INSIDETH IS ISSUE: “Footste psofRoya lty” “Ge ne a log ythe Ga m e ” “1830’sRollin the H a y” “M yGra nd fa the r’sEye s” “Bre a king Bric k W a lls” “Colorizing H istory“ “Ge ne ra tion Cryo” “The H ullH ouse ” “K nowle d g e isthe K e y”
The Family Road Trip
A tree reclaims the family transportation Location unknown
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
Today we have luxuries like AAA and other car clubs to help bail us out when we get stranded far from home. But in the early 1900’s, the only logical solution was to leave your vehicle where it died. The family wagon so to speak on the cover now comes with its own family tree (well sort of anyway). Join us as we look back at the impact of family vacations on genealogy and a whole lot more.
HOMETOWN – Who can ever forget the soda fountains? Often they were part of the department stores like Coronet, Woolworth’s Newberry’s, Macy’s and even K-Mart. For years the young man behind the counter filling your cone shaped paper cup in a silver older was known as a soda jerk. This was not a negative term, but related to the work they did. Of course at that time many terms and sayings had very different meanings from today.
PUBLISHER Tom Bailey
Summertime has always been a favorite season for me. I hate the heat, but love the sunshine, gardens, flowers, and vacations long and short. In a way it becomes difficult to think about keeping up with genealogical research, and being on the computer or hours on end. Yet it tends to push you to go explore places that are part of your ancestral past. Visits to cemeteries to capture marker images and visits to obscure historical societies tucked away in nearly forgotten towns.
EDITOR Michele Gotthardt CONSULTING GENEALOGIST Kathy Weeks-Bailey CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Amy Archibald Kathy Bailey Wendy Kramer Vera Miller Coral Richardson Ken Siemens Eileen Weeks
Well we have made it to issue TWO. In a way this accomplishment makes me think of those times we returned to some campy little Roadside Americana tourist attraction as a kid. How could we forget how cool the giant twenty foot ground hog, or cement and chicken wire castle and dragon were? If we stop and look back at the postcards and souvenirs from our journeys, and those of our parents and grandparents, it helps us to build a little more about who we were and who we are. We hope as you open this edition on your laptop, tablet or even smart phone e-reader you wander into the forest of your family tree, and use its contents to help you nourish and grow your tree. Family is the . . . CONNECTING POINTS . . . that always bring us back home! Tom Bailey, Publisher
PUBLISHED BY CAG PUBLISHING connectingpointsmagazine@yahoo.com www.connectinpointsmagazine.com
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ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS Article submissions are only accepted in the form of an .rtf or .doc document attached in an email directed to “Publisher� at connectingpointsmagazine@yahoo.com CONNECTING POINTS magazine is
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
published quarterly, Mar, Jun, Sep & Dec.
W e lc om e Ve ra M ille r!
R ollinhay in1830’s,addsabig gaptoancestry,
Pg.15
“As a first generation American, I previously worked as a local newspaper reporter and received nine regional, state and national journalism awards for investigative reporting and feature writing. The lack of family in the United States and an incomplete family tree found at her grandmother's house sparked Vera's interest in genealogy and desire to seek out family in Russia and Ukraine.”
Vera M.
W e lc om e Am yArc hib a ld !
T he14R ’sofBreaking Dow nW alls, Pg.29 “Have you ever hit a genealogical "brick wall" in your research? Do you put all other research efforts on hold in order to track down the elusive ancestor? Do the records you are looking for even exist? Are you chasing after family folklore that may be too good to be true? Did the ancestor really just disappear? Or mysteriously arrive? And are you really sure that "all the records were destroyed"? Amy A.
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
A note from our...
S taffGenealogist-Kathy W eeks “CONNECTING POINTS magazine has quickly becoming a wellknown addition to the world of genealogy. We are working on building a magazine that is different from any others out there today. It is wonderful to have so many tools and resources available to us. We invite you to continue to send us your suggestions and manuscripts (including blog posts) for our consideration. We can’t use everything sent in as we receive an abundance each week. But keep sending and someday you too may become a published author if you aren’t already.” Kathy W. W e lc om e Ke nSie m e ns!
M y Grandfather’sEyes, Pg.35 “When I was in school, History was probably my least favorite subject. It was boring and I did all I could do to stay awake and not get kicked out of class. As time went by History became pretty interesting to me, especially WW 1 and WW 2. Within the last two years, family history became a focal point for me. Looking into my own family history and finding out about my ancestors pointed me in a direction wanting to help other people by bringing photos back to life and keep memories alive.” Ken S. W e lc om e Eile e nW e e ks!
Know ledgeistheKey atA ny A ge,
Pg.67
“I believe that a person should never stop learning new things, and new ways to do those things. Technology offers us so many paths of information and simplified ways to manage things. Truly education is the key” Eileen E.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 06
HO METO W N – Looking through old photographs, school pictures, newspaper clippings and other family treasures can help you unlock many clues about your family genealogy. In this picture circa 1930’s (unknown details) we see boys on their way to the local fishin’ hole. Are they brothers, cousins, or just best of friends? Answers to simple questions like that can break down many walls you will encounter.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: “GENOGRAMS – Beyond the Tree” “Attending Normal School”” “Finding Lost Relatives through DNA” “Heirloom or Heartache” “Digitizing History”
My how times change. Going to play with your friends use to mean being outside or doing something that involved creativity. Today it seems that world of video games and technology has overpowered the old ways of playing. Why not take your kids on a real “gaming� experience afternoon. They may really like it.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 10
Just as every fisherman has a story to tell about the ‘one that got away,’ every genealogist has a story to tell about the excitement, disappointment, or struggle they had in trying to find that elusive ancestor. The game of genealogy is a fun game that lets the player experience the excitement and some of the challenges in doing genealogical research.
CONNECTING POINTS does not solicit or allow paid advertising in the magazine. However we do look for innovative products that might help to stimulate people to become more involved in their own genealogy research. We believe the “Game of Genealogy” is just such a tool. The concepts it’s designed around can make research fun and help enlighten people on how to do fact based research. With the game designers help, Karen Richardson, we have written a product review and invitation to check out his fun resource. If you should decide to order a game (the link is at the end of this article) if you mention that you saw it in CONNECTING POINTS you will receive an additional discount. The game is of very high quality workmanship.
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
So just what is this “Game of Genealogy” all about anyway . . . There is a short version and a long version of the game. First, players can decide to play the long version (locating four generations - 31 names) or the short version (15 names). Second, the length of time depends somewhat on how many players there are. For example, the short version with five players can take approximately one hour. If information about your ancestors is being discussed as you play the game the time, of course, will be extended. The game can end any time the players feel they have played long enough, especially if young children are playing. The object of the game is to gain points by checking off the boxes on the pedigree chart (score card) and visiting as many locations as possible. When the game ends the person with the most points wins. The game is generic in that you can play the game just as a game without any information about your ancestors. If a person wants to discuss with children or other family members information about their ancestors, having that information available would be a great help. The game is set up to have players go to ten locations where genealogical information can be found in the real world. The information on the situation cards for each location is the same information they would find at that physical location.
“We found a great game at our last conference, it is The Game of Genealogy. The board game is based on finding family members, real or imagined, by visiting locations that you would normally research. When your dice roll lands you at one of the locations you take a card and are given information or sent to a different location. The results of these excursions allow you to find a heretofore unknown ancestor or verify information about a known ancestor. The game is fun and educational even for those not familiar with genealogical research, such as my husband.” Joan Kitchen Murray - roots2leaves <roots2leaves@gmail.com>
When a person researching information on their ancestors goes to a location in the ‘real world,’ they may or may not find the information they were looking for. In The Game of Genealogy, the situation cards are made up to mimic that experience. The situation cards tell the player whether or not they found information, if they need to go to another source or location to verify that information, or if they are given bonus points for an act of service they provided while at that location. CONNECTING POINTS –page 12
When a person researching information on their ancestors goes to a location in the ‘real world,’ they may or may not find the information they were looking for. In The Game of Genealogy, the situation cards are made up to mimic that experience. The situation cards tell the player whether or not they found information, if they need to go to another source or location to verify that information, or if they are given bonus points for an act of service they provided while at that location. We have discovered that even young children can enjoy playing the game. This is a quote from a letter received from a grandmother who watches her two grandchildren while the parents are at work, “I want to share something very special to me about this game. I have a 5-year-old and a 2 ½ year-old that beg to play the game. You have on the box ages 8 and up, but they love the game. The 5-year-old leaves for kindergarten and while he’s gone the 2 ½-year-old pulls up his chair and begs to play the game. I’ll tell him to wait a minute, he keeps ding-donging me until we sit down together and play.” You do not need to have names of ancestors to play the game. However, as you can see from the following quote, children love to know how their families fit together, “I have the names of grandmas and grandpas on cards. When we play I give him a card so he knows who we are looking for, then we follow the directions…he gets so excited because he is looking for Grandma _________ or Grandpa __________.”
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Some of the game research locations
FAMILY HISTORY CENTER STATE/FEDERAL ARCHIVES STATE/LOCAL LIBRARIES HOME/FAMILY CHURCH/PARISH CITY/COUNTY OFFICES COMPUTER/INTERNET COUNTY COURTHOUSE LOCAL GENEALOGICAL SCTY CEMETARY/MORTUARY
You do not we need to have information such as birth and death dates, where the person was born, or where they lived to be able to play the game. You can gear the information about your family to your individual situation. Playing the game gives parents an opportunity teach their children about their ancestors and tell them stories that will help them relate to them. With small children you may only be able to find and discuss the lives of one or two ancestors before they begin to lose interest. Parents know when their children are ready to quit. The next time you play you can start where you left off and continue from there.
