The mystery of 16-year-old double murder in Sweden was solved last year using data from genealogy websites, a method first used to identify and capture the “Golden State Killer” in 2018. Detailing the case in a new study, scientists in Sweden say it’s the first time this technology has been used to catch a murderer outside the US.

On October 19, 2004, an eight-year-old boy was stabbed to death while walking to school in the city of Linköping in southern Sweden. The attacker then turned on a 56-year-old woman who had just left her home and witnessed the event, stabbing her several times and leaving her for dead. The attacker fled the scene but left behind a knitted cap and the butterfly knife he used to kill the victims. Although traces of the murder’s DNA had been traced on the weapon, detectives ran out of leads and the investigation dried up.

Swedish police then became aware of the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo – the so-called “Golden State Killer” – using genetic information from the commercial genealogy website GEDmatch. In this notorious case, police compared genetic material left at the crime scene to the DNA of people who voluntarily submitted their gene information to public genealogy databases to trace their own family tree. This was able to identify a number of DeAngelo’s family members, eventually leading them to DeAngelo himself. After following the suspect, they then picked up an unidentified object he discarded to obtain his DNA, which then linked him to a number of the crimes. The novel method proved to be a remarkable success; DeAngelo will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Intrigued by the story, Swedish police asked higher authorities whether they could solve the Linköping murders using this DNA-based genealogy method in a pilot study. They eventually got the green light in 2019, and a new investigation got underway.

Sifting through data on the platforms GEDmatch and FamilyTree, investigators found a number of distant relatives to the DNA picked up from the crime scene. A further investigation used this lead to identify two prime suspects: two brothers. More snooping revealed one of the brothers had a direct match to the crime scene DNA, affirming his guilt.

You can read all the details in an article at https://www.fsigenetics.com/article/S1872-4973(21)00063-6/fulltext

The following announcement was written by the Genealogical Forum of Oregon:

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon has hit major milestones during its 75th anniversary year. The GFO now has:

• • Uploaded a quarter million digital pages and made them available to members in the
  • GFO website’s MemberSpace
  • Provided 503 lookups for members during the pandemic library closure
  • Hosted 253 online classes and meetings

The GFO has added 258,211 digital pages to its online library since December 24, 2020.

Thousands more are uploaded every week. Volunteers scan documents, use software to make printed text word searchable, name and organize the files, and upload them to the website. These include Oregon birth, death, and marriage records; genealogical journals; manuscript  collections; and dozens of eBooks that provide cemetery records, pioneer registers, vital records indexes, and

much, much more.

The public can get a glimpse of what is available here:  https://gfo.org/resources/memberspaceresources.html

These resources will remain available to members in the GFO’s MemberSpace, even after the library reopens for research in a few weeks. Lookups for members who cannot visit the library will continue as well. All special interest groups, seminars, workshops and board meetings will continue to be held online.

The world is digital and the GFO has embraced this new reality.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

I am writing this article while seated at a desk in my home. I am staring at a large monitor on the desk and typing these words on a keyboard that sits on that desk. The keyboard is connected to a boxy-looking computer on my desk. This is how I use a computer most of the time. It is the same method that I used 37 years ago, in 1984.

This is modern technology?

Of course, I do also use a laptop computer, and that has changed things somewhat. Nonetheless, the laptop is merely a miniaturized copy of a desktop computer, and I use it in more or less the same manner as the desktop, except that I am not chained to the desk at home. I can use it in different locations, but the way I use it remains the same as what I was doing in 1984.

Admittedly, I also have a small tablet computer. In my case, it is an Android device but it also could be an Apple iOS tablet. My cell phone is a “smartphone,” meaning it is really a handheld computer that happens to make phone calls and it takes photographs. I even have a digital wristwatch that connects to the Internet via wireless technology and retrieves information, records my exercise, and performs other (limited) computing tasks. However, I don’t use any of these smaller devices for my writing and also do less of my genealogy work on these portable devices simply because of the constraints of the smaller screen sizes and the on-screen “keyboards.” Instead, I use desktop and laptop systems for my “serious computing.”

The hardware has changed dramatically in the past 37 years, but the method by which I use a computer remains the same: I sit in a chair and type on the keyboard and stare at a monitor.

