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A workshop for beginning genealogists will be conducted Nov. 15 from 2-5 p.m. by the Pottstown Historical Society in its headquarters, 568 High St., Pottstown PA.

Subject: Laurens District Genealogy Society Laurens District Genealogy Society Meeting Date.. November 10, 2009 Time ... 7:30 PM Place ... Laurens County Library Speakers... Dianne Culbertson, Janet and J.D. Norris,and Sarah Jane Armstrong Topic ......Applications and eligibility to join the National Society Daughters of the American ...

Female searching for any birth family, parents or siblings. Adoptee born 4-16-67 at Vanderbilt Hospital in Davidson County, Nashville.

I often receive questions from our users or potential members regarding who can participate in a given test.  Many such questions deal with lines that have been “daughtered out.”  For example, a recent inquiry asked:

“I had my DNA tested for mitochondrial results, but I’d like to do the same for my father’s side. My problem is that I have no brothers, no uncles, and my father has passed away. Can my son take the test? Or would his results only give his father’s Y-chromosome information? Surely my son must have inherited some of my father’s DNA?”

Types of DNA
DNA provides our genetic blueprint which makes each of us unique and yet genetically similar to other family members and to a lesser extent to all humans in general.  There are 2 major types of DNA useful in tracing one’s family history through DNA genealogy:

• Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA)
• Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)

Y-DNA
Y-DNA passes from male to male in a family.  Location markers on the Y-chromosome are found in the Y-chromosome of males and are passed down from fathers to sons making it ideal for tracing paternal lineage.  In many cultures, the surname is also passed from father to son. This fortunate coincidence is what makes tracing your paternal lineage through genetic similarities so powerful for genealogy.   And because the Y-chromosome is passed largely unchanged from father to son, DNA results from a male participant today can be used to represent the paternal lineage dozens of generations into the past.

To test your paternal lineage you need someone on your male line to take the test.   If you are female, you can recruit a brother, father, or paternally related Uncle or Cousin to provide the DNA sample to use as if it were your own.  The key to remember in recruiting a “proxy relative” for the Y-DNA test is that the individual must be a direct line descedant of the ancestor of interest.  Thus, a woman’s son would NOT be a candidate for testing her great great grandfather as her son would have received his Y-DNA from his father NOT her father.

mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA , or mtDNA , is a unique kind of DNA found outside the nucleus of the cell in the mitochondria.  Because mitochondria still replicate on their own, they need their own special DNA , which exists in a loop (unlike the strands of chromosomal DNA ).  A cell can have hundreds or thousands of mitochondria.  This unique factor and the rate at which the mtDNA changes make mtDNA a strong indicator of one’s ancient ancestral heritage.  Mitochondrial DNA testing is very valuable for unlocking clues about your ancient ancestors.  It can also be a powerful genealogical tool to eliminate possible relations through the maternal line.

Because a father’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is destroyed at fertilization, a child inherits only the mother’s mitochondrial DNA, thus preserving the maternal link to the ancient past. Due to this unique inheritance pattern, both males and females may directly contribute a DNA sample for testing the maternal lineage.

Should you have questions about a potential proxy or DNA test, please contact dna@ancestry.com.

Subject: FAMILY OF TSIGAS, BASILIOS . Iam looking for any family members or information regarding my great uncle, whom was born in Halkidiki , Greece, about 1900.

Before I started working at Ancestry.com, I thought cemeteries were creepy. Sure, they were great places for flowers and remembrance a few times a year. But if you didn’t actually know one of the residents, you definitely didn’t want to pop by. 

I would have never predicted that four and a half years later, I’d be taking my kids to one. Just for fun.

We went for the history. Once a year, on the Sunday before Halloween, the old cemetery near my home brings its dead back to life. Actors portray the cemetery’s residents, telling stories about their lives and subsequent deaths. And seeing that the town was once an old mining camp high up in the mountains, those lives and deaths were rarely pretty.

Honestly I thought my kids would be bored or at least creeped out. That was anything but the case. My five-year-old daughter listened intently to the stories, while my eight-year-old son brushed leaves off tombstones to read inscriptions and calculate ages. They were fascinated. So was I.

Even if you can’t make it to a cemetery for a quick history lesson, you can wander through virtual ones in the public member photos section of Ancestry.com <http://www.ancestry.com/search/DB.aspx?dbid=1093>. Search for keywords including “tombstone,” “headstone,” or “gravestone” for photos of graves – I found a handful that dated back to the 17^th century and plenty of newer ones as well. Or read about how the tombstone of an unrelated, slain lawman sent author Ellen Notbohm on a search for the story behind his death in “A Tombstone Tells Its Story,” from Ancestry magazine <http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2009/06/features/a-tombstone-tells-the-story>. (You can also download an article by Ellen regarding obituaries written before death, which includes details on deciphering tombstone symbols at <http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/wp-content/downloads/AM_SO09_sample2.pdf>).

Lastly, if you’d like to share a little about the history you discovered in a cemetery, I’d love to hear it. Add your comments to the bottom of this post or drop me a line at jcroasmun@ancestry.com. And no, you don’t have to be related to the history you uncovered. In four years, I’ve learned a good story is just that. No matter who it’s about. Or where it’s found.

The Kansas African American Museum has received a $25,000 grant to establish a statewide history and genealogy program called "Knowing Me, Knowing You." The program is designed for anyone with a contribution to Kansas black history.

I am searching for information regarding William Henry Ellingsworth His father was Charles Ellingsworth who died when he was very young.

Mary Lennon b. May 1827/John Fitzpatrick b. 1815: Am looking for any leads as to where this family may have lived around 1850.

MyCinnamonToast.com - ELIZABETH TAYLOR Search surnames across thousands of genealogy sites from this central location