Coral and Karen Richardson: Coral and Karen Richardson are the owners of The Game of Genealogy LLC. In the early 1980s, Coral was looking at the game of Clue – and got thinking about creating a board game that would be set up just like a Clue board but instead of the rooms it would be different locations that one would go to find genealogical information. Coral sent his prototype to a couple of printing companies that produced board games and that could possibly be interested in a “genealogy” theme. Sadly his concept was rejected, and he shelved further development for over a decade. When he decided to again pursue production of the game through connections and technology he was able to get the game manufactured in its present form. The game is now produced by Board Game Design & Manufacturing. Coral and Karen have also been involved in genealogy research for approximately 25 years. They have been staff members at the local Family History Center of their Church, have taught Basic Genealogy Classes, and have worked on their own family lines being especially interested finding histories and photographs. LINK here for e-mail
Click on the link above to go to a secure server
CONNECTING POINTS –page 14
I was so thrilled when I discovered my great-greatgrandmother’s maiden name after piecing together information after a few years. But thanks to her grandfather’s indiscretion in a barn or a field when he was 50 years old, the family tree always will be incomplete. Eventually in the pursuit of our ancestral trees we will travel across the oceans to far distant lands and places. The government records we are accustomed to here in America will become records administered by the church and kept in their repositories, for perhaps a millennium or more. America is an infant as countries and governments go. Archaic rules and practices may blind us from the information we seek. Join us as we bring you some valuable information from journalist Vera Miller and her unique discoveries in searching Russian genealogical records.
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A few years ago, I asked a researcher to study my great-greatgrandmother’s surname in the family village from 1880-1919. Nothing exciting was discovered. Her siblings nor her father’s siblings were found in church records.
I just assumed records went missing and were damaged over the years. Now I finally have the answer why I will never know about my great-greatgrandmother’s siblings and her paternal aunts and uncles.
The out-of-wedlock birth of her father in 1835 resulted in the Russian Orthodox Church not acknowledging his birth nor his children’s births. Don’t mess with the laws of the Russian Orthodox Church, which still looks down on women who wear pants to church. Too bad great-great-great-greatgrandpa wouldn’t marry the nameless woman he got pregnant.
Thanks to the open mind of the father of my great-great-grandmother, I was able to learn about her ancestors, sadly with the horrible two-generation gap of information. My great-great-grandmother inherited land of her paternal grandfather from her father, giving information to help connect the family tree back to the 1640s.
It is disappointing that I will not ever find descendants of my great-greatgrandmother’s close relatives. But I am grateful for having a professional researcher in Kursk Region who knows how to get around the challenges of religious politics of Russian genealogy.
Another researcher would have laughed his way to the bank with my money after telling me the research couldn’t be completed with missing records.
The silver lining on this cloud was learning that my Korostelev family came from Voronezh. There goes another pin on the map of Russia for my ancestral roots.
Images of unknown Russian family members circa 1850 from the Kursk region of Russia
CONNECTING POINTS –page 16
It has taken me years to figure out how to search the Internet in Russian and Ukrainian even though I grew up in a Russian-speaking home. Now, I finally feel I can search the Internet like a native speaker, of course with the help of Google Translate as my aid. Here are some tips that will eliminate the aggravations of searching in Russian and Ukrainian for non-native speakers and maybe find the hidden gems.
If you are not getting good results by searching people in this format: Ivan Vasilievich Ivanov (Russian: Иван Васильевич Иванов and Ukrainian: Іван Васильович Іванов), then search for Ivanov Ivan Vasilievich (Russian: Иванов Иван Васильевич and Ukrainian: Іванов Іван Васильович). This doesn’t make any sense to most people but a lot of times Russians and Ukrainians are referred by their last name, then first name and patronymic name on websites.
The same reverse situation is true for addresses. Russians and Ukrainians put street and lane before the chosen street name. If you search for “Lenin Street, Smolensk” the results will be limited compared to “Street Lenin, Smolensk”.
Don’t assume you have found information on a family village unless you see the place referred as село or деревня (Ukrainian: селище, містечко and селище). I assumed at times I was looking at information on my family village until I noticed the place was referred as a город (city). A lot of villages are written as c., м. or дер. and then the village name.
Don’t let Russian grammar confuse you. My family village of Ивановское will be also written as Ивановского. The end spellings of peoples’ names and places will change depending on the grammar case. That’s why Moscow (Russian: Москвa) will be written as Москве sometimes.
A flood of Russian immigrants arrived through Ellis Island around the turn of the century A great resource to search passenger lists: https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/passenger
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Don’t ever use letters from English-language keyboards to search in Russian. My first name is written as Bepa in Russian. When I write this using my English-language keyboard, I get zero results in Russian. In the Russian language, the print letters e, y, o, p, a, k, x,c, E, T and M are very similar to Cyrillic letters but search engines will pick up that these are not Cyrillic letters.
If you have found a website that appears to have a lot of information on your family or topic, narrow down your searches to that website by using your “Russian keywords” site: http://_________________________.
If you would rather find information through pictures before clicking on link after link after link, search Google Images. Each picture is linked to the websites from where Google lifted them. This may be the easiest way to search if seeing everything in Cyrillic would make you crazy.
At times, the website you are viewing may turn into nonsense symbols. So read this post- Say goodbye to О плат а полу чена– before you start getting aggressive in searching the Internet in Russian and Ukrainian. If you click on the Google Translate link next to search results, don’t forget to edit webpage names when you bookmark. You’ll get a list of bookmarks named Google Translate, otherwise. I highly suggest having a firewall and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware installed on your computer and/or devices before you go click crazy on Russian and Ukrainian websites. These websites seemed to be filled with malware and viruses.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 18
Journey to Ellis Island: how my father came to America (1998) by Carol Bierman and Laurie McGaw. This story is based on the author's father's experiences coming to America from Russia in 1922. Chapters about their voyage and experiences at Ellis Island are interspersed with historic photographs and details illustrations. The final chapters bring the family's history up to today, including a trip the author took back to Ellis Island with her father on the 75th anniversary of his entrance into the United States. (This book is not connected to the author of this article)
Vera Miller, a first generation American, previously worked as a local newspaper reporter and received nine regional, state and national journalism awards for investigative reporting and feature writing. The lack of family in the United States and an incomplete family tree found at her grandmother's house sparked Vera's interest in genealogy and desire to seek out family in Russia and Ukraine. For the past four years, she has maintained a blog, Find Lost Russian & Ukrainian Family, at http://lostrussianfamily.wordpress.com/. Vera can be reached at veramiller@verizon.net.
CONNECTING POINTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C;page 20
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Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (18471928) was born at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen and was originally titled Princess Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. She was the second daughter of an impoverished branch of the Danish royal family but rose in stature when her father Christian was declared heir presumptive to the Danish throne in 1852. Princess Dagmar’s marriage prospects improved considerably when her eldest sister Alexandra was betrothed to the future King Edward VII in 1861 and her father acceded to the throne as King Christian IX of Denmark in 1863.
Princess Dagmar won an alliance that would eclipse even her sister in 1864 when she was betrothed to the Russian Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich. The poor chap died of meningitis a year later and declared on his deathbed that his sincerest wish was for the Princess to marry his younger brother Alexander. This she did 1866 having converted to Russian orthodoxy when she wed the future Tsar Alexander III in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. As Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna she held court in the Anichkov Palace for fifteen years dazzling the Russian people by assiduously learning the language and devoting her time to leading society and patronizing Imperial charities.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 22
The Grand Duchess was careful to exclude herself from politics with one exception. Like her sister Alexandra, Maria Feodorovna was vehemently anti-German following the annexation of Danish territories by Kaiser Wilhelm I. In 1881 tragedy struck Russia when Tsar Alexander II was killed by an anarchist’s bomb. The Grand Duchess wrote in her diaries ‘his legs were crushed terribly and ripped open to the knee; a bleeding mass with half a boot on the right foot, and only the sole of the foot remaining on the left’. The Tsar died hours later and the Grand Duchess became Empress of all the Russias. She was to write ‘our happiest and serenest times are now over. My peace and calm are gone, for now I will only ever be able to worry about Sasha (her husband Tsar Alexander III)’.
The Empress Maria Feodorovna’s reign was blighted by assassination attempts on her husband and the Imperial family. They lived outside St Petersburg in the Gatchina Palace under constant guard. Countless plots to kill the Tsar were thwarted by the secret police including one that led to the hanging of Lenin’s older brother as a co-conspirator. Despite living under the shadow of the assassin’s bomb, knife or bullet, the Empress was a popular consort and a bright, beautiful presence as chatelaine of the Winter Palace, the Kremlin and the Crimean summer palace of Livadia. Tragedy struck again in 1894 when Tsar Alexander III died unexpectedly of nephritis. The throne was left clear for their son Tsar Nicholas II who declared ‘what is going to happen to Russia? I am not prepared’.
Indeed he was not. The new Tsar’s choice of consort was deeply unpopular with his mother. Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt showed signs of melancholy, hysteria and crippling shyness. She had already turned down Britain’s heir apparent Prince Albert Victor and showed a marked reluctance to convert to Russian Orthodoxy as was required of a Russian Grand Duchess. Following the death of Tsar Alexander III, the Dowager Empress relented and allowed her son to marry Princess Alix: the woman the Russian nation would blame for igniting the flame that would explode into the Russian Revolution of 1917. When the First World War was declared in 1914, Tsar Nicholas II opened hostilities with his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. His disastrous decision to lead the Russian army left St Petersburg under the regency of Empress Alexandra who was under the influence of ‘mad monk’ Rasputin. The Empress believed Rasputin could preserve the life of her hemophiliac son Alexei and allowed him to appoint ministers and lead the war cabinet in absentia of the Tsar.
