Episode 462 - Footprints in the Sand… and DNA? The Return of the Archive Lady

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys open with a few news items from the National Genealogical Society. In Family Histoire News, David reports on a study that showed how rents were once paid in England using eels! Then, Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts is the site of an interesting new project that may allow you to touch the tombstone of your early New England ancestor. The 1931 Canadian Census is out! David shares how it is being indexed. Then, imagine a man who was in both the Civil War and World War I. It actually happened! David will tell you all about him. Dual citizenship can help you travel. Hear what countries you can obtain it from. Finally, the UK has an issue with China over sunken war ships. Find out what it is. Next, Fisher visits with Dr. David Duffy of the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and the University of Florida. In studying sea turtles, Dr. Duffy and his team discovered that high quality turtle DNA can be found in the sand on beaches. They then decided to see if the same held true for humans, testing footprints of volunteers. Indeed it did! And then there’s the matter of human DNA being left in a closed room in the air. Dr. Duffy describes the research, police interest, and ethical questions they’re dealing with. Next, Melissa Barker, “The Archive Lady,” is back from Houston County, Tennessee. Melissa talks about the silver lining of the pandemic for archives, and some of her recent acquisitions including one that’s hard to believe. David then is back for Ask Us Anything. That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!