Latest news with #genealogy
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Volunteers are digitizing headstones in cemeteries around southern Alberta
Photographing headstones and putting them online is part of an endless process to allow people to find out more about their family histories, and learn more about Alberta's pioneers.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Amid attacks on DEI, a US nonprofit offers reparations, education and healing: ‘We're looking to fill the gap'
When Ashley Robinson and her mother took DNA tests 10 years ago and began meeting long lost cousins, they stumbled across a surprising family history that changed their lives. Robinson's lineage traced back to the 272 West Africans who were enslaved by Jesuits and sold to plantation owners in the southern US in 1838. The sale of the enslaved Africans helped fund Georgetown University, the oldest Jesuit higher education institution in the US, and served as collateral to the now defunct Citizens Bank of New Orleans, whose assets were later folded into JPMorgan Chase. Robinson dived into researching her lineage after having her first child at 21 years old, and soon enrolled in an organization called the GU272 Descendants Association, which hosts genealogical workshops and connects people whose ancestors were sold by Georgetown University. While national discussions around reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans have largely stalled, Robinson's uncovering of her family's history met an unlikely resolution. During her senior year in undergraduate school, she received a scholarship funded by the successors of her family's enslavers. 'I remember praying after I finished the [scholarship] application,' Robinson said. As a 29-year-old mother of three, Robinson considered taking a break from school due to financial constraints. 'It was perfect timing, because the scholarship came about, and that's sailing me through the end of my degree.' The $10,000 from the nonprofit Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation has helped minimize the federal student loans that Robinson needs to complete her computer science degree at University of Maryland Global Campus by the end of the year. For Robinson, the scholarship has meant that she 'will be able to finish school without taking food from the table or having to figure out what we're going to do next'. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation is a partnership between the descendants of West Africans enslaved by Jesuits and the church's successors, aimed to address the wrongs of the past by focusing on three pillars: education, honoring elders and addressing systemic racism. The descendants partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to issue post-secondary educational scholarships for descendants of Jesuit enslavement at institutions of their choice. Since the fall of 2024, the foundation has awarded more than $170,000 in scholarships to 25 students across 20 schools, with students being eligible to renew scholarships every year. Related: 'A dog cemetery would not be treated like this': the fight to preserve Black burial grounds in the US As Donald Trump's administration has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the federal level by cancelling grant programs that benefit people of color, the foundation has successfully championed reparations in the private sector. 'We're looking to fill the gap where these institutions are somewhat hesitant or unsure how they're going to be able to support those communities,' the foundation's president and CEO, Monique Trusclair Maddox said. Bishops reckoning with their church's history of slavery in the UK are also looking to the foundation's truth and reconciliation efforts. 'Teaching this history through Jesuit institutions, allowing dialogue to come in places that wouldn't otherwise be afforded is something that hasn't been done in the past,' Trusclair Maddox said. 'We believe that that whole approach to changing how people look at racism and how people look at marginalized communities is something that will last for a long time.' The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, were slaveowners until the mid-1800s, relying on forced labor to expand their mission throughout North America. When Georgetown University faced financial difficulties, the Jesuits sold more than 272 enslaved people from five tobacco plantations in Maryland to Louisiana plantation owners to help pay off the school's debts. More than 100 of the enslaved people were sold to other owners, or remained in Maryland by escaping or by having spouses on nearby plantations. The sale that generated the current-day equivalent of $3.3m tore apart families and communities, and in turn, helped form the Georgetown University that's known today. Georgetown and the church's sordid past was largely forgotten until a descendant uncovered it while researching her genealogy in 2004. Over several years, genealogists dug up additional research on the enslaved people, as descendants formed their own groups to learn more about their ancestors. Then starting from August 2018 to the fall of 2019, about 15 representatives altogether from the Society of Jesus, Georgetown University and the descendants gathered together over multiple joint meetings with a facilitator and truth and racial healing practitioner hosted by the Kellogg Foundation. Through their difficult conversations, they created a memorandum of understanding that created the scaffolding for the foundation and laid out the Jesuits' commitments. When Father Timothy Kesicki, a Jesuit priest and chair of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust learned about the descendants, he said that it transformed his understanding of history: 'I almost had a 180 degree turn on it, because suddenly it wasn't a past story. It was a living memory, and it begged for a response.' The year-long conversations that unfolded between the Jesuits and descendants were raw and full of challenging emotions. 