From an article by Jo Marchant and published in the Smithsonian Magazine:

Proteins left behind on historic artifacts are revealing centuries-old secrets

One rainy morning in May, a Romanian archivist named Tudor Arhire retrieved a brown envelope from a wooden filing cabinet, slid out a small, yellowed page and placed it carefully on the table. Arhire is the custodian of a government archive in Sibiu, Romania, a medieval city in the region of Transylvania. Inside the grand, historic building, elegant windows and parquet floors contrasted with yellowed lace curtains and battered upholstery; on a desk in the corner, a pile of books and parchments spanned hundreds of years. The document he produced was a letter, more than 500 years old. Despite the ancient creases and stains, its nine lines of flowing Latin script, translated long ago, were clearly legible. But nobody here was intending to read it. Instead, two visitors, a married couple named Gleb and Svetlana Zilberstein, waited eagerly with latex gloves and plastic tubes.

The letter is one of the archive’s most precious possessions. Dated August 4, 1475, it was written to the burghers of Sibiu by a man describing himself as “prince of the Transalpine regions.” He informed the townspeople that he would soon be taking up residence among them. He signed with a name sure to strike fear into their hearts: Vlad Dracula.

The Zilbersteins were interested not in the words on the page, however, but something else—physical remnants of the prince himself, including molecule fragments from his sweat, saliva and tears. Their work harnesses breathtaking advances in a field known as proteomics, which seeks to understand the interaction of proteins within living cells and organisms. Proteins have long been studied in the context of biology and medicine, but spectacularly sensitive analytical techniques now allow researchers to use protein traces to gather intimate information from materials that were once primarily the domain of historians and archaeologists, opening a new window onto the past. The project is part of a scientific revolution that is profoundly expanding the type of information that can be gleaned from historical texts and artifacts, from X-ray and CT scanning to carbon dating and genetic sequencing.

Already, DNA is used to identify individuals from biological remains and reveal large-scale relationships, from family trees to evolutionary timelines. But DNA remains constant throughout a person’s life, and it degrades badly over time. Which is why researchers are also interested in proteins, the molecules DNA encodes and that do most of the work inside our cells. If DNA keeps a static record of our ancestry, proteins, which metabolize our food, store and transport resources, and carry messages from one place to another, provide a running commentary on our health and habits. They leave evidence of our diets, our illnesses, the drugs we use, even our cause of death. And they are left behind on everything we touch.

I found this to be a fascinating article. You can read all of it at: https://tinyurl.com/s3hbzw2a.

Could this be used on documents left behind by one of our ancestors?

A searchable database of over 1,000 people from Co Donegal who died as a result of World War 1 has been launched by Donegal County Museum

The database was compiled as part of Donegal County Council's Decade of Centenaries Commemorative Programme and contains information on each known person from the county who died as a result of WW1.

Entries include the person's name, service number and place of birth, as well as additional information researched by Donegal County Museum staff.

Assistant Curator at the museum Caroline Carr said the database is a work in progress with further information, including more photographs, yet to be uploaded.

There are 1,148 names included so far, but Ms Carr said that the database is designed to be updated as new information is uncovered and she said they welcome anyone with new information to contact the museum in Letterkenny.

You can read more in an article written by Eileen Magnier and published in the RTÉ web site at: https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2022/1109/1335137-donegal-database/.

This is a follow-up to the message I posted yesterday: "I May Be Off-line For a While (Again)."

In case anyone is interested:

Hurricane Nicole arrived and has mostly departed this morning. It is still  raining lightly and the wind is gusting to perhaps 30 or 40 miles per hour. But the storm is winding down.

It was a rather wild night. I woke up a couple of times and checked on things. I think the storm was stronger than what the weather forecasters had predicted. The wind noise was rather intense. However, I walked outdoors around the house this morning and everything looks fine. No damage to my property.

The lights flickered a couple of times but otherwise the power remained on.

My next-door neighbor has a young tree that was blown over. It is a new tree, only planted 2 or 3 months ago.  I haven't yet walked around the neighborhood but I don't see any other damage when looking out my windows.

OK, now I plan to go back to normal and resume a normal life.

I live in Florida. One of the risks of living here is the occasional hurricanes. We are looking at one right now.

As I write this, Hurricane Nicole is in the Atlantic Ocean, east of Florida. Unfortunately, it is headed this way and is expected to hit landfall this evening. 

