Category Archives: News

Honors for Jean Cooper, Editor of Central Virginia Heritage

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The Phillis Wheatley Book Awards are given to books published within the last 5 years that cover the topic of American Slavery. The awards are sponsored by the Sons & Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, “a lineage society dedicated to the memory of our freed and enslaved ancestors and to the education and historic preservation of the artifacts and landmarks of slavery in the United States of America and its economic, psychological, and cultural impact on today’s society.”

Two of the 5 books honored with a 2019 Phillis Wheatley Award were published by the Shortwood Press, which is the publishing house of Jean Cooper, our very own editor of the Central Virginia Heritage! The books are Tracing Their Steps, by Bernice A. Bennett, and Freedmen of the Frontier, vol. 1, by Angela Walton-Raji.

Congratulations, Jean!

Preservation of Revolutionary War Veteran Gravesites

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You never know where you are going to find useful information.

I was randomly searching on the Internet, and came across a JLARC (Joint Legislative Audit And Review Commission) Report on the Preservation of Revolutionary War Veterans Gravesites. Why would I be interested in a Virginia government audit? Because this audit just happens to have “Lists of the Revolutionary War Veterans Buried or Recognized at Specific Locations in Virginia” in its appendices. These reports give the first and last names, the birth and death dates (if known), and the location of burial (city/state) in various indexes.

  • Appendix B-1: Index of Revolutionary War veteran burials reported during this review, organized alphabetically by the last name of the veteran
  • Appendix B-2: Listing of veterans reportedly buried within the boundaries of Virginia’s counties, organized alphabetically by the name of the county
  • Appendix B-3: Listing of veterans reportedly buried within the boundaries of Virginia’s independent cities, organized alphabetically by the name of the city
  • Appendix B-4: Listing of the French veterans honored at the French Memorial Cemetery, organized alphabetically by the last name of the veteran
  • Appendix B-5: Listing of veterans honored by the Yorktown Victory Monument Tablet, organized alphabetically by the last name of the veteran
  • Appendix B-6: Inventory of the sources used in compiling these lists of veterans reportedly buried in Virginia

I was delighted to find this report! The link is http://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/reports/Rpt264.pdf

I think I’m going to look through the JLARC files and find more historically useful reports!

23andMe Class Action Lawsuit (KCC Settlement Administrator)

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If you bought a DNA test kit from 23andMe between October 16, 2007 and November 22, 2013, you probably received an email from the ‘KCC Settlement Administrator’ concerning a class action lawsuit brought against 23andMe by a group of customers who raised a “…variety of claims ranging from false advertising to consumer protection issues…”, according to Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist. Judy’s blogpost from September 24, 2017, is the place to go to learn about this lawsuit and get the information you need to make a decision concerning your options in this case.

Click here to go right to Judy Russell’s blog. There are deadlines for your response, depending on which option you choose, so it’s important to act soon by reading Judy’s blog and then go looking for that email that probably looks like a spam message. If you already deleted it, don’t worry, Judy has a link to the correct website. Good luck!

Legacy Purchased by MyHeritage

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As it says on the Legacy blog (http://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2017/08/legacy-family-tree-has-a-new-home-with-myheritage.html), the company has been purchased by MyHeritage.com. You can read more about it at the website above. They are also offering a discount:

To celebrate the acquisition, we are offering a limited time, never-offered-before discount on Legacy 9 software and annual webinar memberships. Through Sunday, August 13 (Geoff’s birthday), take 50% off:

Legacy 9 software – from $34.95  $17.48

1 year webinar membership (or extension) – $49.95  $24.98

Click here to get Legacy software or webinar membership at 50% off.

I’ve tried out the Legacy software before, and find it’s relatively easy to use (although I get annoyed at the multiple clicks it takes to insert a reference or citation). But currently, I’m using the free standard version available here: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/