Leonard Nimoy and Me

Leonard Nimoy, Actor, Director, and Photographer, passed away yesterday February 27, 2015. He was known best for playing the role of Spock, on Star Trek.

As far as I know, I am not related to him.

His parents were born in Iziaslav, Volhynia [source], which is about 150km from Zhitomir, Volhynia, where I believe some of my Dudelczak ancestors may have lived.

I am a long-time Trekkie. Back in 2007 I posted a photograph of myself from a 1992 or 1993 Jerry Lewis Telethon, wearing a Star Trek uniform.

In 2010 I expressed excitement upon discovering, according to his tombstone, my great grandfather was descended either from Vulcans or Aaron, brother of Moses. (As I noted then, either descent would be equally difficult to trace.)

Nimoy died from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which he blamed on his years of smoking.

I quit smoking 30 yrs ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP
— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) January 30, 2014

Both of my paternal grandparents died from smoking-related causes. I can't echo his sentiments enough.

In November of 2007 I had the opportunity to hear Nimoy speak at the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival. He was there to sell and sign copies of two books: The Full Body Project, a collection of photography, and A Lifetime of Love, a collection of poetry. I brought home the latter.

He will be missed, and remembered, by a legion of fans, as well as by his friends, and loved ones.

Research All Names

When a family historian is looking at ancestral documents it is important to give consideration to the other names one finds in the document. Friends, Business Associates, Witnesses - conducting at least minimal research on these individuals is advisable. Not doing so may lead to missing out on some major discoveries.

Examples from my own research:
(Links are to past entries where I discuss these instances in greater detail)

1) Max Wieselman - Selig Feinstein's business partner

My second great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, set up a business with Max Wieselman as horse shoers during the 1890s in St. Louis. (They also filed a patent together.) It wasn't until I conducted some research on Max and his wife that I realized Max was likely born in the same Ukranian town as Selig. This **could** be a coincidence. Coincidences happen. But there could also be a relationship. Unfortunately, the records I need aren't online. Barring localized research in the Ukraine, which may be beyond my abilities, my best shot is to find a descendant of Max and ask them to take a DNA test. If they're related, that wouldn't tell me *how*, but a DNA test should tell me one way or another whether more research is necessary.


2) Michael Flynn, County Clerk for Clifford Cruvant's name correction

The digital copy of Clifford Cruvant's name correction doesn't have a date. (Whoever did the scanning didn't get the whole document.) However, by researching the County Clerk's name, I was able to narrow down the possible years. I could order the document from the current County Clerk, but for now knowing that it was after 1930 is enough information. I haven't been able to find either Clifford or his mother in the 1920 or 1930 census, but I know they were alive, somewhere.


3) Marcus Hast, cantor at the marriage of Sol Newmark and Sarah Nathan

If I hadn't conducted research on Marcus Hast, the cantor who performed the wedding for my great grandfather's brother, Sol Newmark, and his wife Sarah Nathan, I would never have realized he was from Warsaw, Poland, not far from where the Newmark family was living before immigrating to England. I also wouldn't have discovered the scores for the wedding music that he had composed. It's not definite that it is the same music that was played at the Newmark-Nathan wedding, but there is a strong likelihood.


4) Bessie and Iva, friends of Mabel Fulkerson, and fellow heroines

When I discovered the news story about my wife's great grandmother's efforts as a girl of 14 to prevent a train wreck, I was amazed at the presence of mind and the physical effort put forth by her and her two friends. However, if I hadn't researched the names of the other two, I wouldn't have realized they were her nieces. (Due to the age difference between her and her two oldest sisters, she was actually younger than her two nieces.)

Error Free Genealogy

I’ve mentioned before that error-free genealogy is impossible, no matter how careful one is. But with care, we can limit our mistakes.

Tracing a family backwards in time through census reports is something almost every genealogist does, but it is very easy to take a wrong turn if one isn’t careful. One problem is census reports only provide a snapshot every ten years, and lots can happen in ten years. Another problem is that census takers didn’t always have great handwriting, so the online indexers can easily garble a name.

Perhaps the easiest way to make a wrong turn is if you find what you’re looking for immediately.

For example:

Let’s say you find someone in the 1920 US census. They are married to the person you expect them to be married to, with the correct young child. You are certain it is the correct person, but you have no idea who his parents are. The 1920 census indicates an approximate birth year, and the place of birth (State or Country)

So you conduct a search for the person in the 1910 census, using their name, state of birth, and year of birth +- 2. And you find exactly one result – a child with two parents. How do you react? It’s very tempting to be relieved that it was so easy, to write down the information on the parents, and see if you can go further back.

