Family History Blogging Can Help Others Find Their Ancestors

I am so excited to share with you that a previously unknown cousin contacted me recently to tell me some wonderful news.

He left a comment here on my blog. His comment began with this sentence:

"I was so happy to stumble onto your blog, as it has helped me finally crack the mystery of who my three times great grandfather was."

Isn't that awesome!? This previously unknown cousin and I share an ancestor in my Norwegian family line. My cousin's ancestor was one of the brothers of my third great-grandfather, Michael Christian Christopherson. My cousin also said,

"...and thanks to you I now have their parents names as well :) Thanks!"

Wow! You're very welcome cousin!

My cousin went on to say that I was a good DNA match with his grandmother on GEDmatch. Yay!

My new cousin's comments made me feel so good! It really is worth all of the time and effort to write about my ancestors in my blog. Not only is blogging about my ancestors beneficial to me, it's also helpful to others.

Have you had any cousins contact you because you shared your family history in your blog?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Jana's Genealogy Fab Finds for June 9, 2017

NOTE: There will not be a Fab Finds post next week due to family activities. Thank you!

My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)

1. GeneaBloggers announces GeneaBloggersTRIBE
2. It’s not just about blogging… by Pat Richley-Erickson for GeneaBloggersTRIBE
3. New GeneaBloggersTRIBE Badge for Your Blog or Website by GeneaBloggersTRIBE
4. GeneaBloggersTRIBE - Answering your questions by Jill Ball, author of GeniAus
5. Dear Genealogy Bloggers, I love you! AND Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection by Amberly, author of TheGenealogyGirl
6. Another Internet Surprise by Valerie Hughes, author of Genealogy With Valerie
7. USING SURNAME DISTRIBUTION MAPS by Linda Stufflebean, author of Empty Branches on the Family Tree
8. Another gem for researching relatives who served in the Soviet Army during WWII by Vera Miller, author of Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family
9. Research Like a Pro, Part 2: Analyze Your Sources by Diana Elder, author of Family Locket
10. What is a ‘Professional Genealogist’? by Amie Bowser Tennant, author of The Genealogy Reporter
11. New Facebook Group: Historical City Directories by Miriam J. Robbins, author of AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
12. The mailman brought letters Dad wrote 72 years ago by Becky Jamison, author of Grace and Glory
13. Our Ancestors and Their Gardens by Melissa Barker, author of A Genealogist In The Archives
14. “LITTLE BYTES OF LIFE” IS NOW “MY DESCENDANT’S ANCESTORS” by Elizabeth O'Neal, author of My Descendant's Ancestors
15. The Norwegian Digitalarkivet with new design by Martin Roe Eidhammer, author of Norwegian Genealogy and then some
16. Mastering Genealogical Proof & Mastering Genealogical Documentation by Colleen G. Brown Pasquale, author of Leaves & Branches
17. TRACING MY FAMILY TREE AT THE AGE OF SEVEN by David Allen Lambert, author of The Past Finder
18. Formal citations: Do it for those who follow by Janine Adams, author of Organize Your Family History
19. Genealogy Blogging Like It's My Birthday! by Michael Dyer, author of Family Sleuther 

Previous "May I Introduce To You" Interviews on GeneaBloggers.com

• May I Introduce To You . . . Michelle Murosky
• May I Introduce To You . . . Dr. Bill

New Blog Discoveries

• GeneaBloggers TRIBE
• Turning Hearts Genealogy
• AncesTrees
• Scots Roots
• ELUSIVE ANCESTOR
• A Genealogy Journal
• A Grave Interest
• A Latvian Canadian Story
• A Step in Line
• THE PAST FINDER

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Blogosphere Since My Last Fab Finds Post

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog

• Debs and Willis Webster's Vintage Matchbook Collection
• Wednesday, May 31, 2017 My DNA Ethnicity Estimate From MyHeritage

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

My DNA Ethnicity Estimate From MyHeritage

Earlier this week MyHeritage announced their new and improved Ethnicity Estimate.

I decided to check out my results and found them very interesting.

Under the DNA tab, I clicked on the Ethnicity Estimate tab and my Ethnicity Estimate list and corresponding world map appeared.

Here's my Ethnicity Estimate list.

And here's my Ethnicity Estimate map.

When I placed my cursor over a region in my Ethnicity Estimate, the region's color darkened and a box with the Ethnicity Estimate region and percentage appeared.

At the top of the page above the map is a "Play Intro" tab.

When I clicked on it, a separate tab on my computer opened and a video started playing.

The video began like this:

And ended with this:

This cool animated video revealed "who I am" according to my ethnicity estimates. As each region was listed and highlighted on the map, representative music from that region played. It was pretty neat.

When the video ended, this map appeared.

At the bottom of the map is a "Play again" button to view the video again.

Here's another interesting feature. To learn more about a region in your ethnicity estimate, simply click on that region in the map or in the list.

I did that for my Central American region and this is the screen that appeared.

It will be interesting to compare my DNA ethnicity estimates from MyHeritage to my results from Ancestry and Family Tree DNA. I will likely share those comparisons in an upcoming post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

No Genealogy Fab Finds Post This Week

Hello wonderful readers!

Just a quick post to tell you that there will not be a Genealogy Fab Finds post today. I've been dealing with shoulder/upper arm pain this week. I'm not sure yet if it's tendinitis, frozen shoulder, or what. It seems to be feeling better than before, but earlier it was difficult to use the computer mouse.

Hopefully Genealogy Fab Finds will resume next week. Thank you for your patience.

Have a great weekend!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

Debs and Willis Webster's Vintage Matchbook Collection

During a visit to my mom's house, she brought out this cool bag filled with vintage matchbooks. It belonged to my Grandpa and Grandma, Debs Warren Webster and Willis Quillin Webster.

I talked to my youngest brother and he remembers seeing these matchbooks. In fact, he remembers our Grandpa Webster letting him examine them. I wondered if my grandparents had collected these during their travels. He affirmed that by saying, "They collected each and every one of them from their many travels around the nation."

How cool is that!?

I'm so intrigued by these vintage matchbooks. My grandparents didn't ever smoke, so I don't know why they chose to collect matchbooks during their travels. But I'm glad they did collect them and that they kept them through the years. Not only are they interesting historically, they also give me a glimpse into the lives of my grandparents and where they traveled. My youngest son had a great idea to use these to create a map of where my grandparents traveled.

My plan is to scan these vintage matchbooks and share them here in this blog.

Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2017 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved