Why Sharing Your DNA is Important

There has been much controversy lately regarding law enforcement's use of DNA results from public sites to solve crimes.  I've even had a Client who requested the removal of results due to media coverage.  Here's my top five reasons to keep your DNA public:

• You're reconnecting with close family that may hold the key you otherwise wouldn't ever uncover
• You've gained collaborators who care about the line you're interested in learning more about
• You gain health information that you otherwise wouldn't obtain so you can make better lifestyle changes, if needed, to enhance your quality of life
• By sharing your information, you're being altruistic in helping others
• You're leaving a footprint for future genealogists

I understand the cons.  No one likes to snitch on family but the real truth is that withholding your DNA results is not going to alter people who make poor choices need to make restitution for their actions.  The serial killers who have recently been outed continued to make bad choices that negatively affected others.  If DNA results had been available years ago, think of how many families would not have suffered the loss of a loved one.

My long time readers will know from past blogs that my family has made some really awful choices  - abusive behavior and law breaking readily come to mind - and I've found that other families I've researched have a few bad apples or black sheep, too.  All humans share DNA, obviously some more closely than others.  Just because you share DNA genetically with someone who committed a crime does not make you more likely to do the same.  Hiding your DNA is not going to change their actions at all.

No one appreciates Big Brother nosing in on you and your loved ones.  A few nights ago, however, the importance of using technology to catch a criminal was really driven home to me.  Because their is currently an open police investigation I'm going to be vague in details.  Suffice it to say that we were able to possibly prevent a future homicide due to a Fitbit, security cameras and a cell phone record.  Giving up a little bit of privacy for the common good of a community is the right thing to do.  

If you're thinking about removing your public results, seriously think again.  The information you withhold may save a life.  

Lineage Society Application Tips

Most of my client work this past summer has been for assistance in joining a lineage society. The reasons for the interest varied; one elderly gentleman wanted to give memberships to grandchildren as holiday gifts, several had affiliating with an organization on their bucket list and decided the time was right to pursue membership, and a few wanted to memorialize an ancestor.

In most of the cases of the clients who contacted me, they didn't need much help.  They actually didn't need me at all which I told them.  Joining a lineage society is not difficult although some have more stringent requirements than others in validating the provided evidence. 

If you're thinking of joining, you will first need to establish a relationship from yourself to the ancestor who would qualify for the society.  That means, proving you're connected to your parent and your parent is connected to your grandparent and so on until you reach the qualifying ancestor.  For most people, obtaining vital statistics aren't difficult; they just require completing a form, submitting payment and being patient to wait for the document to arrive.  Creativity comes into play when the ancestor lived prior to required vital records being available.  In those cases, church, Bible, cemetery, immigration, pension, and wills might be used to prove the relationship. 

If you have a known relative who is a member of the lineage society you wish to join, most of your work is already done for you.  All you need to do is prove your connection to the member. 

What seemed to be my clients' biggest hurdle was in following the direction of the society's application.  One individual told me he had once had a high security clearance for his job and that paperwork was simple compared to a state lineage society application. If this is your roadblock, here's some tips to get the job done:

1. Make sure your ancestor meets the society's requirements.  This sounds silly but it isn't.  If you're trying to join a county Pioneer Program, for example, your ancestor must have lived in that county during the years the program stipulates.  Boundaries change and that may make your forefather ineligible.  West Virginia was once part of Virginia, Pinellas County in Florida was once part of Hillsborough County.  Check out the area's history before beginning will save you time and money.

2. Make a copy of the application and use a pencil to print the information it requests.  This way, you can eliminate the worry of  a web fill in the blank document not saving and you can have a hard copy to verify each connection.  It's much simpler to have all the information on one handy dandy form to type into the society's online application than to try to flip pages of all your proof documents to find the required data and input it at the same time.

3.  I recommend checking off each name, date and location that you recorded on the hard copy application by looking back at the record used.  For example, if the birth certificate states the name is Mary Ellen then that name should be recorded on the application and not Elle, the individual's nickname.  Nicknames should be included if they are found in official documents.  I had a several times great grandmother that completed a War of 1812 widow's pension under her nickname, Polly.  Her birth name was Mary.  She was illiterate and didn't sign the pension application but Mary and Polly were used interchangeably on the document.  In situations like this, I would write Mary Polly on the application.

4.  If you have questions as you complete the form, simply email the society's contact person.  In most cases, they will be helpful as a good society values new members.  My opinion, if they aren't helpful then why would you want your ancestor's name affiliated with them?!  Save yourself grief and memorialize in a different way. 

5.  When you submit the application, make sure you've kept a copy as there may be a question or two and you can readily have your own set to refer to as you respond to the question. 

I have found that awaiting confirmation of membership is often a slow process so patience is required.  Most societies are composed of volunteer members so your application is reviewed around their spare time. 

Not sure what lineage societies are available?  Check out this Wiki list.  Warning - that is not a complete list as many more societies are available.  Contact historical and local genealogical societies for additional opportunities. 

Add Death Cleaning to Your Genealogical Toolbox

I'm sure my faithful readers are wondering why my posts have been scant lately.  The summer has just been a whirlwind!  Travel, family stuff and work have kept me away from this blog.  I'm happy to report that the past month I've been doing my own version of Swedish death cleaning. 
If you aren't sure you know what that is, check out this older NBC article.  I'm not planning on dying any time soon but the opportunity presented itself (pre death as an opportunity, hmmm) for me to unload many family treasures that have been held on to for generations and pass them along to a younger family member that is interested in them.  Hoorray! 
It's a mixed blessing seeing these items go.  Holding the old recipes cards of long deceased female family members in my hand always stirred in me that connection of past to present as I prepared a much loved family dish.  I'll miss that but I'm happy to know that not only the past and present are at play with this decision to pass them along, the future is also impacted and that's awesome from a genealogist's point of view!
I just began this process so I'll be engaged in it for a few more weeks.  This pace is perfect for me and my genealogy.  I'll be reanalyzing some of my documents as these cherished objects are looked at one more time.  For example, we have some old Bibles in German from the 1800's.  Using the copyright date helps be determine the extent of German language usage by the family member who owned it.  I know who owned it because of the name recorded on the front page.  No, there is no record in the Bible of births/deaths/marriages so this won't help me with family connections.  Why the German language connection is important at a particular time period is because it will help me perhaps discover additional information in a local German newspaper that normally wouldn't come up through a Chronicling  America search.  I can also explore churches in the area that had a service in German since I've been unable to find church records for that person.  Thinking outside the box with a find can help you discover a wealth of valuable information and insights into an ancestor.
Some items I just can't part with yet so I've placed a label on the bottom of the item with who it originally belonged to so when I really am dead, my family doesn't have to guess as to what items are historical and what isn't.  Maybe I'll part with those before my death but just in case, they are identifiable.
So as you enjoy your last beach weekend or cookout of the summer, I'll be happily going through my treasures and creating a new treasure chest for a loved one.  Kind of like being a nice pirate!