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The Dowager Empress could do nothing to break the bond between Nicholas and Alexandra and watched from the sidelines as the dynasty crumbled and the Tsar abdicated. She only saw Nicholas once after the abdication before being compelled to flee to her estates in Livadia. Maria Feodorovna refused to leave Russia even when news came telling her that the entire Imperial Family had been shot dead in a basement in Yekaterinburg in 1918. She was only persuaded to flee Russia when King George V sent HMS Marlborough to rescue her and what was left of the Romanovs. The Dowager Empress never returned to Russia. She lived out her exile as a guest of sister the Dowager Queen Alexandra at Marlborough House in London and Sandringham House in Norfolk. The sisters bought a modest house outside Copenhagen called Hvidore where the Dowager Empress died in 1928.
Contrary to popular belief, the Dowager Empress never met pretender Anna Anderson who claimed she was granddaughter Anastasia and had escaped the Bolshevik bullets in Yekaterinburg. According to her daughter the Grand Duchess Olga, the Dowager Empress had reconciled herself to the death of her son and his family. The best of the Dowager Empressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jewels, smuggled out of the Anitchkov Palace by a British diplomat Bertie Stopford, found their way into the British royal family jewels when Queen Mary acquired them in the late 1920s.
RUSSIA Arctic Exploration 1918 picture post card addressed to Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928), born Princess Dagmar of Schleswig-HolsteinSonderburg-Glucksburg and later Princess Dagmar of Denmark, Empress consort of Russia as spouse of Emperor Alexander III. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Cassel. Among her children was the last Russian monarch, Emperor Nicholas II, whom she outlived by ten years. The card was sent by Prince Valdemar of Denmark (the youngest son of Christian IX of Denmark and brother of Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia), with notation in Danish "souvenir from the Hvidore, via Fram" and sent to the Empress in St. Petersburg, franked with Norwegian 5o green, tied by Polhavet pmk, arriving in 1926 (!) in Leningrad, returned, with markings in red crayon "Inconnu" (unknown). Interesting and historical item
The content of this information is from https://henrypoole.com/hall_of_fame/empress-maria-feodorovnarussia/ James _Sherwood retrieved 30 Mar 2015
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HO METO W N â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Looking through old photographs, school pictures, newspaper clippings and other family treasures can help you unlock many clues about your family genealogy. In this picture circa 1939, Boys Class at a Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm Home in Oregon we see seven boys sitting on the steps in a class photo. School records flip-sides of pictures and personal notes are all clues to help us search for information. Answers to simple questions like that can break down many walls you will encounter.
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Have you ever wondered how something got invented, or perhaps even why? Our staff thought it would be fun to share some of the more common inventions that got a patent and are so common place today, we wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think twice about them. In our fall 2015 edition we will look at how discovering patents can be another resource for your genealogical studies.
CONNECTING POINTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C;page 26
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Jane Adams Nobel Peace Prize 1931
In December of 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Renowned as the pioneer of the settlement house movement, Addams founded the Hull House in Chicago in 1889, which provided learning and community services to recently arrived immigrants. By 1907, the Hull House had become a complex of 13 buildings (including a residence for working girls called ‘Jane’s Club’) that held programs attended by roughly a thousand people a week.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 28
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Have you ever hit a genealogical "brick wall" in your research? Do you put all other research efforts on hold in order to track down the elusive ancestor? Do the records you are looking for even exist? Are you chasing after family folklore that may be too good to be true? Did the ancestor really just disappear? Or mysteriously arrive? And are you really sure that "all the records were destroyed"?
Perhaps you have really just hit a research block: a dead end, stumbling block, roadblock, or barrier to your research. Perhaps you have reached the end of what you know about where to look for records. Perhaps you are exhausted from your searching.
Many new genealogists are often afflicted with this "brick wall" disease. I believe it is not because they have truly found an "end of line" ancestor, but because they don't know which road or path to take or what resources are available. They are new in a great big maze and they have just reached a dead end or stumbling block to their knowledge.
Are you just spinning your wheels, going around in circles, looking for the same bit of information over and over in the same records you have already researched? Are you keeping a research log or notes of what you have already searched and what you did or did not find? Do you have an organized research plan? Are you distracted from the plan by other paths that take you away from your goal? Is your goal too complicated? Can you explain simply to someone else what you are looking for, where you have looked, and what you did or did not find?
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Did you build your own brick wall? Did you make an incorrect assumption along the way? Or did your research find an incorrect assumption that someone else made? Are you following only one piece of evidence? Are you trying to prove a myth or fable? Are you preventing yourself from accepting a document because the ancestor's name is not spelled as you think it should be? Have you inaccurately documented something? Are you going too fast and skipping over key details? Do you understand the purpose of the record you are viewing? Are your actions blocking yourself from success?
Knowing a record exists, but not being able to access it can be one of the most frustrating brick walls we encounter. Adoption records, mental hospital or asylum records, paternity challenges and even medical records are often unviewable. Even those for whom the record is about cannot always unlock the contents. A good example of this comes in adoption and child welfare placement documents.
As you attempt to recreate your ancestor's paths through life, make sure you stay on your own path and follow an organized research plan.
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REVIEW What do you already know? How do you know it? Do you have documentation to prove it?
RECONSTRUCT Create a timeline / map to visually record what you know about your ancestor's life.
REDISCOVER Where are the holes in the timeline? What are you really missing? Be specific.
REORGANIZE ~ REDIRECT ~ RELEARN What is the new goal? What strategies are needed to reach the goal? Do you need training on available resources or technology? What is the new plan of attack?
RECRUIT Get help from others who know where to find the resources you need. Join collaboration groups like Genealogy! Just Ask!
RESEARCH Check for newly accessible records often. Utilize "cluster" research for every ancestor. The neighbors and siblings may have the answer to your question.
REST ~ RELOAD ~ RENEW Take a break. Get some sleep. Refuel. Rebuild your energy and recommit yourself to keep going.
REJOICE ~ REWARD ~ REPEAT When you finally discover what you have been looking for and your brick wall has been removed, take time to celebrate! And then prepare yourself again to tackle your next genealogical mystery.
CONNECTING POINTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C;page 32
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Thousands of important documents including adoption/guardianship papers, land trust deeds, and many other records are about to be destroyed in this old train station in Marietta, Oklahoma. This kind of senseless â&#x20AC;&#x153;Progressâ&#x20AC;? must come to an end and more protection granted under historic preservation policies
When I am teaching others about family history and they are concerned about how to get started, I tell them to "start with themselves". I had wanted to write a family history related blog for a long time and today is the day that I am finally starting it. I have struggled with what I wanted my first post to be; as I have a long list of topics I want to blog about. I finally realized, just as I tell those I teach, I need to start with myself and my story. You can connect with Amy at: amyarchfam@gmail.com
As a young teen in the early 1980s, I loved playing computer games. We had a Commodore 64 and my all-time favorite game was Dungeon of the Algebra Dragons. In 1984, my father acquired a copy of PAF 1.0 for him to start electronically keeping track of his family history. In order to have more time for computer games, I was enticed into entering family names into PAF. My father was a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had spent nearly two decades (at this point) trying to track down his family history. I quickly entered in the information he had for his family and then moved on to entering in the information my mother had on her family. She had LDS pioneer ancestors and some amazing biographical sketches and photos about them. I was intrigued to learn about their lives. They quickly became my friends.
One day as I was reading a story about my 4th Great-Grandparents, Elisha Hurd and Lucy Simmons Groves, I was amazed to find out that they were called to settle and establish the area in which I was living. My parents had individually moved to this area to attend college and they did not know the story of these ancestors. I promised myself as a young teen that I would know the history of all my ancestors and I would pass those stories, lessons, emotions, and memories to my children. It is important that my children would know their heritage. Also during this time, and perhaps even earlier as a young child, I would listen to amazing genealogy stories told during testimony meeting by Hilda Mary Woodford Fife. She had a deep Australian accent and was in her early 80s and her stories were captivating to me: climbing high churchyard brick walls in Scotland, chasing down a copy of William Shakespeare's will, and doing research for Church President David O. McKay. I was amazed that a little old lady could climb walls! It wasn't until just recently that I learned that she had these amazing adventures when she was much younger. Her stories were captivating to me like the Nancy Drew mysteries I was reading at the time. Wow! I desired to be a real life detective and solver of mysteries. I chose to do a school biography project on Hilda and I loved being in her home interviewing her about genealogy. Looking back over all my experiences related to genealogy and family history, I feel that Hilda was unknowingly my mentor. I will share more about Hilda in another post. My love for "genealogy" - what I prefer to call "family history" - grew and when I was 14 years old I attended my first genealogical seminar. My mother dropped me off at the conference as I was too young to drive. I still have the conference flyer, program, handouts, and some of my handwritten notes. I took classes on using a computer to do genealogy, using the branch genealogical library, basic genealogy for beginners, and German individual consultation. In the past 30 years I have created family organizations, planned and carried out large and small family reunions, hunted for cousins all across the country, designed and installed a headstone, taught the LDS Institute Family History course (piloted it in 1995), served for numerous years in ward and stake family history callings, and have taught others the ins and out of family history for 20 years. I have recently began presenting (teaching) at regional and national family history conferences.
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Intro to photo restoration.................. It is our nature as human beings to want to see everything in its’ full vibrancy of color. When we see an old photograph of a relative or loved one, we want to know if their eyes were blue or green, if their hair was blonde or auburn, and so on. We are not content with faded or torn images, or even the faded ones that have endured so much over the years that the fading almost like a badge of office. Not too long ago this mainly accomplished by hand and an airbrush with special paints. Today we have a variety of computer software programs to help us in this process. But some of the most profound and accurate work comes from professional restoration/colorization studios like these images from Black Tie Restorations owned by Ken Siemens.
