Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your 2024 "Dear Genea-Santa" Letter

It's almost Christmas, so it must be time to write to Santa for Randy Seaver's Satuday Night Genealogy Fun!

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.  Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented wish list:

1.  Write your 2024 Genea-Santa letter.  Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy?  What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list?  They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue in your ancestral quest.

2.  Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status  post.  Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.

As usual, I've been a pretty good genealogy girl:  still doing lots of volunteer work, writing more this year than I have for the previous two years (combined!), trying to stay in touch with most of the relatives I've connected with over the years and share information with them, reaching out to more relatives when I have the opportunity.

After looking over the past several Dear Genea-Santa letters I've written, I noticed I've kind of been stuck in a rut, but it's an important rut, and so I think I'll make the same request I've made since 2018:  I want to find my Aunt Dottie's son whom she gave up for adoption.

To recap:

• My aunt Dorothy ("Dottie") Mae Sellers had a son who was born September 23, 1945.  She named him Raymond Lawrence Sellers and surrendered him for adoption soon after he was born.  I don't know what name he was given or anything else that happened to him after adoption.

• Dottie's DNA is on Family Tree DNA, MyHeritage, and GEDMatch.  I couldn't get her on Ancestry or 23andMe because those are spit tests, Dottie couldn't manufacture enough for the tests, and neither allows you to transfer your raw data from another site.

• Raymond's siblings, and I, are represented on Ancestry and 23andMe. So we have the DNA bases covered.

• I did what I could with state research, but Raymond was born and adopted in New Jersey, which sealed adoption records from 1941 on.  A search through birth indices did not point anywhere helpful.

• Dottie registered with New Jersey as being willing to accept contact if Raymond chose to look for her.

Dottie passed away in 2021.  I still don't know what would happen if Raymond did try to contact her through the New Jersey state office now, as I have not contacted that office to find out.  I need to learn if an alternative contact person (such as my cousin, who is Dottie's daughter and Raymond's sister) can be named or if the parent is the only person the state will accept (I'm pretty sure the latter is what they will say, because they're just not a friendly state to work with).  Raymond's siblings would very much like to find him and connect with him, especially now that Dottie is gone.

That really leaves only the DNA databases as a way to find Raymond.  But if he died young or if he and any children he might have had have never tested, we won't be able to find him.

As I mentioned, Dottie's DNA is in three databases.  I have found it interesting that I have only ever found a grand total of one person who matches her, who is definitely not Raymond.  If I were paranoid, I might think of that as a deliberate obstruction someone has thrown in my path to dissuade me.  But I'm not that paranoid, and I'm just thinking that Raymond either didn't survive to adulthood or is totally uninterested in DNA testing.  Even though Dottie had long, long roots in New Jersey through her mother, and she really should be matching probably several people, not just one.  But nope, I'm not being paranoid.

One wrinkle that occurred in 2023 is that a little bird whispered in my ear that someone STRONGLY resembled one of Dottie's children and knew he was adopted, and maybe that man could have been Raymond Lawrence Sellers (all this past tense because the man in question is deceased).  But the man was older by a few years than Raymond was supposed to be, and a couple of other pieces didn't quite fit.  While I would love to make the facts that we know about Raymond fit this other man, that's not the right way to solve questions.  I'm now inclined to believe that this mysterious adopted man was related to Dottie's other child through that child's paternal side.  I should be able to find photos of people in that family to compare.  Resolving this question likely will not help get us any closer to finding Raymond Lawrence Sellers, but it probably will eliminate this man from consideration.

Well, hope springs eternal.  C'mon, Genea-Santa.  Throw me a bone.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your 2023 "Dear Genea-Santa" Letter

It is that time of year again, when Randy Seaver has us write to Genea-Santa for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.  Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented wish list:

1.  Write your 2023 Genea-Santa letter.  Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy?  What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list?  They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue in your ancestral quest.

2.  Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.

I was looking through my old Genea-Santa posts and noticed that I haven't written a letter since 2019!  I've been a pretty good genealogy girl:  still doing lots of volunteer work, doing as much research as I can, sharing information with family members.

That said, my request list again is very, very short, because it's the most important thing I'm researching, but it has changed a little.

I'm still trying to find out what happened to the son my Aunt Dottie gave up for adoption in 1945, shortly after his birth on September 23.  She gave him the name Raymond Lawrence Sellers.  I don't know what name he was given after adoption.

I have done everything I know to do:

* Dottie's DNA is on Family Tree DNA, MyHeritage, and GEDMatch.  I couldn't get her on Ancestry or 23andMe because those are spit tests, and Dottie couldn't manufacture enough for the tests.