Predicting the path of hurricanes is notoriously difficult to do, as hurricanes tend to "wobble" a bit, especially after moving over land. However, the weather forecasters are predicting that Hurricane Nicole will probably move directly over the town where I live or else over a nearby town during the night tonight.

This is "déjà vu." Hurricane Ian came through here a couple of months ago and caused widespread damage. (Luckily, my home escaped damage entirely.) The new hurricane, named Nicole, is following a very different path but it, too, is aimed directly where I live.

Hurricane Nicole is a rather low-level hurricane, only a shadow of the predecessor storm called Ian. Nicole barely has reached hurricane force winds (74 miles per hour or 119 km/h) and the weather forecasters expect it will be downgraded to a tropical storm (no longer a hurricane) shortly after it reaches landfall this evening. I doubt if this will cause any damage to my property.

However, power outages will probably be common during Hurricane Nicole. During the last hurricane (Hurricane Ian) I did not have commercial power for 12 hours. I suspect I will have the same problem this time, possibly for an even longer period of time.

I do have two Jackery power generators (the modern-day replacements for gasoline-powered generators) and also a gas stove so I should be able to run lights, appliances, and be able to cook food. In short, I think I should be well-prepared except for one item beyond my control: internet connectivity.

I may be offline for 12 hours or even for much longer (a few years ago, after a previous hurricane,  I was without power or internet connectivity for 8 days). 

So if you don't read anything new from me for a while, please do not be surprised. I am probably OK, probably well fed, and probably reading a book or something. But I may not be online.

The Society of Genealogists today announced that it had purchased Unit 2, 40 Wharf Road, London, N1 7GS. The Society had sold its previous premises at Charterhouse Buildings several years ago and finally vacated the site in October 2021, having packed up its immense holdings into storage temporarily. The organisation has been operating out of temporary offices in the old Jones Brothers Department Store on Holloway Road, with a retrieval system and visits which can be booked on Wednesdays. It has also continued to welcome its valued volunteer team to the site on Fridays. The new site will require a fit-out and it is estimated that the Society will re-open at the site in the Summer of 2023. 

Dr Wanda Wyporska, Chief Executive, Society of Genealogists, said:

“It’s been a long time coming, but we are delighted that it is third time lucky for the Society. It has been extremely difficult to find the right venue for all our needs, and this was the third attempt to purchase the right premises. I want to thank all our members, staff and volunteers for being so patient and for the support they have continued to give in so many areas. We very much look forward to welcoming everyone back to a new refreshed and revitalised Society in 2023. New premises are just one part of the ambitious transformation programme that we’ve been undertaking over the past eighteen months. 

“The Society also hopes to welcome partners in the genealogy community, academics, local, family and social historians through its doors. We are looking forward to holding another youth conference as well as a conference exploring African and Caribbean disaporas in September as part of the events marking Windrush 75. Our ambition is for this building to become a destination venue, where we shall hold exhibitions, conferences, courses and continue to promote genealogy and family history.”

The following announcement was written by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG):

“Their Mark Here: Signatures and Marks as Identifying Tools”
by Nicole Gilkison LaRue, CG  
Tuesday, November 15, 2022, 8:00 p.m. (EDT)

Marks and signatures can be highly effective tools when researchers are attempting to untangle the identities of our forebears. But how do you know whether the signature in front of you is original? Can you still use it as evidence in your case even if it’s not? These questions and more are answered by looking at the fundamental concepts of source and evidence analysis. Once you know how to evaluate your sources, we’ll go over a few records to look at when searching for those marks and signatures in your own research. And finally, we’ll look at some examples of published articles which incorporate the use of marks and signatures.

Nicole Gilkison LaRue, CG, is a full-time professional genealogist with articles in NGS Magazine and National Genealogical Quarterly (NGSQ). Nicole has served on the board of directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists and has presented at national conferences, in addition to teaching at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). Special interests include researching women, “brick-wall” obstacles, and paleography.

BCG’s next free monthly webinar in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree Webinars is “Their Mark Here: Signatures and Marks as Identifying Tools” Nicole Gilkison LaRue, CG.  This webinar airs Tuesday, November 15, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. EST.  

When you register before November 15 with our partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=6798) you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Anyone with schedule conflicts may access the webinar at no charge for one week after the broadcast on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

"We appreciate the opportunity to present these high-quality educational webinars," said President Faye Jenkins Stallings, CG. "At BCG, our purpose is to promote public confidence in genealogy by supporting uniform standards of competence. These webinars help to achieve that by providing  educational opportunities to family historians of all levels of experience."

