iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Family Sleuther

Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) @apgenealogists.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Indiana's HB 1148 could expand birth record restrictions from 75 to 99 years, making it one of the most restrictive states. It’s passed the House and heads to the Senate. Our work relies on record access—let’s fight to keep it! Learn more & take action: www.apgen.org/news_manager.php?page=39804

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Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine @wdytyamagazine.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

BREAKING: The BBC has announced the celebrity line-up for this year's #WhoDoYouThinkYouAre. Will you be watching? Whose episode are you most looking forward to? #wdytya www.whodoyouthinkyouaremaga...

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Reclaim The Records @reclaimtherecords.org · 12/03/2025

RTR board member Alec Ferretti (@alecferretti.bsky.social) gave two lectures at RootsTech about US citizenship records, one of them specifically about Alien Files. And if you jump to 51:57 in the video, you'll see slides about "Pending Litigation", hint hint... 😌 www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_hl...

youtube.com

Alien Files Boot Camp

YouTube video by FamilySearch

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Jennifer Mendelsohn @jmendelsohn.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Curious about the work we do tracking down family for Holocaust survivors? Join us Thursday at 2 pm ET. www.youtube.com/live/Rp4jS8a...

youtube.com

Jennifer Mendelsohn and Adina Newman of the Holocaust Reunion Project

YouTube video by International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS)

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 25/02/2025

Have we heard how these reductions in staff are impacting the folks at VA responsible for FOIA administration?

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Jennifer Mendelsohn @jmendelsohn.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Are you a journalist, genealogist or historian who has ever used records from the National Archives? It's time to step up and take some simple steps to preserve federal records. And save our nation's history. Please visit this website. And share widely. fundnara.com

fundnara.com

fundNARA.com - Congress must fund the National Archives at the current level!

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides core government functions necessary to preserve, protect, and make accessible records from all three branches of the federal government...

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Reclaim The Records @reclaimtherecords.org · 05/02/2025

URGENT: New York Wants to Lock Up Vital Records — Again! 😫 A backdoor proposal to essentially ban public access to birth, marriage, and death records got snuck into their annual budget bill?! And we have FIVE DAYS to do something about it?! Here's how we can stop it: mailchi.mp/reclaimthere...

mailchi.mp

Reclaim The Records

We’re Reclaim The Records, a new not-for-profit activist group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates. We identify important genealogical records sets that ought to be...

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 27/01/2025

Appeal is out the door! Thank you, @alcalz.bsky.social for the helpful guidance.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 26/01/2025

And just 12 days later, the VA wrote they could find no records. I'm not convinced. Following up to encourage them to conduct a more thorough search.

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#genchat 🦋 @genchat.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

I’m ready for this Friday’s #genchat ; are you? See you then!

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 15/01/2025

Ancestry’s CEO Deb Liu bids adieu to her post touting her work building culture, driving innovation, and growth. #Genealogy #FamilyHistory debliu.substack.com/p/looking-ba...

debliu.substack.com

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

An end of one chapter and the start of the next

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 11/01/2025

This particular request was faxed November 28th.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 11/01/2025

Written confirmation came today from the VA that they received my FOIA request for my great-grandfather’s claim file. A good sign. The wait continues. #Genealogy #FamilyHistory

Photo of an envelope’s return address for the VA.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 28/12/2024

Or a sad twangy country song about unrequited love. 💔 This inevitably happens if I want the record too badly.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 28/12/2024

I submitted two of those thousands of FOIA requests using the lovely new system. Thank you @reclaimtherecords.org for the nifty tool!

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 25/12/2024

I’m looking forward to digging into this! 🔍

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Janna Helshtein @jannahelshtein.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Did all the brave people move to @bsky.app 🙃? I talk about Genealogy for our descendants. Here's a question with a smile. What do you have hidden away that you won't show your kids today, but wish you could see their faces when they find it after you're gone? If too private just say yes #genealogy

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 21/12/2024

139 years ago today, my second great-grandmother, Eva (Lamb) Stevens Fagan, was born in Vermont. After researching the recurring tragedies she navigated in life, I now marvel at her fortitude. www.familysleuther.com/2020/04/the-... #Genealogy #FamilyHistory

familysleuther.com

The Tumult and Trauma of Eva's Life

Eva's life was marked by a series of tumultuous hardships. Growing up in a broken household, outliving husbands and children, she endured with a fierce spirit of survival.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 13/12/2024

It certainly took a number of years before I was ready to listen to it but am glad for it now.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 13/12/2024

In October, to commemorate her passing a decade earlier, we had a mini family reunion at he graveside. With her daughters, my mom & aunt, we plopped into lawn chairs and listened to an oral history interview she recorded earlier in the year she passed away. A peculiar but memorable day to remember.

