Unique Genealogical Highlights of the Brigham Young University Family History Library -- Part Five

Part of a huge microfilm collection of local county histories in the BYU Family History Library

There is a significant physical difference between doing research in the Salt Lake City, Utah Family History Library and the Brigham Young University, Family History Library. In the Salt Lake City Family History Library (FHL), the collections of books and microfilm are concentrated in a relatively small area. The FHL's collections are on mainly on four floors; two basement levels and two upper story levels. The first floor is now dedicated to classrooms and an extensive Family Discovery Area with all sorts of high-tech activities. At BYU, the Family History Library is extensive, but only a small part of the huge Harold B. Lee Library (Lee Library). In both cases, it is extremely important to plan your visits by using their online catalogs.

Visitors to the BYU Family History Library usually concentrate on the computers with support from the volunteers and missionaries. Very few of these casual visitors realize the extent of the research resources in the rest of the Lee Library. Unlike the concentrated collections in the Salt Lake FHL, the collections at the Lee Library are scattered throughout the general collections. Let me illustrate this contrast by choosing a random subject for research. Let's suppose I was researching my ancestors in a county in Massachusetts. I choose "Barnstable County" for this illustration.

In either library, I would need to determine whether or not I needed to physically visit the library to do some research. Because of their close proximity, I am not forced into an either/or situation. I can visit both libraries. I plan my visit by searching in the catalogs for both libraries. Here is a screenshot of the categories of records available for that county at the Salt Lake FHL.

Barnstable County, Massachusetts records from the FamilySearch.org Catalog

Many of the records listed are on microfilm with some already digitized and available online. For example here are the Church records available from the FHL.

Barnstable County, Massachusetts Church Records from the FamilySearch.org Catalog

Realistically, there are only two items. The list seems to have four copies of the same set of records. The church records turn out to be an article in a journal.

I need to check further to find this particular journal article. It turns out to be part of a Serial Issue.

https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1262281

The question is do I need to visit the library to view this publication? A quick check in the Lee Library catalog shows that they have the same serial publication.

But the Lee Library catalog also shows that this particular serial, The Mayflower descendant, is online but I have to be in the library to see the online version. Now, we come to a new issue. Can I find this same item somewhere else? I always check to see if I can avoid a trip to either library by finding the item online.

As a matter of fact, I do find this exact item on the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/mayflowerdescendv1314mass

Here is a screenshot of the exact article I looked for.

https://archive.org/stream/mayflowerdescendv1314mass#page/794/mode/2up

The article is completely searchable, word for word, and I can download a copy to my own computer if I wish to do so.

This example shows the interaction between both of these huge genealogy libraries and the reality of the ongoing digitization projects around the world. In this case, I do not have to make a physical visit to either library. In addition, neither library makes their copies available online so I will have to go to the library if the item was not easily available online.

But let's go back to the Lee Library and the BYU Family History Library and take a closer look at the catalog. If I am looking for Barnstable County, Massachusetts records, a search in the Lee Library Catalog shows that there are 622 results.

https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/search?q=Barnstable+County+Records+Massachusetts

Now I have a substantial basis for doing research in the Library. If there are items I would like to examine, in each case, I would take the time to check to see if the items were digitized and available online. When I do a further search for church records from Barnstable County, I find that the Lee Library has 201 results.

A considerably larger selection of items than the two found in the Salt Lake FHL Catalog. Some of these 201 items may also be online or in the Salt Lake FHL, but it is almost certain that some are not.

In the case of both libraries, I would choose some items I was interested in reviewing and go to the shelves and begin the process of checking all of the surrounding items. In the case of the Lee Library, I can do a virtual search of the adjacent shelves online.

Here is an example.

I can browse by title, subject, call number, genres, journals, and creators.

It is easy to get overwhelmed with the number of items to review and yes, it does take a considerable amount of time and repeated searches to find all the relevant information. But it should also be clear that as a genealogical researcher, we cannot ignore the resources that are available and conclude that we have done a thorough search.

The previous posts in this series.

http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of_27.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of_26.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of_18.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of.html

Re my comment on the value of a five year old computer.

Due to a comment on my last post, I should have looked a little further. The computer I used as a comparison was not "new" it was actually a "Certified Refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new" with a 90-day warranty. My mistake. But the issue is still the same. The Pentium Dual-Core brand was built my Intel from 2006 to 2009. Most of the dual processor refurbished computers for sale are being offered at less than $100. But if you look a little further, you can buy a used Optiplex Desktop Computer with an Intel i5 quad-core processor for around $145. New Intel i3 processor computers stat at under $400.00. A new 2017 HP Pavilion with an AMD Quad-Core processor is $429.00. Even with these examples, I could have made my point better. Every time a new chipset comes out, the price of the older computers drops. Here is the add for the HP.

What will this computer be worth when it is five years old? Computers can almost be considered to be a consumable product. The used price is based on the cost of refurbishing (cleaning) the machine.

Thanks for keeping me awake and strictly accurate.

