Legacy News

New Book Now Available - Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing by Megan Smolenyak

I cannot wait to read Megan Smolenyak's new book, Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing. Everyone I ask tells me they could not put it down. It is now available in our online store for just $11.20 (30% off).

Click here for more information or to purchase.

I'm also excited to hear Megan in person again - she will be presenting two webinars for our Legacy Family Tree webinar series this year:

Reverse Genealogy: Finding the Living, April 25. Click here to register (free).

Neglected History, August 1. Click here to register (free).

Book's Description

You've heard of the Dog Whisperer? Meet the Ancestor Rescuer.
Part forensic scientist, part master sleuth, Megan Smolenyak² has solved some of America's oldest and most fascinating genealogical mysteries. You've read the headlines; now get the inside story as the "Indiana Jones of genealogy" reveals how she cracked her news-making cases, became the face of this increasingly popular field—and redefined history along the way.

How did Smolenyak² discover Barack Obama's Irish ancestry—and his relation to Brad Pitt? Or the journey of Michelle Obama's family from slavery to the White House? Or the startling links between outspoken politicians Al Sharpton and Strom Thurmond? And why is Smolenyak²'s name squared? Test your own skills as she shares her exciting secrets.

Whether she's scouring websites to uncover the surprising connections between famous figures or using cutting-edge DNA tests to locate family members of fallen soldiers dating back to the Civil War, Smolenyak²'s historical sleuthing is as provocative, richly layered, and exciting as America itself.

"Watch out Watson and Crick! Megan Smolenyak decodes our fascinating, complicated past in this tour de force of detective work."— Ken Burns 

"Thank you for taking the time to lay out our family map...You're practically family. You certainly know more about us than we do."— Stephen Colbert 

"This splendid book makes genealogy come alive in the most vivid and compelling manner."— from the Foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 

"Megan is a genealogist's dream, a forensic investigator who can also tell a great story."— Sam Roberts, The New York Times 

"Megan is a blessing to cold-case detectives and a master genealogist."— Julie M. Haney, special agent, NCIS Cold Case Homicide Unit 

"Megan . . . is, hands down, America's greatest genealogist, and this book is proof of it." — Andrew Carroll, editor of the New York Times bestsellers War Letters and Behind the Lines 

"The Indiana Jones of genealogy...Megan Smolenyak is a national treasure."— Buzzy Jackson, author of Shaking the Family Tree 

"Megan Smolenyak is the genealogist's genealogist - the go-to person for building your family tree and solving stubborn historical mysteries."— Dr. Spencer Wells, Director of the Genographic Project, National Geographic 

"In this breezy narrative, Smolenyak allows us to look over the shoulder of a relentless genealogist as she works the puzzle pieces of her craft. Whether unearthing evidence from Internet databases, newspaper offices, court houses, libraries and cemeteries, consulting translators, historians or her vast network of fellow genealogists, pioneering the use of genealogical DNA testing, solving the mystery or occasionally hitting a brick wall, Smolenyak remains wholly committed, curious and cheery, eager to share her methods and excitement."— Kirkus Reviews, "Bottom-up history from a top-shelf researcher"

288 pages, 5.4" (w) x 8.2" (h), published February 1, 2012.

About the author:
Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, that's her real name) is a genealogical adventurer who loves solving mysteries, making unexpected discoveries and pushing the boundaries of conventional genealogy.

A popular writer, speaker and TV guest, Megan has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, the Early Show, CNN, NPR and BBC. In addition to consulting on shows ranging from Who Do You Think You Are? to Top Chef, she is the author of six books, a Huffington Post contributor, a cold case researcher for the Army, NCIS and the FBI, and former Chief Family Historian and spokesperson for Ancestry.com.

Click here for more information or to purchase.

1940 U.S. Census Kick-Off Event at the Riverton FamilySearch Library

The 1940 U.S. Federal Census release is one of the biggest things to happen here in the U.S. in the past 10 years. There's a lot of excitement out there. The Riverton FamilySearch Library has now announced that they will have a big kick-off event on Thursday, April 12. Since the census will not initially be indexed, the library will provide guidance and support in the massive indexing project (132,000,000 names to index). Even if you do not live nearby (Salt Lake valley in Utah) read about what they are doing below, it might give your local society some ideas.

