Genealogical Researching on a Budget

Caron Primas Brennan had an article "Genealogical Researching on a Budget" that was published as the Technical Insert #216 in the Illinois Heritage Association November-December 2018 newsletter.  It went to all Illinois Heritage Association member museums and historical societies as well as other libraries and archives, preservation groups, genealogical societies, some tourism organizations, and other cultural heritage organizations in Illinois.

The article includes information on researching genealogy on-line for no charge, using free databases or subscription databases used through libraries.  It covers looking for people, graves and obituaries, photographs, immigration, maps, newspapers and general resources.  It also includes US and international sites.

Check with your local library or historical society to see if they have a copy.  Or you can contact the Illinois Heritage Association (https://illinoisheritage.org) or Caron Brennan at Your Cousin Caron to request a copy.

Illinois Heritage Association

The Illinois Heritage Association perpetuates the history and heritage of Illinois by providing professional services to educational institutions, local government bodies and nonprofit agencies. It recognizes the contribution of people and nature to the shaping of the cultural heritage of the state of Illinois. In furthering such purposes, the Illinois Heritage Association researches and documents the history of Illinois, makes available the services of qualified personnel to assist with the needs of agencies entrusted with the perpetuation of Illinois history, provides educational services and benefits to the public, and builds coalitions with other groups that have similar objectives.

Aid to museums, libraries, and preservation organizations is at the core of the Illinois Heritage Association’s purpose. The IHA helps to preserve the cultural heritage of Illinois. Its mission is to stimulate an interest in this heritage and to provide technical assistance to organizations and individuals who work to preserve it. In the IHA’s view, cultural heritage encompasses historical records, decorative and fine arts, folk arts, material culture, and the built and natural environments. The IHA was established as a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status in 1981, when state support for cultural institutions was at a low ebb. The association’s founders believed there should be a history-related service organization independent of state government.

The IHA issues a printed newsletter six times a year. It contains news of exhibitions, conferences, educational programs, and other activities of cultural heritage organizations in Illinois and across the country.  Each printed newsletter contains a technical insert that addresses an area of concern for cultural heritage organizations.

Caron Primas Brennan

Caron Primas Brennan blogs as Your Cousin Caron.  Caron loves history, biography, puzzles and a good mystery, which makes her perfectly suited to genealogy research!  She has been researching her family history since a 6th grade school project got her interested.  Caron’s only vice is genealogy so she has subscriptions to many resources including Ancestry.com, Genealogybank.com, Fold3.com, and Newspapers.com.  She belongs to several local and regional genealogy groups as well as being a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Genealogists.  She is currently the Recording Secretary and Society Liaison for the Illinois State Genealogical Society for 2018-2019; Facilitator for the Chicago Region of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and is leading the Web Site Redesign Committee for the Chicago Genealogical Society.  She previously held Board positions at the Chicago Genealogical Society and CAGGNI (the Computer-Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois). When not working at her day job, researching her own family tree or making genealogy presentations, Caron may be researching for others or writing for her blogs!

Do You Want Responses To Your Inquiry?

Help me help you!

I received this contact yesterday via Ancestry. I do not know if it is referring to a tree connection or a DNA match.

For a quick response, it would be helpful to know what tree on Ancestry (I manage over ten trees on Ancestry) and what person in the tree you are interested in. For DNA connections, I would like the same information.

Here is an real email I received (I couldn't make this up!).  

​

Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 8:00 AM:
It seems we are related :) how are you?  I don't know any of my relatives so I'm trying to find them.
Merry Christmas
Jennifer

I have DNA kits at three different testing companies.  I manage a number of family DNA kits.  How do you think I should respond?

This email is slightly more helpful:

Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 12:31 PM:
Dear Bobby,

I am writing to you as Family Finder shows that you are my cousin. If you would like to get in touch with me to share our search results I would be very grateful.

Looking forward to hear from you soon,

Your cousin,

Jan

  

Here is an example of one I can respond to with some real information:

Sun, Nov 8, 2015 at 7:23 PM,

Subject: GEDMatch to KAK48

My mother (Axxx719) and I (Axxx205) have matching regions with KAK48 kit on GEDMatch.

I am interested in trying to identify our common ancestor.

Our ancestors are from Sweden, Finland, and Germany (Prussia, Pommerania). Does KAK48 have ancestors from any of these regions?

