MyHeritage Acquires MesAieux.com – Those with French-Canadian roots will want to know about this.

Charity Commission disqualifies former trustees of genealogy charity and recovers £113,000 – Fortunately, criminal genealogists are rare. Glad they snagged these two.

Photo by Dushawn Jovic on Unsplash

The post Genealogy Roundup, September 11 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Genealogy Songs – For anyone who’s playing with Suno, I’ve got a playlist of (AI-generated) genealogy songs I’d be happy to add yours to if you send me the link.

‘Dolly Parton & Family: Smoky Mountain DNA – Family, Faith & Fables’ Set For Release November 15 Via Owepar Entertainment – Who’s up for a 4-part docuseries and companion album on Dolly Parton’s roots (coming in November)? I love that the producer is a cousin – that person in the family who’s the go-to for family history. #genealogy

The post Genealogy Roundup, June 19 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Photo: AI-rendered image generated from the author’s prompts speculating what Taylor’s 2nd and 3rd great-grandmothers might have looked like beside the shore of a totally made-up version of Simon’s Town, South Africa.

The post Genealogy Roundup, February 28 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

How will you be remembered? Here’s how to adopt a ‘legacy’ mind-set.

BIG win on USCIS fees – Wow, they listened!

23andMe’s Fall From $6 Billion to Nearly $0 – Well, I can’t get beyond the paywall, but this is certainly newsworthy for the genealogy community.

‘I didn’t realise I was so loved’: the people hosting their own ‘living funerals’

Bruce Springsteen accepts Ellis Island award with his mother & aunts – Ah, I see Bruce Springsteen’s mother passed. If you’d like to see a sweet memory of this lovely, mighty woman, you might want to watch Bruce with his mother and her sisters when he was honored at Ellis Island. They join him about 3 minutes in.

Thomas Pursell’s Escape Burial Hatch – Can never be too safe when it comes to burial, eh?

More African Americans work to recover names of ancestors from before 1870 – Renate Yarborough-Sanders!!

At 116, She Has Outlived Generations of Loved Ones. But Her Entire Town Has Become Family. – Happy 116th, Edie!

World War II soldier from Metropolis, Illinois accounted for by Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency – Welcome home, Tech Sgt. William Luster Leukering. Honored to have researched your family.

Photo Credit: exakta under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, February 9 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Vibrant Mixed-Media Collages Give a Fresh Perspective on African American Ancestry – Always enjoy seeing examples of genealogy and art colliding, and this is no exception. You can check out more of Stan Squirewell’s work on his Instagram account (link in the article).

6 Things You Didn’t Know about Hannah Waddingham’s Roots – Seems a good time to share this again.

Photo Credit: Nuno Cardoso under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, December 6 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

B.C. man files 23andMe data breach class action suit – Here we go…

How an Academic Uncovered One of the Biggest Museum Heists of All Time – Love the persistence of Gradel. And all the doubters who discounted him is an all-too-familiar story.

This genie’s ready for the weekend! (and yes, I’ve been playing with AI again)

Meg Ryan’s Rusyn Roots – I did her Irish roots, so it’s only fair that I write about her Rusyn ones as well!

FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence – Just watched the White House briefing on this and liked what I heard. Appreciated Dr. Arati Prabhakar’s comment that AI had already come into our lives in ways that are both “troubling and delightful.” I’ve been having fun with AI, but agree that there’s reason for some kind of guard rails. This EO has been under development for about a year and I’m glad to hear of early days of international buy-in as well.

Funeral Procession Route Set For WWII Pilot Who Was MIA For 80 Years – Welcome home, 1st Lt. Edward Timothy McGuire. Honored to have researched your family.

We Are Not Merely Photographers, We Are Historians As Well – This will resonate with my fellow genies.

Gonna tell everyone these were my great-grandparents.

The A.I. Dilemma – This video about AI is long, but worth a watch. A few phrases that caught my attention:
“Your dreams are no longer safe.”
“What we think is no longer hidden from the outside world.”
“race to intimacy”

New genetic genealogy database for solved crimes reveals startling trends – Interesting patterns already starting to emerge.

The Secret Cemetery – Hart Island has long fascinated me (as well as probably most who care about NYC history), so this article both interested and heartened me.

So I’m one of the many authors whose work was appropriated to train AI.

Unopened 18th-century love letters to French sailors read for first time – Adore stories like this. We can all hope, right?

Top Image Credit: Google DeepMind under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, November 8 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

She’s going back to her acting roots, so I took a dive into her ancestral ones.

It’s been a while, but Meg Ryan, America’s rom-com queen, anointed through her memorable roles in When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail, is re-emerging with What Happens Later, a movie she co-wrote, directed, and stars in. I’m among the many looking forward to getting snowed in at the airport with both Ryan and her co-star, David Duchovny, but in the interim, decided to climb her family tree.

Born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, she assumed her maternal grandmother’s maiden name of Ryan when she became an actress, and those with Irish ancestry will recognize Meg (as well as Peg and Peggy) as a nickname for Margaret. As I researched, it slowly dawned on me that her original name reflects three generations of her direct maternal line since her grandmother was named Margaret Mary, her great-grandmother Emily, and her great-great-grandmother Ann. What a lovely tribute.

After some digging, I arrived at the following roots recipe for Meg Ryan: 31.25% Irish, 25% Rusyn (from present-day Poland), 25% Polish (from present-day Lithuania), 12.5% German, and 6.25% English. Yes, I know it’s confusing that her Rusyn ancestors were from Poland and her Polish ones from Lithuania (welcome to the dynamic borders of Slavic genealogy), but for now, let’s focus on her Irish portion.