* Raymond's siblings are represented on Ancestry and 23andMe.

* I did what I could with state research, but Raymond was born and adopted in New Jersey, which sealed adoption records from 1941 on.  I tried searching through birth indices, but they did not point me anywhere helpful.

* Dottie registered with New Jersey as being willing to accept contact if Raymond chose to look for her.

The difference this year is that Dottie passed away in 2021.  I don't know what would happen if Raymond did try to contact her through the New Jersey state office at this point.  I need to find out if an alternate contact person (such as my cousin, who is Dottie's daughter and Raymond's sister) can be named or if the parent is the only person the state will accept (and I'm pretty sure that's what they do, because they're just not a friendly state to work with).  Raymond's siblings would very much like to find him and connect with him, especially now that Dottie is gone.

That really leaves only the DNA databases as a way to find Raymond.  But if he died young or if he and any children he might have had have never tested, we won't be able to find him.

I keep hoping.  C'mon, Genea-Santa.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Did Genea-Santa Bring You and Your Family?

I'm running a little late this week, but I did get a great present from Genea-Santa, so I wanted to chime in for Randy Seaver's post-Christmas Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

Here is your assignment, should you decide to accept it (you ARE reading this, so I assume that you really want to play along; cue the Mission:  Impossible! music!):

(1) What genea-gift did Genea-Santa bring you and/or your family this Christmas season?

(2) Tell us in a comment to this blog post, in your own blog post, or in a Facebook post, and be sure to leave a link to your post.

So I had two gifts from Genea-Santa this Christmas.  The first was actually on Christmas Day, when I spent the day with three of my grandchildren.  That's a wonderful gift at any time, but it's particularly enjoyable during the holidays.

The second gift was very unexpected and came a couple of days later.  For more than 20 years I have been searching for the arrival into the United States of my great-great-grandmother Ruchel Dwoire (Jaffe) Brainin and her three youngest children.  I will be posting more about my discovery soon, because it's a long, convoluted story, but I finally have found them!  Not only that, the oldest daughter in the family was traveling with them, probably to help her mother manage the younger children.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Should Genea-Santa Bring You?

It isn't actually December yet, but Randy Seaver is getting into the retail spirit and starting Christmas early for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

Here is your assignment, should you decide to accept it (you ARE reading this, so I assume that you really want to play along; cue the Mission:  Impossible! music!):

(1) Only 25 days until Christmas now!  Have you been a good genea-boy or genea-girl?  

(2) What gift should Genea-Santa bring you for Christmas?  What do you need, or want, to help you with your family history, your research, etc.?

(3) Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this blog post, or on Facebook. Please leave a comment with a link to your blog post.

Well, I think I've been a good genea-girl this past year.  I volunteer at my local Family History Center every week.  I support my local genealogical societies by coordinating a research group, editing a journal, scheduling programming, giving presentations, and serving on two boards.  I'm sure I could do better, but I do put in a lot of time.

As for what gift I would like from Genea-Santa, I'm going to sound like a broken record, but what I want the most is to find out what happened to the son my Aunt Dottie gave up for adoption in 1945.  She gave him the name Raymond Lawrence Sellers.  We have no idea what name he was given later.  I've done everything I know to do:  Dottie's DNA is in the Family Tree DNA, MyHeritage, and GEDMatch databases; Raymond's siblings (full and half) are in AncestryDNA and 23andMe.  I'm at a dead end with state research, because this all happened in New Jersey, and they aren't very friendly on this subject.  Dottie registered as being willing to accept contact if Raymond should look for her, but that's all Jersey allows.  They give out no information.  Dottie is now 94, and I fear age is catching up with her.  I keep hoping we'll find a DNA match, but no luck so far.  If there is anything else I can do to help further the search, I'm open to suggestions.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My 2018 Dear Genea-Santa Letter

Randy Seaver is getting into the Christmas spirit for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun tonight.

Come on, everybody, join in, accept the mission, and execute it with precision.  Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented wish list:

(1) Write your Genea-Santa letter.  Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy?  What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list?  They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue in your ancestral quest.

(2) Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status post.  Please leave a comment on this post if you write your own post.

Dear Genea-Santa,

I've had some problems this past year, but I still think I generally did good by genealogy.  I worked at my local Family History Center all year, I was involved with three genealogical societies, I volunteered to coordinate a group when the previous person had to step down, and I gave a fair number of talks at conferences and society meetings.  I'm still posting to my blog, and I did get some research done during the year.