However:

What would you do if you found more than one result?
You’d have to conduct some research to see which family is the correct one.

And what would you do if you found no results?
Probably you’d add some wildcards into the search, and see if the person you’re searching for got indexed with a strange spelling.

Back to the one result…Do you see the problem?
If all you are going on is year of birth, state of birth, and name, it is possible, is it not, that this isn’t the correct person? The person you are searching for could be hiding under a poorly written, or poorly transcribed name. Or it is possible they don’t even appear in the census. The census reports are by no means complete. The more common the surname and given name, the more likely this is possible. Additionally, given names frequently change from childhood to adulthood.

I've made my share of research mistakes, and there are likely some I have made which I don't yet know about. What I feel is important is that I always keep an open mind to the possibility that any conclusions that I make from my research have a potential of being wrong.

There is No Federal Holiday Called, "President's Day."

George Washington's Birthday is celebrated as a federal holiday on the third Monday in February. It is one of eleven permanent holidays established by Congress. 

Federal holidays apply only to the federal government and the District of Columbia; Congress has never declared a national holiday binding in all states and each state decides its own legal holidays.

[...]

Contrary to popular belief, neither Congress nor the President has ever stipulated that the name of the holiday observed as Washington's Birthday be changed to "President's Day."

 Source: National Archives

Of course...state governments, schools, or the company you work for, can call a holiday whatever they want to call it. They can also declare the holiday celebrates whatever they want it to celebrate.  But the Federal Holiday that is today is only for George Washington.

Ironically...Washington was born on February 11, 1731 (while the Julian calendar was still in use.)  This became February 22nd, 1732 when we switched to the Gregorian Calendar.  The earliest the Third Monday of February can fall is February 15th.  The latest it can fall is February 21.  It is impossible for the Federal Holiday "Washington's Birthday" to be celebrated on Washington's real birthday, according to either the Julian or Gregorian calendar.

NGS Genealogy Conference 2015

The National Genealogical Society is holding their annual conference in May ten miles from my home.

I have never been to a Genealogy Conference. Back in 2007 when the topic for the Genealogy Carnival was Conferences and Seminars, I wrote the humorous: What to expect when your favorite genealogical conference merges with a local SF convention.

I updated this list in 2012

My conference/convention experience is still limited to Science Fiction conventions, but I am looking forward to that changing in May. Any advice from experienced NGS conference-goers would be welcomed. I am especially interested in knowing at what events I am most likely to have a chance to meet some of the others in the genealogy community I've only had a chance to communicate with electronically for the past eight years. I suspect the panel sessions won't provide much opportunity to socialize.

I did post this query on the Facebook group: Genealogy Bloggers at NGS 2015

In so doing, it seems, I may have been volunteering to set up such a gathering - there seems to be some interest in setting something up on Saturday evening as a "Deconpression."

Note: to all those attending the conference who will have transportation. If you are planning on staying in the St. Louis area on the Sunday following, the St. Louis Renaissance Festival may be of interest, though it will be a half hour drive.

If you're attending the conference and looking for a nice restaurant in the St. Charles area for a dinner one of the nights - I can heartily recommend Little Hills Winery and Restaurant, which is 1.5 miles from the convention center, or Llewellyn's Pub, which is a similar distance. (I haven't eaten at the St. Charles location for Llewellyn's, but I was a frequent diner when there was only one location of this local eatery, and now there are seven.)

Genealogy Roadshow: Philadelphia - A Nitpick

My wife and I were watching Tuesday night’s episode of Genealogy Roadshow last night, and in general I enjoyed it. I’m especially pleased with how the series is presenting the viewer with tips on how to conduct genealogy research.

However, there was one instance where I shouted back at the television screen in complete frustration.

One of the individuals at the roadshow presented her question. She wanted to know if she was related to George Washington. One of the professional genealogist hosts told her that George Washington had no children, so she couldn’t be related to him. What?!

Just minutes earlier one of the hosts had told someone they were related to Emily Dickinson. Not descended from her, but sixth cousin five times removed, if I recall correctly. How can a professional genealogist confuse the phrases ‘related to’ and ‘descended from’ and still call themselves a professional genealogist?

Thinking about it, I realized that all individuals submit their queries months in advance, to give the show’s research team time to conduct the research. The individual probably asked if George Washington was her ancestor, and only changed it to ‘related to’ during the taping. The Genealogist Host was just presenting the 'research' done on the original question. (In scare quotes because they may have conducted none since they knew the answer without research.) However, the host, in my mind, should have taken the time to clarify the question for the viewer. “The question you submitted to us a few months ago was whether you were descended from Washington. Since Washington had no children of his own, this isn’t possible. You could be descended from one of Washington’s six siblings, or a cousin, and still be related to him.”

