密歇根新闻广播 如何追根寻祖

 

When you decide to dig into your family's roots, the typical approach is to track down your ancestors' birth and death certificates. Maybe you head to a county office or a local church to dig up marriage records. But that's not always an option for African-Americans whose roots date back to American slavery, when family ties meant nothing to slave owners and families were routinely ripped apart.

Cheryl Garnett and Omer Jean Winborn are trying to make it easier for African Americans in their community to discover their family roots through a combination of genetic¹ genealogy² and old-fashioned boots-on-the-ground research. The women are the co-founders of the Washtenaw County African American Genealogy Society.

Both have been doing genealogical research on their own families for decades. After a 40-year friendship, Garnett and Winborn discovered they were actually related to one another.

“And it was so phenomenal that we had to share what we learned with other African-American people. And that’s our life’s work right now—to go around and show people how to do this,” Winborn said.

The first census³ in which African Americans were listed by name was in 1870, five years after the conclusion of the Civil War. If someone is trying to trace their family history before then, Winborn said, there are many “puzzle pieces” you need to put together before you have a full picture of your family tree. Without census records or marriage and death certificates, it's a significantly more challenging puzzle to solve.

“You have to take it apart,” Winborn explained. “And you have to look at everybody individually. You can’t just blanket say that everybody was enslaved.”

New mail-order DNA⁴ analysis kits⁵ have been instrumental in helping⁶ Winborn and Garnett connect families. But they aren't enough on their own, said Winborn. "The DNA gives you the hint, but once you can find the papers, the documentation,” then you can find the stories of the families.

Garnett said that knowing her family history has been a way to better understand herself. Learning about her ancestors has given her a sense of connection that might not have been possible if she hadn't done the research and tracked down those stories.

“I have such a love of my ancestors. I am so grateful for who they were, and what they did, and what they accomplished,” Garnett said.

This post was written by Stateside production assistant Catherine Nouhan.

1 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

2 genealogy   

n.家系，宗谱

参考例句：

• He had sat and repeated his family's genealogy to her,twenty minutes of nonstop names.他坐下又给她细数了一遍他家族的家谱，20分钟内说出了一连串的名字。
• He was proficient in all questions of genealogy.他非常精通所有家谱的问题。

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。