When I was in school, History was probably my least favorite subject. It was boring and I did all I could do to stay awake and not get kicked out of class. As time went by History became pretty interesting to me, especially WW 1 and WW 2. Within the last two years, family history became a focal point for me. Looking into my own family history and finding out about my ancestors pointed me in a direction wanting to help other people by bringing photos back to life and keep memories alive. Over the last fifteen years I have done web design, various graphic arts projects and photography. The big spark that got me into restoration was the photography doing touch ups etc. which in turn turned into restoring old photos. Various elements can destroy a photo over time; being able to bring Grandma, Grandpa or Aunt Ethel’s photo back to life and to see the look on a client’s face is a great joy to me.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 36
Digital photograph restoration is the practice of restoring the appearance of a digital copy of a physical photograph which has been damaged by natural, manmade, or environmental causes or simply affected by age or neglect.
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Digital photograph restoration uses a variety of image editing techniques to remove visible damage and aging effects from digital copies of physical photographs. Raster graphics editors (see list below) are typically used to repair the appearance of the digital images and add to the digital copy of the photo where pieces of the physical photograph are torn or missing. Evidence of dirt, scratches, and other signs of photographic age are removed from the digital image manually, by painting over them meticulously. Unwanted color casts are removed and the image's contrast or sharpening may be altered in an attempt to restore some of the contrast range or detail that is believed to be in the original physical image. (Wikpedia)
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/blacktierestoration
Website www.blacktierestoration.com
Sometimes an image is so heavily damaged that it cannot be repaired. Missing body parts such as arms and legs can be replicated if there is enough information with the opposite parts. A missing head is pretty much impossible to replace. Every photograph is different; it has a story to tell and a life of its own. Different processes are needed to achieve the final results that I or the client is looking for. Everybody has their own way of doing things and this is the process that works for me. Typically I will scan an image at least 600 to 1200 DPI (I use an Epson scanner that scans up to 6400 dpi). Some say that scanning at 1200 dpi might be overkill for some images, but I like to scan large then scale down after the image is complete. The main program that I use is Adobe Photoshop. Lightroom is also used on occasion. I have been a Photoshop user for the last fifteen years, so I am not very familiar with any other programs. Once the image is scanned, I will open up Photoshop and crop to remove unwanted borders, use free transform to straighten the image if needed. Any color correcting, white balance and tone adjustments will be done next.
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The
Colorization
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If the image is Black and White with any colored stains, I will de-saturate the image to get rid of any color. The next step of my process is to remove any dust or scratches that the original scan might have missed. I will run the dust and scratches filter once or twice, and then remove any blemishes still left behind. Now is the time to start on the general repair of the image fixing any rips or tears and any missing pieces using the patch, spot healing and clone tools. After the general repairs are completed, burn and dodge tools are used to darken/lighten any highlights or shadows. Using the un-sharp mask to sharpen the image and check once more for any spots that might appear after sharpening and fix with the spot healing tool. I usually have the image saved in two different file formats, one as a .TIF, and one as a .JPG at 72 dpi for emails or web pages. The time taken to restore a photograph varies greatly depending on the extent of the damage and what has to be done to the photo. Some photos can be done in less than an hour and others take forever to complete. When you truly love what you do and you keep people's memories alive; at the end of the day it's all worth it.
Ken Siemens: I am a photography enthusiast from Spruce Grove, Alberta. I have been a photographer since 2008. I began using Photoshop over fifteen years to create web design, graphic arts projects, and in restoration work. The big spark that got me into restoration was the photography, doing touch ups in post production, which in turn turned into restoring old photos. My passion is to bring old faded memories back to life, to share what ever knowledge I have with others, as an integral part of the restoration community. You can reach Ken at: blacktierestoration@gmail.com
All images in this article are the property of Ken Siemens, Black Tie Restorations.
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People have tracked their family lineage since the beginning of time. And over the millenniums many research tools and record repositories have made the job easier. Now in the last 20 years a social media project known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Facebookâ&#x20AC;? has added literally tens of thousands of new groups, pages and resources that allow us to enhance our genealogy research. These are three randomly selected pages/groups that can be used as an asset to helping you restore and colorize your old family images.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/741996729168683/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/916705811676270/
https://www.facebook.com/old.photographs.restored.m.lucas
C O N N E C TIN G P O IN TS V 1 I2 Ju ne-2 0 15
Fair Use of images and material One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law. Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes The nature of the copyrighted work The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission. The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.” Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work. The safest course is to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material. The Copyright Office cannot give this permission.
CONNECTING POINTS magazine is a FREE research magazine designed as a teaching tool for those studying genealogy. We try to give credit to any mage we know its origin, but most are generic or supplied to us by contributors. We abide by the “fair use” guidelines printed on the right in regards to copyrights. If you see a picture that belongs to you, and would like credit given please e-mail us.
When it is impracticable to obtain permission, you should consider avoiding the use of copyrighted material unless you are confident that the doctrine of fair use would apply to the situation. The Copyright Office can neither determine whether a particular use may be considered fair nor advise on possible copyright violations. If there is any doubt, it is advisable to consult an attorney. http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
General Guidelines for article submissions:
CONNECTING POINTS is a quarterly magazine designed to appeal to a wide range of interests in the overall genealogy and ancestry research realms. o Each edition will be 75-100 pages in length o The magazine will be published in both e-zine format, viewable on almost any device and requires no additional readers or software to be purchased. A limited number of archival grade print publications will also be generated. Print copies have a controlled distribution. o The on-line edition will be free of charge and available globally. o All communications including article submissions and queries should be e-mailed to connectingpointsmagazine@yahoo.com Guidelines for general article submissions o Only non-fiction articles will be considered. o Previously posted BLOG material, of your original content, may be considered for use in the magazine. o No payment will be made for any materials published. CONNECTING POINTS is a free magazine with no advertising base, and does not pay its contributors. o Articles will be accepted from both professionals (SME – Subject Matter Experts) in a common field associated with genealogy, history, ancestry, DNA sciences, etc. and non-professional ancestry/genealogy enthusiasts who have a story of relevant concern to others who share a common interest. Articles written by SME’s should conform to current APA or CMS guidelines for all citations. Also a professional statement of the SME in sidebar format should be included. Articles written by amateur or non-professional genealogists should give proper citation and or reference to any direct quotes by others or materials that are incorporated into your article from other sources. o Article submissions should be between 500 and 3,000 words. The following is only a guideline on content and sidebar sections. 500 words (usually with one 75-100 word sidebar) 1,500 words (usually with one 100 word, or two 50-75 word sidebars) 3,000 words (usually with two 100-150 word and one 50-75 word sidebar) o Articles longer than 3,000 words may be considered as a feature or multi part over multiple editions article. Please query us first before submitting a manuscript. o All articles will be professionally edited by our staff prior to publication. o All articles must be the original and complete work of the submitting writer(s) with all names included.
All articles will be published under the First North American serial rights which are the traditional standard in publishing. When you assign these rights to your story, you are giving a magazine the right to print your work first in North America, before any other serial publication (a.k.a. magazine). When you assign first North American serial rights to CONNECTING POINTS, you are agreeing that the magazine (CONNECTING POINTS) will be the first to print the story, but that it will then give you back the right to publish the same exact story however, wherever, and whenever you choose. CONNECTING POINTS has two additional sub focuses as mentioned in the publications logo o “A Day in the Life . . .” This section will focus on families who have had a minimum of three consecutive generations in the same career field. It does not have to be at the same place of work, just the field of work. The article will include biographical sketches in sidebar format of each generation. Family historical pictures will be necessary for consideration. Average article length will be 1,500 words with 3 sidebars of 100-200 words each. One “A Day in the Life . . .” article will be accepted per edition. o “A Moment in Time . . .” This section will focus on a story surrounding a certain event in history and the people directly involved with that event. It will also look at the family genealogy of that person’s family. Historical pictures of the event, whether from personal family collections or archive collections will be necessary for consideration. Average article length will be 1,500 – 2,000 words with at least 2 sidebars of 100-200 words each. One or more “A Moment in Time . . .” article will be accepted per edition. o
The Creative TEAM at CONNECTING POINTS magazine looks forward to receiving your story for consideration in one of our upcoming issues. e-mail us at: connectingpointsmagazine@yahoo.com or visit us on the web at www.connectingpointsmagazine.com
HO METO W N â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Looking through old photographs, school pictures, newspaper clippings and other family treasures can help you unlock many clues about your family genealogy. In this picture circa 1915 (unknown details) we see a couple in their fancy clothes on a city street. Perhaps they are waiting for a parade or a special event. All clues to help us search for information. Answers to simple questions like that can break down many walls you will encounter.
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CONNECTING POINTS –page 48
How times and attitudes change . . . Today if a plain windowless van like the one pictured here pulled up in front of your house or parked in your neighborhood, it would cause concern on many levels. But not that long ago, the 1950’s and 60’s these vans were common place as the Fuller Brush Man and the AVON lady. They invited young children to come into the van and have their picture taken. The vans had costumes and props that were very exciting. The mom’s, who were primarily housewives in suburbia, thought it was just a “Jim Dandy” idea. The photographer would return in a week or so and try to sell prints of some of the wonderful pictures taken of their children. After all malls didn’t exist with all those eighty eight cent photo packages, and the school pictures were usually boring. The concept wasn’t new, it actually dates back to the Civil War era. But for some the experience was far from what they expected. Today we struggle with cell phones, and Facebook images of our children, and even drones capturing snapshots high above our heads. Always know who is using your pictures you share, and take lots of pictures yourself of your kids, grand kids and family. They are special treasures that speak volumes in years to come.