More buying choices forOptiPlex Desktop Computer - Intel Core i5 i5-3470 3.20 GHz - Desktop

Intel announces new Core i9 chips: Changes will start affecting new computers immediately

The wheels of technology keep turning. Intel has announced its new Core i9 chips for consumer level computers. The high end of this new chipset is the Core i9 Extreme which is the first consumer level processor to incorporate 18-cores and 36-threads. For comparison, if you are using an older computer, it may have a single core processor or perhaps a dual core processor. A "core" is the processing unit which receives instructions and performs calculations, or actions, based on those instructions. A set of instructions can allow a software program perform a specific function. Processors can have a single core or multiple cores. See Core from ComputerHope.com. Essentially, with programming that takes advantage of the new chips, computers can become many times faster.

As genealogists, unless you are also a gamer or making commercially viable movies, you probably would never use all of that computer power. But as with any advancement in electronic technology, the effects of this advance will resonate throughout the computer industry. It means your present computer just became one full step older and less useful to programmers. The real impact comes over a short period of time as the manufacturers incorporate the new chips in their new computers and the old computers become less valuable. Right now, a five-year-old computer has almost no value. For example, right now on Amazon.com, a "dual core" computer is selling for about $125.  That's right the whole computer is $125 dollars. Here is a screenshot of the ad. The product is a "Certified Refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new." The refurbished model also comes with a 90-day warranty.

So, if you think your present computer has any kind of resale value, you are probably wrong.

MyHeritage announces its dramatically new Comprehensive DNA Ethnicity Analysis

MyHeritage DNA’s new Ethnicity Estimate experience from MyHeritage on Vimeo.

Some time ago, I learned that MyHeritage was building a detailed project to hand-pick thousands of participants worldwide to build an ethnic database. Today, that becomes a reality. Here is the press release explaining the program.

MyHeritage Launches New Comprehensive DNA Ethnicity Analysis 

MyHeritage DNA’s new Ethnicity Estimate covers 42 different ethnic regions, more than any other major DNA company; and is uniquely provided for free to those who upload their DNA data from other services 

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah, May 30, 2017 - MyHeritage, the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing, and the makers of the successful MyHeritage DNA product, today announced the launch of its new and improved Ethnicity Estimate. The new analysis, developed by the company’s science team, provides MyHeritage DNA customers with a percentage-based estimate of their ethnic origins covering 42 ethnic regions, many available only on MyHeritage, representing the most comprehensive report of its type available on the market. This fascinating report gives users a much better understanding of who they are and where their ancestors came from. The Ethnicity Estimate is presented in an original and engaging format, making it not only interesting but also fun to watch and share.

MyHeritage is unique among the main industry players in allowing users who have tested their DNA already with another service to upload - for free - their data to MyHeritage. Those users receive DNA Matches for free, for finding relatives based on shared DNA. Beginning this week, users who have already uploaded their DNA data to MyHeritage, or who will upload it in the coming months, will receive - for free - the new Ethnicity Estimate. This benefit is not offered by any other major DNA company. 

Development of the new Ethnicity Estimate raises the number of ethnic regions covered by MyHeritage DNA from 36 to 42. It was made possible thanks to MyHeritage’s Founder Populations project — one of the largest of its kind ever conducted. For this unique project, more than 5,000 participants were handpicked by MyHeritage from its 90 million strong user base, by virtue of their family trees exemplifying consistent ancestry from the same region or ethnicity for many generations. All project participants received complimentary DNA tests and allowed MyHeritage’s science team to develop breakthrough ethnicity models based on the generated data. Thanks to this analysis, MyHeritage DNA has become the only mass-market percentage-based DNA test that reveals ethnicities such as Balkan; Baltic; Eskimo & Inuit; Japanese; Kenyan; Sierra Leonean; Somali; four major Jewish groups - Ethiopian, Yemenite, Sephardic from North Africa and Mizrahi from Iran and Iraq; Indigenous Amazonian; Papuan and many others. In some cases, competing products can identify and report an aggregated region (e.g., Italian & Greek), whereas MyHeritage has better resolution and identifies Greek, Italian and Sardinian ethnicities separately. 

MyHeritage’s new Ethnicity Estimate is delivered to users via a captivating “reveal” experience (view example). It features animation and, as of this week, also original music composed by MyHeritage. Each of the 42 ethnicities has a distinctive tune, based on the region’s cultural elements; all tunes seamlessly connect to each other. This makes the report fun to watch and share over social media. 

MyHeritage DNA user Tiffany Bowden said “I'm very happy, and very proud to discover where I come from, and through my MyHeritage DNA ethnicity results, now I have the background which helps me understand who I am as a person.” 