All this is been changing for some years and now desktop computers are dropping in popularity. Sales of laptops has outnumbered the sales of desktops for the past several years. New devices, such as the Apple iPad and other tablet computers, Kindles, the various smartphones, and other portable computing devices threaten to change the way we use computers.

The desktop is dying.

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/10570804.

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.

The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Delve into thousands of new British parish records this Findmypast Friday.

Middlesex Baptisms

Findmypast have added thousands of new records to this collection. Will you unlock a new family connection?

The latest additions cover the parishes of:

• • Ealing from 1802-1812
  • Harrow from 1841-1876
  • Hayes from 1557-1812
  • Hillingdon from 1559-1876

Baptism records are some of the most important resources for every family tree. They reveal essential details like addresses, baptism and birth dates and parents' names. 

Carmarthenshire Parish Records

Privacy rules have Findmypast to expand this Welsh collection with baptisms from 1921 and marriages from 1936.

Each record comprises a transcript and black and white image of the original register. The amount of information listed may vary but, along with essential dates and locations, most records will enable you to discover the names of your ancestor’s parents and spouse.

Newspapers

In case you missed the news, Findmypast have renewed their long-term partnership with the British Library, so you can expect millions more historical newspaper pages to be published online in the coming years.

Hot off the press this week are:

• • Kirriemuir Observer and General Advertiser covering 1884-1885 and 1915-1949
  • London and China Express covering 1858-1861, 1863-1905, 1907-1919 and 1923-1931
  • Saturday Inverness Advertiser covering 1860-1879 and 1881-1882
  • Teviotdale Record and Jedburgh Advertiser covering 1855-1872, 1874-1878, 1881 and 1885-1910
  • Weekly Free Press and Aberdeen Herald covering 1879-1881, 1883-1884, 1887-1888, 1890 and 1892

While thousands of new pages have been added to:

• • Blackpool Gazette & Herald from 1894
  • Glasgow Weekly Mail covering 1869
  • Halifax Comet from 1896-1897
  • Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser from 1837
  • Northern Daily Times from 1855
  • Sun (London) from 1843
  • Weekly Journal (Hartlepool) from 1905-1906 and 1909
  • West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser from 1965-1982

The following announcement was written by TheGenealogist:

TheGenealogist has just added a marvellous new feature which makes its Map Explorer™ resource even more appealing for family historians.

Image Archive pictures located on georeferenced old and modern maps using the Map Explorer™

Already boasting georeferenced historical and modern maps, Tithe Records and Maps to look for your Victorian ancestors’ homes, Lloyd George Domesday Records and Maps for nearly one million individuals, Headstones and War memorials, the mapping interface now also allows TheGenealogist’s Diamond subscribers the ability to also see what their ancestors’ towns and areas in the U.K. once looked like. With the addition of these period photographs of street scenes and parish churches where researchers' ancestors may have been baptised, married and buried, this new feature allows subscribers to jump back in time.

This release sees the ever-multiplying collection of historical photographs from TheGenealogist’s Image Archive accessible for the first time from inside Map Explorer™ as a recordset layer. The various images for an area have their locations pinpointed on the maps allowing family historians to explore their ancestors’ hometowns and other landmarks from around their area.

When viewing an Image Archive record in TheGenealogist’s Map Explorer™, the family history researcher is shown the image’s location on the map as well as from what point of view the photographer took the photo. Also included underneath the historical image is a modern map and street view (where it's available) so that the person researching their past family’s area is able to compare the picture from the past with how the area looks today. When used in conjunction with the other georeferenced maps and associated records, TheGenealogist’s Map Explorer™ is a highly valuable tool for those researching their family history.

See the photo location, the photographer position, plus a modern map and street view (where available) enabling a comparison to be made of the image and how the area looks today

Watch this short video to learn more about this great new feature: https://youtu.be/Mt5f-mAyJ5Q

You can read more and see examples in the article: Images from ancestors’ hometowns on Map Explorer™ allows us to “see” where they lived through their own eyes.

https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2021/images-from-ancestors-hometowns-on-map-explorer-allows-us-to-see-where-they-lived-through-their-own-eyes-1416/

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, which puts a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections.

TheGenealogist innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations, Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

I recently received an e-mail from someone who has the same last name as my own. She had searched the web and found that I often write about genealogy and occasionally about coats of arms and crests. She sent me an e-mail that said (in part), "I am looking for a copy of the Eastman family crest because my son would like to have one."