Thank you,

Tim

Here is one I sent that received a quick response:

Subject:  Gedmatch Connection to [kit numbers]

Hi Grace,

It appears you and Art are a cousin match to my husband Bruce B and his aunt Marion Brennan Enich (MBE97).  They are also connected via paper trail and DNA back to Norwegian immigrants.  Family names include Knutsen/Knudsen, Gunderson and Marcusen.

Would you be willing to see how you all connect?  The family tree is on Ancestry as a public tree Primas Brennan Family http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/167759

Here are some requests of mine, if you would like to receive a response from me.

• Use an interest catching Subject like “Gedmatch - Autosomal DNA Match - Raymond Smith”, not “Hello Cousin” or “We Match!”  If you use one of the latter, it’s may go to the spam folder or be low priority to read and respond.
• Identify the person(s) you are trying to connect with or about.  In the case of DNA matching, do not assume the email is going to the tested person.  I manage many kits for others and need to know who you want to know about.  I also manage trees for other folks, so let me know what tree the person you are inquiring about is found in.  Where you found the tree would be helpful as well.  All my trees are not on Ancestry.
• Please tell me the name of the tree and where you found it, along with the name of the person in question.
• Include the testing company, kit numbers and/or names for DNA matching.
• Give me a brief description of what you are working on/looking for in contact requests. Example: “My mother's family were German Lutherans. My mother was born in Volhynia, and the family was there from the mid to late 1800s up until 1941 when the Russians expelled the Germans.  I am looking for family connections.”
• A pedigree chart in pdf format would be helpful as well as link to an on-line tree.
• Be courteous and gracious. Say please and thank you.  I am responding in my precious spare time.
• Avoid sending messages with misspellings, incorrect grammar or abbreviated texting language.  If you are sloppy in your communications, what is your research like?  There are instances of incorrect grammar when I get emails from non-English speaking folks or through a translation engine, which is understandable.

I do not think I am alone in hoping (asking) for better and clearer communication among genealogists.  It would make it easier for us to help each other.

Carol’s Living Story

                 I won a raffle prize at the DuPage County Genealogical Society’s Annual Conference in St. Charles, Illinois on February 23, 2013. My prize was a Living Story for the subject of my choosing by Janette Quinn of LivingStories.us.  In May 2013 I asked her to work with my mother Carol (Koepke) Primas and write her story.

                Janette met with Mom twice to interview and digitally record her memories in her Lombard home.  I provided many family pictures and documents to help stimulate Mom’s memory (she is 82 and still pretty sharp!) for the interviews.  Janette used the family history and photos and also conducted independent research about the places, people, activities and circumstances of Mom’s life. She also encouraged Mom’s own writing about memories and messages she considers to be most important. Finally, Janette melded it all into a book almost 50 pages long.   

                My sisters and I were anxious to hear what Mom had to say.  While I provided old family pictures, my sisters sent her questions they wanted answered and other suggestions.  Even though Dad is no longer with us, there was a lot of his information in the book as well.  Mom and Dad had been married over 50 years when he died and they had a lot of history together.

                We received the final copy a few weeks ago.  It is wonderful!  Mom has read it several times and we have shared it with other family members.   Mom’s brother Dick passed away in 2002.  His children were grateful to hear about his childhood through Mom’s story.  

Dick and Carol c. 1935

                From my perspective, it was a great family bonding experience.  I think Mom may have been a bit more open with an “objective third party” listening and taking notes than she would have been with a daughter.  It stimulated discussions about other family members which never made it into the book.  The younger generations learned about things they might not have otherwise known – like as kids, Mom and Dick jumping on the bed and breaking it.  The Living Story is a great legacy.  We had copies made for all the daughters and there are enough copies each grandchild will have one of their own as well.

                After reading the story, we are already planning additional “chapters”.  It was also noted that while Mom talked about daughters and grandchildren, no mention was made of son-in-laws!  We also decided we would like more pictures – but then we are a picture-oriented family.

                We as a family agree this would be a wonderful experience for all families!  Thank you to ISGS and Janette for this great gift!           

                LivingStories.us is a member of the Association of Personal Historians and the Association of Senior Service Providers. Its principal, Janette Quinn, lost both of her parents at ages 55 and 60 to cancer on September 17, 1973 when she was 18. Her personal and corporate mission is to preserve families’ most valuable assets, the stories of elders in their own words, before it’s too late. She holds a B.S. in journalism from Northern Illinois University and an M.S. in management consulting from DePaul University.