Here we go again? #genealogy www.reuters.com/business/exc...

Thank you to @familytreemag.bsky.social for publishing this! You can read my piece below. ⬇️ #Genealogy

An older #painting. "Cottage from Sheep Field" came from when I lived with a little dog in a cottage in the northwestern corner of Ireland, in north County Donegal, when we would walk into the sheep field and look back to enjoy the view the sheep had of our idyllic cottage. #ArtYear #SpeirGhorm

Look what we have here then.

NAGL, Ancestry (not a good look), #genealogy www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/...

In this week’s roundup, a new St. Patrick’s mural honoring NYC immigrants, using DNA to unlock citizenship, intriguing baby name trend, and more. megansmolenyak.com/genealogy-ro...

Pope Leo is said to have accepted Cardinal Dolan's resignation and to have picked his successor as New York archbishop. Will Dolan serve in retirement as spiritual advisor to Turning Point USA? In any event, his adherence to the GOP is far stronger than his adherence to the Catholic Church.

Uptick in people using DNA for citizenship www.bbc.com/news/article... #geneticgenealogy

It is a truth too often unacknowledged, that a populist in possession of the public's rage must be in perpetual want of an enemy.

A few weeks ago, I posted about the resurgence of old-timey first names. This article is 3 years old, but talks about another naming phenomenon - women naming their daughters after themselves. #genealogy (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

This is making the rounds again but is always worth repeating.

Things happening outside of the spotlight are important, too. substack.com/home/post/p-...

After something to listen to over the weekend? Our newest podcast with @katrinanavickas.bsky.social dropped yesterday! We talk about the history of the commons (communal resources), enclosure, and resistance to that encroachment. Plus, Untitled Goose Game. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

A massive mural honoring NYC immigrants now fills the entrance to St. Patrick’s Cathedral www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-lif...

In this week’s roundup, a major shift in baby names, a quirky book recommendation, Ancestry’s setback with Scottish records, the identification of a Korean War hero, and more. megansmolenyak.com/genealogy-ro...

Welcome home, PFC Vincent Angelo Vega. Honored to have researched your family (just this year!). #Hero #KoreanWar

Style lessons from Robert Redford, one of the most stylish men in the last century. 🧵

Virginia, today is National Voter Registration Day! The best way to celebrate? Register to vote or check your registration status at iwillvote.com/va

Barefoot in the Park Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Candidate The Sting All the President’s Men Sneakers He was so good in so many of my favorite movies. And no one, no one, was ever handsomer. RIP to a legend.

Whoa, he seemed the type to live to 100. RIP. 😔

Thank you so, SO much to everyone who has recommended, read, and posted reviews of my book! And folks who have come to events! Sold out of 1st printing which is amazing (tho let's not get too excited this is an academic print run 😁), has now been reprinted and in process of restocking. Phew. 📚

Scotland says nae to Ancestry. #genealogy www.independent.ie/business/anc...

Unusual book to recommend perhaps, but it certainly helps that I've been lured into the Tour de France world these last couple of years (lovely mash-up of sport and geography/history/culture). 1/2

#genealogy ☺️

Stephen Colbert's Emmys acceptance speech: "I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor."

Old names new again: "my old lady gang" & preschoolers with Ellis Island names 😆 www.upworthy.com/it-kinda-mad...

Seconded.

You know you're a genealogist when you track down a WWII soldier's relative by cold-calling a gas station in ND. #genealogy

We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

Charlie Kirk is dead.

This afternoon, in addition to Charlie Kirk, there was a school shooting. Bullets don't know and don't care if you are a Republican or Democrat. It is time for Republicans and Democrats to find a way to work together to reduce gun violence. www.wcpo.com/us-news/crim...

The news from Utah is horrifying. Monstrous.

In this week’s roundup, surprising trivia about Hitler’s half-brother, errors found on Ancestry, Ukrainian women safeguarding photographic treasures, and more. megansmolenyak.com/genealogy-ro...

GREAT NEWS! Democrats add one more vote in Congress after the Virginia special election. 💙💙

My father - also military - lived near this guy and detested him for dishonoring the uniform.

There's a guy on Ancestry who's made my dad a junior (nope) and given him 7 children (he had 4). And just for fun, he gave me an extra dad - some guy I've never heard of. 🤦‍♀️ #genealogy

A timely and invaluable initiative. "Buzko and her team have a generator that keeps their scanners going through blackouts, and the women work through the air-raid alerts that frequently interrupt public life in Kyiv." petapixel.com/2025/08/11/u...

Would recommend my fellow genealogists consider signing up! #genealogy

Managed to get some LPs and books just in time, but bummer that I won't be able to going forward. Feel especially sorry for those with family members overseas.

this is so wonderfully weird, give her all the golds 🥇

The Late Show holding up the importance of local news and public media, starring Katherine Maher of @npr.org www.facebook.com/reel/1729433...

Several hurdles, but got the new COVID vaccine! 💉💪

Hello everyone, I hope this Friday morning finds you as inexplicably happy as this 18th-century sea-lion

What are the odds? Researching an adopted soldier. When I found his birth family, it turned out that mtDNA relatives had already tested due to a 1st cousin who was killed at Pearl Harbor and was identified in 2020. 😯 #genealogy

The stuff you trip across when researching, eh? Hitler's half-brother seeks to change his name (the family later went by Hiller) and said "Hitler hated him and never had visited him in the last 10 years." #genealogy

In this week’s roundup, Taylor Swift’s ancestral roots, fascinating cemeteries, a book tracing the rise of genetic and forensic genealogy, and more. megansmolenyak.com/genealogy-ro...

"Inishmore Horse". A special #painting for me. As an unpaid carer I don't earn much but wanted to give back. So with permission I used a friend's photo as reference, and donated half of the proceeds to the charity of their choice - the Down Syndrome Centre in Dublin's northside. #ArtYear #SpeirGorm

Another example of why living in Florida can be so wearying.

Applies to so much more than digital platforms now.