Following the free period for this webinar, BCG receives a small commission if you view this or any BCG webinar by clicking our affiliate link: (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=2619).

To see the full list of BCG-sponsored webinars for 2022, visit the BCG blog SpringBoard at https://bcgcertification.org/bcg-2022-free-webinars.  For additional resources for genealogical education, please visit the BCG Learning Center (https://bcgcertification.org/learning).

The words Certified Genealogist and its acronym, CG, are a registered certification mark, and the designations Certified Genealogical Lecturer and its acronym, CGL, are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation.

The following announcement was written by the Caribbean Genealogy Library:

• A short description of the topic of presentation (150 to 250 words), including the anticipated sources.

• Indicate the format of the presentation (papers, panel, short film, etc.)

• A brief bio of the person presenting (about 100 words), and include the languages you know and your proficiency.

• Abstracts and presentations must be in English.

• Format: Microsoft Word document

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

The following announcement was written by Forces War Records, a UK military genealogy specialist website:

Start your journey today and discover your ancestor’s military history.

This Remembrance period Forces War Records is offering you HALF PRICE membership on monthly and yearly packages. – less than £25.00 for the year, or less than £5.00 for a month* (use code 50FWR).

With over 27 million records online there's never been a better time to join

1. Simply Register your details for free here - https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/register/  

Why? By registering your details, you get the benefit of having an account created for you where all your searches and interesting information you have found can be saved for easy access later.

2. Next visit - https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/subscribe 

3. Select your subscription option.

4. Enter your card details.

5. Have your discount code 50FWR ready and simply enter the code in the discount code box.

* Offer starts 11th November 2022 Offer ends 23:59GMT 20th November 2022. 50% offer valid on purchase of first membership subscription only. Special offer price: £24.48 for first 12 months of an Annual membership or £4.48 for first month of monthly membership. Your membership will automatically renew after the special offer period and at that time, you will be charged £8.95 per month for a Monthly membership and £48.95 every 12 months for an Annual membership, unless you are notified otherwise. To avoid auto-renewing cancel at least 2 days before your renewal date by visiting My Account or contacting our customer support team. See www.forces-war-records.co.uk for full terms and conditions

By being a fully subscribed member, you will benefit from:

• 27+ million military records

• A wide variety of collections with additional digital images of original historical records

• Military experts on tap to answer your queries and help you find more

• Unique WW1 Troop Movements interactive map

• Dedication Wall - upload a lasting tribute to your loved ones then ‘share’ via social media.

• 1,000's of original historic documents

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Forces War Records – The Military Genealogy Specialists.

Forces War Records (www.forces-war-records.co.uk) is the website to visit for anyone researching their family’s military history, or searching for ancestors through military data. FWR specialises only in military history and contains over 27 million records of servicemen and women from medieval times - right through to the present day. The strong team of professional researchers and military experts constantly and painstakingly uncovers new information, enabling more in-depth and accurate searches to be made every day.

The following announcement was written by the organizers of the 2022 Really Useful Family History Show:

The 2022 Really Useful Family History Show

The online Really Useful Family History Show is live online this weekend:

Friday 11^th November: 6pm until 10pm GMT

Saturday 12^th November: 10am until 6pm GMT

We are delighted to announce

Free Friday!

Watch keynote speaker Diahan Southard's DNA talk

Visit the Exhibition Hall

Everyone is feeling the pinch these days, so we have launched the Free Friday ticket which provides access to the keynote talk and exhibition hall on Friday 11th November between 6pm and 10pm GMT. Simply register by clicking on the website’s FREE FRIDAY roundel.

The keynote talk Connecting Your DNA Matches is scheduled for 7pm. There are some sixty booths in the Exhibition Hall where visitors can seek help, advice and information plus many have free downloads available.

We are sure visitors will wish to have access to the full range of talks, workshops and expert panels. Simply click the BUY TICKET roundel to purchase a ticket (£12) which provides full access to the live show and extended access to all presentations (until 11.59pm on Saturday 19^th November).

Those who have already purchased a ticket do not need to purchase a

Free Friday ticket as the full show ticket is all-inclusive.

Full details and all tickets: www.fhf-reallyuseful.com/