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Click any of the scanners to link to the page or go to http://mbsy.co/flip-pal/ConnectingPoints
by Wendy Kramer
Most U.S. citizens raised by their biological parents never question whether the information on their birth certificates is accurate. With the evolution of adoption and alternate means of conceiving a child, “accurate” is an increasingly subjective term. Is the purpose of a birth certificate to portray a biological account of a person’s birth parents, or is it an account of one’s “legal” parents- the ones responsible for raising them?
The U.S. Bureau of the Census created Birth Certificates in the beginning of the 20th Century as a means of tracking the effects of disease and urban environments on mortality rates. The task of issuing birth certificates was transferred to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, in 1946 where it was decentralized into our familiar state systems of today.
As the document evolved over the last century, so has its purpose. It has become an important (if not our sole) means of identification when we obtain anything from a driver’s license to a passport. It has also become an indispensable tool for genealogical researchers.
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So how do we decide who should be listed in the categories of “Mother” and “Father” on a birth certificate?
For donor-conceived and adopted people, there is oftentimes a clear distinction between one’s genetic parents, those with whom you share DNA, and one’s legal parents, the ones who have rights and responsibilities attached to their parenthood, and most-times, the ones who are raising them.
However, ever-increasing numbers of individuals in both situations are clamoring for reform, namely their right to have a birth certificate that portrays accurate biological background as well as their legal parentage.
Our birth certificate practices concerning non-biological parents began with adoption. In the mid-20th Century, there was rising concern that adopted children’s birth certificates read “illegitimate.” In response, states began to issue adoptees amended birth certificates, listing the adoptive parents as if they were the genetic parents, thus hiding the shame of the child’s illegitimacy and the adoptive parents’ infertility. The originals containing the biological parents’ names were sealed and not available to anyone (including the adoptee) except by court order. The new birth certificates showed no indication that they had been amended, which gave adoptive parents an easy way to not tell their children of their adoption.
Despite the fact that “legitimate/illegitimate” language was replaced with the mother’s marital status in 1979, the practice of amending birth certificates to reflect legal parentage persists to this day. In most states, adoptees original birth certificates remain sealed.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 54
No federal birth certificate revision has been issued to address donor conception scenarios. Therefore, married couples in all states who use donor sperm are automatically granted the right to list the husband as the father and women who use donor eggs to become pregnant are listed as mothers on birth certificates. No official asks them if they used any donated gametes to conceive, or for any information about the donor who is genetically related to the child. In addition, in some states, the biological parent and the gay co-parent can both be listed on the birth certificate.
So many believe that they share the same ancestry and medical background as both parents listed on their birth certificate, when instead, they were adopted or an egg or sperm donor has been used, and the child shares their DNA with an unknown person(s).
There is a whole host of concerns raised by adoptees and the donor-conceived, including the right to identity, ongoing medical history, biological heritage, and the right to know their genetic parents. How do we deal with an adopted or donor-conceived person’s right to an accurate birth certificate? Looking ahead, do we keep the same birth certificate structure, or is some sort of adjustment needed?
Our federal government has been agonizingly slow to address these issues, if it acknowledges them at all. There is a long history of deferring what it considers “family law” to the states, including how parentage is listed on birth certificates and whether or not adoptees can obtain their original birth certificates.
This has caused many to attempt to circumvent their state system by hiring private detectives, posting their information on the internet, or using commercial DNA testing companies. 23andme, Ancestry.com and Family Tree DNA now have hundreds of thousands of submissions and are helping connect thousands of family tree branches to one another. In addition, thousands of donor-conceived people have connected with their genetic relatives on Donor Sibling Registry. Unfortunately, none of these methodologies guarantee the finding one’s biological parents.
The birth certificate problem exists in other countries as well. As adoptees and donor conceived people across the world find their genetic relatives and parents, some have taken the task of proper documentation into their own hands.
Last month a donor-conceived woman in the UK successfully had her birth certificate amended to remove her legal father, and have the place for “father” blank, as she has an unknown biological father (sperm donor).
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Currently, a man in Australia is petitioning the courts to do the same, removing his (now deceased) father from his birth certificate, saying, “I’m doing this because I want an accurate and factual record of my conception, of birth.” He goes on to say, It’s not just for my kids but also my descendants in that if anybody in the future was to conduct genealogy research on our family, I don’t want them to go down the wrong path and if they have an inaccurate birth record, they will basically believe a lie.”
Adoptees are expressing the same concerns about descendants being able to connect the dots when researching their ancestry. Because two birth certificates exist in adoption, there’s no guarantee that the factual one would be released & therefore “searchable” by descendants. This has led many adoptees in the U.S. legally change their names to reflect biological relationships.
Ignorance of biological ancestry has had devastating consequences for some. In the U.K. in 2008, twins that were separated and adopted at birth unknowingly married each other. This year, a Brazilian couple found out after they were married that the same biological mother had abandoned them as infants. Random meetings amongst half siblings are not uncommon, as many have reported in the news, and on the Donor Sibling Registry. One mom realized that a distant relative, one whom she and her children had spent time with at family gatherings, had donated sperm and was in fact the biological parent of her children.
Although cryobanks claim to limit the number of births to one donor, this clearly isn’t the case. We have seen as many as 200 half siblings from the same donor connect on the Donor Sibling Registry, and there are many groups of 30, 50, 75 and more… and these are only those families that have registered on the website! Clearly, this poses a public health crisis, in the case of shared genetic illness, or if the offspring are in a concentrated geographic area and/or do not know they are donor-conceived.
The U.S. does not require cryobanks to keep accurate records on sperm donor families, nor are they forced to limit the numbers of children born to any single donor. If a donor reports a serious illness, there is no way for the sperm banks to notify all involved families. Diseases such as NF1, Lynch Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, and HCM, a sometimes-fatal genetic heart condition, have all been reported on the Donor Sibling Registry, and have been written about in the media. Hundreds of other medical conditions have also been reported and shared amongst Donor Sibling Registry families and the sharing of this type of information has saved lives. The problem is that the Donor Sibling Registry is a voluntary website, and in most cases, all families will not be listed and contactable.
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The US Surgeon General reports on their website that, “A recent survey found that 96 percent of Americans believe that knowing their family history is important.” To help Americans focus on the importance of knowing family health history, The US Surgeon General along with the Department of Health and Human Services created the “Family Health History Initiative.” The website notes that, “Tracing the illnesses suffered by your parents, grandparents, and other blood relatives can help your doctor predict the disorders to which you may be at risk and take action to keep you and your family healthy.” It certainly begs the question why the Department of Health would, by its refusal to address this birth certificate crisis, prevent millions of donor-conceived and adopted people from having access to this information.
In a recent forum discussion about this issue on the DSR, we hear from all stakeholders, parents, donors, as well as from donor-conceived people: A birth certificate is not a deed of ownership. It is a record of a child’s birth, as in who they came from & should not be about anyone’s ego. The biologicals should absolutely be listed, so that the child will know who they came from genetically and nobody is able to lie to them. I think the whole truth should be available to us and treated as a basic right. But I would hope that, in the future, we could all deal with the truth being out in the open (i.e.: donor/biological parents printed on the paper version). My thought is that a birth certificate should record all relevant information so that the child has a record of everything pertinent to themselves, regardless of whether anyone else chooses to disclose it to them or not. I think it’s important to show the use of a donor. I’d like to think that if any of the future generations of my family were trying to look in to their family tree that they wouldn’t come across a wealth of information from my social father which, biologically, would have no relevance to them. I also don’t like the fact that I feel my birth certificate is inaccurate and fraudulent. I would like both on my birth certificate. I consider both my social father and my biological father the “dad” and being donor conceived to me is something to be proud of. Having that on mine would make me very happy. A birth certificate is a document that records a live birth and WHO are the genetic beings that are the cause of this live birth – WITH THAT SAID- our society views this listing as who is legally responsible for said child. As the non-bio mom, but also the birth mom, it would have felt very strange to have gone through 24 hours of labor and then a C-section and to have left the hospital with a birth certificate with “Mother” blank (anonymous donor egg situation). I mean seriously?!?!? That being said, I would have been fine with there being a check box on the form that qualifies “maternal donor gamete conception” and “paternal donor gamete conception.” That should be enough information for future generations to understand that there may not be a direct genetic link to one or both listed parents.
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Perhaps the birth certificate could have a place for biological and legal parent, Biological Mother (name or donor) Legal Mother or Parent (name) Biological Father (name or donor) Legal Father or Parent (name). I would have liked to have my daughter’s birth certificate to indicate donor with my then husband as the Legal parent. Otherwise it just doesn’t seem honest. I am a DC offspring and would like to see donors listed on birth certificates. Certificates are meant to be more for the sake of the child than the parents, No? More information is better, including “donor” being specified (make a third line if necessary). DC children do after all HAVE biological parents, even if they aren’t known. I feel like leaving a blank line on a birth certificate is somehow being dishonest. Putting all information on the birth certificate is a way to ensure that the child’s rights are protected.
It’s easy to see how our outmoded way of recording parentage on birth certificates has created a fiasco.
The United Nations felt the need to address identity in Articles 7 and 8 in its Convention on the Rights of the Child: “The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality…” (CRC Article 7) and “States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations…” (CRC Article 8).[3]The U.S. has yet to ratify this treaty.
Donor conceived adults in the International Donor Offspring Alliance list these as their “Summary of Aims”:
CONNECTING POINTS –page 58
We assert that people have a moral right to know the truth about their personal history. Where the state has custody of relevant information it has a duty not to collude in deceiving or depriving individuals of such information.
