Genealogy

Genealogy (from Greek: γενεά genea, "generation"; and λόγος logos, "knowledge"), also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives.

The pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motivations, including the desire to carve out a place for one's family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.

Overview

Hobbyist genealogists typically pursue their own ancestry and that of their spouses. Professional genealogists may also conduct research for others, publish books on genealogical methods, teach, or produce their own databases. They may work for companies that provide software or produce materials of use to hobbyist and other professional genealogists. Both try to understand not just where and when people lived, but also their lifestyles, biographies, and motivations. This often requires—or leads to—knowledge of antiquated laws, old political boundaries, migration trends, and historical socioeconomic or religious conditions.

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funded company acquired by Google in 2004 (see In-Q-Tel). It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and geographic information system (GIS) onto a 3D globe. It was originally available with three different licenses, but has since been reduced to just two: Google Earth (a free version with limited function) and Google Earth Pro, which is now free (it previously cost $399 a year) and is intended for commercial use. The third original option, Google Earth Plus, has been discontinued.

The product, re-released as Google Earth in 2005, is available for use on personal computers running Windows 2000 and above, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above, Linux kernel: 2.6 or later (released on June 12, 2006), and FreeBSD. Google Earth is also available as a browser plugin which was released on May 28, 2008. It was also made available for mobile viewers on the iPhone OS on October 28, 2008, as a free download from the App Store, and is available to Android users as a free app in the Google Play store. In addition to releasing an updated Keyhole based client, Google also added the imagery from the Earth database to their web-based mapping software, Google Maps. The release of Google Earth in June 2005 to the public caused a more than tenfold increase in media coverage on virtual globes between 2004 and 2005, driving public interest in geospatial technologies and applications. As of October 2011, Google Earth has been downloaded more than a billion times.

CeCe Moore

CeCe Moore (born 1969) is a genetic genealogist who has appeared on TV shows such as Finding Your Roots, 20/20, The Doctors, and CBS This Morning and is the genetic genealogy consultant for Genealogy Roadshow and Finding Your Roots. Moore was the genetic genealogist who worked with the Branum family on the Thomas Ray Lippert/University of Utah artificial insemination sperm swap case, discovered the true identity of the man raised as Paul Fronczak and led the team that uncovered the identity of the amnesiac Benjaman Kyle. The birth parents of California foundling Kayla Tovo were also identified through Moore's work.

As a result of discovering that her brother-in-law is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings after a 23andMe test revealed unexpected African ancestry, Moore founded the Hemings/Jefferson Autosomal DNA Project. Moore helped Benjaman Kyle find his true identity and family.

References

National archives

National archives are the archives of a nation-state. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention.

Conceptual development

From the Middle Ages into the Early Modern period archives generated by royal and clerical institutions retained proofs of political and genealogical claims as a "bastion of authenticity." The emerging Enlightenment concept of studying history as a science rather than as literature was influenced by Leopold von Ranke and brought archives into the limelight of serious historical study. In the late 18th Century, the storage of old records was divided. Business records in the archives courantes went the way of records management while documents of cultural import in the archives historiques formed the core of Western-conceived archives. As the popularity of archives increased as a function of substantiating historical narratives, national archives were purposed towards telling their respective nation's story. For example, the National Historical Archive of Spain as created excluded contemporary records in favor of documenting defunct institutions as a matter of national heritage. Historian Nicholas Dirks has said that national archives are the "primary site of state monumentality."