworth Sullivan states on his marriage certificate to my grandmother that his mother and father were born in Dublin, Ireland. This is where I am suppose to say the plot thickens on this mysterious fellow with a shady background.

But first I decide to look at Ancestry to see if it has any sage wisdom on this missing ethnic group. There in the first topic of DNA is this; “ Unexpected Ethnicity Results”. I begin reading and re reading. It hops right into genes, chromosomes and how it is passed down. Each person usually has 23 pairs of chromosomes of which one of the pair comes from your mother and the other from your father. I will use the very useful Ancestry analogy to explain how it is possible to not inherit a certain ethnicity. 

“If you think of your parents’ DNA as jellybeans in jars, you get 50% of the jellybeans in your dad’s jar and 50% of the jellybeans in your mom’s jar to make your jellybean jar.
Because we scoop whole jellybeans without cutting them in half, it’s possible that your father has red, blue, green, yellow, purple, grey, turquoise, and orange jellybeans, but that your scoops don’t have any red jellybeans from your dad’s side. This doesn’t mean that you didn’t descend from a red jellybean dad; it means only that you didn’t inherit any of your dad’s red jellybeans.”

Now think of one's siblings. Each of us would receive 50% of our DNA from our parents however due to its randomness it is likely that my siblings could inherit some of those red jellybeans that I did not.
I am not quite ready to hang up my shamrock just yet. It has however given me pause to think that maybe like so much else in my maternal grandfather's life, his Irish background is bogus.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in my results. Within 12 hours of getting my results I had a request from someone asking me if I was their second cousin as their DNA suggested and they shared their information. As of now I can't find the connection. Further I have 1 matched DNA hint and a 1000 + hints of 4^th Cousins or closer.
There is no doubt that this is going to be more work as I try to understand all aspects of it and as I try to understand what my relationships to a 1000 + more individuals. I am thankful that I am retired and can spend the time reading up on this. Anyone have a DNA genealogy book for Dummies? I might need one. It is just one more tool in my toolbox to figure out who my family might be.



Wendy

Week 46 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Prompt - Random Fact

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 46

Prompt - Random Fact

I was once told that Genealogy can be a relatively low cost hobby. 

In my case I have chosen to go high tech. I have a dedicated laptop for my genealogy. It was actually a Christmas present from Bill.

I subscribe to several genealogical sites. If one is good, more must be better. These sites cost a couple of hundred a year to subscribe to. The hints and matches keep accumulating making it impossible to cut it off because I always think that the next clue I investigate is the next big clue I need for the family tree. I am beyond addicted to genealogy. 

Most of you have heard about Ancestry. It is the one that I refer to the most. All you have to do is add a few names into their family tree and voila the hints start coming.... and they never stop! In a recent tree overview I was told the following.

In Ancestry I have built a tree with 2,367 individuals. Mostly they are relatives but since I have included Bill's side there are lots related through marriage. I have gathered over 3600 stories, photos but mostly records!  My family in Ancestry has essentially 4200 hints for me to go through and those hints are only in 958 people. It then tells me the types of hints that I have outstanding. 

The above example, Katharina Fehr is from my Ancestry Tree about “hints”. If you click on the leaf it shows that Katharina Fehr has 13 Hints. When I open up on her profile it tells me that she the “wife of husband of wife of 2^nd great-uncle”. Well that is something I have to think about. Luckily Ancestry spells it out for you. Just click on it and it plainly connects me to the person. 

At that point I would have to figure out if it is a member in my tree that I want to pursue. It is good to keep in mind that sometimes distant relations can give you clues to those nearer kin.

All of these hints mean another discovery. As you can see in the above example Ancestry has found potential father and mother match (its in green).  If I was to add these two I am sure that my hints would go up further.  

I also subscribe to the site called “My Heritage”. In the past year or so My Heritage bought out Ancestry but for now they still run as separate sites with very little cross over.

In My Heritage I have 1779 people in my family tree. Again this is for both me and Bill's side of family. However more frighteningly My Heritage tells me that 1290 of these people have been found in 22,000 matches to other Heritage trees. Oh good Lord where does one begin without being overwhelmed? 

What I like about My Heritage is it's overview family statistics. They are fun to go over. 

 

 I also subscribe to GRANDMA - (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) which is a project by California Mennonite Historical Society. One of the things that they do is numerically code each person with a unique number that helps you locate the right person. We all know how the Mennonites like to re cycle names. GRANDMA is a great place to find the Mennonites in your tree. It looks as follows.

I also belong to American Historical Society of Germans from Russia or AHSGR. That is to help me find information on the Krikau side of the family. However I think it is up for renewal.

Finally I have purchased Legacy which is a genealogy software program that can integrate with online databases and genealogy services. This is the program that I put the mostly verified family tree into. I usually only put those individuals that I have sourced or know personally. It is my definitive family tree. Legacy allows me to build the beautiful family tree. I add the photos of the people, the sources such as images of birth certificates or census etc. It can even create a book when I feel I am ready to do so and that's not anytime soon.

Then there is the Kelowna Genealogical Society that I attend monthly for a small nominal fee. Other costly incidentals are the certified birth, marriage and death certificates copies which can add up quickly. I buy books on genealogy to show me the correct way to proceed in genealogy. And lately I have bought an Ancestry DNA kit. By the way I did send away my DNA. According to Ancestry my DNA has been extracted and on its way to be analyzed. Sounds impressive.

