Jumping on the Birthplace Chart Bandwagon

The latest craze is doing a five or six generation pedigree type chart that shows birthplaces rather than names – with each unique birthplace a different color.  While some of them are a riot of colors, as a second generation American, mine is very dull. Another generation would just add more blue.

				POLAND
			POLAND
		POLAND		POLAND
				POLAND
	MINNESOTA		POLAND
				POLAND
				POLAND
			POLAND
MINNESOTA		POLAND		POLAND
				POLAND
			POLAND
				POLAND
				POLAND
			POLAND
		POLAND		POLAND
				POLAND
	MINNESOTA		POLAND
				POLAND
				POLAND
			POLAND
		POLAND		POLAND
				POLAND
			POLAND
				POLAND

 

My children's 6 generation chart is much more colorful. Until I made this chart, I'd forgotten that their father had Bohemian ancestry on both sides of his family

				BOHEMIA
			ILLINOIS
		ILLINOIS		BOHEMIA
				BOHEMIA
	ILLINOIS		ILLINOIS
				BOHEMIA
				WISCONSIN	NEW YORK
			WISCONSIN		NEWYORK
ILLINOIS		WISCONSIN		QUEBEC	QUEBEC
					ENGLAND
				BOHEMIA	BOHEMIA
			WISCONSIN		BOHEMIA
				MASSACHUSETTS
				POLAND	POLAND
			POLAND		POLAND
		MINNESOTA		POLAND	POLAND
					POLAND
				POLAND	POLAND
	MINNESOTA		POLAND		POLAND
				POLAND	POLAND
					POLAND
				POLAND	POLAND
			POLAND		POLAND
		MINNESOTA		POLAND	POLAND
					POLAND
				POLAND	POLAND
			POLAND		POLAND
				POLAND	POLAND
					POLAND

These charts can be a great way to look at migration patterns.

Free DNA test from Genes for Good

The University of Michigan is conducting a huge DNA study called Genes for Good.

To encourage participation, they are offering free DNA tests to those who complete Health History, and Health Tracking surveys.  Once testing is complete, you can download your raw data and then upload it to online DNA matching sites.  This study is available to residents of the USA.

Read the FAQ for some pretty comprehensive information.

Again the site is: Genes for Good

Unplanned Hiatus

There I was, diligently working on a project on my children’s paternal heritage, when I volunteered to become more active in my local genealogy society, Indian River Genealogical Society.  A chair was needed for the Education Committee. This committee consists of several special interest groups (Genealogy Interest Groups or GIGs in our parlance) and had been running along smoothly without a chair for the past few years.  How hard could it be?

At the same time, I volunteered to lead a new group focusing on genealogy beginners. 

Turned out to be a steeper learning curve than I expected. Getting familiar with and involved in the inner workings of the Society as well as planning the monthly meetings of my beginners group.  February was completely consumed by the two new jobs. Personal research? Not! But I think that things are finally beginning to come together. At least I hope they are.

I’m ready to get back to trying to understand the history of Bohemia and find my kids’ paternal European ancestors. And I’m ready to learn more about genetic genealogy in hopes of finding living distant cousins.

Back to the History Books

My quest for my children’s paternal Filek ancestors has me back to countries with elastic borders. 

The bad news is that I do not know exactly where they lived.  I am trying to narrow it down by using Google Earth to locate ancestral towns of other immigrants named Filek hoping that they will be clustered fairly close to one another.

This particular family emigrated from Bohemia. But exactly where were Bohemia’s borders when they lived there?

Conquests and royal intermarriages seemed to modify borders with each new king, There were dynasties, duchies and kingdoms. In more modern times there was, of course, the Hapsburg Empire, and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Small nations like Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia disappeared and reappeared depending on who ruled where.

There’s a great deal of information on the internet but the most comprenhensive I’ve found so far is A History of the Czech Lands edited by Jaroslav Panek and Oldrich Tuma

One of these days, I’ll make some progress.

Next stop: Bohemia

My focus is shifting from my Polish ancestors to the Bohemian ancestors of my children’s father. There’s a brick wall here because the usual sources have not, thus far, identified immigration or naturalization information for their Filek ancestors.

The history of the Czech lands of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia shows that boundaries changed fairly often as various kings ruled that part of Europe. US census records show this Filek family’s homeland as Bohemia; but what was the land called when they emigrated?  Other searches for Filek show origins as Austria or Hungary. Some say just Czech.  Yet it is possible that many of these people lived in the same region.

I’m studying the history and maps and getting clues from the Facebook Czech Genealogy Group.  Anyone out there have Filek in their family tree?

Heritage or Lineage?

Is genealogy about heritage or about lineage?  Short answer: Yes.  It is about both. They are related but not the same. My main interest is heritage.

My ancestors were Polish peasants. For most of my lines, I trace ancestors back to the 18^th century. (There are still a couple of brick walls in the 19^th century.)  I know who they were and how they earned their livelihood.  I study the history of their times to learn what shaped their daily lives. Their lives then helped shape my life now. As much as I’d like to know the names of my more ancient ancestors, that is not necessary to understand how peasants lived in their time.

There are some gaps that need filling; but my current thinking is that I’ll not try to go back any farther in time with my ancestors now.  I will concentrate on the heritage for now and perhaps get back to lineage some time in the future.

There are stories to write and research to do. Life in Prussian Poland.  Traveling steerage class to the USA in the 19^th century.  Settling in a new land.  Life in the US at the turn of the 20^th century. Subsequent generations and how they/we fared.

My lineage projects will focus on my ex-husband – my children’s father whose paternal ancestors emigrated from Bohemia. I’ve found no passenger lists, no immigration papers, no nothing before they arrived in Chicago in the 1860’s.

2016 will be a challenge.

Migrating away from Family Tree Maker

FTM??

Yes, I know that Family Tree Maker (FTM) isn’t going away soon.  It will be around for as many years as its loyal users are willing to hang on to it.  But it will be static. Future improvements in technology and database design will not be reflected in FTM. And, according to the December 9, 2015Ancestry.com blog post, there may be “degradation of features over time”. I compare it to driving an Edsel or a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. They may still be drivable, but they’re pretty much obsolete.

Technology comes and goes. Does anyone but me remember 8” floppy discs?  How about Lotus123?  Word Perfect?  

Ancestry’s announcement timing was extremely poor for the abandonment of FTM.  The news came out less than 30 days from the withdrawal of the product!  That is ridiculous.  There would have been much less commotion if they’d announced it in September or October. I have great empathy for those who purchased the product as Christmas gifts.

As a replacement, I’m looking at both Legacy and Roots Magic software. It will take a while to learn each one and decide which I prefer. Maybe I’ll end up using both.