“DNA is the future of the family history industry and we’re delighted to enter the DNA space with strong energies and a fresh perspective”, said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Leveraging MyHeritage's top assets which are its talented, technology-focused engineering team, and the gigantic internationally diverse web of family trees encompassing more than 2.5 billion profiles entered by our users, our comprehensive new Ethnicity Estimate has Innovation written all over it. We’ve been able to dig deeper where others had considered their work complete. Presented in a fresh look and generously given for free to DNA data uploaders, our users will be thrilled and can count on us to continue to innovate in DNA and delight them with new discoveries about who they really are.” 

Dr. Yaniv Erlich, Chief Science Officer at MyHeritage, said, “For MyHeritage's science team, this major update of our Ethnicity Estimate is only an appetizer. There are excellent installments on the way, and users can prepare for a feast! We have detailed plans to increase accuracy, extend our Founder Populations project further, and improve the resolution for ethnicities of great interest to our users from highly diverse origins. Our goal is to use science to further the public good, and to bring the best innovations of our science team to the public.” 

The MyHeritage DNA test consists of a simple cheek swab and takes less than two minutes to complete, with no need for blood or saliva. The sample is then mailed to MyHeritage DNA’s lab for analysis and the user is invited to view the results on the MyHeritage website, approximately four weeks later. 

MyHeritage strengthened its position as the leader in global family history, when it launched the MyHeritage DNA kits in November 2016, which have rapidly become hugely popular ever since. The company’s mammoth user base of 90 million users worldwide, more than 7.7 billion historical records, massive user-generated family tree database and availability in 42 languages, all provide a robust foundation for MyHeritage DNA. The company’s DNA offering currently provides two main features: detailed ethnicity reports that reveal the user’s ethnic and geographic origins, and DNA Matches for finding relatives based on shared DNA. In recent months, people have been successfully using MyHeritage DNA to reunite with long-lost family members. 

MyHeritage DNA kits are available at the affordable price of $79 + shipping. Order MyHeritage DNA, or alternatively, upload DNA data for free. 

About MyHeritage 

MyHeritage is the leading global destination for family history and DNA testing. As technology thought leaders, MyHeritage has transformed family history into an activity that is accessible and instantly rewarding. Its global user community enjoys access to a massive library of historical records, the most internationally diverse collection of family trees and groundbreaking search and matching technologies. Launched in November 2016, MyHeritage DNA is a technologically advanced, affordable DNA test that reveals ethnic origins and previously unknown relatives. Trusted by millions of families, MyHeritage provides an easy way to find new family members, discover ethnic origins, and to treasure family stories, past and present, for generations to come. MyHeritage is available in 42 languages. www.myheritage.com

I will have more comments in a subsequent post. 

Unmarked Graves and Unidentified Dead: Genealogical Mysteries

By Kosboot - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15906601
Unmarked grave of Woolson Morse at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY. This is section 135, lot 14964, grave no. 844 which was located for me by the staff of Green-Wood Cemetery and confirmed to be the resting place of Morse.

Many years ago, while hiking deep in the Arizona mountains, we ran across an abandoned mine with the vestiges of a settlement. There we found a long neglected cemetery partially hidden in the brush and trees. The grave markers consisted of simple wooden crosses that had long deteriorated. Since becoming more involved in genealogical research, I have thought about that cemetery and its unmarked graves. The image above is just one that I randomly selected, but it is typical of many cemeteries in the United States and around the world. How many of our dead lie in unmarked and forgotten graves?

I recently ran across an article entitled, "One Man's Obsessive Quest to Identify a 96-Year-Old Dead Body." The article describes the efforts of one person to identify a person buried about 96 years ago. This article started me thinking about all the small, abandoned cemeteries and unmarked graves there are in the world. As genealogists, we are becoming aware of the place DNA testing is taking as an identification aid. But unlike the story in question, we are probably not into the idea of digging up the remains to try to identify the people. My wife's family has a current issue with one of her great-grandfather's burial. Apparently, his grave is unmarked and until recently, my wife did not know where the cemetery was located. We are now motivated to do some investigation and determine the grave site.

Identifying unmarked graves combines careful genealogical research with extensive geographical map location efforts. However, today, many of the previously unidentified dead are being identified through DNA testing. Here is an example of the type of activity that is going on to identify previously unidentifiable military casualties.

https://health.mil/News/Articles/2016/08/19/Armed-Forces-DNA-Identification-Laboratory-plays-a-vital-role-in-Korean-and-Cold-War-identification

This is a topic that I will probably address, especially as my wife and her family try to identify the grave of her ancestor.

There is always more to say about DNA

My connections to the Iberian Peninsula and my wife's connections to the Middle East have given me further incentive to delve further into the practical realities of genealogical DNA testing. First of all, this type of discussion can get technical really fast. What we are talking about here is haplogroups. Here is the definition of a haplogroup from the Wikipedia article, Haplogroup.

A haplotype is a group of genes in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent,[1][2] and a haplogroup (haploid from the Greek: ἁπλούς, haploûs, "onefold, simple" and English: group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a single-nucleotide polymorphism mutation.