By not clarifying this for the viewer, the show encouraged the misuse of the terminology. It’s not uncommon to hear people mix up ‘relative’ and ‘descendant.’ Back in 2010 People Magazine reported that the actor, Robert Pattinson, was descended from Dracula, instead of a distant cousin. (They've corrected the main article, but you can still see the original error in the photo caption.) A professional genealogist should not encourage this confusion, though.

Page Updates

This is just to note that two pages have been updated on this blog

1) Selected Posts

I created the Selected Posts page back in January of 2013, and didn't update it last year. I selected posts to highlight from 2013 and 2014.

2) St. Louis Area Obituaries

I had last updated this page back in 2012. According to my statistics, it continues to be one of the most visited pages on the site, which isn't surprising. Even though it is narrowly focused, it provides a good overview of obituary indexes and databases, as well as various library policies on how to obtain microfilm copies.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to change beyond updating a few links. The indexes haven't grown much in the interim except on the other side of the Mississippi. An index for the Freeburg, Illinois obituaries for 1999-2012 was added to the St. Clair Genealogical Society website in 2013.

MyHeritage Family Tree Builder - Date and Language functions

MyHeritage announced they had a free Mac version of their Family Tree Builder database software, so I decided to download it and give it a try. Not only because it was free, but I was hopeful it would handle something better than my current program. Hebrew calendar dates. I had good reason to be hopeful, MyHeritage is headquartered in Israel. I wasn't disappointed.

MyHeritage allows you to enter all dates in one of three calendars - Standard (Gregorian), Hebrew, and French Revolutionary Calendar. (The last surprised me at first. However, MyHeritage may have a sizable French user base, as the software appears to be written to appeal to an international audience.) It also provides easy conversion between these systems. I am somewhat disappointed that they haven't added the Julian calendar to this component, but perhaps they will at some point.

After I imported my database, this is what my second great grandmother's entry looked like at first:

I clicked on Edit in the lower right.

[Note: I know her death place, cause of death, and burial location. This information is in the Notes section. I haven't always entered it into the separate fields.]

 I clicked on the calendar icon next to the deceased date on the right side.

I clicked the convert button.  (The very first time I had to use the pull down menu to select "Standard to Hebrew." After that it defaults to the last used option.)

After clicking OK this is how her entry looks, with the Hebrew date in brackets:

It would seem nice if there was a way to automatically convert every date in the database with one click, instead of going through and doing it individually. However, it would be wrong for the software to encourage the genealogist to do this since the conversion depends on whether each event was before or after sunset. (The Hebrew calendar date starts at sunset.)

It is also possible to add a secondary language for entering data. In the "Tools" menu, select Languages.

You will see this menu:

 Select the checkbox indicating you want a secondary language, and click OK

You will be given a list of 40 languages!

I chose Hebrew, and this is now how my second great grandmother's "Edit Details" screen appears:

The order of information in the Hebrew language date is unusual.  It reads: February 1924 , 8 Adar A 5684 13. I am unsure why the Hebrew date is embedded within the Standard date in this manner.

If I click on "Names" I am given several fields, including "Religious Name," which will be useful for me, as well as both a "Maiden Name" and "Former Last Name." The latter would be useful for those who have multiple marriages.

Visually, I don't find the software's interface as appealing as my current software. However, its features could win me over. Currently I find it annoying that every time I load the software it asks me if I want to sync it with my "own family site" on MyHeritage. I don't have a family site on MyHeritage, and I don't want one right now. If anybody knows how to turn this pop-up off, let me know.

The software is free, though, so it's hard to get too upset.

Poetry Friday: Niagara Fell (March 1848)

I wrote this poem five years ago.

George Van Every, the first son of my second great grandparents, Samuel and Abigail (Stuart) Van Every, was born eight months after the incident, in Dumfries, Brant County, Ontario - about 125 km from Niagara Falls.

Niagara Fell
©2010 John C Newmark

In 1848, on a day in March
Huge chunks of ice
Pierced Niagara’s head.
Downstream, the falls dried up.

Residents looked down -
The mighty thunder, silenced -
Then up to the sky, fearful.
News traveled slowly.

The churches were filled
as the fish died.
Tourists came from far
To walk across the bed.

When the ice dam cleared
Some must have felt foolish,
While others just waited
for their god’s next missive.

More about Niagara's fall - March 29-30, 1848

DNA Testing Without Relative Matching

Image Source: Office of Biological and Environmental Research 
of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

I've seen several people on social networks and on blogs question why, when they email one of their potential cousin matches on a DNA testing site, they don't get a response.