Three people sitting in lawn chairs in a cemetery listening to an oral history interview at the grave of their ancestor.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 13/12/2024

My maternal grandmother passed away a decade ago. Today would have been her 88th birthday. After she died, we cleaned out her home and found every postcard I’d sent her from my travels tucked away for safekeeping. #FamilyHistory

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Jennifer Mendelsohn @jmendelsohn.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to show you how many of the people arguing against birthright citizenship would not be citizens if not for birthright citizenship. #ResistanceGenealogy

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 10/12/2024

Recommend! I attended a version of this session facilitated by American Ancestors at RootsTech that was helpful when I was writing and publishing my book on my Kirk ancestry.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 09/12/2024

162 years ago today, Mary Jane (Andrus) Bair was born in Bradford County, PA. Her mother (identity unknown) died when she was 3 weeks old leaving her to "kindly relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Jared Beardsley, who adopted her as their own on January 3, 1863." I'm still searching for her bio mom's identity.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 08/12/2024

For years, we knew Edmond & Iva lost two infants, but their names & resting places were a mystery—until a #FindAGrave volunteer provided the missing link. Read how their graves were rediscovered & their memory preserved: www.familysleuther.com/2024/12/the-... #Genealogy #FamilyHistory

familysleuther.com

The Search for Lula May and the Forgotten Hawks Infants

Rediscovering the forgotten graves of two Hawks infants, lost to time but found through cemetery records—preserving their memory in family history.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 06/12/2024

We sure do! Is the stone toppled over?

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 06/12/2024

70 years ago today, my 2nd great-grandmother, Bessie (Bair) Benedick, passed away. Raised on the Kansas prairie as one of 16 children, she had a 'very demure, very mindful' 3 kids of her own. Her funeral book is one of the few documents that names her biological maternal grandfather. #FamilyHistory

A photo of a young woman taken at the turn of the 20th century. She's wearing a dress with a hat filled with flowers.

A photo depicting an older woman in her 60s, smiling with a gold tooth, wire rimmed glasses, and wearing an overcoat and hat.

The first page of a funeral book sharing biographical information about the deceased - Bessie Bair.

The family record detailed in Bessie's funeral book, which lists her biological maternal grandfather as Jerome Andrews.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 06/12/2024

Just keep in mind that your Bluesky social handle will become available again. You may want to reserve that after making the change to your verified site to help protect the integrity of your brand.

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Reposted by Family Sleuther

Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I just found out that around 20% of the neanderthal genome still exists today in living people!! No individual person has more than 3 or 4% but we don't all have the same bits. If you add up all the bits we've found, about a fifth of the Neanderthal genome is still present on earth today.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 06/12/2024

Welcome to Bluesky! The #genealogy community has been awaiting your arrival.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 05/12/2024

Thanks, Alec. I recently submitted a FOIA request so your experience is helpful in framing my expectations.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 04/12/2024

Are these instances where you have good reason to believe they do have records?

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 04/12/2024

It’s helpful for me when I need to reacquaint myself with prior research!

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J. Paul Hawthorne @jphawthorne.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Back in 2016, I created a 5-gen color chart that went viral. I'm glad that people are taking it to the next level. www.geneaspy.com/search/label... #Genealogy #GeneaSpy #MyColorfulAncestry

geneaspy.com

GeneaSpy

Genealogical sightings from around the web and elsewhere.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 02/12/2024

I enjoyed this telling of Philippa’s dogged determination. Her persistence really paid off!

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 02/12/2024

Visualizing the genetic data can be really helpful with trying to grasp the inheritance patterns. Good luck!

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 01/12/2024

I need this cross-stitched on a pillow!

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 30/11/2024

Great idea! I'll have to look into incorporating this into my workflow.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 30/11/2024

I remember when you kickstarted this visualization a decade ago. Like bellbottoms, these trends come around and catch fire again and again. Thanks for leading the charge!

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 30/11/2024

Thanks, Paul. I'm old enough to remember when you got this trend started nearly a decade ago with your viral post! Data visualization makes family history fun.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 30/11/2024

I do have Howertons. Thank you for sharing the article. It features my apparent 5th great-grandfather William Howerton. While I myself have not researched this line back that far, this made for fascinating reading.

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 30/11/2024

Keeping a close eye on you! 😉

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Family Sleuther @familysleuther.com · 30/11/2024

Always a new item to add to the genealogy to-do list! Good luck!

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