I am going to leave in all the cross references to allow you to do your own study of this issue. Quoting from the article further:

In human genetics, the haplogroups most commonly studied are Y-chromosome (Y-DNA) haplogroups and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups, both of which can be used to define genetic populations. Y-DNA is passed solely along the patrilineal line, from father to son, while mtDNA is passed down the matrilineal line, from mother to offspring of both sexes. Neither recombines, and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutation at each generation with no intermixture between parents' genetic material.

In genealogical DNA testing, we encounter another type of test; the autosomal DNA test. Here is as simple an explanation of autosomal DNA as you can find from Wikipedia: Genealogical DNA test.

Autosomal DNA is the 22 pairs of chromosomes that do not contribute to sex.[2] These are inherited exactly equally from both parents and roughly equally from grandparents to about 3x great-grandparents.[3] Inheritance is more random and unequal from more distant ancestors.[4] Generally, a genealogical DNA test might test about 700,000 SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms). Like mtDNA and Y-DNA SNPs, autosomal SNPs are changes at a single point in the genetic code. Autosomal DNA recombines each generation.[5] Therefore, the number of markers shared with a specific ancestor decreases by about half each generation. [I edited some typographical errors, but I am leaving in all the links]

Essentially, the Y-DNA and mtDNA tests can go back thousands of years, but the autosomal DNA test results become quickly attenuated with time. From a genealogical standpoint, the main issue is the "margin of error" with all three types of tests. If we look at the "AncestryDNA Terms and Conditions (United States)" we find the following statements:

We attempt to ensure that all Content on the Website is complete and accurate. Despite our efforts, the Content may occasionally be inaccurate or incomplete and we make no representation that the Content on the Website is complete, accurate, reliable or error-free.

The Terms and Conditions go on to explain:

We make no express warranties or representations as to the quality and accuracy of the Content, the Website or the Service, and we disclaim any implied warranties or representations, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement, to the full extent permissible under applicable law. We offer the Content, the Website and the Service on an "as is" basis and do not accept responsibility for any use of or reliance on the Website, Content or Service, or for any disruptions to or delay in the Service. In addition, we do not make any representations as to the accuracy, comprehensiveness, completeness, quality, currency, error-free nature, compatibility, security or fitness for purpose of the Website, Content or Service.

Of course, this does not address the accuracy of the AncestryDNA test at all. It simply states that they are not going to tell you how accurate the tests really are.

So how accurate are the DNA tests? Dick Eastman had a post not long ago that addressed this issue. He linked to an interesting news story on Yahoo TV entitled, "Investigation Puts Ancestry DNA Kits to the Test Among Sets of Triplets." The newscasters threw in a set of quads for good measure. The real issue with all of the tests is the margin of error.

The term "margin of error" is defined as follows from Wikipedia: Margin of error:

The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. It asserts a likelihood (not a certainty) that the result from a sample is close to the number one would get if the whole population had been queried. The likelihood of a result being "within the margin of error" is itself a probability, commonly 95%, though other values are sometimes used. The larger the margin of error, the less confidence one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the true figures; that is, the figures for the whole population. Margin of error applies whenever a population is incompletely sampled. 

Margin of error is often used in non-survey contexts to indicate observational error in reporting measured quantities.

For the DNA tests results to have a greater degree of believability, they should come with a clear statement of the probable margin of error since the test results are certainly incompletely sampled. There could be a number of explanations why the identical triplets came up with different percentages reported for a DNA test, but the real issue is, again, the margin of error. This is especially true when the reported relationships are based on very small percentages of shared DNA.

DNA testing still has a long way to go before it is entirely useful beyond a few generations.

Unique Genealogical Highlights of the Brigham Young University Family History Library -- Part Four

Microfilm rolls stored in cabinets at the BYU Family History Library

Despite the constant worldwide movement to digitize documents and particularly genealogically relevant documents, there is still a huge amount of information preserved only in microformats; i.e. microfilm and microfiche. One good indication of a dedicated genealogist in today's world is their familiarity with microfilm and microfiche. Even though both formats are technologically "on their way out," genealogists who do a significant amount of research will still find a need to spend hours searching through rolls of microfilm or looking at the magnified images on microfiche.

Just to make sure you know what I am talking about, here are some images for reference. By the way, images of both microfilm rolls and microfiche are very uncommon on the internet. This is a roll of microfilm.

https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/summary-photo

The microfiche is just a single sheet of film with small, very detailed photos of single pages of a document or record. Both microfilm and microfiche require specialized viewers to enable the researchers to see the reduced images and manually search the documents for information. Here is a photo of a microfiche card.

The Brigham Young University (BYU) Family History Library has more than 300,000 rolls of microfilm. It also has an uncounted number of microfiche for research. These resources are stored in large, specialized filing cabinets in the main area of the BYU Family History Library on the 2nd level of the Harold B. Lee Library on the Brigham Young University campus (Lee Library).