There can be reasons one wants the test, but doesn't want to communicate with relatives.

For example:

Let's say you've recently adopted a child. You either know the names of the birth parents, or you don't; you've either traced their ancestry back a few generations, or you haven't. You'd like to test their DNA to see the composition of their ethnicity, however, you have no interest whatsoever in communicating with close family members of the birth parents, and furthermore, you have no clue who the birth parents told about the existence of the child and their decision to give the child up. You feel it's certainly not your place to get involved in that. You can imagine the shock of seeing an unknown "match" that indicates a close Parent/Child or Aunt/Nephew relationship, and don't want to put a stranger through that shock

I've been reading the Privacy statements for 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and Ancestry seeing what provisions there are to have one's DNA tested, get an ethnicity breakdown, but not participate in the relative matching services. (Italics indicate direct quotes from their privacy guidelines.)

• For 23andMe their "DNA Relatives" feature is Opt-In.

23andMe gives you the ability to share information with other individuals who have 23andMe accounts through (i) our community forums, (ii) relative finding features (e.g., “DNA Relatives”), and (iii) other sharing features (such information is “User Content”). Please refer to your settings. You may be required to opt-in to some of this sharing, but some features require an opt-out. For example, we provide the ability to opt-in to our ancestry DNA Relatives Database where your information will be shared with potential relative matches. Alternatively, if you were participating in the DNA Relatives Database you may opt-out or change the visibility of your profile data by visiting your Settings. Also, please note that certain types of your User Content may be viewable by other 23andMe users and once posted, you may not be able to delete or modify such content.

• For FamilyTreeDNA the privacy policy states that they only share Contact Information with matches if both sign a release statement.

If the matching program finds a genetic match between you and another person in the database and you have each signed the release form Family Tree DNA will notify you via e-mail.
If a genetic match is found between you and another individual who enters the library at some time in the future, both will be given the information that a potential match is in the database provided that BOTH of you have signed the release form. Only where both parties have signed the release form will we release contact information concerning the separate parties to the other party. In this way, all persons in the database will have the right to decide if they want to contact their genetic match(es).

For users that signed the release form, Family Tree DNA may show your ethnicity breakdown to your genetic matches. However, you can opt-out of sharing your ethnicity and keep your results private with only you and the administrators of projects to which you belong by modifying your privacy settings here.

I participated in the Autosomal Transfer of my Ancestry.com DNA test results. I don't recall filling out the release form that they link to in their Privacy Statement. I suspect I checked boxes stating that I was consenting, or there was language that by performing the transfer I was consenting, as I am able to email matches, and they are able to email me. It is possible I filled out an online form without remembering doing so.

However, in the account settings, under "Family Finder Matches & Email Notifications" the option is provided:

Make the following DNA matches available on my Family Finder matches page and show my profile/contact information to those matches. Also notify me about new matches by email (Immediate, Close and Distant only). "Yes" enables all of the above. "No" disables all of the above.

It sounds like by selecting "No" I would disappear as a match from those relatives. And the option lets you choose different settings for Immediate, Close, Distant, and Speculative. These labels are defined here.

Immediate means Parent/Child, Siblings, Aunt/Uncle
Close means 1st and 2nd Cousins

• At Ancestry.com it appears you can't remove yourself from the matches list. Their privacy statement indicates

Throughout your AncestryDNA™ experience, we want to ensure that you are comfortable with your settings and how much content you wish to make public. Below are some ways that you can control the privacy settings of your AncestryDNA account and DNA results pages.

1. Username: You can choose how your name appears to your DNA matches...
2. Ethnicity profile: You can decide how much of your complete genetic ethnicity profile you want to make viewable to your DNA matches...
3. Family tree: You can choose whether or not to link your DNA test to an Ancestry.com family tree...
4. Deleting your test results: If you desire, you can choose to delete your DNA test results...

While this provides adequate privacy and security since you can use an anonymous username, not share your ethnicity profile, or your family tree, and refuse to respond to any messages that matches send you through the Ancestry message system, it doesn't seem to provide a way to hide you as a match completely so that you don't get any of those messages.

***

It appears that among the three major DNA services, 23andMe or FamilyTreeDNA are the choices for someone who wants solely to find out their ethnicity breakdown without the Relative-Matching services.

