Our spring releases feature works on the intersection of genetics and genealogy, the Revolutionary War, runaway servants, and Scottish emigration—all of them by repeat authors. DNA has become the hottest aspect of American genealogy. Accordingly expert geneticist-genealogist Angie Bush has revised her popular research aid, “Genetic Genealogy Basics.” Potentially just as popular, Jack Crowder has added a third volume to his books on the American Revolution, Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events That Happened during the Revolutionary War.
“Much Addicted to Drinking and Swearing,” White New Jersey Runaways . . . . 1767-1783, marks Joseph Lee Boyle’s second and concluding book on New Jersey runaways. Finally, the indefatigable Dr. David Dobson has compiled two new books covering: Scottish emigrants to the Windward Islands, and Scottish people of Moray, Banff, and Nairn. Please read on for details.
Genealogy at a Glance: Genetic Genealogy Basics. New Second Edition
By Angie Bush
DNA testing for genealogical purposes has become increasingly popular: As of this writing, nearly 20 million people have had testing to uncover additional information about their heritage, approximately 17 million more than had been tested when the first edition of this guide was published three years ago. DNA testing is not the final word in determining your ancestry, but it is extremely helpful. It is most effective when it’s used to confirm that documentation concerning your family relationships is accurate. It is also used to test hypotheses about ancestors for whom little or no documentary evidence exists. Equally important, DNA testing can be used as “cousin bait” to identify previously unknown cousins who may be able to add information to your genealogical research and/or confirm your ancestral connections. DNA test results give you crucial information about where your most ancient ancestor originated and his ethnicity.
The new Second Edition of this handy four-page guide has been completely revised, reflecting all the changes and advances in DNA testing since the first edition was written. Author Angie Bush continues to give the straightforward facts about (a) DNA testing, (b) DNA testing results, and (c) DNA testing companies. She includes a description of the three types of DNA tests: Y-DNA; mtDNA; and atDNA, or autosomal DNA, the most popular type of testing for genealogists. Also provided are a series of tips for getting the most from your DNA testing.
Perhaps most helpful, the section on testing companies has been completely rewritten and expanded. Two additional companies–MyHeritageDNA and LivingDNA/Findmypast–have been added to the three described in the original guide: AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and FamilyTreeDNA. Each of the testing companies has different tools and subscribers, although there is some overlap between them. The five companies featured were chosen because they all provide a list of “genetic cousin” matches, which is essential for genealogical research.
Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events That Happened during the Revolutionary War
By Jack Crowder
Jack Crowder’s third new book on the American Revolution is now available. Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events That Happened during the Revolutionary War may be Crowder’s most interesting one yet. It’s full of unusual or little known aspects of the conflict, such as the reason that future General Nathaniel Greene was compelled to enlist as a private, an early instance of “trash talking,” and who and why someone tore off most of the roof of Harvard Hall during the war. Do you know who the teenager Christopher Seider was or why his death pre-figured the famous “Boston Massacre”? Can you name the first Native American to serve in the Patriot Cause? You will find out if you get a copy of Strange, Amazing, and Funny Events That Happened during the Revolutionary War. It will intrigue you and your friends, and it has the makings of a great coffee table book as well.L
“Much Addicted to Drinking and Swearing,” White New Jersey Runaways . . . . 1767-1783
By Joseph Lee Boyle
Author Joseph Lee Boyle, who has written multiple volumes that identify colonial era runaway servants for Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, now presents his second and concluding book for New Jersey. Mr. Boyle’s earlier New Jersey volume covered the period 1720-1766.
Mr. Boyle assembled this list of New Jersey runaways, for the period 1767-1783, from The New-Jersey Gazette and 40 other papers published from New England south through Maryland. Among them are the Boston Gazette, The Connecticut Gazette, The New York Chronicle, The Pennsylvania Evening Post, The Maryland Gazette, and the Philadelphia German-language periodical Der Wochentliche Pennsyvlanische Staatsbote. Although we will never know precisely how many New Jersey indentured servants and other runaways fled their masters, Mr. Boyle has transcribed over a thousand ads for missing persons, referencing more than 3,000 persons with New Jersey connections.
THE PEOPLE OF MORAY, BANFF, AND NAIRN, 1700-1799
By Dr. David Dobson
Moray lies between the Moray Firth and the Grampian mountains, and is comprised of a fertile coastal plain with river valleys, such as the Spey. By the early modern period the main settlements and burghs in Moray were Forres, Nairn, Auldearn, Findhorn, Spynie, and especially Elgin. The major families or clans in the district included Gordons, Grants, Innes, Dunbar, Rose, Leslie, Fordyce, Brodie, Geddes, and Ogilvie.
Moray’s economy was based on agriculture, fishing, and trade. Vessels traded from the ports of Moray to Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Netherlands, England, and on occasion to the Americas. These trading links facilitated emigration. The roughly 1,200 Moray inhabitants identified here may be the antecedents of persons living in those countries today. Dr. Dobson identifies each of them by name, occupation, a date and the source, and sometimes with the name(s) of family members, vessels, and other details.
THE PEOPLE OF THE WINDWARD ISLAND, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, AND CURACAO, 1620-1860
By Dr. David Dobson
The Windward Islands form part of the Lesser Antilles, which stretch from Puerto Rico to the fringes of Venezuela. Since the seventeenth century these islands attracted immigrants from Europe, initially from Spain but soon also from the British Isles, France, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. The Windward Islands comprise of Guadaloupe, Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent, the Grenadines, Carriacou, Dominica, and Grenada. This volume covers 200 years of inhabitants of the Windward Islands, as well as those of Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, which lie close to the coast of Venezuela. In all, Dr. Dobson identifies over 2,000 inhabitants of these islands between the years 1620-1860. For each of them by we are given a name, occupation, a date and the source, and sometimes the name(s) of family members, additional dates ( marriage, death, etc.) vessels traveled upon, and other details.