Jill Ball over at the GeniAus Blog has posted a Five Faves Genealogy Book meme. Although it was difficult, I’ve narrowed my list down to these five books. 1. Footprints in the Soil: A Portuguese Californian Remembers by Rosemary Peters Emery. Like so many genealogists, I want to know what life was like “when”–and this book delivers! At 97, Emery published her memoirs. Her father was a Portuguese immigrant and her mother was American born. She grew up on a ranch…
Would you like to understand more about your Azorean heritage? Do you have an interest in all things Portuguese? Or, are you a fan of folklore and fables? Then, you might be interested in a volume by Elsie Spicer Eells titled “The Islands of Magic: Legends, Folk, and Fairy Tales from the Azores”. This is my review. A Collection of Very Short Stories There are 34 stories in this collection. Many of them are less than 5 pages. It’s the…
Curious thing about Portuguese surnames. They are inconsistent at best and downright frustrating most of the time. Surname research is out of the question because you can’t depend on any consistency. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Josefa de Mello’s surname turned out to be completely different than the name on her son’s marriage record. Why I Couldn’t Find Josefa de Mello in the Parish Records Let’s take a walk into the Azores Islands parish records, shall we? Joam de…
I have many DNA matches on FTDNA and GEDMatch and I’ve researched collateral lines. Yet, I struggle to figure out how we my DNA matches are related to me. Knowing we’re related is only the beginning. Figuring out how is the hard part. I’ve spent considerable time going backwards with my research. I’m bringing my lines forward in hopes of learning who my DNA matches are. How about you? DNA Research is a Challenge My autosomal test results have confirmed…
Have you uploaded your raw DNA files to GEDMatch.com? If not, you should consider it. Not only is there the possibility of connecting with new cousins who tested with different DNA companies, there are some nifty tools not available anywhere else. There are a variety of chromosome mapping tools that allow you to analyze your DNA in a variety of ways. My Ancestry is Split Just a brief note about my ancestry before we get started so you’ll have something…