Both of these extensive collections of microforms are cataloged mainly by film number. So, interestingly, this huge collection of microforms (both microfilm and microfiche) are searchable and stored on the shelves only by a unique number. So how in the world do you find anything? That is a very good question.

https://sites.lib.byu.edu/familyhistory/patron-films/

One key to both of these collections is the FamilySearch Catalog on the FamilySearch.org website. Some of the microfilm rolls and some of the microfiche are also cataloged in the Lee Library main catalog. But my experience indicates that some of both the microfilm and microfiche do not appear in either catalog. Hmm.

So even though you are doing research in the BYU Family History Libary, it is still necessary to refer to the FamilySearch.org Catalog. However, not all of the microfilm in the BYU Family History Library is in the FamilySearch.org Catalog. Where do you begin?

First, I suggest searching in the FamilySearch.org Catalog. For example, here is a screenshot of a search for Huntingdonshire Church records in the Catalog.

This item is on six microfiches in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Does BYU have this item? You can see if the item is cross-referenced to the BYU Library from a pull-down menu. This item does not have such a menu and so you should then search in the Lee Library Catalog. Copy the title of the item and use the title as your search term in the Lee Library catalog.

It does not appear that the item is in the BYU Family History Library. Here is another example also from Huntingdonshire.

In this example, there is a pull-down menu and the item is in both the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and a few other Family History Centers around the world, including the BYU Family History Library. I should also note that the little magnifying glass indicates that there is an index of the contents of this microfilm online.

In some cases, it is necessary to physically visit the Library to determine if the items you are seeking are available. Now, to carry the example on further, you should search for Ramsey Marriages in the BYU Lee Library Catalog. Now, I did not find anything with that title, but what I did find was a collection of records about one of my ancestors who happens to be the one I am researching in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire, England.

This is an excellent example of why you keep searching in any library's collections. I did not know this item was in the BYU Special Collections Library but I found it by cross-searching in both catalogs. Also, it is a good idea to extend the search further in WorldCat.org and on Google. You might just find another format or item that has the same information.

The previous posts in this series.

http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of_26.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of_18.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of.html

Unique Genealogical Highlights of the Brigham Young University Family History Library -- Part Three

BYU Family History Library Microfilm Cabinets

With the huge collections of digitized records going online and all the huge repositories around the world, it would be difficult to claim uniqueness for any record. But the reality of genealogical records is that many of them are unique and even some of those that have been published or microfilmed have been released only in very limited quantities. A huge library, such as the Brigham Young University, Harold B. Lee Library (Lee Library) by its very nature will acquire a large number of unique items. But in the case of the Lee Library, because of the emphasis of its sponsoring organization, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), there are even more genealogically important items than there would be in a library without this type of connection. For an insight into the basis for the LDS interest in genealogy see the LDS.org article on Temples.

https://www.lds.org/topics/temples?lang=eng

The resources in the Lee Library and particularly in the BYU Family History Library fall into several general categories as follows:

1. Physical items such as books, serial publications, maps, microfilm records, microfiche, photos and other media items.
2. An extensive list of online resources, many of which can only be accessed while in the Lee Library itself.
3. Support resources such as scanners for books, single sheet document and photo scanners, high-speed, sheet-fed document and photo scanners, book scanners, microfilm scanners and film negative scanners.
4. Preserved original documents, manuscripts, photos and other ephemera in special, underground storage vaults.

Access to many of these items requires a physical visit to the Lee Library. Given the background and the Lee Library's sponsoring institution, you would expect the Library to have a sizable number of documents relating to Mormon history and you would be correct. But, the Lee Library is a major research library that supports approximately 30,000 students enrolled in nearly 200 different student majors with many of those majors offering graduate degrees. See BYU Graduate Studies.

In addition, BYU has extensive academic offerings that specialize in family history. The university maintains a Family History Portal that links to many of the resources on campus for family history.

http://familyhistory.byu.edu/

It is important to bear in mind when doing research at the BYU Family History Library that it is only a part of the larger Lee Library and all of the resources of the main library are available to researchers.

Genealogists are not necessarily oriented towards working and doing research in a major academic library. From my own observations, most of the patrons who come to the BYU Family History Library are entirely unaware of the extended resources in the Lee Library, even when they are physically present in the Library itself. The BYU Family History Libraries main area is underground in the Lee Library's Second Level. The BYU Family History Library main area houses the genealogy reference books, the scanning equipment, a huge collection of microfilm and microfiche records, many individual computer stations and comfortable study areas that include a large number of chairs and tables. There is also a huge collection of books from the University's Religious Studies Department. The rest of the vast resources are scattered around the main library on the Library's six levels. Here is an example of the floor map for Level 2 where the main Family History Library room is located.

https://floormaps.lib.byu.edu/print/hbll_floor2.pdf

The BYU Family History Library is the area on the extreme right of the map that extends out from the main area of the Library. Yes, it is that relatively small area. Here is another copy of the map with the BYU Family History Library outlined in red.

Remember there are five more levels to this huge library.

If you are anxious to begin investigating the specific holdings of the Lee Library and our BYU Family History Library then you can do so by looking at the Catalog on the main page of the Lee Library's website.

