iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 14/06/2026

#genealogy The stories they tell are sometimes ‘exaggerated.’ #artmemes

Text: How your grandparents claim they met

Art: The Swing, JEAN-HONORÉ FRAGONARD, 1767

Text: How your grandparents met

Art: The Café Concert - Edouard Manet - 1879

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 14/06/2026

Art: Emile Bayard, illustration for Ninety-Three by Victor Hugo Text: Accidents have been known to happen. Don’t forget to digitize your source materials. #genealogy #artmeme

Illustration of three children tearing the pages of a book.

030

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 10/06/2026

I think I discovered one of the artists AI originally used to learn how to draw hands. Art: José Clemente Orozco, Man in Chains, 1930

I apologize but I have no idea how to describe this artwork to do it justice.

000

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 06/04/2026

I have learned that a December 2025 change in their legal code now makes me a Canadian citizen by descent. Proving this to them sufficiently so they send me a certificate of citizenship is another matter.

120

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 09/02/2026

I’m behind on watching Finding Your Roots and just watched the episode with Lizzie Caplan. It seems a small thing, but I am bothered by Dr Gates telling her she is part Polish and not Russian because the place her ancestors were born is now Poland. It was Russia when they lived there. 1/3

230

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 01/02/2026

My ultra cheap Ancestry student subscription ran out a week ago. My wife graduated last year, so I renewed at 50% off their US plan. Twice what I was paying for World. Can’t really complain. I had the ultra cheap rate for three years. If you’re a student & genealogist - don’t let the deal pass.

020

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 15/11/2025

I have several funeral homes send me obituaries in my email. Not only am I a genealogist- I’m getting older. Today I received one dated Nov 30, 2020. I didn’t notice the date until the obituary mentioned the pandemic. Computer programs do the darndest things. #genealogy #technology

040

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 09/11/2025

I have not confirmed all of the surnames. Or the origin. #Genealogy #Netherlands #Surnames

What are some of the craziest, wildest but definitely true stories from across history?

Jay Matthews
Writer, Unsolicited Non-Advice (2000-present) • Jan 12

When the French occupied the Netherlands in 1811, they took an official census and asked for last names, which weren't common for the Dutch to have.
So, they made up some goofy last names, thinking this would be a temporary measure.
It wasn't.
Some of these names are quite common today:
Niemand (nobody)
Zondervan (not from anywhere)
Van der Hoek (from around the corner)
Zonderkop (headless)
Dodeman (dead man)
de Graf (the grave)
Gekkehuis (looney bin)
Donderwinkel (thunder store)

150

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 30/10/2025

Ancestry is trying out their “famous relative” feature again on their app. Shades of We’re Related and OneWorldTree. Just as inaccurate as before. The below screenshot I found humorous as they messed up on gender, and that is something that should be easy to code.

Image: Portrait of a Woman

Text: Your famous ancestor

Did you know you are related to Elizabeth Kortright? He is your half 4th cousin 8x removed.

Learn more about this famous ancestor below.

Elizabeth Kortright was the wife of James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, and served as the First Lady from 1817 to 1825.

See relationship

120

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 06/08/2025

Finally decided to try Ancestry’s Pro Tools. One key interest was their reports. They claim to offer a Register descendancy report. The numbering system is not accurate though. They start over with 1 on every family grouping. I can’t be the first to notice. It should be fixable. #genealogy

000

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 05/08/2025

The administration has announced that they will not be filling the Veterans Claim File FOIA requests. They will only provide minimal genealogical information. I filed several requests in December. I received notifications they were being processed but I have not yet received any of the files.

birls.org

Search the BIRLS Database - over 18 million records about deceased US veterans, from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, now online and FREE from Reclaim The Records

020

Reposted by John Newmark

John Newmark @gavroche.org · 31/05/2025

Graves Tombstones Skeletons Cemeteries Emily Dickinson fan fantasy. Genealogist’s Sunday afternoon. Cemeteries Skeletons Research Trees #Tetractys #poetry

151

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 01/04/2025

In honor of #NationalPoetryMonth I have shared on my #OnePlaceStudy Substack a poem written by a resident of the OPS and published in 1920. Some may feel it is still timely today. I also share a little research conducted on the author. A Cry of the Foreign-Born by Leah Rachel Clara Yoffie

open.substack.com

Poem - A Cry of the Foreign-Born - Leah Rachel Clara Yoffie - 1920

In honor of National Poetry Month, I share a poem written by a woman who grew up in the Little Jerusalem/Carr Square tenements.

030

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 23/03/2025

I found these images online as possible #photographs of my third great-grandparents. The woman died in 1880 and the man in 1873. The photographs would have been taken in Canada. I know photography was unusual in the #1870s, and was wondering if these are similar to other 1870s photos.

