Happy Dance

I was not planning to write a article for this Carnival of Genealogy, since it has been years since I had a “Happy Dance” on my genealogy. I do the research for EWGS and have had many “Happy Dances” for others I have helped over the years, but today I got a phone call from a gentleman in Springfield, Missouri asking about my Kelly family, and that he was a grandson to a brother of my great grandfather Robert Forsyth Kelly. He was wondering where I got all the birth and death dates I had in my Kelly family. I got them from my grandfather's bible which I still have. He found me through the “Yellowjacket” the newsletter of the Great River Genealogical Society of Quincy, Illinois. This newsletter covers all of Adams county Illinois and Robert Forsyth Kelly's grandfather Robert Forsyth settled near Ursa in Adams county Illinois on a War of 1812 bounty land that he purchased. Robert Forsyth had been in the War of 1812 in the battle of Detroit under William Henry Harrison. The gentleman was hoping to find some information on Robert Forsyth Kelly, as his grandfather was Charles Bryan Kelly and a brother to Robert Forsyth Kelly. He says he has some pictures of Thomas and Margaret Kelly the parents of Robert and Charles and proof that they had ancestors in the Revolutionary War. I think I already have that information, but he says his includes pictures. The booklet I have says it is part of a larger book which I have never been able to find and my booklet does not have any pictures, so I am hoping he has this book. He says he is mailing me the copies tomorrow. I have a picture of the Forsyth house in Ursa, and an account of the War of 1812 battle Robert Forsyth took part in to trade and quite a lot about the descendants of Robert Forsyth Kelly. Although Robert Forsyth and his wife are buried in the cemetery in Ursa on land donated to the church by Robert Forsyth, their daughter married Thomas Kelly and Thomas Kelly, his wife Margaret, and sons Robert Forsyth Kelly and his three wives, and Charles Bryan Kelly and his wife Laura are all buried in a cemetery in Trenton, Missouri. After Robert Forsyth Kelly died my grandfather gave Charles Bryan Kelly money for a stone for his dad, but when we visited that cemetery a few years ago only Charles and Laura Kelly had stones, so we paid the caretaker to get and place stones for Thomas, Margaret, Robert Forsyth, and the three wives of Robert Forsyth. That makes six graves and the caretaker said Robert bought eight plots. Charles and Laura are not buried close to Robert so I guess they got their own plot. The only other person we could think might be there was my grandfathers brother, he died at age three and so my grandfather was almost an only child. We never found an obit for his brother, nor proof he was buried there, but placed a stone anyway. The caretaker sent us some nice pictures of all the new stones, and I really want to get back there some day to see them in person, My grandfather Charles Rupert Kelly was born in Trenton, Missouri as was my mom, and I was named after both my grandfathers Charles Michael Hansen, Michael from my other grandfather Anton Michael Hansen. Anton's father was Hans Mikkelson so Michael was also from my great grandfather and great great grandfather Mikkel Madsen.

Do You Have a Family Mystery That Might Be Solved by DNA?

Blaine Bettinger, a.k.a. "Dr. DNA", a.k.a. "The Genetic Genealogist", is the host of the 35th Carnival of Genealogy, whose topic is, "Do You Have a Family Mystery That Might Be Solved by DNA?"

Nineteen bloggers submitted 21 posts with their questions regarding their families' ancestral mysteries--from finding Native American heritage to questioning how far we want to go, ethically, in uncovering family secrets--and Blaine answered each and every one.

In my husband's family, we have created the Midkiff Family DNA Project to determine whether all the Midkiffs found in North America have a common ancestor. Many of the various Midkiff family lines have "brickwalled" in the early 19th and late 18th centuries, including my husband's line, which "stops" with his earliest known ancestor, Franklin Preston MIDKIFF (c. 1800 - c. 1839) of Lincoln Co. (now Moore Co.), Tennessee. By testing various Midkiff men using the Y-DNA test, we now know of two other Midkiff lines that connect to Franklin, proving a common ancestor who lived sometime between 1700 - 1800, probably in Virginia. The two other lines are "brickwalled" at David MIDKIFF (c. 1769 - 1840s) and John MIDKIFF (b. c. 1740), both of Pittsylvania Co., Virgina. Our Family DNA Project is also in communication with the Metcalfe Family DNA Project, as we believe that "Midkiff" is an alternate spelling of that name.

