Springfield, MA USA
dave@oldbones.info

Category: family history

Family Research - Classes - Workshops - Consultation

RootsTech 2021 – Here I Come!

Considering that RootsTec 2020 was so phenomenally successful (and no surprise), I’ve already decided that RootsTech 2021 is where I need to be next February 3-6 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a genealogist’s Nirvana! The largest, most well attended convention of family history researchers, vendors of genealogical products and software and a place…
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Happy Ending or Happy Beginning – A DNA Success Story

Debra knew from a very early age that she was adopted. Her mother and father provided an incredibly  loving environment where she could grow and thrive. And that’s exactly what she did! While it may sound unusual, when she was 3 years old her Mom sat her down and gently explained that some mothers were…
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Genealogy Conferences – NERGC and OGS

Here are some updates on genealogy conferences and my personal involvement with at least two of them. First, a little report on the NERGC conference held in Manchester, New Hampshire back in April. NERGC is the acronym for the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium. It’s a whole lot easier to just pronounce it “NERK!” An…
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Influenza Casualty? – 1918

Everyone is familiar with what is known as the “Spanish Flu,” an influenza pandemic that wreaked havoc around the world from 1918 to 1920. Today, the science of that killer disease is well known and it is unlikely that the world would see another global tragedy of those proportions…Unless we’re struck by a new, unknown,…
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Genealogy Conferences – Another Level of Self-Eduation

I’ve talked about conferences many times. At Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society as well as Connecticut Society of Genealogisists we’ve had presentations about why you would want to attend a conference. My shortcut answer is this: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Regardless of how long any of us have been researching our own families…
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A Powerful Challenge for Adoptees to Overcome

Recently, I’ve been involved with a few clients who are themselves adopted or have a family member in their recent past who had been adopted. Thus, I feel compelled to bring a few interesting facts to everyone’s attention. Once again I’ll be discussing a particular use of the results of DNA testing. The focus, though,…
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DNA Testing Advice

A friend who is also a client was asked some questions about DNA by her friend. She referred that friend to me who didn’t have time for a telephone conversation for a brief consult as we had mutually conflicting schedules.  She asked for a simple email to help her make some decisions. Well, that’s not…
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A “Found” Patriot

Heritage. As a youngster, I always wondered of the heritage that resulted in me.  The culture at home was a simple one when it came down to family stories and history. “What you don’t know won’t hurt you!” Well, I guess I won’t ask THAT question again! What follows are a few descriptions of discoveries…
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NERGC? What’s a NERGC?

“Using the Tools of Today & Tomorrow to Understand the Past” The New England Regional Genealogical Consortium produces a conference every other year. Each NERGC conference is held in a city somewhere in New England. Past conferences have been in Hartford, Connecticut, Manchester, New Hampshire, Providence, Rhode Island, and this year, Springfield, Massachusetts. The event…
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