I actually did kind of get one of my wishes from last year.  When I traveled to Washington, D.C. to give a presentation to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Washington, I was able to visit the U.S. Holocaust Museum library.  With the help of Megan Lewis, I discovered many digitized documents relating to Jews in Grodno gubernia during World War II.  Not directly related to my family research, but helpful nonetheless.

Unfortunately, I still have not made progress on the most important item on my wish list, and this year it's the only thing I'm asking for:  finding out what happened to Raymond Lawrence Sellers, the son whom my aunt gave up for adoption in 1945.  Aunt Dottie is now 93, and I'm really running out of time on this, Santa.  I need all the help you (and anyone else) can give me.  My aunt's DNA is in Family Tree DNA and GEDMatch; Raymond's half-brother is in Ancestry; and his full sister is now in 23andMe  I have all the major bases covered — and still nothing.  Someone out there must know something.  Throw me a bone, please!

Everything else pales in comparison to getting this one wish.  If there's anything else I can do to help the process, let me know.

My 2017 Dear Genea-Santa Letter

This year Randy Seaver didn't have the Genea-Santa letter as part of Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, but it's a fun tradition to maintain, so I'm writing one again.

I tried to be a good genealogy girl again this year, but I admit I slipped up later in the year.  I still do a lot of genealogy volunteer work, including editing three publications and sitting on three boards.  I moved from California to Oregon but found a new Family History Center at which to help people.  I attended four genealogy conferences, three one-day seminars, many in-person presentations, and several dozen Webinars, plus I taught twenty-nine classes.  I have not been able to keep up my blogging as well since I moved, as I'm still (!) unpacking boxes, but I do post regularly, at least once a week and usually twice.  And I have managed to continue researching my own family and helping others with their research.

I did receive some very nice genealogy gifts during 2017.  In July I connected with a cousin on my paternal grandmother's side of the family, from a branch on which I had little information.  She provided me with enough info that I was able to add a lot to my family tree, and we'll be working together more in 2018.  In March I was contacted by someone related to one of the families I've been writing about for Treasure Chest Thursday.  The person who wrote to me shared documents, photos, and stories that helped me learn more about the individuals.  And in January a reader was able to help me identify a found photograph and return it to the person who had lost it.

As much as I appreciate those gifts, I didn't get any of things I actually had on my list, so this year's requests are going to sound familiar.  But I've cut down the number of items by almost half.

• My absolute number-one priority is still that I want to help my now 92-year-old aunt find and make contact with Raymond Lawrence Sellers, the son she gave up for adoption 72 years ago, or his descendants, or at least find out what happened to him.  We haven't made any progress since last year.  She did a DNA test through Family Tree DNA, the results of which are also on GEDMatch.  (Unfortunately, AncestryDNA was unsuccessful at processing her test.)  She still doesn't show any close matches besides family members we already knew had tested.  Maybe her son didn't have any descendants, or absolutely none of them has decided to try DNA testing.  It is so very important for her to find him, so I really am hoping for this one.  It's the most important item on my list.

• I've seen more and more stories about surprise discoveries of stored-away documents in Eastern Europe, so I would love for someone to find a treasure trove of previously unknown surviving Jewish records from the former Grodno gubernia.  If some of my relatives were mentioned in them, so much the better.

• It would be really nice if optical character recognition (OCR) scanning of old newspapers could become more accurate and reliable.  I swear I heard that someone had come up with a way for computers to assess poor-quality spots on newspaper pages (torn, ink blobs, type dropped out) and try logical infilling, rather than merely scanning them as is and having something that looks like a bunch of control characters come out as the search text, but I haven't seen anything more about it.  Does anyone else remember reading about that?  Can you point me to a reference somewhere?

So that's my shortened list for this year.  Please, Santa, see what you can do, okay?  I have a really nice Port I'll be happy to share with you.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: My Santa Claus Memories

This is another of Randy Seaver's challenges when I'm impressed with his memory as compared to my own.  As it is Christmas Eve today, this week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is about a timely subject.

Come on, everybody, join in, accept the mission, and execute it with precision.


(1) Answer these questions:
(a) Did you ever send a letter to Santa Claus?
(b) Did you ever visit Santa and "make a list?"
(c) Do you still believe in Santa Claus?
(d) When did you find out "the truth" about Santa Claus?

(2) Tell us your answers in a blog post of your own or in a Facebook or Google+ post.  Be sure to leave a comment on this post with a link to your answers.

Ok, here's what I remember (which is to say, not much).

(a) I suspect I sent at least one letter to Santa Claus, but I don't remember any or asking for any specific presents.

(b) I also suspect my mother probably did a Santa photo visit at least once, but I don't remember any and I don't recall any photographic evidence.

(c) I believe in the spirit of Santa Claus.  Does that count?