'The whole thing was painful for everybody. This is a historic trauma. It was very hard for Jesuits. It's very easy to be trapped by shame and fear and a prevailing sentiment out there that says: 'Why are you digging up the past?'' said Kesicki. 'We were understanding the truth differently than our preconceived notions, there was a power and a beauty to it also.' After tracing her own family history back to those who were enslaved by the Jesuits in 2016, Trusclair Maddox attended an apology ceremony at Georgetown University where she met other descendants of Jesuit enslavement the following year. She soon joined as a board member of GU272, before taking over the helm of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation in 2024. The Jesuits agreed to commit the first $100m to the foundation, and so far have contributed more than $45m, some of which came from the sale of former plantation land. Georgetown University also committed $10m to the trust. Half of the funding is designed to provide educational scholarships and home modifications for elderly descendants, and the other half of their dollars will go toward projects devoted to racial healing. The first racial healing grant funded an art display in New Orleans on Juneteenth. The exhibit will go to the Essence Festival in New Orleans, and Cleveland, Ohio. The foundation is also considering creating a grant for victims of fires in California, which would be open to all. Along with the educational pillar, the foundation also helps seniors by hiring occupational therapists to do an assessment of the safety needs in their home, and then a remodeler installs features such as grab bars and railings. The foundation is now piloting its program in descendant homes in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Ohio, with plans to grow nationally. In spite of the anti-DEI rhetoric nationally, Trusclair Maddox said that support from individual donors has increased by 10% in recent months, and they've also received donations from more anonymous donors. Benefactors have shared with the foundation that their work is needed now more than ever. The program is also being used as a model for truth and reconciliation throughout the world. Last September, Kesicki and Trusclair Maddox presented their programs to the College of Bishops in Oxford, who were grappling with their own history of slavery in England. After the presentation, the College of Bishops sent a video expressing gratitude about what they learned over the two days. 'We're transforming their church,' Trusclair Maddox said, 'not just what we're doing here in the US.' Related: Harvard hired a researcher to uncover its ties to slavery. He says the results cost him his job: 'We found too many slaves' The foundation is also working to educate young Jesuits and descendants on their shared history and to instil in them a respect for their collective future. Starting in late June, about 15 people – a combination of Jesuits and descendants – from throughout the nation will discuss racial healing in-person in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and through Zoom throughout the summer. A descendant will lead discussions on race relations and teach about the history of the Jesuits and enslavement, as well as Jim Crow policies. Trusclair Maddox foresees the foundation helping future generations reckon with the past in perpetuity. 'The heirs of enslavers and the descendants of those who were enslaved have come together, not from a litigious perspective, but from a moral perspective, and joined hands and hearts together to walk this path. As painful as it may be together, we believe that shows some hope,' Trusclair Maddox said. 'There is a possibility for a greater America. There's a possibility for people to not live in fear.'
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Finding Your Roots'' Henry Louis Gates Jr. Presents Pope Leo with Family Tree, Confirming His Surprising Celebrity Relatives
Henry Louis Gates Jr. the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS show Finding Your Roots, traveled to the Vatican on July 5 to meet with Pope Leo XIV to present his genealogical research His research confirmed that Pope Leo XIV is related to several celebrities including Madonna, Angelina Jolie, and Justin Bieber, among others It was also confirmed that Pope Leo has mixed Black and European ancestryHenry Louis Gates Jr. is taking on his latest genealogy adventure! On Saturday, July 5, the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS show Finding Your Roots traveled to the Vatican to meet with Pope Leo XIV to present his genealogical research on his family tree. Gates, 74, confirmed that the first American pontiff is related to Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber, Pierre and Justin Trudeau, Hilary Clinton, and Jack Kerouac, which was previously reported by The New York Times. Pope Leo, 69 is ninth-cousin several times removed to the high profile bunch, and they are linked through a maternal ancestor who was born in the 1590s, per Gates' research. Additionally, the pope has two freedom fighters in his family tree, and has multiracial lineage. Gates was able to trace Pope Leo's ancestry back 15 generations, and confirmed that several of his ancestors were enslaved people, while others in his lineage were slaveholders. He also has mixed Black and European ancestry. In his post, which featured several photos from their visit, Gates wrote: "On Saturday, my wife, the historian Dr. Marial Iglesias Utset, and I were granted the profound honor of a private audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican to present him with a copy of his family tree." "She and I had worked with an outstanding team of researchers to publish it in The New York Times Sunday Magazine and were deeply grateful for the chance to walk His Holiness through the branches of his family tree, sharing stories of his ancestors back to his 12th great-grandparents who were born some 500 years ago," he continued. "This was one of the most meaningful and deeply moving moments of our lives." According to the Chicago Sun Times, Prevost was raised by his parents, Louis, an educator, and Mildred, a librarian, alongside his two siblings, Louis and John. He is also a dual citizen of Peru, having previously served as the leader of the Augustinian order after serving as the bishop of the city of Chiclayo, Peru. Sacred Heart University catholic studies professor Dr. Charlie Gillepsie previously told PEOPLE that the new pope's election is a 'clear signal that the College of Cardinals felt the calling of the spirit to elect someone for the whole globe.' Gillepsie said he was 'surprised and excited," about the first American pontiff. