Fellow Family History Sleuths,

There's just so much good genealogical stuff this month! I hope you can find time to grab a cup of coffee or tea and browse. Whether you want to learn about the 30 million Mayflower descendants, the latest social media platforms, a woman who's lived in the same house for 105 years (incidentally, in a place called Huthwaite, which also happens to be the name of a company I once worked for), books like Facemaker and TV shows like Detectorists, or what a pair of twins did when they discovered they had 65 other siblings, there's something here for you. You might want to plan on a second cup!

See you in Autumn!

Cut from the Same Cloth: Joe Biden and Stephen Colbert Share More than Their Irish Heritage

Joseph Biden and Stephen Colbert (author’s photos)

Genealogy has been an unexpected door-opener for me leading to many “Who the hell let me in here?” moments over the years — not the least of which are the opportunities I’ve had to interact with President Biden. As an Irish American, I rarely miss a chance to delve into the Irish ancestry of those I admire, so I’ve been exploring his roots since 2008 and written about them several times, including “Joey from Scranton” (pages 56–59) when he was inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame.

Joe Biden has made numerous trips to Ireland over the years, but his journey in April 2023 was his first as President, and for both Ireland and Irish Americans, that’s a big deal. As journalist Lynne Kelleher, author of The Green and White House points out, next to John F. Kennedy, he is the most Irish of American presidents.

I’ve shared my discoveries about plenty of others with Irish heritage including Bruce Springsteen, Melissa McCarthy, Jimmy Fallon, Barack Obama, Katy Perry, Rachel Maddow, and Judy Collins, but have long been struck by the parallels between Joe Biden and one other in particular — and that’s Stephen Colbert.

I started climbing Colbert’s family tree back in 2007 and first offered some gleanings in “The Colbert (Genealogical) Report” (pages 38–41 — and yes, it was that long ago). So what do they have in common?

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Genealogy Roundup, August 16

Photo Credit: NoName_13 under Creative Commons license

The Nostalgia Machine – A fun toy for finding popular songs in any year. Maybe try the year you were born or from when you were first really getting into music! 🎧

Video: Exclusive: How a Rare Portrait of an Enslaved Child Arrived at the Met – Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to get a free link for non-subscribers, but this video is so worth watching that I’m sharing it anyway. If you’re able to access it, please take a few minutes to watch this fascinating tale.

UPDATE: I'm learning on other platforms that most people *are* able to view this video, so I hope that applies to you!

Someone uploaded this fellow into one of the online trees I'm working on and I can't stop seeing Josh Groban.

Northumberland coastal village creates one of the world's largest family trees – Love this kind of local initiative. Reminds me of what a handful of us did with Osturňa, Slovakia some years back. ❤️

30 Million People Today Are Descendants of Passengers on the Mayflower – I don't think this will be a surprise to most genealogists, but props to the writer for including pedigree collapse!

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Genealogy Roundup, August 9

Photo Credit: Melinda Young Stuart under Creative Commons license

Obituary for a Quiet Life – “a quiet life isn’t a passive life”

Twins discover they have 65 other siblings across North America - When life hands you 65 unexpected siblings, go to a New Jersey gym and workout on treadmills with them. 🧬☺️

First time I’ve seen a family tree for a book! Canva tool provided to make your own as well! 🌳 📚

Families of England – From Jeremy Singer-Vine - really interesting even if you have no English roots!

The Families of England project, led by economic historians Gregory Clark and Neil Cummins, aims “to reconstruct the economic and social position, and the demography, of a representative set of English families” over time. A recent paper by Clark includes a public version of the dataset, which “details the family connections of 422,374 people with rarer surnames in England for births from 1600 to 2022.” The dataset, based in part on genealogies from the Guild of One-Name Studies, indicates (where available) each person’s years of birth, marriage, and death, plus indicators of literacy, sex, occupational status, and more.

Just reconnected with a 2nd cousin because an email from his bakery (his cake was ready) came to me. Sometimes it's handy to have an unusual name!

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Genealogy Roundup, August 2

Photo Credit: sarahhsia under Creative Commons license

The Story of China’s Largest Genealogy Collection – Dick Eastman finds the most interesting genealogy content from around the globe!

Palmer veteran identified in remains from Korean War – Welcome home, Cpl. Gordon Dennis McCarthy. Honored to have researched your family. (2011)

Can you imagine living in the same house for 105 years? Elsie was born in her Huthwaite home And yes, it appears on the 1921 Census. Can you spot it? – Ah, this is charming!

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Genealogy Roundup, July 26

The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I – I’m guessing a number of my fellow genealogists have read this, yes? I had high expectations from Lindsey Fitzharris and she didn’t disappoint. So much to absorb.

Is it just me or is it becoming harder and harder to tell whether someone's died? And yes, I realize that must sound strange to non-genealogists. 🙃

The genealogist who unearthed a dark family secret: ‘Discovering I had a traitor for an ancestor has been a rollercoaster’ – Love this article about renowned genealogist Nick Barratt and his experience uncovering a rogue in his own family tree. 😬

Woman's reaction to finding out she's turning 100 is so wholesome and relatable – ☺️ 🎂 💯

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