Entry to the Catalog is that white search field at the top of the page. Meanwhile, stay tuned and I will continue this extensive investigation into the world's second largest family history library.

The previous posts in this series.

http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of_18.html
http://genealogysstar.blogspot.com/2017/05/unique-genealogical-highlights-of.html

On DNA, History and Definitions

Genealogical DNA testing as it is administered today provides reports such as the ones I recently received from both MyHeritage.com and Ancestry.com. I have been commenting on the differences between the two tests and this may ultimately result in my taking an additional test or tests for comparison. But before I get to that point, there are some serious issues that I need to resolve with the way the tests are reported.

My questions and comments are not directed at the procedures or scientific content of the tests, I am merely observing what I would characterize as very "fuzzy" history in the reporting of the results. The results from Ancestry are a very good example of my concerns. My Ancestry.com DNA test produced the following general percentages of genetic matches as follows:

• Great Britain 55%
• Scandinavia 29%
• Other regions 16%

When I expand the analysis, I get the following results:

• Great Britain 55%
• Scandinavia 29%
• Iberian Peninsula 11%
• Ireland 5%

When I expand the Irish component, I get the following expanded comment.

From my own research, I have ancestors who were born in Northern Ireland and were Protestants and most like came from Scotland. I also have ancestors who were born in Ireland that is now the Republic of Ireland. I also have some ancestors who, through research, clearly came from Wales and others that are definitely English. Now, I get to the issue of the ethnic history of each of these countries; England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The British Isles refers to a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of continental Europe. The earliest name for Great Britain is Albion. The term "Britannia" was used by the Romans after their conquest by Rome which began in 43 A.D. England's claims to Scotland resulted in more than a century and a half of war beginning in about 1174 and ending in 1296. The term "Great Britain" is loosely applied to what is further known as the United Kingdom. Quoting from Wikipedia: Great Britain:

Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination. However, it is sometimes used loosely to refer to the whole of the United Kingdom. 

Similarly, Britain, can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of counties. There is no clear distinction, even in government documents: the UK government yearbooks have used both "Britain" and "United Kingdom".

The full name of the "United Kingdom" is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irland." On May 1, 1707, the United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed as a result of the Acts of Union being passed by the parliaments of England and Scotland to ratify the 1706 Treaty of Union and so unite the two kingdoms.

There is a lot more history, but all this and more illustrates that the terms used by Ancesty.com in communicating the DNA results are even fuzzier than the results themselves. This is especially true when you look at the reference to Ireland which then includes both Wales and Scotland which are clearly, now, part of what is often called "Great Britain."

In addition, none of these quasi-political designations have anything at all to do with genetic ethnicity. The population of Great Britain is extremely diverse. For example, in 1066 A.D. there was a considerable influx of French influence. Telling me that I have a certain percentage of my ancestry from Great Britain and then dividing off Ireland, Scotland and Wales is not only historically naive but really doesn't give me any useful information compared to doing careful genealogical research from historical documents. 

On Burying the Skeletons in your Genealogical Closet

The British Museum crystal skull.

We all have a skeleton or two (or more) in our genealogical closets. What do we do with them? First of all, history is history. A quote from Michael Crichton is appropriate:

“If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree. ”

I think I have used that quote before, but it appropriate in the present context. Since we live in the present, anything that just happened becomes history. For genealogists, unless that history was recorded in some way, it simply did not happen. History becomes history when it is recorded. Of course, the methods of transmission vary considerably. Once we become interested in our family's history, we start to become aware of the possible sources of information about our family. We are immediate heirs to an oral history transmitted by our immediate relatives. Some of us are deprived of this oral history because we have little or no contact with our relatives because of adoptions, abandonments or other difficult situations. We may also be separated from our oral history because our immediate family is estranged from other family members or for a whole list of other reasons.

However, oral histories are very selective. In some cultures, oral histories are the main method of transmission but in our American and Western European-based culture in the United States, we only get our oral history, if at all, in bits and pieces. For most of us, starting our research into our family becomes a voyage into the unknown.

After spending years doing genealogical research and learning more and more about my ancestors, I find that there are plenty of skeletons that were entirely ignored by the relatively small number of stories that were transmitted through the oral history channel. I have found stories of inspiration and overcoming obstacles and hardship. But I have also found that some of my ancestors were not model citizens.

There is an old saying, that I first heard from the Walt Disney movie Bambi, that goes, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." This attitude is an undercurrent that strongly affects oral history transmissions. As I have solicited oral histories over the years, I have seen that there is a distinct tendency to ignore or eliminate any references to conflict or unpleasant issues. But sometimes, these issues are recorded in court records, newspaper articles, and other less editorial sources.

There is another saying that applies here and that is, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." In our case, as genealogists, we are happy to connect ourselves with all sorts of unsavory characters as long as they are back some distance in time and turn out to be famous or infamous. I am always amused that so many genealogists proudly display their "royal" ancestry when many of those same kings and queens were horrible people. It is interesting that some people will refuse to even talk about a close relative who has done something "terrible" but are proud to parade their more distant ancestors who did things that were much worse than the closer or more proximate relative.