Adoptee rights organizations have been fighting for the right to identity, including the unsealing of original birth certificates, for decades. American Adoption Congress states on its website:
The American Adoption Congress believes that growth, responsibility, and respect for self and others develop best in lives that are rooted in truth. The AAC is therefore committed to achieving changes in attitudes, policies, and legislation that will guarantee access to identifying information for all adoptees and their birth and adoptive families.
It follows that: *The truth about an adopted or donor-conceived person’s genetic and social parentage should be recorded on their relevant public documentation. *In the normal course of events of life it should be impossible for a person to fail to find out that they are adopted or donor-conceived. *The principal legal instrumentality of this should be the person’s birth certificate.
Since 1902, the U.S. has made twelve Standard Birth Certificate revisions. Legitimate concerns raised by the adoption and donor communities suggest a thirteenth federal revision should be made to accurately portray biological identity on birth certificates and ensure that procedures are uniform in every state.
Most in the adoptee rights community feel that issuing two birth certificates to adoptees is a leftover relic from an era of shame and secrecy and should be abolished altogether. We believe it is important to issue one certificate only so information cannot be hidden from the individual by parents or the government.
It is no question the best interests of the child should be paramount. With this in mind, for both adoptee and donor situations, we would recommend a U.S. Standard Birth Certificate revision expanding the “two parent only” format to include categories for Legal Parents, Genetic Parents, and Surrogates. In the case of adoptees, we would like to see the child’s birth name recorded along with his or her legal/adoptive name.
If the birth certificate is amended in any way (such as adding legal parents when an adoption is finalized) it should be unlawful to omit any original information, including biological relations, from the new copy. We would also seek to abolish anonymous donor conception, or at the very least, list the clinic and the donor ID on birth certificates.
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We understand and acknowledge that this recommended system is not perfect. Whether a child is adopted, donor-conceived, or not, parents can always lie on a birth certificate. As donor conception is more easily hidden than an adoption, we advocate the establishment of a national registry where clinics and hospitals would be required to record donors and their children.
This has already taken place in several countries, most recently in September 2014 in Ireland, which is in the process of abolishing anonymous gamete donation and creating a national birth register for donors and their offspring. The Children’s Rights Alliance was quoted in the Irish Examiner saying, ““We know the pain caused to the many adopted people who can’t establish the identity of their parents. This bill will ensure that donor-conceived children will not share the same pain.”
There has been much debate in the donor and adoption communities on the “true” purpose of a birth certificate. Certainly, its original and enduring purpose is to keep accurate records for the good of public health. For the individual, a birth certificate has become an indispensable proof of identity and ancestry. It should be of utmost concern to our Department of Health that birth certificates are serving neither purpose for the adopted and donor-conceived.
The time for birth certificate reform is now. Unfortunately for many, it should have happened decades ago.
Wendy Kramer, Co-Founder and Director, Donor Sibling Registry, Co-Author, Finding our Families: A First-Of-Its-Kind Book for Donor Conceived People and Their Families (2013), Associate Producer, MTV’s Generation Cryo and The Style Network’s Sperm Donor. Kristi Lado, Board Member, Pennsylvania Adoptee Rights (PAR), Contributor to Adoption Therapy: Perspectives from Clients and Clinicians on Processing and Healing Post-Adoption Issues by Laura Dennis
CONNECTING POINTS –page 60
Educating, Connecting and Supporting Donor Families The Donor Sibling Registry (DSR) was created in September 2000, by Wendy Kramer and her son, Ryan. Certain that other donor offspring would have the same curiosity as Ryan about his genetic origins - yet also knowing that sadly, no public outlet existed for mutual consent contact between people born from anonymous sperm donation, this site was started as the logical next step to making those connections. In addition to the registered members, several thousand people check the site regularly. The DSR averages more than 12,000 unique visitors to the site each month and is a worldwide organization, matching people in the US, UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russia, S. Africa, S. Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, The Netherlands, and Turkey. The focus of the DSR is to assist individuals conceived as a result of sperm, egg or embryo donation, who are seeking to make mutually desired contact with others with whom they share genetic ties. This may include:
Their own or their child's half-siblings Their own or their child's sperm or egg donor Their own genetic offspring
The DSR fully supports openness, honesty and the acknowledgement of these family connections. We realize, however, that many people wish to maintain their privacy, while initially reaching out. We work very hard to make sure that this privacy is maintained. No personal information can be seen by any other member. You only share your contact information when/if you feel ready to do so. When you match with your donor, make sure to ask a few pieces of information from the donor profile that have not been posted, and that only he would know. Egg, sperm or embryo donors who are willing to have contact with the children born as a result of their donations are VERY WELCOME! Even if you do not know your donor number, it is still possible to search and be found. Please click on the "Need Help" button for more information on posting. Please feel free to first browse the site and its postings before becoming a member. You can then sign up and add a posting if you are comfortable. If you don't see any matches listed, remember: you can't be found unless you post yourself, and there are many people who are interested but not yet posted - who may be your match! Still on the fence about adding your posting to the DSR? Read through some of our Success Stories! No matter what type of contract you signed with your sperm bank or egg clinic/agency- you always have the right to make yourself available for mutual consent contact on the DSR! The yearly membership fee to add a posting and/or to contact others is $75. Permanent membership is $175. If you are interested in mailing a check for permanent membership, you can mail the DSR $175 to: PO Box 1571, Nederland, CO 80466, noting your DSR username on the check. The DSR is not funded by any outside organization and is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization. FEIN 11-3703271
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The first comprehensive book for children born through donor conception and their families. #1 on Amazon's Reproductive Medicine & Technology List! An estimated more than one million people have been born in the U.S. through donor sperm or eggs, including Wendy Kramer’s son. Realizing the unique concerns of being or parenting a donorconceived child, Kramer launched what would become the world’s largest database for connecting donor-conceived people, the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR). Finding Our Families provides additional support for this growing community. With compassion and insight, the authors draw on extensive research to address situations families face throughout a donor-conceived child’s development, including the search for a biological parent or half-sibling, and how to forge a healthy selfimage. 3/2015 Huffington Post Book review by Mirah Riben: "Finding Our Families is a treasure trove of compassionate advice designed to help those raising the more than an estimated million people who were conceived using so-called donor* sperm, the tens of thousands whose lives began with eggs of contributors, and thousands who were "adopted" frozen embryos, as well as the donors. The 258-page book compiled by Wendy Kramer, the mother of a donor-conceived son and Naomi Cahn, family and reproductive law professor, helps blood-related kin navigate relationships unthought-of generations ago. The book offers how-to search assistance and suggests ways for the legal, social, and nurturing family to open their hearts and minds to those who contributed eggs, sperm, or embryos in addition to welcoming siblings who share the same or half genealogy." Publisher's Weekly 10/13 Review "The book successfully honors its promise to deliver the tools necessary to help donorconceived children discover and explore their genetic legacies.” Please visit the Family Equality Council's Book Nook page, which features Finding our Families! Ryan and Wendy Kramer
CONNECTING POINTS –page 62
HOMETOWN – Everyone loved when the circus, carnival or fair came to town. Depending on where you lived the arrival of fanciful rides, mystical people, and abundance of exuberant excitement marked either the beginning, middle or end of summer. Late May to early September was the “carni” season. Sometimes, like a rite of passage, we would get to be involved up close and personal with the acts, games or shows. It was a thrill a minute, and definitely “The Greatest Show on Earth”
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
50 free res ou rc es from http: //fam ilyhistoryd aily. c om /genealogy-res ou rc es /50 -free-genealogys ites /#c om ment-330 2
1 . Fam ilyS earc h: larges tc ollec tion offree genealogicalrec ord s in the world 2. W i ki Tree: enorm ou s c ollaborative fam ily tree 3. Fu lton H istory: historicalnews papers from the US and C anad a 4. Find a Grave: loc ate you ranc es tors in c em eteries ac ros s the globe 5. Google N ews A rc hive: m illions ofarc hived news paperpages 6. US N ationalA rc hives : officialUS N ationalA rc hives s ite, m any free genealogy d atabas es and res ou rc es 7 . A u tom ated Genealogy: ind exes ofthe C anad ian c ens u s 8 . FreeB M D : c ivilregistration ind ex ofbirths , m arriages and d eaths forE ngland and W ales 9. US GenW eb P rojec t: m as s ive free genealogy res ou rc e d irec tory by US s tate and c ou nty 1 0 . W orld GenW eb P rojec t: genealogy res ou rc es by c ou ntry and region, notto m iss
1 1 . C ynd iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s L ist: hi ghly res pec ted d i rec tory offree genealogy res ou rc es and d atabas es online 1 2 . L ibrary and A rc hives C anad a: officialarc hives ofC anad a, c ens u s rec ord s and m ore 1 3. E llis Is land : imm i gration rec ord s , free ind exes and ori ginalrec ord s , fee to d ownload c opies 1 4. FreeReg: baptism, marriage, and bu rialrec ord s from parish registers ofthe UK 1 5. C res tleaf: variou s genealogy rec ord s 1 6. RootsW eb: world â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s larges tgenealogy c omm u nity, hu ge am ou ntoffree inform ation 1 7 . C as tle Gard en: imm i gration rec ord s , pre E llis Is land 1 8 . C hronicling A m erica: giantd atabas e ofarc hived US news papers from the L ibrary of C ongres s 1 9. D ead Fred : genealogy photo arc hive 2 0 . A frican H eritage P rojec t: rec ord s on form ers l aves , freed pers ons and theird es c end ants
2 1 . Fam ily Tree N ow: variou s genealogy rec ord s 2 2 . D au ghters ofthe A merican Revolu tion: m ilitary s ervice rec ord s and more 2 3. JewishGen: Jewish anc es try res earc h 2 4. FreeC E N : trans c ribed c ens u s rec ord s from the UK 2 5. A c c es s Genealogy: vas tfam ily history d irec tories and m ore, good N ative A m erican res ou rc es 2 6. B ri tish L ibrary, Ind ia O ffi c e: rec ord s on B ri tish and E u ropean people in Ind ia pre 1 950 2 7 . Gu ild ofO ne-N am e S tu d ies : extens ive s u rnam e res earc h s ite 2 8 . Geneabloggers : m as s ive d irec tory ofgenealogy related blogs with a hu ge am ou ntoffree inform ation 2 9. N ativeW eb Genealogy: listofN ative A m erican genealogy res ou rc es and s earc hable d atabas es
30 . V ixim u s : m em bers u bm itted biographicalinform ation 31 . W ieW as W i e: forres earc hing anc es tors from the N etherland s (in D u tc h) 32 . UK N ationalA rc hives : officialN ationalA rc hives ofthe UK 33. The N ationalA rc hives ofIreland : officialN ationalA rc hives ofIreland 34. GE N UKI: referenc e library ofgenealogicalres ou rc es forthe UK and Ireland 35. Germ an Genealogy S erver: Germ an anc es try res earc h (m any s ec tions in Germ an) 36. P res erve the P ens ions : W arof1 8 1 2 pens ion rec ord s ac c es s 37 . C ivilW arS old iers and S ailors S ys tem : C ivilW arrec ord s from the N ationalP arkS ervice 38 . L itvakS IG: L ithu anian-Jewish genealogy d atabas es and res ou rc es 39. Italian GenealogicalGrou p: Italian A m erican genealogy res ou rc es and d atabas es 40 . InternetA rc hive: a large am ou ntofinform ation u s efu lto genealogists , bu tyou â&#x20AC;&#x2122; llneed to d o s om e d i gging
41 . B illion Graves : head s tone rec ord s 42 . O pen L ibrary: good plac e to find fam ily history books , s earc h fors u rnam es orloc ations 43. GenD isas ters : forres earc hing d isas ters and otherevents you ranc es tors m ighthave been involved in 44. Rom anyGenes : Romanichalanc es try res earc h 45. P atriotand Grave Ind ex: revolu tionary wargraves registry and patriotind ex from the N ationalS oc iety ofthe S ons ofthe A m erican Revolu tion 46. Illinois D igitalN ews paperC ollec tion: vas tnu m berofarc hived US news papers 47 . S eventh-d ay A d ventistO bitu ary D atabas e: hu nd red s ofthou s and s ofobitu ary entries 48 . S läktd ata: genealogy rec ord s forS wed en (in S wed ish) 49. H ispanic Genealogy: wond erfu llistofres ou rc es forres earc hing H ispanic anc es try 50 : Free Genealogy S earc h E ngine: s earc h hu nd red s offree genealogy res ou rc es atone tim e on Fam ily H istory D aily P leasevisitFam ily History Daily atw w w .fam ilyhistorydaily.com toaccessallofthese50 freesites,plus hundredsm ore.
