Greetings Fellow Family History Sleuths,

Well, it was a long time in the making, but I'm pleased this month to share an article I just published about the astonishing story that spilled out of the photo of a Syrian immigrant arriving in New York back in 1890. I love it when a simple artifact takes you on an unexpected journey, and this one certainly did!

Aside from that, you'll find a pair of soldiers coming home, a couple of interesting pieces on genetic genealogy, some orphan heirloom reunions, and good news for those chasing their Belgian roots. And oh, yeah, two *more* social media networks to join me on if you happen to be there as well!

Until next time,

Captured in Time: Syrian Immigrant Sultana Numeir upon Arrival in America in 1890

Sultana as seen in original photo and after colorization and enhancement (via MyHeritage and Photoshop Elements)

The fact that this image exists is remarkable enough, but the story that spilled out of it is even more so. Included in a scrapbook of immigrant photos taken between 1890 and 1892 by E.W. Austin who worked at the Barge Office while Ellis Island was being constructed (well before the widely known Augustus Sherman and Lewis Hine collections), it’s clear that it meant more to him (or perhaps the recipient) than most as close inspection reveals that it had once been framed. And then there was the caption which was more detailed than usual: “Sultana Numeir, age 18 — Lebanon, Syria — speaks English & Spanish.”

Wondering whether I could pick up Sultana’s trail to learn what had become of this striking young woman, I received a quick assist when I realized a neighboring photo in the album also included Sultana. This one was described as “a family of 4 from Syria, Turkey — Two Hebrews from Oran, Algiers.”

It didn’t take long to find a matching family with a daughter named Sultana arriving around the expected time in New York passenger records. They had sailed from Italy which explains why the entries for Sultana and her brother said “figlia” and “figlio” (son and daughter) and their mother’s “moglie” (wife). Listed above them was their father/husband, Soliman Numeir.

Ages were given for each and the family was entered as Moroccan. This last seemed a little odd since they were supposedly Syrian, but I’m accustomed to seeing contradictions in records of this vintage, so was still optimistic that this would give me enough to follow them forward in time.

I tried the usual resources for immigrants — census, naturalization, city directories, etc. — but came up empty. Where had they gone? Had they changed their name, moved elsewhere, or maybe returned home? Knowing it was a long shot, I turned to newspapers. Recent immigrants rarely made the papers unless there was trouble of some sort, but you never know and I was running out of options.

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Genealogy Roundup, February 15

Image Credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Do police have access to your DNA? What to know about investigative genetic genealogy – Good overview of the current state of genetic genealogy.

So now I'm on Mastodon, Post, and - the latest entry - Spoutible. If you're on any of them, please let me know!

Museum of Lost Memories helps reunite misplaced family mementos with their owners – Many genealogists do this, but the scale and use of crowd-sourcing take this to another level. ❤️

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Genealogy Roundup, February 8

Photo Credit: Several seconds under Creative Commons license

Netflix Wants to Chop Down Your Family Tree – This isn't as genealogical as the title would have you think, but it does make you contemplate what a "family" is.

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Genealogy Roundup, February 1

Photo Credit: @USArmy under Creative Commons license

Montana Soldier Accounted For From WWII – Welcome home, Cpl. Franklin H. Bennett. Honored to have researched your family. Am especially relieved because this case was exceedingly difficult - one of the few I wasn't confident I'd be able to solve.

Tennessee soldier killed during WWII identified – Welcome home, PFC Mark P. Wilson. Honored to have researched your family.

Tracing Belgian family trees made easier by massive new archive – Not that Belgian genealogy (recently mucked about in them for the Santos story) was hard before, but still welcome news!

Victorian ring returned to original owner’s family after decades, following chance encounter – Have always loved this kind of orphan heirloom reunion story - better still for the fact that she rescued the ring when she was only 8.

A DNA test revealed the CEO is my half brother … and he’s freaking out – I've heard of co-workers learning that they're related via DNA tests, but this is a new scenario for me - learning that your company's CEO is your half-brother. 😬🧬

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