If you are interested in learning more about DNA as it relates to genealogy, I suggest becoming a frequent reader of Blaine's blog, The Genetic Genealogist. He has a free e-book that can be downloaded here, which is called 10 DNA Testing Myths Busted, and Other Favorite Posts. It is available in .pdf format (read with Adobe Reader, a free program most of us have on our computers). He also recommends great books for those interested in learning more. There are five beginner books and 10 more scientific ones on his list, and I plan on reading every one! Currently, I'm reading The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Bryan Sykes. It's a fascinating read involving many of my favorite mysteries that I used to love to watch on Nova, Unsolved Mysteries, and the like: Was Anna Anderson really the daughter of Czar Nicholas II? Are the Polynesians descendants of Asians or South Americans?

Another must-read blog for those interested in genetics is Megan's RootsWorld by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak. Megan, a professional genealogist, coined the term "genetealogy" and has written, among many books, Trace Your Roots with DNA. Her expertise in both genealogy and genetics is often featured in magazines, newspapers, and television shows, including the Hallmark Channel's New Morning, where we see how Megan returned a photo album found in the trash to its rightful owner, halfway around the world!

We have been lucky that twice in the past year we've had an opportunity to hear experts speak on this topic locally: first, Ugo Perego from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation spoke at the North Stake Family History Center's Family History Conference in March; and our own Bernie Middleton made an excellent presentation, "DNA in Genealogical Reseach" at our April general meeting. The study of DNA as it relates to family history is not going to go away. It is a useful, fascinating tool that can aid us in our research, and it behooves us to educate ourselves on this topic.

News from the Genealogy Blogging World

Here's some news that's been making its rounds in the genealogy blogging world lately:

• Georgia's state death index from 1919 - 1927 is now available online with links to digital images of original death certificates. Details are here.
• The parent company that owns Ancestry.com, The Generations Network, has been acquired by Spectrum Equity Investors. Details are here, and a current list of commentary and interviews of CEO Tim Sullivan are here.
• "Halloween and the Supernatural" was the theme of the 34th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, which was hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene. Click on the link to read your free online "magazine" of great genealogy-related "articles" written by 19 bloggers! (I forgot to write about the 33rd Carnival edition when it came out. Its topic was "Weddings," and was published October 4th.)
  
• Craig Manson, a genea-blogging law professor, has published a new series of law lessons entitled "Defamation and Privacy Issues in Genealogy" on his blog, GeneaBlogie. The first post is here. Craig's last series on the law regarding genealogy was about whether Ancestry.com violated copyright law with its Internet Biographical Database (part one of that series is here).

The 32nd Carnival of Genealogy is Posted!

Susan Kitchens of Family Oral History Using Digital Tools is the host of the 32nd Carnival of Genealogy. The topic? "Family Stories of Wartime," in honor of Ken Burns' new documentary series, "The War," coming to PBS on Sunday, September 23rd.

"What is a Carnival?" you may be asking. A blog carnival is like an online magazine, but instead of the articles being all in one place, they are posted on the individual blogs of each author. The links to all the posts, along with summaries and/or descriptions for the topic of the carnival, are posted at the blog of the host--in this case, Susan. Just as you enjoy reading a genealogy magazine such as Internet Genealogy, Family Tree Magazine, or Ancestry, you will also enjoy reading the posts from the Carnival of Genealogy. As usual, there are a variety of interesting and informative posts that were submitted for this particular Carnival. I learn something new in the fields of genealogy and history at every one! The Carnival is also a great way to "meet" other genea-bloggers (our invented moniker for "genealogy blogger") and discover great new blogs to add to your feed reader! You may find a genea-blogger who writes about an area where your ancestors once lived, learn some helpful research tips that could break down your brick wall, or discover a great trick that could improve your Internet-researching skills!

I encourage you to head to Susan's blog to start reading!