Fellow Family History Sleuths,

Once again, I'm popping into your mailbox with a bunch of random genealogical goodies! In this issue, you'll find topics such as playing with AI, the concept of good-handedness, my Osturňa roots (video!), and the history of and upcoming changes to the U.S. census. Here's hoping you'll find some tidbits of interest, and better yet, something that helps with your own ancestral journey!

7 Things You Didn’t Know about Hakeem Jeffries’ Roots

Official Portrait, 2022

America’s highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, recently made his presence known with his inaugural address in this role, a poetic A to Z inventory of values that inspires or schools, depending on how the listener feels about democracy and decency. Intrigued like millions of others who have since viewed the speech, I was curious to learn more about Rep. Jeffries, and for me, that meant taking a dive into his genealogical past. For others who might share my curiosity, here are a few of the discoveries my research turned up:

Click here to continue reading.

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Genealogy Roundup, October 18

I didn't wind up doing this with my actual tombstone, but I was tempted!

An American Puzzle: Fitting Race in a Box – Interesting article on the census (gift link). Main topic is how we'll have more options for "race or ethnicity" going forward. I know some genies (like me) have been handwriting specifics for the last few decades (Irish-Rusyn!), but we'll all have more flexibility. This piece also includes a useful historical overview of changes in census records since 1790.

The musical road in Hungary – Would someone please do this with I-95?

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Genealogy Roundup, October 11

Just another day at the office. (Also, having entirely too much fun with AI.)

I tried to create an "archives" emoji and got this. Not really what I asked for, but could work to express when you've had a disappointing day of research in the field, eh?

I like this concept of good-handedness and it's so gratifying when you experience it.

Someone please introduce me to this genealogist because I want to know her!

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Genealogy Roundup, October 4

Photo Credit: Nikolas Fečunda via YouTube

Osturňa (documentary by Nikolas Fečunda) – Welcome to my roots! This is the village that's home of all the Smolenyaks (and variations), and it's remarkable to see a documentary about it. The producer also kindly added English subtitles. This is a must-watch for anyone with Osturňa roots, but many others will enjoy it too.

Census Tree FAQ – Hmm. Might be some interesting things that could be done with this cross-pollinated US census data.

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Genealogy Roundup, September 27

Photo Credit: Ronel Reyes under Creative Commons license

Soldier Accounted for from Korean War (Hill, L.) – Welcome home, Cpl. Lewis William Hill. Honored to have researched your family. (2010)

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