From Spit to SNPs: Decoding My DNA

A few years ago I spit a small amount (about two tablespoons) of my saliva into a specimen collection tube provided in a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing kit that I ordered through Ancestry.com. My goal was to learn about my ancestors' through their genealogical beginnings and follow a familial chain of genetic links from generation to generation. …

John Rolfe Letter to Governor Thomas Dale, 1614

Continuing to further document and understand the lives of our earliest ancestors - emigrants from England to Jamestown, Virginia, I have included below, the 1614 letter  (transcribed and updated to today’s word usage and spellings by me--I made no changes to word choices or punctuation and kept present-day English spellings).  My  11th great-grandfather, John Rolfe, …

Thanksgiving Invites–Anyone Dead or Alive

Who's On Your Guest List? How many times in life have you been asked; "If you could invite anyone dead or alive to dinner, who would be your quests?"  And sometimes this question has a follow-up or two: "Why?" And, "What would you say to them?" My Honored Guest List: I would first invite Jesus Christ …

ISO Family Athletes and Olympians

Origin of the Olympic Games The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece about 3,000 years ago.   From the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D., the Games were held every four years in Olympia, in Southern Greece's western peninsula, Peloponnese.  The Games honored the Greek God Zeus, who was the god of the sky and ruler of …

THANKFUL THURSDAY: The Best Things In Life Are Free – Part 1

The best things in life are free, especially the gifts of our ancestors whose trailblazing contributions started first in the colony of Virginia (Jamestown, 1607) and then in Plymouth (1620) over 400 years ago. These settlers from England, Wales, Scotland, Holland, and Ireland bonded together to form our religious, social, business and industry, government, education, …

Charles R. Hale Brings to Life and Shares His Grandfather’s 1930’s Space and Time

The video that follows gives all of us genealogists and geneabloggers much to aspire to. The integration of Charles Hale's research, background content, overall composition, photos, music, and the tone and pulse of his narrative provides a fabulous tribute to not only his grandfather's story, but to Mr. Hale's work as a family historian who …