Another aspect of this issue is the tendency genealogists display to rewrite history both to eliminate undesirable connections and to bridge gaps that they think need to be bridged. Although much of the inaccuracy of today's online family trees can be attributed to sloppy research and indiscriminate copying, there is a good measure of fabrication also. If a lengthy pedigree is impressive to some people, it is now easier than ever to acquire a long pedigree especially one leading back to royalty. It is also easy to overlook the lack of any supporting documentation. Many of the surname books I have inherited containing my "family history" start out with statements about how our family is related to royalty when no such connections have ever been documented.

Genealogists should be more in the mode of digging up the skeletons rather than burying them and don't forget that even the skeletons need to be carefully documented with the sources recorded.

DNA Update: Ancestry.com Results Are In.

Well, according to Ancestry.com, my connection to India and my Jewish Heritage both disappear and now I am Spanish. I have to believe that some of the conclusions from Ancestry are in the margin of error. When I received the results from the MyHeritage.com test, I could immediately see a correspondence to my own extensive research. However, I have never found any connections to the Iberian Peninsula in all my research. Here is what Ancestry.com had to say about my DNA test.

The results are as follows:

• Great Britain 55%
• Scandinavia 29%
• Iberian Peninsula 11%
• Ireland 5%

Here is the report from MyHeritage.com, which I have posted previously, for comparison.

The results here are as follows:

• British and Irish 87%
• Scandinavian 9.3%
• Ashkenazi Jewish 2.5%
• South Asia 1.2%

By the way, FamilySearch.org now has an interesting fan chart that shows your origin according to the records in your part of the Family Tree. Obviously, if you had someone from one part of the world move to another, the fact that a person was born in the place of arrival does not affect your ethnicity. But, you can see the results of your research rather than what a DNA test might show. Here is the fan chart.

Another obvious fact is that this is a report of existing research, not a glimpse into ancient origins. This fan chart also lumps all of the people in the United States together. Here the unknown people are those with no birthplace information. 

What is the reality? Who knows at this point. After spending a year reading and studying the genealogical DNA process, it looks to me that the margins of error erase any possible fine point conclusions. 

One important fact for me is that the MyHeritage.com DNA test conclusions are and were immediately explainable from my own research. Even the small percentage link to Southern Asia has a possible explanation backed up by research. However, the Ancestry.com DNA connection to the Iberian Peninsula is really interesting because my wife showed up with the same connection and neither of us in all our extensive research has found any possibilities that would indicate such a connection. 

Now let's get into a hypothetical situation. What if I had taken both these tests before I had done any genealogical research at all? What would I think? How would I proceed? Would either test have been at all helpful? Would I have been motivated to begin the research process because of the tests? I really can't answer any of those questions. My personal motivation to start doing genealogical research had nothing to do with a curiosity about my ancestry. Maybe someone else would be so motivated, but how would the average researcher approach their genealogical research any differently given the discrepancies between the two tests?

What will I now do differently than I would not have done before taking the tests? Absolutely nothing. I am still doing intensive research in Rhode Island. Oh, I didn't mention the two findings from Ancestry.com about their Genetic Communities that I have very likely had Mormon Pioneers in the Mountain West as ancestors and that I had Settlers of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts as ancestors. Both of those conclusions could have easily been determined from my Ancestry.com family tree. 

I guess I am left to speculate whether or not speaking Spanish almost all my life has somehow altered both my own and my wife's genetic makeup someway. 

More on this later when I calm down. 

Restricted Records -- A Word to the Wise

This is going to be short note. While doing a microfilm search on the Brigham Young University Family History Library webpage, I got the above response to my search. Because I seldom believe such notices, I immediately searched for the same item online. I found the both Ancestry.com and the Hathi Trust had compete and available digital copies online. I also found the item, a book, in the BYU Harold B. Lee Library.

Here is the word to the wise. Always assume that the item you are looking for is available in digital form online. You will be right more than half the time. If it is not online, it will be in the BYU Family History Library in Provo, Utah. If for any reason, it is not in the BYU Library, it will be in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. If it is in none of those places, it may be available through interlibrary loan. Only after all this searching, should you really feel justified in traveling to a remote repository to do some research.

Moral of this story? I do not have to travel, even to Salt Lake City.

Why we may be wrong in our approach to genealogical research

https://daily.jstor.org/have-humans-been-in-the-americas-longer-than-we-thought/

An article from the JSTOR Daily website entitled "Have Humans Been in the Americas Longer Than We Thought?" makes an interesting statement:

The study of human migration to the Americas shows that widely held beliefs can be proven wrong.

This statement is made in the context of the revisions that have been made to "accepted" theories about the time depth of human remains in America contradicting current dogma on the subject. This particular subject has interested me for many years and I have been watching as the dates are revised further and further into the past.