• Learn how to index and arbitrate 1940 U.S. Census records
• Download your first 1940 U.S. Census batches on Family History Center computers or using your own laptop computer
• Submit completed batches to earn prizes
• Discuss concerns with FamilySearch indexing staff members and volunteers
• Invite family, friends, and neighbors
• Ward youth groups are encouraged to attend
• Receive training on the FamilySearch indexing software
• Discuss 'Best Practices' with indexers and indexing leaders from throughout the area

Date, time and location:

Thursday, April 12 5:00-9:00pm (open house)

Riverton FamilySearch Library and 3740 West Market Center Drive (13175 South, just off the Bangerter Highway)

Open House Format

Everyone is invited to attend any time between 5:00pm and 9:00pm

• Specialized classes will be offered each hour (5, 6, 7, and 8:00 pm) on indexing, arbitration, and on stake indexing leadership.
• If you have a laptop computer, please bring it with you. You may want to ensure that you have the latest version of the FamilySearch indexing software before the event.

FamilySearch Indexing webinars

If you are new to indexing, or want some background information, listen to Jim Ericson's webinar, Helping Unlock the World's Records - An Insider's Perspective on FamilySearch Indexing. For more advanced indexers, view Katie Gale's webinar, FamilySearch Indexing for Power Users.

Volunteer

Indexing is one of the best ways to give back to the genealogy community. I've personally been involved now for several years. Records that are indexed are published and are searchable for free at www.FamilySearch.org. To learn more, or to volunteer to index, click here.

1940 Census webinars

• Navigating the 1940 U.S. census by Thomas MacEntee
• Navigating the New Census Tools in Legacy Family Tree by Geoff Rasmussen

Finding Your Ancestors in the Streets

In the course of your research you will very likely discover where your ancestors lived, at least for a brief period of time. The reason for that is because documents are tied to locations. When you find your ancestor in a census record, they are found in a particular town or city. Vital records are also created by a particular town or city.

It is not until we get to records created at the federal or county level that we might lose some of the details. Even those records, if you view the originals, will provide a clear pointer or at least a hint as to where your ancestor resided or was born. When you think about it in this way, we are armed with more information that we realize.

MapQuest

The location of our ancestor's residence provides us with an unusual resource. I'm sure you've heard of the MapQuest database. MapQuest has literally mapped out the world. You can find street locations for any continent. You can get directions for routes you would like to take and view satellite images that give you a sense of the terrain. Genealogists have long used MapQuest to view maps of our ancestors' towns or to create maps of their migration route. Today let's look at an often overlooked use of the website.

They named a street after my ancestor!

Don't look for a map of your ancestor's town. Search instead for your ancestor's surname as a street name.

Perhaps your ancestor was one of the original settlers in town. It is very likely that they had a street named after them. Locating the street will help you zero in on specifically where in town your ancestor lived. Keep in mind that if the family flourished in a particular town that the street could be named after one of the other members of the same family and not your direct ancestor. However, if this is the case, the street is likely named after the first settler.

The great thing about street names is that is that neighborhoods develop through the years. That means your ancestor may have had a street named after them in 1745, 1880 or 1950. It all depends on when the street was laid out and the neighborhood established. Even today streets are still being named after individuals.

Finding your ancestor

In order to find your ancestor's home you will want to search MapQuest by putting their surname as the name of the street.

For example, if your ancestor comes for Fultonville, New York and their surname is Dillenbeck, type "Dillenbeck, Fultonville, New York" in the search box. Be sure to leave off words such as road, street or lane because you won't know which one will apply ahead of time. Sometimes you might need to include a postal or zip code to help MapQuest find the right town.

If you are lucky enough to discover that a road was named after your ancestor's family you will have a better idea of exactly where in town your ancestor lived. Next you will want to contact the local historical society to see if they can give you more information on the origins of the street name and the family that lived there. Perhaps the house is still standing and they will be able to provide you with photos.

Give it a try - stop searching for maps and start searching for your ancestor's surname in the streets! You should be able to find at least one ancestor who had a road named after them.

