As the holidays are upon us and another year draws to a close, this is a good time to reflect on the past. Although I have not posted on a regular basis this year, there is much to tell you concerning genealogy and family research.
First, I would like to acknowledge all of the Genetti elders who have passed on during the past two years. Many wise souls departed, taking with them family stories and knowledge of previous generations who came before them. There is a genealogy quote that says “When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground.” I thought of this proverb often as I published each obituary. If you would like to remember those who have left us during 2020-2021, please visit our Tributes page found in the Gallery section.
This year I had the opportunity and time to enrich my genealogy education. There is so much to learn in regards to new techniques and tools! Luckily many virtual classes, workshops and conferences are available online and I eagerly took advantage of every genealogy event. Two extensive classes in particular really advanced my skills in genetic genealogy: “Endogamy and DNA” and “Y-DNA for Genealogy”. I hope to use my new-found insight and knowledge to help more Genetti descendants untangle their DNA results. In a future blog post I’ll explain how you can be a valuable contributor to our genetic ancestry just by getting tested!
While we are on the topic of DNA, it was another exciting year for mystery matches! Since 2016, I have helped a number of cousin matches with questionable or unknown parentage by identifying their birth family ancestry, often with interesting and sometimes surprising results. Usually these mystery cousins find me because our DNA matches through one of the major testing companies. This year was no exception as I received a message in March from a match who lived in France. I was very excited to work with an unknown French cousin and enthusiastically dived into the research. Due to privacy, I will not discuss their identity or personal information. But I can tell you it was and still is an extensive project with many twists and turns, involving three people doing the research in three different countries and in three different languages! It is a complicated recent ancestry connected with two generations of non-paternal events – and the research is still ongoing. In case you are wondering, this person is not a direct Genetti descendant but they are connected to the Genetti line by marriage. And I have verified my relationship to this match as a 3rd cousin, once removed through descendants of my paternal grandmother’s Marchetti ancestry.
Also on my 2021 genealogy to-do list was researching and compiling a four-generation family history for the Illinois Genetti family. Normally I would not undertake such an extensive project as it truly involves months of research and a lot of patience to uncover little-known history. However, I have a personal research interest in two ancestors from this family line. And when three siblings who descended from this particular ancestry contacted me in March, I saw the project as an opportunity to record and possibly correct family history. Hopefully I will have the research and written history completed by the beginning of 2022. As a result of delving into 150 years of events and four generations of descendants from this branch, I am now in the process of adding hundreds of new people to our off-line and on-line family tree!
You can find more information about the Genetti Family Online Tree plus a link to our extensive tree currently containing 1,973 descendants at: Family Tree. During the next month we will pass the 2,000 mark as I have many, many more people to add. FYI – our online family tree contains many helpful tools in addition to the tree itself. Here are a few to sample: under “View” in the main menu click on “Kin” to learn the relationships of a particular ancestor; create multi-generational reports for descendants and ancestors; or view the fascinating Map tool to see where ancestors and their descendants lived. Plus many people in our tree also have photographs and documents attached to their file. Stop by for a visit and discover something new in your family line!
If you have information or photographs you would like added to our family tree, please message me through our Contact page.
I wish all my cousins near and far, a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!
The Genetti Family Genealogy Project 