(d) Santa Claus must not have made that great of an impression on me, because I don't remember when I realized he wasn't really coming to our house.  I have vague recollections of watching NORAD track Santa on TV and watching to see if he was near our house, so I must have believed for a while.

My lack of memory might make me seem Grinchlike, but that really is not the case.  I'm sure if my mother were still alive she could have enlightened me on at least some of these points, but I never thought to ask these kinds of questions before she passed away almost 22 years ago.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your 2016 Dear Genea-Santa Letter

Christmas is coming soon, so it must be time for Randy Seaver to suggest that his readers write to Santa for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

Come on, everybody, join in, accept the mission, and execute it with precision. Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented wish list:

(1) Write your Genea-Santa letter.  Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy?  What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list?  They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue in your ancestral quest. 

(2) Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook status or Google Stream post. 


Here are my wishes:

I've tried hard to be a good genealogy girl again this year.  I'm still doing lots of volunteer work for a number of genealogical organizations, including serving on three boards and editing four different publications (one went away, but I added a new one).  Somehow I have been able to maintain my blog schedule, posting regularly between two to four times a week.  I had my 1,000th post a little while ago!  I've continued a robust educational program, attending four conferences, three all-day seminars, many in-person classes, and another 50 or so Webinars, in addition to teaching 30 classes myself.  Plus I've done more research on my family and helped other people with their research.  I am a genealogy geek indeed!

I'm very grateful for the gifts I received this past year.  I found a cousin willing to take a Y-DNA test and determined that my grandfather's biological father was not Mr. Sellers.  I'm now in contact with someone from a Y-DNA line that matches my father well, and I have a strong lead for my great-grandfather (this guy seems to have been somewhat of a ladies' man).  Some cousins from my mother's side of the family coordinated a small family reunion and invited me to attend, so I met more relatives and now have scans of more than 250 photographs from their branch, along with additional information for the family tree.  And an article about my Cuban cousins and the research I've done on them was published this summer.

But people always want more, don't they?  And I do have some wishes for next year.  These are things I would love to see in 2017 (and I'm dreaming big again):

• My top priority is still that I want to help my now 91-year-old aunt find and make contact with Raymond Lawrence Sellers, the son she gave up for adoption 71 years ago.  We haven't made much progress since last year.  She did a DNA test through Family Tree DNA, the results of which I've uploaded to GEDMatch.  (Unfortunately, she wasn't able to manufacture enough saliva for a successful AncestryDNA test, so we aren't able to search directly in that pool.)  The bad news is that she doesn't show any close matches besides her siblings, her son, and me (i.e., family members we already knew had tested).  It's possible that her son didn't have any descendants, or that absolutely none of them has decided to try the whole DNA thing.  It is so important for her to find him, so I'm really hoping for this one.  It's the number one item on my list.

• Last year's plan for my brother and me to join a Ukrainian research project didn't end up happening.  It would be great if another project were to start this year, and maybe we can find actual records from the Kamenets Podolsky area on our Gorodetsky family (and even the Kardishes).

• I keep hoping for a treasure trove of heretofore unknown surviving Jewish records from the former Grodno gubernia to be unearthed.  If some of my relatives were mentioned in them, so much the better.

• I'm still waiting for optical character recognition (OCR) scanning of old newspapers to become more accurate and reliable.  I thought I had heard that someone had come up with a way for computers to assess poor-quality spots on newspaper pages (torn, ink blobs, type dropped out) and try logical infilling, rather than merely scanning them as is and having something that looks like a bunch of control characters come out as the search text, but I haven't seen anything more about it.

• I agree with Randy in wishing that Ancestry.com give subscribers access to their raw DNA data and permit chromosome browsing, rather than relying on the twitching, dancing leaves to do everyone's research for them.  (I gave up years ago on Ancestry correcting indexing mistakes; those corrections won't add to the bottom line, so Ancestry has no interest in putting out money for them.  I'm happy it shares the "alternative readings" that people submit.)

I don't think I'm being greedy, Genea-Santa.  Most of my wishes are for things that other people will benefit from.  If you'd really like cookies this year, I promise to get some for you.  And last year's offer of brandy or wine instead of milk is still good.  Or maybe you like a good Port?

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What did Genea-Santa Bring You?

This week for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver followed up on his post from December 12, when he asked people to write letters to Genea-Santa.

1) What gift that you received for Christmas is your favorite for genealogy purposes? Book, magazine, hardware, software, Web site subscription, research time, DNA test — what was it, and how will it affect your genealogy research?

2) Tell us about it in a blog post on your own blog, in a comment to this blog post, or in a comment on Facebook or Google+ in response to this post.