Guest blogger, Marian Pierre-Louis, is a historical researcher who loves to share, encourage and inspire others on their genealogy research journey. You can see her upcoming webinars on Legacy Family Tree and read her blog, Marian's Roots and Rambles. She is the author of Ten Brick Wall Tips for Beginners, Discovering Your Massachusetts Ancestors, Brick Walls: Cracking the Case of Nathan Brown's Parents and Researching Your Connecticut Ancestors.

Archives.com and National Archives Announce 1940 Census Website

More great news for the soon-to-be-released 1940 U.S. census. Today Archives.com announced the website where the census images will be available. In the video below, Connie Potter, Archivist, tells us to "please use this URL and no other because this one will direct you to the 1940 census. No other will."

1940census.archives.gov

Read their press release below:

Today Archives.com and the National Archives are revealing the website that will host the 1940 Census beginning April 2, 2012: 1940census.archives.gov. We encourage you to bookmark the website, and watch the video providing a behind-the-scenes look at the preparations made to publish the 1940 Census.

Please share this website and video with others!

There are only 40 days until April 2nd, a day eagerly anticipated by genealogists, historians, and academics alike. Archives.com and the National Archives are working diligently to bring you a website that makes it easy to explore the 1940 Census images. This will be the only website hosting the 1940 Census images on April 2nd.

To learn more about the 1940 Census and how you can prepare, visit Archives.com/1940census.

The U.S. Social Security Death Index is being threatened - how you can help

The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was one of the very first resources I learned about when I began genealogy in the early 1990s. Today it is still one of the most valuable resources for the U.S. genealogist. Now the House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security is proposing to completely shut down its use by genealogists and other industries. Please participating in preserving the use of this important database. The official announcement and instructions for signing the petition are below.

RPAC ANNOUNCES STOP ID THEFT NOW! CAMPAIGN WITH WHITE HOUSE PETITION

Genealogy Community Responds To Efforts To Remove Access to Social Security Death Index and Other Records

Instructions for signing up at WhiteHouse.gov and signing the petition can be found at http://fgs.org/pdf/rpac_petition.pdf. Frequently asked questions about signing the petition are available here.

February 7, 2012– Austin, TX: The Records Preservation & Access Committee (RPAC) – a joint coalition of international genealogical societies representing millions of genealogists and family historians – announces the launch of its Stop ID Theft NOW! campaign with its We The People petition posted at WhiteHouse.gov.

Call To Action For IRS To Do Its Job

Each year, fraudulent tax refund claims based upon identity theft from recently deceased infants and adults are filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The current target is the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) or Death Master File since this file, as found on numerous genealogy-oriented websites, could possibly be the source of identity thieves acquiring a deceased person’s Social Security number.

The IRS could close the door to this form of identity theft if, in fact, it were to use the Death Master File for the purpose for which it was created: to reduce fraud. If returns claiming a tax refund were screened against the Master Death File and matching cases identified for special processing, the thief should receive a rejection notice for the filing.

Tax Fraud and Identity Theft: Genealogists Are Not To Blame

The House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security is proposing to completely shut down use of the SSDI by genealogists as well as other industries such as banking and insurance that rely upon its information. Such an attempt is short-sighted and runs counter to the original purpose of the SSDI: to actually combat fraud.

Loss of Access to SSDI Affects More Than Genealogists

The SSDI is accessed by many different companies, non-profits and other entities besides individuals researching their family history. Forensic specialists utilize the SSDI when reuniting remains of military veterans with their next-of-kin and descendants. Law offices, banks and insurance companies utilize the SSDI to resolve probate cases and to locate heirs.

All of these entities would be required to spend more money and more time leveraging other resources of information when the SSDI has served this purpose, uninterrupted, for over a decade.

RPAC Petitions Obama Administration

The We the People petition, now posted at http://wh.gov/khE and accepting signatures, has a simple yet effective mission:

Take immediate steps that would curtail the filing of fraudulent tax refund claims based upon identity theft from recently deceased infants and adults.

[Note: Visitors to the WhiteHouse.gov website must log in to sign the petition, or click Create an Account to register. Once registered, return to http://wh.gov/khE to sign the petition.]

