New Scandinavian Cooking

When AncestryDNA recently announced that they were updating their ethnicity tables, I got all excited. I really like Scandinavian food, especially their fish n potatoes, and I figured that now, finally, Ancestry would finally prove that I was descended from Vikings! I watch the PBS program New Scandinavian Cooking regularly and have figured that they were all my cousins.

Well, it didn’t turn out that way. Yes, the Scottish and Irish may have descended from the early Danes or Norwegians, but my DNA supposedly doesn’t prove that! Or does it have something to do with the fact that ethnicity data via DNA only reaches back about 500 years or less and my ancestors moved out of the Scandinavian areas before then ?

This new swipe at my ethnicity feels a bit more accurate, but alas, I still don’t feel satisfied. Perhaps I need to try to do percentages from my genealogical tree!

If you did the AncestryDNA test, be sure to check the new ethnicity estimates. You might be a bit surprised!

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“It’s important to keep an open mind, in the absence of data.” – Elissa Epel

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Macintosh Reunion Users Workshop

Item from group meeting today

At the DNA Discussion group today, I mentioned a bit about a phenotype study Parabon is doing.  I have decided it does not relate to the MoCoGenSo  charter, so I am not posting the information here.

But I did promise to provide the information to the DNA group.  If you are interested, you can see the information in my personal blog: CLICK HERE.

If you are not interested in this subject, just ignore this post.  Thanks
Jim Robeson

Geneanet . org

Today during the DNA Discussion meeting we were shown a genealogical site that I hadn’t seen before. Geneanet is a European based genealogy research service headquartered in France. Launched in 1996 specifically to help family historians search for and share relevant information, the website has had over a decade to accumulate submitted data and add that to its ever growing archive of records.

Basic services are free, and there is a fee based Premium service too. You can build your tree with Gedcom upload. And you can upload your DNA data files from other companies. They do not do DNA testing but they do matching!

If you are “into” genealogy and have European ancestry, this site is worth a look. Give it a once over, do some searching. Our demo today made the site look interesting.

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Goodness gracious, Rootstech 2021 is online too

Go to rootstech.org, click in the Virtual Event dropdown in the middle upper bar, and register for this event. Online is getting better and better!

(free? for real? I’ve gotta learn more)

2021 ANCESTOR ROUNDUP: SAVE THE DATE!

The 40th Annual Ancestor Roundup Genealogy Seminar will be held as a virtual online event on Saturday, January 23, 2021.  The local DAR is in the process of setting up the classes and will provide more detailed information at a later date.

This seminar, put on by the local Commodore Sloat Chapter of the DAR, is always a highlight of the year for genealogists of all experience levels. The covid-19 virus has forced them to hold the meetings online. I think this is actually a blessing in disguise — I will be able to drink coffee all morning and eat popcorn all afternoon! And there will be no line at the restroom! What a deal… Yes, I will miss meeting everyone at the great luncheons. Those deserts were always great. But, I do plan to attend! Hopefully you can make it too.

The seminar is an all day event, so plan accordingly. Reserve Saturday, January 23, 2021 for genealogy reasons!

If you are interested and did not receive an email about this, contact Suzanne Schultz with your questions at monterey.californiadar.org/ or DAR.AncestorRoundup@gmail.com .

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The AncestryDNA matching updates have been completed.

Darn, I was wrong when I wrote that post inviting us to the DNA Sig meeting: Ancestry.com actually HAS competed the changes they promised! It took a woman in London to set me on the correct path. Embarrassing, it is.

CLICK HERE to see the Cruwys news blog by Debbie Kennett where she does a pretty good job talking about the changes.

Hopefully we can have a good discussion tomorrow at the DNA Discussions meeting. I can at least show how I got confused.

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Now I have to change the other post to “make it right”!

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Heads Up – Reunion Users – Zoom Meeting Tomorrow!

See below for link to a Zoom meeting for Mac / Reunion users. Copy by hand.

Monthly Meeting – September 3, 2020 – “Getting Ready for the 1950 Census: Searching With and Without a Name Index” by Stephen P. Morse via Zoom

When the 1950 census will be released in April 2022, it will not have a name index. Finding people in the census will involve searching by location instead. Even when a name index becomes available, there will still be many reasons for doing locational searches. The census is organized by Enumeration District (EDs), so the location needs to be converted to an ED before the census can be accessed. The One-Step website stevemorse.org contains numerous tools for obtaining EDs. This talk will present the various tools and show circumstances in which each can be used.

Stephen P. Morse was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies in 2006, the APGQ Excellence Award, and the National Genealogical Society – Award of Merit in 2007. It was in recognition of exceptional contributions to the field of Genealogy. His “One-Step” search tools have assisted genealogists greatly by making it easier to find their ancestors within existing large genealogical databases. He is a computer professional who holds a doctoral degree in electrical engineering. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 which sparked the PC revolution.

The Zoom meeting will start at 7:00 pm sharp. For security reasons, the meeting will be by invitation only. If you are not a member and wish to attend, send an email with your email address to our Membership VP, Marilyn Ruccello.

If you are not familiar with Zoom, click here.

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”The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits!” – Albert Einstein

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DNA Painter is starting a monthly newsletter

A new monthly tips newsletter by email is starting soon at the DNA Painter site. Join the mailing list and get a $5 discount on your next payment. You do not have to have an account to sign up. It only asks for your email address. Just go to the web site at http://dnapainter.com .