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. ABC News spoke to one of his two brothers, John Prevost, upon Pope Leo's election to the papacy. "I don't know how many people will find it interesting, but when he was in first grade, a woman across the street that we used to play with the kids, and a woman down the street said he would be the first American pope. In first grade, they said that," said Prevost in May. New episodes of Finding Your Roots air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on PBS, and are available to stream online. Read the original article on People
BBC News
05-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Genealogy: New virtual records unveil lost history of Ireland
Genealogical riches from every county of the island of Ireland feature among 175,000 new historical records which are now available the first time there are now 60,000 names on the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland from the 1821 census which was destroyed in 1922. The Four Courts blaze destroyed the Public Record Office of Ireland, and with it seven centuries of Irish of the virtual records, Dr Ciarán Wallace said handwritten copies of records have enabled the archives to expand. "What we've learned is that in the days before photocopiers and scanners, humans with pens or quills wrote tonnes and tonnes of copies of records, they could make copies for all sorts of reasons, for administrative reasons or for a court case, or for family research," he 1821 portal was compiled by hand, from transcriptions and notes preserved in the National Archives of Ireland and Public Record Office of Northern recovered transcripts of census returns revealed ordinary lives across the island of Ireland in the decades before and after the Great Famine, that were previously lost. Nine thousand new names for Co Armagh Dr Brian Gurrin, Census and Population expert, explained: "The 1821 census recorded the names of 6.8 million people and those names were contained in the public record office in 479 massive volumes. "Four volumes survived out of that and one of them is for a part of County Fermanagh, that's one of the original surviving volumes."County Armagh is one of the most documented counties across the island of Ireland. "We have introduced for some counties, a very small number of names, but for County Armagh we've introduced over 9000 names available in the Virtual Record Treasury. It is the largest number of names for any county in Ireland," Dr Gurrin said. Irish genealogy The portal has been made possible because of the personal notes made by 20th century Gurrin said: "I think it's 24 boxes of Tenison Groves' papers in Belfast. And we've worked through the Gertrude Thrift and Phillip Crossley's papers down in Dublin working page by page, by page, trying to identify census extracts that were taken by them that don't exist anymore in the originals."Dr Gurrin believes that this is the most extensive trawl that was ever conducted on these genealogical papers in order to extract "every scrap of census information". "I think we've looked at over 150,000 individual pages searching down through them to try to find the various census extracts that they would have taken."He said: "They were always available, but what we've done is we've made them available in one convenient place." The team works with 72 different archives and libraries across the UK, Ireland and the world to identify copies of material that may be of use."We make nice lists of them and where we can get digital images, we do."It's not just genealogy, but all sorts of records, local history stuff and everything there for the whole island of Ireland," Dr Wallace paved the way for census taking, as Great Britain did not start recording the names of all people until 1841, twenty years County Museum is a partner with the Barden, curator at the museum, said: "Digital platforms like this are essential tools for museums, they allow us to share rare and valuable material, such as our transcript of the 1821 Kilmore parish census fragment, with a much wider audience."He said by hosting it online, the Virtual Treasury will help researchers and shine a light on the strength and significance of the museums collections. Though many parts of Ireland at the time spoke and wrote in Irish, names and places in the census were recorded in English. Dr Gurrin said the census of the Aran Islands has been added "and even though it was 100% Irish speaking in 1821, there's not a single mention of the Irish language in the census."The enumerator doesn't say that the people here speak a different language. "And there's not a single Sean, or any sort of Irish first name recorded in it at all. "They're all recorded in English, so any anybody who is Padraig will be Patrick."Dr Wallace said: "It is just fascinating to be able to track back and find records of ancestors, in court cases or in dealing with the state in some way, sometimes positive, sometimes negative, but it sort of fleshes out their lives, gives us a sense of what their lives were like."
