1 February 2007 LostCousins Newsletter
Newsletter - February 2007
CONTENTS
* Could your ancestors be cloned?
* Key articles now at LostCousins site
* First 1911 Census information online
* Have you signed the petition?
* Missouri death certificates - free online
* Winners
* Irish census - exclusive news
* Free help with your research
To visit the main LostCousins site please go to www.LostCousins.com
We're delighted to announce that you can now find 'lost cousins' using the US 1880 Census as well as the 1881 Censuses of Britain and Canada.
All of the censuses we use to identify your 'lost cousins' can be found at the free FamilySearch site (with the exception of Scotland 1881).
Did you know that there are more people of British ancestry living in the US than there are living in Britain? This means that adding the US census is good news for our British members as well as for our American members.
It's just one more reason to pass on the good news about LostCousins.....
To log-in at LostCousins go to: http://www.LostCousins.com
Your user name is your email address.
If you don't know your password you can request an instant email reminder by clicking the link below:
http://www.lostcousins.com/pages/login/forgotten.mhtml
COULD YOUR ANCESTORS BE CLONED?
In Connecticut the company 454 Life Sciences is trying to reconstruct Neanderthal DNA from fossil remains that are tens of thousands of years old, and some people believe that it might one day be possible to clone a Neanderthal (rather like Jurassic Park).
Whilst this is a very remote possibility, it appears that it would be much easier to clone a human being using remains that were only a few hundred years old. How would you feel if scientists proposed to clone one of your ancestors?
KEY ARTICLES NOW AT LOSTCOUSINS SITE
We've decided to make the most popular articles from our newsletters available online, starting with articles on the International Genealogical Index and 'Searching the Census'.
At the moment they are only accessible by direct links (see below) but we will be adding an online menu in the near future.
http://www.lostcousins.com/searching_the_census.htm
http://www.lostcousins.com/igi.htm
FIRST 1911 CENSUS INFORMATION REVEALED
Two generous individuals have made data from the 1911 England & Wales Census available online for all to see. To find out more visit:
It is anticipated that the full census will be online in 2009, 3 years earlier than originally planned. Until then data can only be obtained by making a request under the Freedom of Information Act; there is a standard fee of 45 pounds per household.
In our last newsletter we mentioned the e-petition that seeks to reduce the number of years before the release of British census information from 100 years to 70. Without a change in the law the 1921 Census won't be available until 2022.
Indeed, because the 1931 Census was destroyed in World War 2, and no census was taken in 1941, the next census after that would be the 1951 Census in 2052! If the law is changed we could see the 1951 Census in 15 years' time rather than 45.
Within days of our newsletter going out the number of signatories more than doubled, and the total is now over 15,000 - but it's clear from these figures that so far only a fraction of LostCousins members have signed.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/CensusInfoFreed/
Note: you do need to be a UK resident or citizen to sign the petition.
MISSOURI DEATH CERTIFICATES - FREE ONLINE
You can search the death indexes for Missouri from 1910-1956, and for most entries you can view the certificate online - completely free of charge!
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/
Do you know of similar resources in other states? If so please email info@LostCousins.com so that we can include the information in a future newsletter.
A reader of New Scientist recently wrote to the magazine pointing out that, because the number of ancestors doubles with every generation (2 parents, 4 grandparents and so on), 40 generations ago he had more ancestors than there were people in the world.
A number of other readers, some of them LostCousins members, wrote in to explain that the actual number of ancestors would have been far less, because of marriages between cousins - and inspired us to do some research.
Most family trees have first or second cousins who married, so we were surprised to discover that between 1550-1917 marriages between first, second, or third cousins were forbidden by the Roman Catholic church (although dispensations could be obtained).
During the 19th century there was a vigorous debate on both sides of the Atlantic as to the biological effects of marriages between cousins, and in the US first cousin marriages were banned in a majority of states.
In Britain Charles Darwin, who had married his own first cousin, was involved in the debate, and he unsuccessfully put forward a suggestion that the 1871 Census of Britain and Ireland should enquire about marriages between first cousins.
His son George then carried out research into first cousin marriages which found no association between consanguinity and insanity or idiocy, as some had alleged - though as the product of such a marriage he was hardly an unbiased observer!
Today first cousin marriages are legal under civil law in the UK, but illegal in 24 US states - and an unsuccessful attempt was made to outlaw such marriages in Maryland just 6 years ago.
Thanks to everyone who took part in our challenge to attract new members to LostCousins.
All of those who succeeded in have been upgraded to subscriber status for 3 months (February, March and April); those who were already subscribers have had their existing subscription extended by 3 months.
A year ago we reported on a ground-breaking collaboration between the National Archives of Ireland and Library and Archives Canada to put the 1901 and 1911 Censuses of Ireland online - and make them available free of charge!
At that time it was anticipated that the first data would be online before the end of 2006 - but nothing has appeared, and there have been no further announcements, and so we decided to find out what's happening.
The good news is that the project is still going ahead, and the Dublin census data from 1911 will be made available online later this year, probably between July and October.
All members of LostCousins are entitled to free research help and advice. All that we ask is that, before asking us for help, you enter on your My Ancestors page the relatives that you are able to find on the 1880 and 1881 Censuses.
We've got a great team of 'buddies' waiting to help, and we'll do our best to help you with any research problems in Britain and Canada.
In the US we're currently only able to help you find relatives who are proving difficult to locate in the 1880 Census - but we'll introduce a full research service as soon as we are able.
To request help email info@LostCousins.com with 'Help wanted' as the subject. Please include all relevant information, but don't send attachments unless specifically requested.
The LostCousins Team
http://www.LostCousins.com
info@LostCousins.com
© Copyright 2007 Peter Calver & Lost Cousins Ltd
Please do NOT copy or republish any part of this newsletter without permission - which is only granted in the most exceptional circumstances. However, you MAY link to this newsletter or any article in it without asking for permission - though why not invite other family historians to join LostCousins instead, since standard membership (which includes the newsletter), is FREE?