She and I exchanged a couple of emails, and I explained that there is no such thing as a family crest. Each person has to apply for permission to display his or her own crest and is not authorized to share it with others. In my message, I used the word "crest" but didn't mention "coat of arms."

She then she wrote back, "If there is no family crest, do you have a coat of arms for the Eastman name? If you do, could I please have a copy of it for my son? He wants to have it for a tattoo he is going to have put on his back."

A tattoo? Gasp!

He wants to have a tattoo of something that isn't his? I'd suggest that the son think long and hard about the wisdom of doing that.

I have written several articles about the "propriety" of displaying coats of arms or family crests when you do not have written permission from the heralds to do so. (Heralds are the people who issue crests and coats of arms.) Many other people have written similar articles.

I won't repeat all the information here. Instead, I will suggest that, if you have an interest in the subject, you should read some of the following articles now before doing anything that is difficult to reverse:

Misconceptions About Family Coats of Arms -  https://www.thoughtco.com/family-coats-of-arms-1422009

Family Coats of arms, Crests and other such misconceptions -  http://www.naught.org/coa.html

Fancy your own coat of arms? -  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/659526.stm

The above is an incomplete list; a search on Google or other search engines will find many more, similar articles. The National Genealogy Society's Consumer Protection Committee also provides additional information about the shoddy businesses that create and sell coats of arms.

I wonder if my correspondent's son is still interested in the tattoo.

The R.38/ZR-2 exploded mid-flight in front of onlookers in Hull, Yorkshire, England on 24 August 1921, before crashing into the River Humber, killing most of the crew.

The airship, called the "Titanic of the skies", was on a test flight before being handed over to the US Navy.

Historic England wants to create an online archive about the disaster.

The 695ft long (212m) airship was built at Cardington, Bedfordshire, but was based at Howden, East Yorkshire, to complete its test flights. It was due to fly to Pulham in Norfolk ahead of a final handover to the US, but it had to return due to bad weather. Last checks on its steering caused the light structure of the airship to break apart.

In total, 44 of the 49 British-American crew died in the resulting catastrophe.

It was designed to be the first of four ships that could patrol far out to sea for up to a week at a time, to combat the German U-boat threat.

44 of the men pictured above died in the crash

Ahead of the anniversary, Historic England has commissioned a crowdsourcing project to create an online archive of materials relating to the disaster.

Keith Emerick, from Historic England, said: "Like the Titanic, the R.38/ZR-2 was the most advanced of its kind at the time. It was larger, faster and could fly higher than any of its predecessors."

You can read more in an article in the BBC News web site at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-humber-57260147.

MyHeritage is continuing the company's addition of enhancement of old, damaged, scratched, and otherwise damaged photos.  This thing is close to magic!

The following announcement was written by MyHeritage:

New AI-based feature reinforces MyHeritage’s position as the market leader for storing and improving historical photos

TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MyHeritage, the leading global service for discovering your past and empowering your future, announced today the release of Photo Repair, a powerful new feature that automatically fixes scratches, tears, holes, stains, and other damage on historical photos. Photo Repair takes photos that have deteriorated over the years and corrects the damage, making flaws disappear as if by magic. MyHeritage is the only company to offer a complete suite of features for colorizing, enhancing, animating, and now repairing historical photos, all of which produce exceptional results. Photo Repair is effortless and immediate: it is suggested only when it is needed, and is activated by the user with a single click.

“We share their commitment to cultivating a renewed appreciation for our ancestors through historical photos, and have dedicated ourselves to developing and perfecting technologies for enhancing photos. Thanks to these technologies, priceless memories no longer have a shelf life.”

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The technology for repairing scratched and damaged photos was licensed by MyHeritage exclusively from DeOldify, created by deep learning experts Jason Antic and Dana Kelley. Photo Repair is one of several technologies that have been licensed from DeOldify and integrated into the MyHeritage platform. Antic and Kelley developed the technology behind the company’s first AI-based photo feature, MyHeritage In Color™, which uses deep learning to colorize black and white photos and to restore the colors in photos that have faded over time.