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Scientists celebrate ‘historic milestone' as remains of man identified 12 years after death
A British man found dead in Arizona more than a decade ago has finally been identified, thanks to a pioneering DNA technology. Michael Hill, 75, died in February 2013 while visiting a friend in the United States, but his identity remained a mystery for 12 years. For over a decade, Mr Hill was known only as the " Maricopa County John Doe 2013". He had arrived at his friend's home with no belongings other than the clothes he was wearing, and without close relatives to identify him, his case remained unsolved. However, researchers from both the UK and US have now successfully restored Mr Hill's identity using a cutting-edge method called Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG). This innovative technique combines advanced DNA analysis with extensive genealogical searches, marking the first time a UK citizen has been identified through this process. The resolution of Mr Hill's case has been hailed as "a historic milestone" in forensic identification. Experts believe this breakthrough could pave the way for the wider adoption of IGG tools in the UK, potentially leading to the closure of numerous other long-unsolved cases. Dr Craig Paterson, who led the work from Sheffield Hallam University, said: 'It is a privilege to see the team solve this case and to restore Michael's name and identity. 'This case proves that IGG can be used in the UK to identify distant relatives and generate leads in cases that have remained unsolved using other investigative techniques. 'There are lots more unsolved cases in the UK where IGG can be used and we will continue to work with our partners and students to ensure that as many cases as possible benefit from this expertise.' The technology can help investigators identify distant relatives of a subject, whereas regular DNA testing usually identifies close family members, Dr Paterson explained. It relies on the millions of members of the public who have taken consumer DNA tests and carried out genetic genealogical searches on platforms such as FamilyTreeDNA and GEDmatch, said David Gurney, director of the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Centre at Ramapo College in New Jersey. The investigation of Mr Hill's case was led by researchers and students from Sheffield Hallam University, the Ramapo College Investigative Genetic Genealogy Centre, and Silverwell Research in London. The team gathered information the police and coroner's officer in Arizona held about Mr Hill, and the team found that Mr Hill had left his friend's house on the day he died, and returned four hours later complaining that he did not feel well. He laid down in a guest bedroom but a short time after began to convulse and went unresponsive. The friend called 911 and emergency service personnel responded to the scene and death was pronounced at that location. The friend Mr Hill visited in the Phoenix area provided a name, Michael Sydney Hill, and date of birth to the authorities. But this information alone could not be used to confirm Hill's identity. Traditional means of identification employed by Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCOME) also did not yield a positive result. There was no identification on his person, and he had no siblings, children, or close relatives to contact and provide a positive identification. 'He was still connected to parts of the family – but there was just a loss of contact,' Dr Paterson said. 'It happens a lot more than you would think.' The case remained cold for more than a decade until the team managed to trace a distant cousin of Mr Hill using DNA taken from his body, combined with genealogical analysis. The relative provided a DNA test and Michael Hill's identity was finally confirmed. 'He was born in 1937 so finding a living relative was difficult,' Dr Paterson said. 'We are happy that there was closure. 'That's the aim – it's to take away that uncertainty.' IGG technology has been mainly used in the United States, Canada, and Australia – but researchers hope to increase its use in the UK. Cairenn Binder, director of the IGG Certificate Programme at Ramapo College, said: 'Investigative genetic genealogy was integral to solving the case of Mr Hill because as an unidentified person with only a lead on a possible name and no next of kin, genetic genealogy research was required to restore his identity. 'Advanced DNA testing and shared DNA with his distant relatives allowed investigators to confirm his identity and memorialize him after more than twelve years as a John Doe. 'This case is a historic milestone for the implementation of IGG in the UK, as Mr Hill is the first UK citizen to be identified with IGG research.'