No need for lengthy hearings in front of a Congressional committee. No need for filing statements for or against any House action. No need to waste time and effort which could be directed to more pressing national issues. In fact, the National Taxpayer Advocate in 2011 issued suggestions which do not require additional legislation but can be implemented collaboratively between the IRS and Social Security Administration (SSA) almost immediately in time to impact the current tax filing season.

About Records Preservation & Access Committee (RPAC)

The Records Preservation & Access Committee (RPAC) was formed to advise the genealogical community on ensuring proper access to historical records of genealogical value in whatever media they are recorded, on means to affect legislation, and on supporting strong records preservation policies and practices.

The genealogical community works together through The Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC), which today includes The National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) as voting members. The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG), the American Society of Genealogists (ASG), ProQuest and Ancestry.com serve as participating members.To learn more visit http://www.fgs.org/rpac/

The 1940 Census - I'm In It video

In less than two months the United States 1940 census will be available - for free. Are you in it? Watch the 33 second video below and then make your way over to The1940Census.com site to sign up to help index it when it is released on April 2, 2012.

Find a Grave - I completed my first cemetery...what now?

Just under three months ago I compared FindAGrave.com to BillionGraves.com and announced that I would begin my cemetery picture-taking and transcribing efforts with Find A Grave. I really, really wanted to use BillionGraves, but because of Find A Grave's longevity and database size I would dedicate my volunteer efforts to it. Here are the two articles:

Find a Grave - the Internet's most valuable resource?

BillionGraves.com - big competition for Find a Grave

Yesterday, Dave (Legacy Family Tree's owner) and I completed our first cemetery - the Sunwest Cemetery in El Mirage, Arizona. We chose it because it was small and nearby. Little did we know when we started that we would take so many pictures and transcribe so many names. Here's the statistics:

• Combined, we took about 2,000 pictures of headstones which took us about 10 hours total.
• On average, it took about one minute per picture to upload to Find a Grave and transcribe it. 33 hours total.

We digitized and indexed the entire cemetery in 44 total hours. Wow, that really adds up - just over an entire work week for one person. And that's for a relatively small cemetery. I wonder how this would compare if we were to use the BillionGraves method? It would still take the same amount of time to take the pictures, but the longest part of the process was the uploading and transcribing the images. Had we used BillionGraves, as soon as the images were automatically uploaded from my smart phone, their indexing would begin immediately by volunteers around the world. So in the end, it might still take about the same amount of man hours, but the work would be spread around amongst other volunteers. Undoubtedly there are many who prefer to just index the images from their computer rather than digitize and upload them. I guess my conclusion is that I wish Find a Grave would incorporate the BillionGraves technology or that the two services would somehow work together. Regardless, researchers looking for ancestors in the Sunwest Cemetery in El Mirage, Arizona will have a much easier job now, and I am happy to have helped a little.

So what's my next step? I think Dave and I will choose another cemetery to photograph for Find a Grave but will probably try to enlist the help of others for the uploading/transcribing phase. Maybe we'll put all of our pictures in a public Dropbox folder, give you the link, and go from there. No, we wouldn't get official credit for managing the resulting memorial pages, but that's not what it's about for me. I would love to see every tombstone in every cemetery on earth included in the Find a Grave database AND I would like to see some kind of progress meter on how close we are to that goal. If a Find a Grave administrator reads this :) you would really enhance your service by adding such a tool.

In the meantime, let us continue to "pay it forward" by volunteering in a project like Find a Grave, FamilySearch Indexing, or others.

Silly Old Snapshot contest - enter your family photo

Photo Detective, and past Legacy webinar speaker, Maureen Taylor, has a way to beat the winter blahs without spending a dime. Enter your funny family photo in a contest. Your ancestral photo could be voted the S.O.S. or Silly Old Snapshot.

Here's how it works

Upload your photo to http://www.maureentaylor.com/photo-contests/silly_old_snapshots then get your friends and family to vote.

Prizes

You’ll be competing for a prize package that includes

• a free photo consult on the winning image sponsored by VoiceQuilt.com
• a set of Maureen’s Legacy Family Tree webinar CDs
• a download of Legacy 7.5 Deluxe software
• a copy of Maureen's book, Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats
• and more. 

 Sounds like a fun contest. See her website for the rules and more.