As I delved more deeply into her Ryan line, it started ticking all the classic New York Irish boxes, starting with her immigrant, great-great-grandfather, Timothy Ryan, who worked as a bartender. This was likely with his brother, James, who was a liquor dealer and associated with a billiards saloon.

1880 census for Timothy Ryan and family (Ancestry)

Timothy’s son, Thomas (Meg’s great-grandfather), had intended to become a lawyer, but inspired by Theodore Roosevelt, joined the police department instead and worked his way up to Inspector. Spending about four decades on the force, he was known for being dedicated and squeaky clean.

Obituary of Thomas T. Ryan, Daily News, 26 November 1936 (Newspapers)

WWII draft registration for Thomas T. Ryan (Jr.), (Ancestry)

The Daily Star, 22 July 1932 (FultonHistory)

So bartender, police officer, and fireman. You can’t get much more New York Irish than that. Or can you? One of Thomas Jr.’s sisters, it turned out, was a Rockette. In fact, Emily was one of the original ones known as Roxyettes when the dancing troupe migrated from St. Louis, Missouri to New York. The Ryan family is rightfully proud of this, but Thomas must have been especially grateful since he met his wife – whose sister also happened to be a Rockette – through this connection.

It seems the Ryan line also introduced the entertainment gene as high-kicking Emily married a pioneering NBC radio star whose name (Charles O’Connor) might be recognized today if he hadn’t died young. And then there was Thomas and Emily’s sister, Lucille.

This great-aunt of Meg’s was a hospital recreational worker for the Red Cross, serving in Africa, England and France during World War II. Instead of returning home at the end of the war, she joined the American Forces Radio Network as both an announcer and actress. Working primarily in France and Germany, she was the only female announcer on the network, and her show (“My Gal Saturday”) was broadcast across much of Europe.

Long Island Star-Journal, 23 July 1946 (FultonHistory)

That’s all well and good, I can almost hear readers in Ireland saying, but where in Ireland do the Ryans come from? In this case, it’s O’Briensbridge in County Clare that gets the bragging rights.

1833 baptism of immigrant great-great-grandfather, Timothy Ryan (Catholic Parish Registers at National Library of Ireland)

And for those who might be hoping to claim Meg Ryan as a distant cousin but have no Ryan ancestors, there’s still a chance. As I mentioned at the outset, she’s 5/8ths Irish, so other names and places come into play. If your family tree includes Duggan, Keliher, Luby/Looby, McManus, Thomas, or Whyte/White, you could potentially be related – particularly if your Duggans hail from Macroom, Cork or your Lubys from Clonmel, Tipperary.

Now you’re equipped to watch What Happens Later being well versed on what happened before.

The post Meg Ryan’s Irish Heritage appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Meg Ryan’s Irish Heritage – In case you hadn’t heard, Meg Ryan’s got a new movie coming out that’s something of a return to her rom-com roots, so I decided to look into her other ones.

Texas WWII veteran to buried in Belton, 80 years after his death – Welcome home, Tech. Sgt. Turner Yearwood Johnston. Honored to have researched your family.

Ancestry Launches Parental Traits Inheritance; Bringing a deeper understanding of which parent’s DNA has the most influence on their offspring’s unique DNA makeup – Interesting, but I already know I’m a spice-loving, risk-taking, eat/drink-anything, boogie-down, non-sneezing introvert – and with the exception of the hothead trait (self-induced ), I know exactly which came from Mom, from Dad, and from both!

The 5 Clones in Argentina’s Election – So the guy who might be Argentina’s next president plans on appointing a “national cloner” due to his beloved 5-pack of cloned dogs.

AI Is About to Photoshop Your Memories – I know we genealogists have been thinking about this.

These identical twins dress alike daily. They are 84 years old. – These two are getting serious mileage out of their twindom!

Don’t ever change, AI:

Top Photo Credit: Quinn Dombrowski under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, October 25 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Emergency! Everybody to Get From Street! – Ah, no. Alan Arkin. My Slavic family has loved him ever since his “The Russians Are Coming” days. “Emergency, everybody to get from streets.” And “Little Miss Sunshine.” One of the best ever. Rest well, Sir. Your memory is an absolute delight.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

The post Genealogy Roundup, July 5 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Remains of Indiana soldier killed during World War II identified – This was a daunting case, sent to me as high priority last year, so I’m even more pleased than usual that this hero has been identified. Welcome home, Pfc. Leonard Elkins Adams. Honored to have researched your family.

Veterans Voices: PFC Mark Wilson to be buried in Arlington Cemetery 79 years after death in WWII – Welcome home, PFC Mark P. Wilson. Honored to have researched your family.

Reclaiming a North Carolina Plantation – Interesting article from an unexpected source.

Introducing Reimagine: Scan and Improve Photos – Has anyone checked out MyHeritage’s Reimagine app? Looks as if it will be $50/year for full functionality.

With Gloria and Emilio Estefan at the 2023 Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Awards!

Chrissy Teigen Started ‘Spiraling’ After Genealogy Test Mistakenly Said She Had an Identical Twin – For obvious reasons, celebs are always tested under fake names, but I never thought I’d see an outcome like this!

One English Family Took Photos of Shipwrecks for More Than a Century – Love these tales of unexpected mini-archives from unexpected sources (in this case, photographs by 5 generations of one family), but rescue those negatives!

I never thought I cared about my family history, and then I went to Ireland – “it was a pile of rocks on an oceanside cliff that gave me the genealogical awakening I needed”

Top Photo Credit: Johnny Silvercloud under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, June 7 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.