3) Come on, spill!  And it's OK to respond to this in the days after Saturday, too!

I haven't actually received any wrapped gifts this year, for Christmas or Chanukah, but I look at time spent with family as a very precious gift.  So far my favorite gift has been spending Christmas Eve with my grandchildren, which I wrote about on Christmas Day.  Coming in as a close second, however, was my face-to-face visit today with cousins with whom I have been communicating only by e-mail up 'til now.  I had a lovely visit, and they asked how they can help me with the family research, which doesn't happen very often!  (That's their new puppy Daisy in the photo with us.)

Now, when the cousin from another branch of the family tells me his Y-DNA test results have come in, that'll be a huge present, but it won't be for several weeks.  Hmm, maybe in time for my birthday!

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Your Dear Genea-Santa Letter

It's been a long, long time since I wrote a letter to Santa Claus, but I can get into the spirit of things with Randy Seaver tonight for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1) Write your Genea-Santa letter. Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy? What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list? They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue in your ancestral quest.

2) Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google Stream post.

Here are my wishes:

Dear Genea-Santa,

I think I've been a pretty good genealogy girl this year.  I've done lots of volunteer work for several genealogy organizations, serving on boards and editing four different publications.  I've managed to keep up with my blog, posting between two and three times a week.  I've paid attention to my education, attending two conferences, four all-day seminars, and about 50 Webinars, and I spoke to several societies myself.  I even managed to do some research on my own family and have added quite a bit of information to my database.  I have genealogy on the brain day and night.

This year's gifts were welcome:  I was able to organize a small reunion of Sellers family members to celebrate two milestone birthdays.  I traveled to Cuba looking for information on my cousins who used to live there, and I've found and made contact with several cousins on both sides of my family.

I do have some wishes for next year, though.  These are things I would love to see in genealogy (and yes, I'm dreaming big):

•  I want to help my 90-year-old aunt find and make contact with Raymond Lawrence Sellers, the son she gave up for adoption 70 years ago.  We've already made progress:  The state of New Jersey found an index card confirming the adoption.  My aunt has signed and mailed in the paperwork that authorizes contact if the boy who was born Raymond Lawrence Sellers on September 23, 1945 should contact the New Jersey State Adoption Registry.  She's also doing a DNA test so we'll have another avenue to search.  It would mean so much to her if she could talk to him, so I'm really hoping for this one.  It's the most important item on my list.

• I hope we are able to resolve the question of just who the father of my paternal grandfather was, and whether he was also the father of my grandfather's siblings.  I've grown up my entire life as a Sellers, so it's been a bit of a surprise to discover that might not be my bloodline after all.  But I'm keeping an open mind and am waiting to see what evidence I can find either way.  One of those new cousins I contacted agreed to do a Y-DNA test, so the first step will be to see if it matches my father's.  Considering the latest family rumors I've been told, I might need to do a little bit more testing even after that, but it's a start!

• My brother and I decided we'd test the waters for Ukrainian research on our Gorodetsky line.  It would be really nice if the researcher there could find lots of great records for our family (and if somewhere in those records there were confirmation that the Kardishes really are cousins, that would be icing on the cake).

• A discovery of heretofore unknown surviving Jewish records from the former Grodno gubernia would be fantastic.  If some of my relatives were mentioned in them, so much the better.

• Moving out of the personal realm, I'd love it if optical character recognition (OCR) scanning of old newspapers could somehow become more accurate and reliable.  Maybe someone will come up with a way for computers to assess poor-quality spots on newspaper pages (torn, ink blobs, type dropped out) and try logical infilling, rather than merely scanning them as is and having something that looks like a bunch of control characters come out as the search text.

• I hope the fact that Ancestry.com has announced it will be dropping Family Tree Maker will help people figure out that they shouldn't be relying on Ancestry (or any other online site) to store and manage their family trees, but that they should have them resident on their personal computers, where they can control all the information.  I certainly won't trust a huge corporation run by faceless investors with all my family information.

• And I'm with Randy in wishing that Ancestry.com will give subscribers access to the raw DNA data and permit chromosome browsing, rather than relying on the twitching, spastic leaves to do everyone's research for them.  (I've given up on Ancestry correcting its indexing mistakes; I figured it was a huge victory when it finally conceded it would at least post the "alternative readings" that people submitted.)

I hope I don't sound too greedy, Genea-Santa.   A lot of my wishes are good for other people also.  I don't usually have cookies in the house, but I can promise you some fresh fruit and dark chocolate.  And if you would like some wine or brandy instead of a glass of milk, we can probably arrange for that too.