genealogy
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More than 100 U.S. Politicians Have Ancestral Ties To Slavery, New Report Reveals
A new Reuters investigation shows how many U.S. leaders are descendants of slaveholders.
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Angela Davis’ Reaction To A Big Reveal Was the Most Priceless Thing We’ve Seen All Week
The activist found out she's a direct descendant of the Founding Fathers. We talked to the genealogist behind the shocking revelation.
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Police Obtain Warrant for Ancestry.com DNA Database
A Pennsylvania court gave law enforcement officers access to the world’s largest DNA database in the world. We don’t really know when this happened or why the cops wanted the data. Ancestry.com, however, refused to comply with the warrant and the issue hasn’t really been settled so…I’m sure everything will work out. Every year, the…
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Tracing Your Roots: My Ancestor’s Census Record Is Confusing!
Here’s how to approach an unrecognized or illegible notation, as well as missing information, in a record. Dear Professor Gates: I have come across the abbreviation “WS” in the column for “Place of birth” in the 1910 census for Monroe County, Miss. It occurs several times, in both the mother’s and father’s “Place of birth”…
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Tracing Your Roots: How Do I Research My Cuban Origins?
Inspired by a shocking revelation on Professor Henry Louis Gates’ show, a woman wonders how to research her own heritage. Dear Professor Gates: My family is from Cuba. I have always had a desire to verify the oral histories from both sides of my family about our heritage. The episode of your PBS television show…
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How Do I Legally Prove Native American Ancestry?
For this week’s column, we decided to address a topic that comes up frequently in your questions: How does one legally establish Native American ancestry? Legal recognition as a tribal member varies depending on the Native American nation in which you seek enrollment. Native American communities are sovereign nations and, as such, have their own…
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Tracing Your Roots: Untangle My Redbone Heritage
A mystery illustrates how an 18th-century family became caught up in Virginia’s laws around race, sex and freedom. Dear Professor Gates: My book about the triracial “redbones” of the 18th century, My Bones Are Red, came out in 2005 from Mercer University Press. I’d like to pick up where I left off in my research…
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The Museum of You: The International African American Museum Wants to Personalize African-American History With Its Genealogy Center
Museums can impart a vast amount of information to visitors, sharing with them history, culture, science, art. But what if a museum could personalize your own story, your own background and your own history? That is exactly what the International African American Museum is hoping to do with the launch Tuesday of its Center for…
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Tracing Your Roots: Deciphering Illegible Genealogy Records
Use these pro tips for handling poorly reproduced images from microfilm or microfiche. Dear Professor Gates: You answered a question I had about one of my ancestors in the 2016 column “Was My Southern Ancestor Adopted?” I have since been able to get ahold of the medical records of Mary Ryman from Bryce Hospital. However,…