But none of them provide a complete 'cloaking' mechanism that would allow you to see all matches, but wouldn't let those matches see you. FamilyTreeDNA does offer "partial cloaking." One could say "no" to "Immediate" and perhaps "close" relatives and "Yes" to "distant" and "speculative." This would allow the person in the above speculated situation to communicate with more distant relatives, but remain hidden from the closer ones. However, it's not difficult to imagine a 3rd or 4th cousin telling the immediate or close match you're hiding from that you appear on their list as sharing the same chromosomes. So to truly prevent that from happening the person in the hypothetical situation mentioned would have to hide from all relatives.

This is just one example of why someone might not be responding to your messages. (Even if they are at a service where they could hide their results, they might not realize it.) There are probably other reasons, too.

Mathematical Curiosity - Coincidence?

My 2nd great grandfather, Moshe Leyb Cruvant, was born on June 12, 1858, according to Lithuanian records.

His St. Louis, Missouri death certificate states he was born on July 1. A difference of 19 days.

Family researchers have always figured that it was close enough that the individual in the Lithuanian records had to be the same. However, is it possible to explain the difference by the fact that he was born in Lithuania between 1800-1918? (See my post Saturday on Julian and Gregorian dates in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under the Russian Empire)

Julian to Gregorian conversion covers only 12 of those days - leaving 7 days to explain.

*

My great grandfather, Barney Newmark, said he was born on March 25th, 1886 on his Petition of Naturalization, and said April 14th on his Draft Registration.

He was born in Warka, Poland - during the time of Russian control of the area.

There are 20 days between March 25 and April 14 - leaving 8 days to explain after calendar conversion.

*

Moshe Leyb's son, Arkan-Ber was born on Dec 11, 1882 according to Lithuanian records.

Moshe Leyb's son Benjamin, according to St. Louis records, was born on January 3, 1883. A difference of 22 days. 10 Days after conversion.

Family researchers have figured these are the same individuals as well. The Yiddish name Ber (meaning 'Bear') commonly got changed to Benjamin in America. Furthermore, his tombstone says his Hebrew name was Ahron Dov. Dov is Hebrew for Bear, so this is a match. As far as I can tell, Arkan isn't a Hebrew name, but Ahron (Aaron) most definitely is.

*

The 7, 8 and 10 day differences are pretty close to each other. We'd have to assume this was a coincidence, unless there was something that happened around 7-10 days after a child was born that could possibly be observed annually.

Since all three individuals were Jewish boys, there is - a Brit Milah. Though I've never heard of a tradition of observing this anniversary, like a baptismal date for those of the Christian faith, it is a date that might be recorded by the family.

According to Jewish Law, a Brit Milah can't occur before 8 days have elapsed, so this isn't a perfect explanation for Moshe Leyb Cruvant. But being off one day could be attributed to mathematical error in conversion, clerical error in the Lithuanian records, or several other factors.

Brit Milahs are supposed to occur on the 8th day, and not be postponed, even for Shabbat or any other holiday. However, they can be postponed for health reasons, or in order to find an appropriate Mohel (the Hebrew word for the person who performs the circumcision.) Either of these may have been the case for Arkan-Ber/Benjamin Cruvant.

*

Or, of course, this could all be coincidence. Slight differences in birth dates between records isn't uncommon. Just because the difference falls roughly the same for all three of these kin doesn't mean it's for the same reason. But still, it's a very intriguing possibility.

*

I'll also note that my great grandfather, Barney, celebrated his birthday on March 17th. (He also claimed at times to have been born in Ireland, instead of Poland. There was a significant Irish community in St. Louis, and he may have thought it to be more advantageous to be Irish and born on St. Patrick's Day than Polish.) To my knowledge, he never wrote this date down on an official document, though. Which suggests to me he knew that it wasn't his official date of birth. However, some family members have grown attached emotionally to the date and seek evidence that it might be the correct date.

If we ignore the Draft Registration, and note that Poland seems to have used both calendars simultaneously while under Russian control, so Julian-Gregorian conversion might not have been necessary - there are 8 days between March 17th and March 25th.

*

Finally - an old joke:

Jacob's watch broke while traveling in a small Eastern European town. He saw a shop with watches and clocks hanging in the window, so he opened the door.
"Can I help you?" asked the man behind the counter.
"My watch is broken, can you fix it?" Jacob asked, relieved the guy spoke some English.
"No, sorry, we don't fix watches," the proprietor responded.
"Do you sell watches?" Jacob asked.
"No."
"Clocks! You must sell clocks!"
"No, we don't sell clocks."
Jacob was getting confused. "You don't sell watches, and you don't sell clocks?"
"No, I’m a mohel," replied the man.
"But the clocks and watches in your window?"
"If you were a mohel, tell me, what would you put in your window?"

[Note: The watch and clocks in this post are from Prague. You can read more about them here and here.]