In my opinion, along with scientists, genealogists are among the most dogmatic people I know. Of course, there are other dogmatic people, but in this post I am focusing on these two groups.

We all know exactly how genealogical research should be conducted even if our methods vary considerably. What is also interesting about both scientists and genealogists is that they tend to have cadre of experts that try to heavily influence and control the rest of their respective communities. I ran into this when I was finishing up my Masters Thesis at the University of Utah. I had some opinions that clashed with the accepted scientific dogma of the time and was told by one professor in particular that if I followed that line of investigation, I would never get a job with a university in the United States. This is not an extreme example. I have a fairly good contact with the acedemic community today not only from my position on the Brigham Young University Campus, but also because many of my children and their spouses have advanced degrees and four of them are or were professors at major universities. I also taught at the community college level for many years.

As genealogists, we are presently caught in the middle of a huge technological revolution that is directly affecting how and even why we do our research. But there are those who wish to ignore the changes and maintain the comfort zone of "traditional" research methodology. It is not uncommon for me to encounter long-time genealogical research experts who barely know how to use a computer and who are not at all comfortable with online research. Many of them also have limited typing skills. Yet, they are still considered to be leaders and experts in the genealogical community.

For example, neither of the major genealogical certification programs contain any reference to using computers, online research or anything having to do with technology at all. Conceivably, an applicant to either organization could complete the entire process without using a computer except for typing in a word processing program. I was approached not long ago by a person who indicated that they were in the last stages of qualifying for one of the professional certification processes and asked me for help in getting onto a computer and for instructions about how to login to FamilySearch.org.

I am certainly not denigrating the skills outlined and selected by the certification organizations. But I am pointing out that genealogists fall into the same trap as scientists when they ignore or even oppose new discoveries and technological advances. I am sure that there are a large number of genealogists who have a broad understanding of technology and utilize all of the available resources, but currently they are a decided minority.

We are presently in a technological shift in genealogical research that is the functional equivalent of finding 130,000 year old stone implements in America. We are also experiencing the equivalent resistance to those changes as are the scientists who have found the ancient implements.

MyHeritage introduces the Collection Catalog

One of the things that has been "missing," in a sense, from MyHeritage.com is the ability to easily search a catalog of all of the collections. That issue has been decisively put to rest with the new Collection Catalog introduced yesterday, May 18, 2017. I immediately appreciated the utility of the new feature because I frequently use similar features on other programs. Here is where I found the link to the new feature:

It is located in the pull-down menu under the Research tab. The list of collections is impressive with a well-developed filtering system.

I find this kind of list particularly useful when I am looking for records in a specific part of the world. This list lets me know the time period covered by the records and whether or not the website has the particular records I am looking for.

For more detailed information about the Collection Catalog, please see the blog post entitled, "New: Collection Catalog. "

Genealogy and Premium Features: The Family Nexus

http://mailchi.mp/9e2c144cef3f/aw9rajply6?e=b86c63a459

One of the most interesting recently developed programs or "apps" for genealogy is The Family Nexus.

The Family Nexus is following what has now become a standard program development model. A programmer or developer comes up with a new idea for a program (for genealogy or any other area or interest) and after creating a workable product begins to promote a "free" version. Once the free version gains some traction, the developer adds a number of features and then introduces those features as a fee-based add-on to the original free version. Huge online genealogy programs such as MyHeritage.com still maintain their "free" version of their programs. The developers count on the fact that the added value of the upgrades or new features will attract paying customers.

This whole process is necessary since there are few options for providing a "free" program without ultimately obtaining some method of support. For example, in the case of The Family History Guide, a completely free program that intends to remain free, we are now promoting The Family History Guide Association, a non-profit corporation that will ask for and solicit donations to continue the work of the free website. Users of free computer programs should not be at all surprised when this happens.

One other trend is that programs and apps are going to a subscription model of marketing rather than a one-time sale. The reality is that the subscription model is really what has been happening all along. Every program that has endured for any period of time has had to be upgraded. Genealogists seem to be more prone than the rest of the computer world to complain about upgrades and the cost of upgrades. But since I used the first, pre-release versions of programs such as Microsoft Word and what is now called Adobe Photoshop, I have been constantly paying for upgrades. In some cases, the upgrade cost alone has caused me to abandon the program. Now, many of the programs I use are on annual subscriptions rather than paying for an annual upgrade.

The Adobe Creative Cloud is a good example. We use several Adobe programs regularly and the cost of upgrading those individual programs has, for some time, exceeded the cost of a subscription to the Creative Cloud. I also have subscriptions for my online backup program, some online storage programs and some other apps and programs such as the Microsoft Office Suite.

Going back to The Family Nexus, I strongly suggest downloading the free program and taking a look at the new features linked above. One of the challenges of trying to implement a fee-based program by piggy-backing it on a free program is setting a price that will be acceptable to subscribers. This issue engenders a lot of discussion and thought. Genealogists should realize that they wouldn't have any programs or apps or databases or anything at all unless someone paid for it.