Your email correspondence - historical value or digital clutter?

I don't like throwing away anything. Everything has historical value to me - even my utility bills from when I was first married. My wife finally convinced me to get rid of them last year, but I scanned a few, just to keep the evidence of where we lived. One thing I won't part with is my archive of emails - I have them all (except for the spam of course) - from my first email sent on August 28, 1998 to the present. There's a lot of history in the 8GB of correspondence - I wish my ancestors would have started using email a lot sooner....

This week I decided to import my personal email account and all 13 1/2 years of emails (received and sent) into Gmail. Fortunately Gmail will still let me use my personal email address to send and receive emails, but I will also get the benefits that come along with Gmail. It's taken several days now to import everything, and it's got several more to go.

During the process I've had the chance to re-read some of the very first emails I sent. Naturally, many of them relate to genealogy. I even found emails about two genealogy-related job offers - one I declined and the other I accepted (and here I am today...). You might not find them as amuzing and memorable as I did, but I'm happy I kept them - it has helped to document my personal story. Here are a few of the early emails I sent.

The first email I ever sent (August 28, 1998)

Drew - Will you let me know via email if you got this message. I sent it on the 28th. Thanks, Geoff Rasmussen

My first genealogy-related email ever sent (September 1, 1998)

Dear Bill, School has started up again here in Provo, so my genealogy time has dramatically decreased, however, I wanted to write you a quick note to express my appreciation for you posting your Smart genealogy on your web page. It is very clear, and easy to understand. Just a couple of months ago, I only knew of Sarah Smart as being born about 1830, nothing else. I have loved getting to know my ancestors and enjoy corresponding with distant cousins such as yourself. I do have a few dates that you didn't have, and when I get reorganized here I'll pass them along. Until next time, take care, Geoff Rasmussen

Realizing that email is way better than snail mail (September 6, 1998)

Aunt Jessie - All of the gedcoms worked perfectly!  Thank you so very much. I love email - it's so much faster!  Geoff and Tanya

Canceled my 1-month free Ancestry.com subscription (September 7, 1998)

I am writing to cancel my 1-month free subscription. When I was told that it was free, I didn't know that you would charge me for that month. Please cancel this and refund my money. Thank you. Geoffrey D. Rasmussen

I guess I asked for Family Tree Maker software for Christmas (October 25, 1998)

Mother, Tanya has come up with this Christmas list that you wanted. Geoff: Family Tree Maker, 2" white binders, 3" electrodes and battery charger.

My response to my very first spam email received (November 6, 1998)

Please stop sending me these kind of messages, and messages talking about the rat extermination problem. Geoff Rasmussen, BYU student.

I wonder where I would be today if I accepted this job offer (January 24, 1999)

[To Mom] I attended a national genealogy conference yesterday - my boss paid for it. I got to meet some of the BIG names from all over the country. An important person who works at Ancestry.Com wants me to work for him, being the head acquisitions manager, traveling all over the country to see what's available. I'm going to get graduated first, but they offered an internship for me. I'll be touring their place in the next few weeks.

My very first email about Asa Clark Brown (January 28, 1999)

Carol, It is true that Asa Brown and family were found in the 1850 Census of Neshannock, Lawrence, Pennsylvania. Doesn't give any clues about possible parents. I'll try to remember to send you a copy with the others. Geoff

My first genealogy business idea - I think someone else took my idea (February 9, 1999)

I'm thinking about starting my own business. Searching census records, digitizing them, and distributing them through a web site. Just a beginning thought.

Thinking about having our first child (February 9, 1999)

We've been reading baby books, and really are concentrating on what we eat.

My first email (a small portion of it) sent to Legacy and the resulting job offer from Dave Berdan to work for Legacy (March 5, 1999)

For your info, I am the computer specialist at the BYU Family History Center. Also, I am a genealogy major. You might understand my difficulties in finding just the right family history software program. I own just about every one there is, and must make a decision about which one to use. I am heavily experimenting with Legacy 2.0, which I enjoy very much…. [listed a couple of bugs I found, and sent a bunch of suggestions]

Dave’s response (March 9): Want a part time job demonstrating Legacy to all the bookstores in the Salt Lake / Provo valley???????