N om atterw hatw alkoflifeyou com efrom ,w hatjobsyou m ay haveheld,w hathobbiesor pastim esyou haveenjoyed... genealogy requiresresearchand criticalthinking.W ehaveoften heard from ourreadershow they thoughtw ritingdow ntheir fam ily treew ould besim ple.A few conversationsw itholder relatives,and aperusalofthe fam ily photoalbum sandyou w erew ellonyourw ay.T hisisso notthecase.M ostserious genealogistsareâ&#x20AC;&#x153; lifetim eâ&#x20AC;? learners,alw aysseekingm ore know ledgeonhow togainthe datathey arelookingforto expand theirneverendingfam ily tree.JoinEileenW eeks,w hoat theyoungageof80 decided to returntoschooland w orkonher collegedegree.S hew as confrontedw ithm any challengesalongthew ay,even schoolstryingtoconvinceher shew astoooldtoreturn.W e believeasshedoes,you are nevertooold toexpand your know ledgeand learnnew things and tools.
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
By EileenW eeks
Knowledge is the Key at Any Age Know ledgehelpsustounlockm any pathsinourlives.Know ledgeisgained inm ostsituations eitherthroughexperience,orinstruction.InAm ericaw eareproudofourselvesforprovidingoneofthe finesteducationalsystem sinthew orld.A freequality educationisavailablefrom thetim ew earebarely outofdiapersuntilthetim ew ereachyoungadulthood.Fifteenyearsfrom preschooltograduation from HighS chool.S till,thisisnotenoughtobecom petitiveinthew orkforceortobeonthecutting edgeoflifeingeneral.S econdary education,or college,isnolongeranicety,butnow israther anecessity.Inresponsetothisneedthe Federalgovernm entcreated agrantprogram and specialloanoptionstoallow alm ost anyonetoreturntoschoolforacollege degree.W hiletheam ountoffreem oney and accesstolow interestloansisbased inparton financialneed,anyonew hohasgraduated from highschooliseligibleforthesefunds. T herearenoupw ardsagerestrictionsonthis educationalassistanceprogram .T hereforean 81 yearold isjustasqualified asan18 yearold, solongastheeducationalprerequisitehas beenm et.EventhoughtheFederal governm entplacesnoceilingonage,there seem stobeasym bolic"glassceiling"that existsform any seniorcitizens.Itisafactthat m any seniorscom ew ithasetofunique concernsand needs.M obility,vision,hearing and lackoffam iliarity w ithtechnology areall issuesthatcollegesarecalled toaddressfor m any seniorsreturningtoschool.S othe questionbecom es,"Areseniorcitizensentitled tothespecialaccom m odationsnecessary to m aketheirpost-secondary education possible?"From adistanceallisw ell,butto seetheglassceilinginplay,onem ustlookbeyond thegeneric,and intothespecifics.
CONNECTING POINTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C;page 68
T hefirststepform ostseniorcitizenstoenteringcollegerequiresan application,interview andplacem enttesting.W hensom eonedecides thatthey w antacollegedegree,w hateverthem otivationm ay be,they areequally entitled tothatopportunity assom eonew ithadifferent m otivation.Dependingontheinstitution,m any collegeshavespecial senioradvisorsand representativesintheS tudentS ervicesoffice trained toassistseniorsw iththeiradventurousjourney intocollege. S adly m any JuniorCollegesorCom m unity Collegesasthey arem ore oftenreferred totoday,donothavethisspecialpersononstaff.T he "perky"adm issionscounselorfreshly graduated from Collegethem selves,isagreatm otivatorfortheyounghighschool graduatejustem barkingontheircollegeexperience.
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
T heR ightFram eofM ind ... Genealogy and goingbackto collegesharealotofideasand concepts.T hey beforerequire determ inationinunw rappinga lotoflittlepiecestom akeupa w holepicture.And som etim es thepictureisnotexactly w hat you thoughtitw ould be. W ouldn’tthisfram e(artist unknow n)m akeaperfectfram e toencaseacollegediplom a,or certificateinGenealogy from a researchinstitution? Eileendoesw ellinhelping peopleunderstand therew illbe roadblocks,therew illbe obstacles,butittakinga differentfram eofm ind and rem ainingpositivethatw ecan getresults.
T hey arerelatabletothem ,asthey w erejusttherethem selves.T hebiglifequestionsarequitedifferent forthesetw oagegroups.W hileevery studentisunique,nom atterw hatagedem ographicthey fitinto, theseniorcitizenm ay w ellhavequestionsthatw ould rarely surfacefrom ayoungercollegeregistrant.A few oftheseseniorconcernsm ay focuson: Mobility issues:"Iam notdisabled,butIneed touseaw alkertohelpm egetaround.W illIbeallow ed accessprivilegesand beabletousehandicapped facilities,eventhoughIdonothaveaDoctor’srelease?" "IfIhavebacktobackclasses,and they areadistance apartinlocation,doyou haveaw ay tohelptransport m e(ifindifferentbuildingsacrosscam pus)?"
CONNECTING POINTS –page 70
Vision issues: "Ihavesom e visionsissuesattim es;Iw illalw ays need tositinthefrontrow .M ay I haveaperm anently assigned seatin allm y classes?""Ihavedifficulty readingsm allprint;canm y m aterials beprinted inlargeprintfontform e ahead oftim e?" Hearing issues:"S om etim esitis hard form etohearw henthereare othernoisesgoingon,canIrecord the teacherinclass?""Doyou haveany am plificationdevicestohelpm ehear theteacherm oreclearly w henthey arespeaking?""Ihavetroublehearing everythinginclass;canIgetcopiesof anotherstudentsclassnotesonadaily basis?"