440

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 08/03/2025

I used Ancestry’s search features to break down some demographics for my One Place Study. I used The 3rd Ward of St Louis City in the 1900 census as my starting point.

open.substack.com

Demographics of the Third District - 1900

On Using Ancestry.com to Uncover a Neighborhood's Demographics

041

Reposted by John Newmark

Society for One-Place Studies @oneplacestudies.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Romance in Little Jerusalem - 1895🔗 is the latest post by John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com for his #OnePlaceStudy of Little Jerusalem and Carr Square Tenements in St Louis, #Missouri. It's a 19th-century love story transcribed from the St Louis Post Dispatch of Oct 13, 1895. #OnePlaceWednesday

transylvaniandutch.substack.com

Romance in Little Jerusalem - 1895

Below I share and transcribe a 19th-century love story from the Oct 13, 1895 St.

041

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 03/03/2025

1) How we imagine our ancestor’s arrival on these shores 2) Closer to the truth #genealogy

Art: Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich, c. 1817

Art: The Raft of the Medusa, Théodore Géricault, c. 1819

120

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 26/02/2025

Today my legacy.com obituary alert notified me of an obituary from seven years ago.

Today's
St. Louis County Obituaries
Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Obituary for Cardinals manager and player, Red Schoendienst who died in 2018.

010

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 26/02/2025

Another genealogical pet peeve. The use of “Mrs. husband’s name” on documents. I want to know HER name. But it’s not just genealogy. In 2025 my wife still gets mail addressed to her in this fashion. It really needs to stop.

Art: Agostina by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot - 1866

Text:
My name is not Mrs. Alberto Rossi!
I have a name of my own!

5323

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 26/02/2025

The look on a genealogist’s face when examining a census record.

Art: Ilya Repin, Portrait of Garshin, 1884, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Text: This handwriting is atrocious!

1170

Reposted by John Newmark

Reclaim The Records @reclaimtherecords.org · 25/02/2025

Update: BIRLS.org has now sent 12,400+ #FOIA requests in just the ~63 days since launch. That's ~20% of what the VBA (the relevant sub-agency within the VA) usually gets in a single *year*! And yet the letters *are* going out, and some people are starting to get their C-Files too. Kudos to the VA!

birls.org

Search the BIRLS Database - over 18 million records about deceased US veterans, from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, now online and FREE from Reclaim The Records

2287

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 25/02/2025

Don’t forget to backup your data.

Art: Winslow Homer’s Blackboard. 1877. On the blackboard is written, four times: I will backup my data.

0101

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 24/02/2025

Another meme I created a few years ago. (This one in 2019 if my FB memories app is accurate) #genealogy #research #science #politics #everything

Image: Oliver Twist holding his empty bowl.

Text:
Top: Please sir
Bottom: I want a source

0213

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 22/02/2025

I have added a page to my #OnePlaceStudy listing in alphabetical order the residents of the tenements I’m researching. It’s incomplete as I have not finished going through the 1900 census for the neighborhood. I will update as I continue. open.substack.com/pub/transylv...

open.substack.com

Residents of the Tenements

Below is an incomplete list of the residents of the Carr Square neighborhood tenements in 1900 St.

020

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 22/02/2025

This #cat is smart #Caturday #genealogy (Image came from Pixabay 12 years ago. Text added by me)

Image of cat walking down a street.

Text: You can't conduct all of your genealogy research online. You may need to go outside and walk (or drive) to a library, cemetery, or genealogical society.

171

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 22/02/2025

Today I received four more notification letters, so now I know 5 of those 6 FOIA requests are being processed. Of course…as slow as I knew the process would be…with the recent layoffs at the DVA I expect it to be even slower.

020

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 21/02/2025

I thought I’d experiment with posting on Substack so I imported my One Place Study from blogspot. Only 10 posts to import, all from 2022, but I have continued researching so I have more to write. open.substack.com/pub/transylv...

open.substack.com

Little Jerusalem - Carr Square OPS | John Newmark | Substack

A One Place Study of Little Jerusalem & Carr Square Tenements - St. Louis, Missouri - Early 1900s. Click to read Little Jerusalem - Carr Square OPS, by John Newmark, a Substack publication. Launched 1...

032

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 18/02/2025

My 2nd great grandfather lived in the tenement section of St Louis in 1900. His block went by many names including 8th Street Yard, Castle Thunder, and Wild Cat Chute. It was a hotbed of criminal activity before he moved in. #genealogy #stl #tenements blog.transylvaniandutch.com/2025/02/a-pl...

blog.transylvaniandutch.com

A Place of Many Names - Eighth Street Yard, Castle Thunder, Wild Cat Chute

When researching the neighborhoods your ancestors lived in, it's important to know all the names the area was known by. Sometimes there were...

162

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 31/01/2025

On Dec 24 @reclaimtherecords.org announced their Vererans C-File database. I didn’t submit my first 6 FOIA requests until Dec 26. I just got my first notification letter that they’ve received 1 of those 6 requests and are processing it. It will likely be several months for the docs. I can wait.