My response (March 10): Yes, I'd be very interested in demonstrating Legacy in the bookstores around here. Send me some information if you'd like.

And the rest is history....

What about you? What do you do with your emails - save 'em or keep 'em? Any suggestions for me on my new adventures with Gmail?

Ring in the New Year with Some Genealogy Goals

I'd like to welcome our new guest blogger, Marian Pierre-Louis. You know Marian from her webinars and her blog, and now you'll get to hear from her more often as she writes here for our Legacy News blog. Her first article below is a great one! Here's Marian....

The New Year is upon us and that's a time when people make resolutions. I don't bother with resolutions because they are usually related to things I don't want to do and which I will have a hard time achieving. Instead, I prefer to set goals for things which I love to do and want to become better at. My number one love? Family history and genealogy.

You've never considered setting goals for your genealogy? It's just a hobby after all, right? That's true but it's an important activity that can help you leave a wonderful legacy to your family members and descendents.

Following are some topics you can consider for your genealogy goal setting.  Choose from one or all of them depending on your time availability.

Organization
I watched the Legacy Family Tree webinar "FamilyRoots Organizer System" by Mary Hill a few months ago. Organization is an area where most of us need help. Mary has outlined an excellent system for organizing records and documents. The system can even extend to photos and electronic files. Getting organized allows you to easily and quickly find genealogy information. It also means your descendents will be able to embrace your life work quicker and preserve it better. Since not one organizational system works for everyone, get ideas from past articles in this Legacy News blog here.

Digitization
Do you have a pile of old photographs lying around in a box? Make 2012 the year to scan and digitize those photos. Digitizing photos is important for genealogical research. First, it helps preserve the photos. Second, it helps with your research because as you share, family members will provide you with new information. Don't have many photos of your own? Then hit the road and visit family members. A new portable Flip-Pal scanner will make capturing photos from relatives a breeze. I also see that Geoff is presenting a free webinar on "Organizing and Sharing Digital Images" on February 29. Sign up for this today (free) before you forget.

Genealogy Software
Learning how to use your Legacy Family Tree software is an important part of your genealogy research. The more you understand about the software and its features the easier it will become to use. Set a goal to learn how to enter citations, use the research guidance feature or color code your family tree. Sign up for one of the "Watch Geoff Live webinars" or read his new book, The Official Unofficial Guide to Using Legacy Family Tree. I will working right along with this year as I learn to use Legacy for the first time.

Research Trips
A great way to inject excitement into your genealogy research is to schedule a research trip. Plan a visit to a town where one of your ancestors lived. It can be close by to where you live or it can be a trip to the old country. Either way, seeing the land, houses and environment where your ancestors lived can be emotional, inspiration and fun!

Reaching Out
If you've done a lot of research on your own perhaps it's time to reach out to distant cousins. Make a goal that you will try to locate and share information with unknown relatives. If you've already met some of your distant cousins consider starting a collaborative project where you work together to solve family mysteries. Reaching out can provide just the encouragement you need to further your research.

Education
Don't forget that education should be a part of your goals too. Commit to watching a Legacy Family Tree webinar once or twice a month. Other ideas for education include going to a local genealogy society meeting, attending a regional or national conference or participating in an online study group.

Write Down Those Goals!
The fun thing about annual genealogy goals is that everyone's goals will be different. No one's goals are right or wrong because they are all unique. And what's even better is if you share your goals, other genealogists can encourage you over the course of the year. Some people actually choose a "genealogy buddy" to help them stick to their goals.

Would you like to see some examples of genealogy goals? I have posted mine on my Roots & Rambles blog. Another Legacy Webinar favorite, Lisa Alzo, has also posted her 2012 goals on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist. Here are some example goals from non-professional genealogists as well - Lorine McGinnis Schulze and Sharon Stevens Lighthouse.

What are your 2012 genealogy goals? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Marian Pierre-Louis is a historical researcher who loves to share, encourage and inspire others on their genealogy research journey. You can see her upcoming webinars on Legacy Family Tree and read her blog, Marian's Roots and Rambles. She is the author of Brick Walls: Cracking the Case of Nathan Brown's Parents and Researching Your Connecticut Ancestors.