My newest video dives into the story of @tastinghistory.bsky.social's 3rd-great grandfather who was a Partisan Ranger in Western Virginia during the #CivilWar. Vlogging Through History joins me to help tell the story. Watch now - youtu.be/jXxHTUPOy6Y

My latest episode of Youtuber Family Trees dives into the intriguing history of Jabari Walker, whose ancestors were enslaved on El Destino Plantation near Tallahassee, FL. youtu.be/pysOB_Y0JEE #Genealogy

You guys...? We did it. 🥰 We won the FULL NEW YORK STATE DEATH INDEX FOR 1880-2017! We beat the largest government agency in the state of New York (@nysdoh.bsky.social), in the highest court of the state, through a Freedom of Information Law (#FOIL) suit. www.reclaimtherecords.org/records-requ...

Genealogy research into the paternal ancestry of #PopeLeoXIV has uncovered quite an interesting scandal. Learn more about it in my newest video! youtu.be/JCcqChKAsws #Genealogy #ThePope

New video out today! youtu.be/mKimrg1zKb0 I uncovered some very interesting World War II stories in the family tree for @tastinghistory.bsky.social.

These damn teenagers and their new fangled slang!

Playing with ChatGPT a bit and decided to see what I would look like as a beanie baby.

I propose that everyone adopt saying "heard" in everyday life, just like in the service industry.

#RootsTech2025 is now over, but it was such an amazing time! It was so great seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I'm still hanging out around SLC today and heading home tomorrow.

Fangirl moment with @geneavlogger.bsky.social and @dnapainter.bsky.social

I've made it to RootsTech! Who else is attending this year?

Be sure to join me tomorrow at 2pm EST on the IAJGS youtube channel as I interview the amazing team at the Holocaust Reunion Project - Jennifer Mendelsohn (@jmendelsohn.bsky.social) and Adina Newman!

It was great to hear such a positive response about the issues brought forward, especially to furthering digitization efforts and access!

Our board member Alec Ferretti should be testifying sometime in the next hour. (Technically, he'll do it wearing one of his many other hats: as a board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists @apgenealogists.bsky.social). Also testifying right after him: Josh Taylor of the NYG&B!

TONIGHT: (Thursday Feb 6th, 5 PM ET): Meeting/Panel via Zoom, about New York State Vital Records Access! RTR board members Alex Calzareth and Alec Ferretti will discuss the access changes proposed in the FY 2025-2026 budget. Free and open to everyone! Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

I recently saw The Breakthrough on Netflix, a mini-series about a double-murder in Sweden which was solved using Investigative Genetic Genealogy. I made a review video discussing what they got right, what they got wrong, and breaking down some of the information in more depth. youtu.be/mKL215bfBGc

Starting in about an hour and a half!

Max Miller of @tastinghistory.bsky.social will be joining me on a live stream this Friday to discuss his experiences as a guest on my series Youtuber Family Trees and learning the in-depth stories of his family history. Friday Jan 31st at 3:30pm PST / 6:30pm EST youtube.com/live/-qbVLfs...

"And if you don't have a scapegoat, you're the only person to blame." - Deca

If you were suddenly transported back 100 years to 1925, how far would you have to travel to find your closest ancestor? In 1925, I had 16 ancestors who were alive. My closest ancestors would be about 450 miles/724km away in Philadelphia, PA, where my grandfather Simon lived. #Genealogy

Mine may actually be @tastinghistory.bsky.social at a distance of 19th cousin 5x removed. @iammrbeat.bsky.social was pretty close at 19th cousin 3x removed.

Who is the most distant relative you've ever met where you actually know exactly how you are related?

I finally saw The Breakthrough and enjoyed it quite a lot! There were some glaring errors related to the Investigative Genetic #Genealogy, but overall a lot of detail that showed there was some serious research into genealogical methods. I'm considering a video about what they got right and wrong.

I'm attending #RoostsTech2025 virtually this year. 97 classes being offered online and 219 in-person. www.geneamusings.com/2025/01/root... #Genealogy #FamilySearch

I might be a little biased on this one! geneavlogger.creator-spring.com/listing/gott... #Genealogy

Good vibes for 2025.

I was looking through the lineup of talks for this coming year of Legacy Family Tree Webinars and was surprised not to see a single Jewish topic. I also realized they only have 15 Jewish talks out of their entire catalog. I think I realize why I've barely watched their webinars. #Genealogy

I always find my music stats quite interesting. Here is the breakdown of my 2024 music stats from last.fm.