Which calendar?

In order to properly record a date from a document, you might need to know some geographical history.

My paternal immigrant ancestors came from four different towns in the late 19th century.

• The Cruvants came from Cekiske, Lithuania (near Kruvandai)
• The Dudelczaks likely came from either Alexandria or Zhitomir, Volhynia
• The Newmarks came from Warka, Poland (near Warsaw)
• The Blatts came from Losice, Poland

What do all these communities have in common?

All were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, however, by the late 19th century, at the time my ancestors left, they were all part of the Russian Empire.

This is a crucial piece of knowledge for a genealogist. Why?

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was an early 16th century adopter of the Gregorian Calendar, however, the Russian Empire didn't switch to the Gregorian Calendar until 1918. So when the territory was under Russian control, the Julian calendar was used for official record keeping, and likely for everyday use.

This means the civil calendar (non-religious calendar) all of my paternal immigrant ancestors were used to, prior to immigration, was likely the Julian Calendar. So, after arriving in America, when my great grandparents wrote down on a document what their date of birth was - were they using a Julian or Gregorian date?

Your guess is as good as mine. It's possible that they made the 12-day adjustment when they immigrated to America. Or perhaps they didn't. I have to record both possible dates of birth.

My maternal ancestors immigrated from Transylvania, Germany, Holland, and England. The first three areas adopted the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century, and Great Britain and her colonies adopted it in 1752. I have several maternal ancestors who immigrated to America prior to 1752, and when I see dates for them, if the source doesn't specify, I can't be sure if they're Julian or Gregorian.

Steve Morse's website, popular among genealogists, has a Julian-Gregorian converter, and provides years each nation changed. However, one has to be careful with his table of years. For example, he says Poland went to the Gregorian Calendar in the 16th century, which is accurate. However, once it became Congress Poland in 1815, it was under Russian control. Documents would often have Julian or both Julian and Gregorian dates (source). He says Lithuania changed to Gregorian in 1918, which is also true, but between 1586 and 1800, it was Gregorian as well. I'm unsure if the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is the only example of territory which switched back and forth.

Khanike Music

Khanike* begins this year on Tuesday night, December 16th.

I thought I'd share some music to help people get in the mood.


















And here's a song performed by the cantor and congregants at the synagogue I'm proud to call my own



*"Khanike" is the preferred English spelling by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for the Yiddish pronunciation of the holiday. There is no consistent English spelling for the Hebrew pronunciation, but I would prefer it to start with 'Kh,' to eliminate any confusion on how to pronounce the first phoneme. Maybe Khanuka.

Surname Poetry

Crestleaf - a genealogical database - is sponsoring a surname challenge to compose a creative post using their surname database. I think they had posts similar to my Friday Fives in mind. However, poetry was on my brain at the time, so that became the theme of my entry.

---

I've mentioned before that I am descended from Thomas and Katherine Stoughton. According to Gary Boyd Roberts of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, so was Clement Clarke Moore. [Source: The NEHGS recently moved their website, and it appears this is no longer viewable to the public.]

Moore's poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, is fairly well-known. I thought I would attempt to reconstruct it using surnames. As I often do in my genealogy research, I had to be a little flexible with spelling.

Every link goes directly to a person's entry in the Crestleaf database, so by following a few of the links you can get a general idea of the information they provide.