S choolsreceivingfederalfundingarerequired tohaveaspecial needs/disabilitiescoordinatoronstaff.How everagain,m any seniorsdo nothavedocum enteddisabilities,butconcernsthatarerealneeds. M any oftheneeded adjustm entstom aketheseniorsacadem ic experiencem oreattractiveand attainablerequirelittletonoadditional costtotheacadem icinstitution.T hegreatestdifficulty seem stocom ein therealizationofthinkingahead and forecastingthestudent’sneeds beforetheacadem iccyclebegins.T hem ajority ofseniorstudentneeds areadaptiveratherthanaltering. Collegecam pusesareusually spreadoverm any acresofland.T hey are usually com posedofaseriesofbuildings,eachservingaspecific purpose.T heparkingisusually centered inoneortw om ainlotsw ith lim ited handicapaccessparkingneartheentranceofspecificbuildings. Designedtobeopenairy spaces,theflow betw eenbuildingsisnotan issuetosom eonew ithnom obility issues.How everasdiscussedm any seniorshavereducedorlim itedm obility.T raversingfrom onebuildingto thenext,inashortperiodoftim ecanbedifficultform any ofthem . Know ingthey havetogetfrom pointA topointB inalim itedstructured periodoftim ecancreateadded stresstotheiralready challengingday. T heADA only m akesstipulationsinregardstoautom ated doors,ram ps, and generalaccessibility issues.W ithacoordinated effortthereare
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
severalsolutionstothisproblem .T hefirstbeingsitetosite (doortodoorofcom plex)transportunits.Golfcarttype vehiclescould easily transportseniorstudents(andothers w ithactualm obility issues)from onelocationtotheother. R egulardropoff-pickupareascould beestablished.O f courseallofthelegallogisticsw ould havetobew orked out, butitw ould seem asthoughtherew ould befederalfunds availabletohelpoffsetthecostofsuchaservice.A second alternativew ould betoprovideaccesstopow erchaircarts forthoseneedingtheadditionalfacilitationtogetfrom one pointtoanother.S tudentscould checkoutakey atthestart oftheday,and returntheunitand key toacentraldepotat theendoftheday forcharging.W hileafew studentsm ay already havetheirow npow erchairs,these peoplehaveam oreseriouscondition.T hesew ould alsobehandy fortheinjuredyoungerstudentw ho m ightbeinalegcastoroncrutches.S hoppingstoreshaveprovidedthisconvenienceform any years, thecostisnotprohibitiveand requireslessstaffingthanthefirstoptiondiscussed. Dim inishedvisibility isam ajorconcernform any seniors.T extbooksareoftenprinted in8ptfont and very difficultforseniorstoread.U nlikem any fictionalbooks,textbooksarenotusually offered ina largeprintform atfrom thepublisher.Havingallreadingm aterials,textsand handoutsprintedin20pt fontallow sthestudentw ithvisionconcernstofollow alongand bem oreinteractiveintheclass.T hese m aterialscanbem adeupahead oftim eby m ostanyonew hoknow show torunascanner,com puter
CONNECTING POINTS â&#x20AC;&#x201C;page 72
and copier.O nceam astersethasbeenm adeforkey required classesthey could bearchived and retrieved asneeded forother seniorstudentsinthefuture.Q uizzesand testsareespecially difficultforsom eonew ithvisiondifficultiestotake.Ifitthey are shortansw ertestsanam pleam ountofroom needstobeleftfor seniorsw hooftenw ritesom ew hatlargerthanothers.Havingpow er pointsandvisualpresentationsprinted forthem isalsoabeneficial aid totheirsuccessintheclass.Assuringtheseniorafrontrow seat, prereserved forthem ,elim inatestheneed forem barrassingseat sw itchingaftertheclassbegins.M any peoplew hodonotsuffer from thesetypesofissuesm ay betotally oblivioustotheneedsor reasonsoftheseniorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;request.
DRAGON and other voice to text conversion programs allow to easily and without a lot training simply speak your reports, notes, anything you want to convert into a typed computer form.
N otbeingabletohearclearly alloftheteachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;com m entsand classroom discussionscanbevery dam agingtotheacadem ic progressoftheseniorstudent,actually toany studentforthat m atter.Hearingaidsarenotcovered underM edicareand som illions ofseniorAm ericansareforced todealw ithdim inished hearing abilities.S choolsshould provideportablelisteningdevicesthatthe studentcancheckout.T heteachersneed tobew illingtousethem asw ell.A m oreidealsituationw ould beforstudentstobeableto capturethevoicepartoftheclassand haveitprocessed on som ethinglikea"DragonVoice"program producingaw rittenscript ofeverythingsaid.T hiscanthenbeprintedoffin20ptfontand review ed by thestudent.Againthistechnology isnotexpensive,and isnotneeded forevery studentw iththeseneedsifm ultiple studentsareinthesam eclass.
CONNECTING POINTS V1 I2 June-2015
Evenw ithsom eoftheserathersim pleand inexpensivesolutions,seldom isanythingdoneto directly assisttheseniorstudentw ithoutconstantpressureby thestudent.It'sfeasibletoseeanever increasingnum berofseniorsreturningtocollegeclassesinthenextfew years.Collegesw illhaveno choicebuttocreateaccom m odationsforthism assivegroupofpeople.L egally,ifthey w ishtoreceive governm entsupport,they havenooptionbuttocreateprogram sfordegreeseekingseniors.T he "com m unity enrichm ent"creditfreeclassesthatseniorsflocked totw enty yearsagoarenolonger relevantform ost.T hey arecom petitiveand w antanoutcom e. S om ecollegesaretakingavery progressivestand tow ardsencouragingseniorcitizenstoreturn toschooland getacollegedegreeoratleasttakecollegecourses.Atatim ew henstatebudgetcutsare increasingfeesforyoungstudentsatCaliforniaS tateU niversity,alittle-know nprogram allow ssenior citizenstoenrollforfree.
T he“ O ver60 P rogram ” w aivestuitionforCalifornians60 orolder,regardlessofincom e.M eanw hile, sinceitscreation30 yearsago,annualtuitionforyoungerstudentshasclim bedfrom $160 to$4, 230. And lastyear,CS U cutbackenrollm entby thousandsofstudents,w hilecontinuingtoallow any interested elderstoregisterforopenclasses. It’sasm allprogram — only 900 of433, 000 CS U studentsparticipated lastyear— buttheeducationis w orthanestim ated$2 m illionto$3 m illionannually.
CONNECTING POINTS –page 74
T heAAR P (Am ericanAssociationforR etiredP ersons)theeconom ic recessionand highunem ploym entm ay lead peopletoconsidergoing backtoschooltoim provetheirem ploym entopportunities.Inorderto gaugeattitudesofthe50+ populationregardinggoingbacktoschool, AAR P com m issioned anationalsurvey duringthesum m erof2009. Key findingsrevealed:
A m inority ofAm ericansaged 50 andolderindicatesa likelihood ofreturningtoschool.R espondentsindicatingthey arelikely toreturntoschooltend tobeyoungerandhave som ecollegeeducation.
T hem ostfrequently m entioned reasonforgoingbackto schoolistosharpenskillsthatm ighthelponthejob (47% ), follow ed by goingbacktoschoolforpleasure,forexam ple w antingtolearnaboutnew topics(39% ).
T hirty percentofthoseindicatingthey w ould returntoschool thinkthey w illgotoacom m unity college.
T hedegreeofim portanceplaced onlearningnew skillsvaries by age,education,and race.Youngerrespondentsaged 50-64 arem orelikely tosay learningnew skillsisim portantthan olderrespondentsaged65 and older(35% versus14% ).
M orethanhalfofrespondents(57% )say thelasttim ethey enrolled inclassesw asm orethan15 yearsago.
ForstudentssuchasT im othy Fitzgerald,64,itenablesalifelong pathofeducation.W hilelivingonm eagerS ocialS ecurity and disability benefits,he’scom pletinghisfifthdegreeatS anJoseS tate U niversity and histhird m aster’s. Financialaid isnotnecessarily difficultforanolderadultto get.O nthecontrary,olderstudentsareofteneligibleform any differentkindsoftuitionassistanceincludingstudentloans,university scholarships,andw ork-study program s.Collegeisnolongerfor youngeradultsonly,asthereisnootherplacew hereagediversity is m oreevidentthanonthenation'scollegecam puses. Ihopethisarticlehasencouraged som eofyou toreturntoschooland pursuealifetim eoflearning.T herew illbechallenges,butdon’tlet them stand inyourw ay.T heopportunity isavailabletoallw hoseek it.And Icanguaranteeyou itw illhelpyou inyourgenealogical research.
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R esources "AboutS tudentL oansforS eniorCitizens"retrieved February 26,2012 http://w w w .fafsa.gov/about_4621182_studentloans-senior-citizens.htm l "IncreasingN um bersofS eniorCitizensChoosingto Head BacktoS chool"retrieved February 26,2012 http://w w w .topcolleges.com /blog/2010/08/18/increasingnum bers-of-senior-citizens-choosing-to-head-backto-school/ "R etired -head backtoS choolw ithCollege Discounts"retrieved February 26,2012 http://w w w .usatoday.com /new s/education/201008-12-retirem ent-college_N .htm "S tudentsw ithDisabilitiesP reparingfor P ostsecondary Education:Know YourR ightsand R esponsibilities"retrievedFebruary 26,2012 http://w w w 2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transiti on.htm l
EileenW eeksw asborninaroughtim einAm erican history,T heGreatDepression.Atthetenderageof4 Eileenand hersiblingsw ereplaced inafosterhom e hundredsofm ilesfrom w hereshew asborn.Hernew hom euntilshem arriedw ould beT heChildren’sFarm Hom einCorvallis,O regon.Herlifehasbeenfullof diverseexperiencesand excitingadventures.S heloves torecantsom eofthoseexperienceinafictional form atinherchildren’sstories.S hestudiedatT he Children’sW ritingInstituteinthe1980’sand then returned tocollegew henshew as80 yearsold. Eileenhasalw aysenjoyedstudyingherfam ily tree, and rem ainsclosetohersistersshegrew upw ithat theFarm Hom estilltothisday.Herhusband ofnearly 50 yearspassed in1998.S hehasthreechildren,tw o grandchildrenand threegreatgrandchildren. Eileenisanadam antsupporterofseniorsreturningto schooland grow ingintheirknow ledgeand discovering new things.W eareexcitedtosharethisupliftingand m otivingarticleonheroutlookonsom eofthe challengesseniorsfacereturningtocollegetoday.
“ GoingBacktoS chool:A BulletinP oll” by:T eresaA.Keenan,P h.D.,and L indaL .Barrett, P h.D.,AAR P Know ledge http://w w w .aarp.org/personal-grow th/life-longlearning/info-09-2009/back_school.htm l http://w w w .grassley.senate.gov/about/upload/Fin ancial-Aid-for-Students.pdf
CONNECTING POINTS –page 76