It was a privilege to work with Vilunya to give her back her identity.

Something you may find in a C-File - Discharge Records This DD-214 Certificate is for the grandfather of @tastinghistory.bsky.social. I was lucky to have @alecferretti.bsky.social from @reclaimtherecords.org send this FOIA request for me. Thanks to their team, EVERYONE CAN NOW REQUEST! #Genealogy

In today's livestream with Geneavlogger, there's a few times where my parents and I hint at broader discussions we have about micro vs macro, sociological theory, and oral history: https://youtube.com/live/xKj778ux07U?feature=share Should i interview my parents about these things?

On today's stream with @cynicalhistorian.bsky.social, I mentioned the new website from Reclaim the Records which allows you to search the index of the BIRLS Database and then submit a FOIA request through the website. The example here is Cypher's grandfather Arthur P Patton.

I will be live streaming at 5pm EST with @cynicalhistorian.bsky.social and his parents, where they will be reacting to the videos I made about their #genealogy. There might even be a little discussion about the Big-Y test Cypher took! youtube.com/live/lV45OaF...

My newest reaction is to a couple TikTok videos discussing the Baby Garnet case, including one by the girl whose DNA was used in the investigation. #Genealogy #GeneticGenealogy #BabyGarnet youtu.be/fOpNPJ8D6Ps

Earlier this month, I sat down to talk with Drew Smith from the #Genealogy Connection podcast. We discussed my origin story in genealogy, starting my youtube channel, and a lot about the #Sephardic Diaspora. Check it out! open.spotify.com/episode/3jPL...

AVAILABLE NOW!

When a Family Quarrel Turns Deadly While researching @cynicalhistorian.bsky.social's tree, I found an extremely interesting story about a violent family quarrel in 1876 Janesville, WI. Video will be out later today! Channel members currently have early access youtu.be/l0rGwI3-a_k #Genealogy

My newest reaction is a bit different than most because it involves nothing about DNA. It is all about how to research by @overlysarcastic.bsky.social. I related what red says to how I do #genealogy research. youtu.be/hWDXVJsRa70?...

I will be starting a stream in 20 minutes, building family trees for people in chat. Come hang out! youtube.com/live/7fhBUIK... #Genealogy

Hey #GenHour! Catching the tail-end of the hour, but still enough time to rant about how I need information on a family in Rock County, Wisconsin in 1865, the same year Wisconsin happened to have a State Census...but most of the records were destroyed and non exist for Rock County 😠😭 #Genealogy

I love using the learnforeverlearn graphs! Especially when analyzing larger family trees. Here is one I made on my #NunesVaz family, which visualizes the impact of the Holocaust by including a line for the year 1945. We have over 1000 identified family members who were murdered. #Jewish #Genealogy

In my talk about Jewish Genetic #Genealogy, I use my Kaseno/Khazanovich family as an example of how to identify a significant #DNA match under 200cM. What better further proof than finding family photos with two branches of the family? One photo is from my collection, the other from my Kahn cousins.

I checked out the blog by @yhoitink.bsky.social (www.dutchgenealogy.nl/brabant-1659) to find Amsterdam in the maps. I was very happy to see that Joan Blaeu included the Jewish cemetery in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, which he lists as Jooden Kerkhof.

I'll be starting a livestream in 45 minutes to chat about #genealogy, DNA testing, and more. Come hang out! - youtube.com/live/fQEuzFE...

Looking through old emails, I apparently missed an email a cousin sent me years ago which included a 1908 wedding photograph of my Great Grandparents Harry Rosenberg and Pearl Waxman. This is by far the best photograph I have of them at a young age. Harry was 21 and Pearl was 18.

Shared cM Project Tool now available in additional languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, and Slovak #genealogy #DNA dnapainter.com/blog/shared-...

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I imagine this will be many genealogists today around the dinner table. And who better to discuss #genealogy with than our family???

Working on the script for my next Youtuber Family Trees episode. I had to give up on getting the original court records for this case - an archive, a historical society, a library, and multiple court clerks are claiming the others have the original records. Good thing the newspapers were detailed!

Even better, a cousin sent me this film he made years ago talking to my great grandmother and others about the family history. youtu.be/Km1fzMqsCcc?...

Years ago I did some research into Baruch Spinoza's father Michael de Espinoza by tracking his taxes in the Portuguese Jewish community records inv. 334 in the Amsterdam Archives. The archive updated their site a year later and the links I have don't work, so I need to go back through and update.