The only thing I have not done, but probably will, is attend genealogy conferences held in other cities. I tried real hard to convince Bill to go with me this past month to one in Oslo that My Heritage was hosting. But alas we did not go. There is also the obligatory visit to Salt Lake City, the Holy Grail of Genealogy. AHSGR has yearly conferences and will be held in Lincoln Nebraska this summer. Every year Legacy has cruises with genealogy classes. This past year they did an Alaskan cruise. In September of 2019 they are doing an Italian Mediterranean Cruise. Wouldn't that be fun

So my random fact is that Genealogy is not really the cheapest hobby one can take on. In my case I have taken the hobby to the next level. It is my passion that I would not have wanted to do any other way.

Wendy

Week 45 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Prompt - Remembrance Day

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 45

Prompt – Remembrance Day

War Diaries are day to day descriptions of unit activities, and contain information about locations and the military operations in which it involved. In 2007 I ordered my father's unit war diaries. Little did I know how many 3 inch binders it would fill. Dad served with No. 41 General Transport Company, RCASC. I have chosen the days between  the endless training camps of England and landing into active service in Sicily. The military language is a language of it's own. In order to figure out the acronyms, I suggest that you google military acronym and use it to translate them. This is the top of each page in the war diaries.

 I start on October 14, 1943. At this point they are somewhere in England training and this is when they are about to leave on "Exercise Timberwolf".

In the above page we read how the camp is very busy getting ready to move out - packing and vaccines. Three officers were court martialed and the cook was turned over to Rear Unit because he was inefficient. Most importantly the companies were told it was a "scheme".  Which I guess means they weren't told they were going into active duty. 

 In the above dates we learn of their precision movements from their "billets" (which I think is their barracks) and of the precise timing and movements of the companies in getting to the Godalming Goods Train Station.  They board for Scotland where they then board the USAT ship B-31.  I love that it was an uneventful train trip and that "all ranks were well behaved." They arrived in Scotland at 0800 and were boarded onto the ship by 0930!

  On board the ship now and officers are being assigned their duties. The unit is given the first Malaria pills and 2nd typhus vaccine.  The ship leaves at 2000 hrs on October 27th. Rough seas and sea sickness is prevalent. Drills are practiced. They even take on a lecture of "Sanitation in the Field."They learn over the ship's public address system that this is not a "scheme" but they are going to war.  

We learn in the above entries that the ship is heading south and it was getting warmer. Space on the ship was making drills difficult. Boxing tournaments and sing song was their distracting past time plus lectures on "Health". By November 4 they sight land going through the Straits of Gilbralter.

 The men still do not know where they are going to land. On November 6th they come under enemy fire for their first time. Finally on Monday, November 8th they disembark to a Staging Camp at Palermo, Scicily.  

This is just a few pages of The War Diaries.  It can make for a very interesting read. I hope this slice of history of my father's war activities are insightful into the military world.  It had to have been the pen-ultimate example of organization.

I apologize for the way the entries show up on my blog.  I am hopeful that they are readable. I guess I have more to learn in the world of adding things to my blogs. 

Wendy

Week 44 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Prompt - Frightening

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 44

Prompt – Frightening

The other day I was poking around online and came across this photograph. These are not relatives of mine.

Probably what caught my interest was the title; “Not Quite Dead Yet” As I continued to read, it said look closely as one person here is not living. That got my attention. The story goes like this:

"Regina Ruppel wanted a family photo and after 3 years she found the money, consent and time when her children would be home. But days before the event, she fell off the hay wagon broke her neck and died.  The family fulfilled her wishes and went ahead with the photograph. There is a board along her back and two people squatting behind her to hold her up. The hands on the shoulders help provide further stability."

I started to investigate the idea of photographing the dead and discovered that there is a real thing called “Post-Mortem Photography”. It was practiced in the mid 1800's to early 1900's. It is also known as “memento mori” which is Latin for “ remember that you will die”.

In 1839, a camera of sorts was invented that produced an image likeness using a Daguerreotype process and was now publicly available to the public. The cost was somewhat prohibitive so many were unable to have an image made. 

As I understand the process; a silver plated copper plate was polished to a mirror finish and treated with fumes of some sort to make it light sensitive. In a box that blocks all light it was exposed to iodine fumes making a silver iodide finish on the plate. At this point the plate was carried to the camera and placed within the dark camera and the plate was pulled from the protective box and was now ready for exposure. The lens cap was removed and depending on how bright it was it remained off from several seconds to several minutes. When done, the cap was replaced on the camera and the plate put back in its light safe box. The development of the image was made by exposing it to fuming heated mercury. Yikes to personal safety. The plate was fixed by another chemical. The finished plate was covered by glass and sealed so not to allow tarnishing and prevent marring. Thus the ability to capture an image was born. As an aside this long exposure may provide a clue to you if you have such a picture. The dead individuals would be a sharper image compared to the living standing around them, because the dead don't move!

During this period in time the mortality rate was high. I think I read that adults life expectancy was into their 40's and 20% of the children never lived beyond the age of 5. Therefore death was probably viewed as “normal” to family life. Thus began the practice of taking pictures of their dead loved ones, especially their children. It was thought to be therapeutic for their grief and a way of memorializing their dead.

The photographers were asked to either pose them like they were alive or make them look peacefully asleep. They were almost always dressed in Sunday clothes, jewellery; toys and books were used as props, I supposed to show off their wealth. Those photographed sleeping were often surrounded by flowers. The photographers had special props for the dead such as stands to prop the dead up or they used chairs, tables or surrounded by people to hold them up. Babes were placed in mother's lap to look like it was sleeping. These photographs were proudly displayed in their homes on the table or mantles.

In some kind of weird game of “I see dead people” , I checked my photographs and don't believe I have any post-mortem photographs in my possession.

Is this creepy? Yes I think so.

Is this macabre? Yes as some might find the photographing of dead people disturbing.

Is this frightening? Probably for most of us who aren't CSI agents taking crime scene photos. 

However I am judging against my norms and not those of the Victorian Age.

Wendy