140

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 08/01/2025

Since this article is 10 years old I wonder if anything has changed.

010

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 04/01/2025

Today I put in an FOIA request for an unrelated famous author. Just out of curiosity. I also requested the file for a distantly related (3rd cousin twice removed) author. Mostly out of curiosity as well.

132

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 26/12/2024

Thanks to ReclaimTheRecords it’s now free and easy to order US Veterans Benefit Claim files (aka C-Files). I have submitted a half dozen FOIA requests since the announcement. It may take months to actually get the docs but im looking forward to what I learn www.reclaimtherecords.org/records-requ...

reclaimtherecords.org

Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File - Reclaim The Records

140

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 26/12/2024

Today’s NYT Strands game was designated for #FamilyHistory and #genealogy buffs

020

Reposted by John Newmark

Niagara Falls Poetry Project @niagarapoetry.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

In March, 1848 the #Niagara River & #NiagaraFalls, dried up due to an ice jam. I just ran across this #poem by John Newmark @gavroche.org about that event. I've included a link to information about the day Niagara Falls ran dry. #poetry #poetrycommunity niagarapoetry.ca/2024/12/14/n...

niagarapoetry.ca

Niagara Fell - 1848 by John Newmark - Niagara Falls Poetry Project

John Newmark wrote this poem describing the day Niagara Falls ran dry in 1848, due to an ice jam at the mouth of the Niagara River.

023

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 14/12/2024

Zoom only meeting. I’m registering.

130

Reposted by John Newmark

Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 21/11/2024

Speaking of accessibility, did you know you can add closed captions to thevideos you post? 1/2 (click/tap "cc" icon to activate)

32449157

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 20/11/2024

#genealogy - just because a “fact” fits the available records doesn’t mean it’s true.

Peeled orange with missing section. A wedge of onion has been jammed into the space.

Just because the onion fits doesn’t mean it belongs there.

76413

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 17/11/2024

Are you looking for fellow genealogists on Bluesky? Genealogy on Bluesky #1 Starter Pack go.bsky.app/GMfGrzr Genealogy on Bluesky #2 Starter Pack go.bsky.app/AqMGpsd A third might be necessary soon. Thanks to @danielloftus.bsky.social for his work in creating these.

031

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 17/11/2024

#Copy&Paste to introduce yourself to #genealogy Bluesky Years researching: since 2007 Hobbyist or pro: Hobbyist Fun fact/Wildest discovery: Found my 2nd great grandfather in the US patent database My niche/s: St Louis/Missouri research; turning family history into poetry

061

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 17/11/2024

St Louis County Library has announced a digital archives - browsable and searchable #genealogy #stl slcl.recollectcms.com

slcl.recollectcms.com

St Louis County Library Collections

292

Reposted by John Newmark

SusanM @samcaligal.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

#FamilyHistory Will your descendants remember the story behind that precious family heirloom? These objects can be an important part of the ancestral narrative, but they lose their meaning if the story is forgotten or if details are unclear. 1/

Appliquéd quilt made by my great grandmother

1113

Reposted by John Newmark

Patrick Nielsen Hayden @pnh.nielsenhayden.com · 15/11/2024

It’s a fascinating piece, and not only because my spouse is a descendant of the same woman

194

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 15/11/2024

I had no idea their staff was that small. They deserve applause.

1100

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 14/11/2024

A poem I wrote back in 2008 about my family history research. Full poem in the Alt Text.

Divergent Yet Intersecting
©Dec 2008

Transylvania, Holland, Alsace, Poland,
England, Germany, Lithuania and Texas
all contain soil upon which ancestors dwelt;
Farmers, beekeepers, shepherds,
tailors, blacksmiths, salesmen,
clergy, judges, and doctors.

As I research ancestral lines I discover
some ancestors celebrated Hanuka,
others Christmas, and still others
the Green Corn Ceremony;
Jewish, Methodist Episcopalian,
Puritan, Christian Scientist, Mennonite,
Choctaw, and Cherokee.

I shall never find the records
for my distant ancestors
who either came to this continent
by crossing the Land Bridge,
or originally emerged
from the Nanih Waiya in Mississippi.

I delve through obituaries,
microfilm depositories,
internet databases;
I interview relatives,
and rummage through attics.

What I find doesn't alter who I am;
It illuminates the divergent,
yet still intersecting
paths of my ancestors.

050

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 14/11/2024

Here’s an official post from the BlueSky developer dated today about outages and things you may expect to see.

0113

John Newmark @transylvaniandutch.com · 14/11/2024

Family surnames I’m researching: Newmark Cruvant/Kruvand Blatt Dudelczak Deutsch Lichtman Vanevery Denyer My ancestors came from: Warka, Poland Losice, Poland Volhynia, Ukraine Buciumi, Transylvania Margitta, Transylvania Cekiske, Lithuania Hampshire, England Netherlands #genealogy

4170