Avist From St. Nicholas
-- Clement Clarke Moore

Twasta Night Before Christmas Whenal Through Thee House
Notte Creature Waz Stirr Inge, Nott Even Amos;
Destocki Ng Zwar Hung Bythe Chimney Withcer,
Ihne Hopes Thatt Saint Nicholas Soon Would Bether;
Thee Children Ware Nestle Dall Snug Intihar Bedez;
While Vision Zove Sugar Plum Dance Intihar Heads;
Anda Mammana Kerchief, Andia Inma Kapp,
Hadjes Settle Dour Brain Sforza Long Winters Napp,
Wenot Onda Lawn Theroux Sucha Clatter,
Eye Sprange Fromme Bidtah Seewaldt Waz Demato.
Awai Tothe Window Eye Fleu Lika Flash,
Toro Penta Shutter Zandt Throop Thee Sash.
Thee Moon Onda Breast Oft Henu Fallen Snow,
Gavala Sterr Ohff Midday Tew Objay Below,
Wennwright Tomy Wonderling Eyes Didde Peer,
Buta Miniter Sleigh Andeits Tine Reinders,
Withall ittel Ohl Driver Soli Vly Ahn Quick,
Inoue Ihne Moment Hemus Beeh Sainick.
Moore Rapida Than Eagles Hizcorr Sers Theye Camm,
Ahn Dhew Hissel D,ahn Shoutd, Ahn Called Themm Bye Nam:
"Nahl, Dasher! Nahl, Dancer! Nahl Prance Ahn Vix Ehn!
Onn, Comet! Onn, Cupid! Onn, Donner Ahn Blitz Ehn!
Tohe Topoff Thee Porch! Tothe Topoff Thee Wall!
Nahl Dash Awai! Dash Awai! Dash Awai Awl!"
Ash Leaves That Before Thee Wild Hurry Cane Fly,
Whent Hey Meetz Withan Obsta Cle,ment Tothe Sky;
Souppa Tothe House Topp Thee Courser Sthay Fleu
Withee Sleigh Fullove Toyz,an Saint Nicholas Tew—
Anthen, Ihne Twinkley Ng,ai Heard Onn Theroff
Thee Prance Ngan Paal Ingo Veach Little Hoof.
Asid Rew Ihne Meehe Ad,an Dwass Turning Arounds,
Downs Thee Chimney St. Nicholasy Camm Witta Bound.
Hee Waz Dresdale Ihne Furr, From Hisheh Tohid Foot,
Ahn Hesz Clothe Zwar Altar Nishi Dwight Ashes Ahn Soot;
Abunda Oft Oys Hee Haade Flang Ohnhaus Back,
Ahn Helou Kedl Ike Aap Edler Just Oppen Ingis Pack.
Hisey Es—how Theye Twinn Kuld! Hisz Dimple S,howmar Rye!
Hische Eek Zwar Like Roses, Hisz Nosel Ika Cherry!
Hisz Droll Little Mouth Wasz Drawn Upp Like Abow,
Anthe Beard Onn Hisz Chin Wasas White Ash Thee Snow;
Thee Stump Ovah Pipe Hee Held Tight Innis Teeth,
Anthe Smoke, Itten Circle Dizh Head Lika Wreath;
Hee Hada Broadf Ace Anda Little Round Belly
Thatt Shook Wenhe Laughed, Lika Boll Fullove Jelly.
Hee Wasz Chubby Ahn Plump, Arite Jolly Ohlde Elff,
Andey Laughed Weney Sawh Him,inez Piteo Mais Elff;
Awin Koff Hisey Anda Twist Office Head
Soong Avem Eto Knoy Hadnot Hing Tew Dread;
Hee Spoke Nota Word, Butt Whent Straight Tew Hisz Work,
Anfield Ahl Thee Stockings; Then Turnn Dwight Ajer,
Ahn Lay Inge Hisz Finger Asid Eoff Hisz Nose,
Ahn Giving Ano, Upp Thee Chimney Heros;
Hee Sprang Tew Hisz Sleigh, Tew Hist Eem Gaveau Whistle,
Anda Way Thaye Ahl Fleu Like Thee Dounn Ofat Histel.
Buti Heard Hime Exx Claim, Airhea Drof Outa Sight—
"Happy Christmas Toal L,and Toala Goodnight!"

---

This was fun, but next time I do it, I'm going to select a shorter poem!

Thanksgiving Poetry

Below are several poems for the holiday

Gratitude - by Edgar A. Guest (©1917)

Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way;
Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day;
Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do,
For round about you there are men less fortunate than you.

Be grateful for the growing trees, the roses soon to bloom,
The tenderness of kindly hearts that shared your days of gloom;
Be grateful for the morning dew, the grass beneath your feet,
The soft caresses of your babes and all their laughter sweet.

Acquire the grateful habit, learn to see how blest you are,
How much there is to gladden life, how little life to mar!
And what if rain shall fall to-day and you with grief are sad;
Be grateful that you can recall the joys that you have had.

---

Thanksgiving - by Edgar A. Guest (©1917)

Gettin' together to smile an' rejoice,
An' eatin' an' laughin' with folks of your choice;
An' kissin' the girls an' declarin' that they
Are growin' more beautiful day after day;
Chattin' an' braggin' a bit with the men,
Buildin' the old family circle again;
Livin' the wholesome an' old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.

Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother's a little bit grayer, that's all.
Father's a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an' to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin' our stories as women an' men.

Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we're grateful an' glad to be there.
Home from the east land an' home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an' best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We've come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an' be frank,
Forgettin' position an' station an' rank.

Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.

---

Looking Back - by Edgar Guest (©1921)

I might have been rich if I'd wanted the gold instead of the friendships I've made.
I might have had fame if I'd sought for renown in the hours when I purposely played.
Now I'm standing to-day on the far edge of life, and I'm just looking backward to see
What I've done with the years and the days that were mine, and all that has happened to me.