MyHeritage offers a comprehensive toolbox for historical photos, from digitizing and preserving photos stored in albums to breathing new life into photos by repairing damage, improving resolution, infusing color, and animating the faces of beloved ancestors. The tools also include Deep Nostalgia™, a groundbreaking feature for animating photos that was licensed from D-ID, became an internet sensation, and has been used 82 million times since its launch three months ago; and the MyHeritage Photo Enhancer, which brings blurry faces into focus.

“Powered by five cutting-edge AI technologies, MyHeritage has established itself as the world’s top destination for storing and improving historical photos, and the new Photo Repair feature is an important addition to our toolbox,” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Scratches and other damage often characterize one’s oldest and most cherished photos. If you have a rare photo of your great-grandparents, it is likely to be damaged, and you will be delighted when you see how MyHeritage repairs it instantly before your very eyes. On MyHeritage, precious family memories can now be effortlessly restored and preserved for posterity.”

“We are excited to partner with MyHeritage once again to bring Photo Repair technology to the world,” said Dana Kelley, co-founder of DeOldify. “We share their commitment to cultivating a renewed appreciation for our ancestors through historical photos, and have dedicated ourselves to developing and perfecting technologies for enhancing photos. Thanks to these technologies, priceless memories no longer have a shelf life.”

Integration into the MyHeritage platform

MyHeritage is the go-to platform for exploring family history, offering a one-stop-shop for building family trees, researching one’s ancestors, and storing and improving historical photos.

Photo Repair is available on the MyHeritage website and the free MyHeritage mobile app for iOS and Android. Repaired photos can be downloaded and shared with family and friends on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and other social media. Repaired photos that were also colorized or enhanced can be shared directly from the mobile app and the Photos section of the website. In the very near future, a dedicated page will be added to the MyHeritage website, allowing anyone to access Photo Repair without having a prior MyHeritage account.

When a photo is uploaded to MyHeritage, a specialized detection algorithm runs in the background and determines if it has sustained damage. If so, a Repair button will appear, ensuring that users will not waste time attempting to repair photos that don’t need it. Photos may be repaired effortlessly with a single click, and the process takes only a few seconds. The default repair model, named Gentle Repair, will fix most types of damage with minimal changes to the rest of the photo. For photos with more substantial damage, an Extensive Repair model can be applied.

As with all MyHeritage photo features, repairing photos does not modify the original photo; a new, improved version is created and saved alongside the original photo, which remains intact.

Photo Repair is a freemium feature on MyHeritage. Users can repair several photos for free. Beyond that, continued use requires a subscription.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the leading global discovery platform for exploring family history. With billions of historical records and family tree profiles, and with sophisticated matching technologies that work across all its assets, MyHeritage allows users to discover their past and empower their future. MyHeritage DNA is one of the world’s largest consumer DNA databases, with 5 million customers. MyHeritage is the most popular DNA test and family history service in Europe. Since 2020, MyHeritage is home to the world’s most advanced AI technologies for animating, repairing, enhancing, and colorizing historical photos. www.myheritage.com

Also, watch the YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0u6O5Z71RU.

Photo Repair is extremely easy to use. Simply upload a scratched or damaged photo to MyHeritage.com, and if we detect damage, we will suggest that you apply Photo Repair by displaying a Repair button. If you choose to use it, with a single click, the scratches and damage in the photo will disappear like magic!

An article by James Fleury and published in the newshub.co.nz web site should be required reading by genealogists who have had their DNA tested by any of the DNA testing companies. In short, it says to don't believe what they tell you.

Perhaps a longer and more accurate answer is to always read the fine print that accompanies the test results and consider what it tells you. Unfortunately, many test recipients don't do that.

Amongst other things, the article advises:

University of Otago professor of biological anthropology Lisa Matisoo-Smith told me these autosomal DNA ancestry tests can be "misleading" for people as she claimed there are no biological markers that can assign people to any specific population with anything even close to 100 percent accuracy.

She said while the DNA markers are real and there is a chance, given a combination of specific markers that someone's ancestry is from a particular region, there is no way of being 100 percent certain the markers are specific to that area and claimed it is unlikely they are at all.

Matisoo-Smith said this is because the companies providing these tests have identified what they call "ancestry specific markers" and while they call these markers "specific" they are only found at a higher frequency in particular ethnic groups or regions.

There is a lot more details listed in the article, however. You can read it for yourself at: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/opinion/2021/05/dna-ancestry-tests-are-they-telling-the-truth-that-s-questionable-genetic-anthropologist.html.