I haven't built much of a fortune to leave to those who shall carry my name,
And nothing I've done shall entitle me now to a place on the tablets of fame.
But I've loved the great sky and its spaces of blue; I've lived with the birds and the trees;
I've turned from the splendor of silver and gold to share in such pleasures as these.

I've given my time to the children who came; together we've romped and we've played,
And I wouldn't exchange the glad hours spent with them for the money that I might have made.
I chose to be known and be loved by the few, and was deaf to the plaudits of men;
And I'd make the same choice should the chance come to me to live my life over again.

I've lived with my friends and I've shared in their joys, known sorrow with all of its tears;
I have harvested much from my acres of life, though some say I've squandered my years.
For much that is fine has been mine to enjoy, and I think I have lived to my best,
And I have no regret, as I'm nearing the end, for the gold that I might have possessed.

---

A Song of Thanks - by Edward Smyth Jones (©1922)

FOR the sun that shone at the dawn of spring,
For the flowers which bloom and the birds that sing,
For the verdant robe of the gray old earth,
For her coffers filled with their countless worth,
For the flocks which feed on a thousand hills,
For the rippling streams which turn the mills,
For the lowing herds in the lovely vale,
For the songs of gladness on the gale,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

For the farmer reaping his whitened fields,
For the bounty which the rich soil yields,
For the cooling dews and refreshing rains,
For the sun which ripens the golden grains,
For the bearded wheat and the fattened swine,
For the stalled ox and the fruitful vine,
For the tubers large and cotton white,
For the kid and the lambkin frisk and blithe,
For the swan which floats near the river-banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks

For the pumpkin sweet and the yellow yam,
For the corn and beans and the sugared ham,
For the plum and the peach and the apple red,
For the dear old press where the wine is tread,
For the cock which crows at the breaking dawn,
And the proud old “turk” of the farmer’s barn,
For the fish which swim in the babbling brooks,
For the game which hide in the shady nooks,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

For the sturdy oaks and the stately pines,
For the lead and the coal from the deep,
dark mines, For the silver ores of a thousand fold,
For the diamond bright and the yellow gold,
For the river boat and the flying train,
For the fleecy sail of the rolling main,
For the velvet sponge and the glossy pearl,
For the flag of peace which we now unfurl,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

For the lowly cot and the mansion fair,
For the peace and plenty together share,
For the Hand which guides us from above,
For Thy tender mercies, abiding love,
For the blessed home with its children gay,
For returnings of Thanksgiving Day,
For the bearing toils and the sharing cares,
We lift up our hearts in our songs and our prayers,—
From the Gulf and the Lakes to the Oceans’ banks,—
Lord God of Hosts, we give Thee thanks!

Two DNA Circles or a Venn Diagram?

Ancestry updated their DNA interface by eliminating a large number of false positive matches, and adding a new feature called DNA Circles.

You can read more here and here on Ancestry’s Blog

With some initial reviews at

• The Legal Genealogist 
• Genea-Musings 
• The Genetic Genealogist

What are DNA circles? According to Ancestry:

Ancestry told me that I am part of two DNA Circles
One has 8 descendants of Israel Swayze, Jr
One has 5 descendants of Abigail (Coleman) Swayze

Ancestry calculates the likelihood of the members in the circle sharing the same shared ancestor: Strong, Good, Some, Emerging or Weak. In all of my cases, they're 'Emerging.' This suggests to me that we're all in these circles based mostly on our Family Trees, and less on our DNA, or else it would probably be stronger. However, their description of DNA circles above states all members must share some DNA with at least one other member of the circle. 

Israel and Abigail were husband and wife, and I am unaware of any other spouse for either of them.

All five matches in Abigail's circle are in Israel's circle.
According to our Online Trees, my most recent common ancestor for the three in Israel's Circle that aren't in Abigail's is actually Israel and Abigail's daughter, Johanna Swayze.

I have no clue why these two circles aren't identical - or how Ancestry would be able to distinguish whether particular DNA for anyone in these two circles was from Israel or Abigail, since we all, if the research that went into our online trees is accurate for all of us, are descendants of both of them -- unless Ancestry had information about DNA circles involving other Swayzes or Colemans. If this is the case, I would like to know this information.

Another conundrum is that a known second cousin, a descendant of Melvin Elijah Van Every through a different daughter, isn't in either of these circles, even though her tree is public. I wonder if this implies she doesn't share any of the Swayze-Coleman DNA. Perhaps she does have DNA from Israel and Abigail, but it's not the same DNA that the eight in these circles inherited.