GENEALOGY QUESTIONS FROM READERS

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TRUE CRIME and DNA FOR SOLVING CRIMES : DNA and THE BRYAN KOHBERGER - IDAHO FOUR CASE : WHEN THE NIGHT COMES FALLING BOOK BY HOWARD BLUM

I'm not a devotee of True Crime, however, I got hooked on the Bryan Kohberger - Idaho Four murder case back when it happened. I recall it was Covid-19 closure time. I was home listening to the radio while doing some crocheting and was stunned to hear the news that four college students had been found murdered in their off campus rental house. 

It was a party house. A house where other students were drinking and who knows what else even when not one of the renters was actually home. That was dangerous. It was also dangerous, in my opinion, that all four were members of hard-partying sororities and fraternities; I dare say the word alcoholism seemed to have been censored from reportage. Excessive drinking to the point of beyond a little lit was going on. Also dangerous, in my opinion, was the social networking and postings that the girls did, in particular the two blondes, who posed adorably but also just within the limits of modern modesty. Did the whole world have to know how much fun they were having? Did they really need to give off so much personal information? Perhaps this was the relative naivety of Idaho and a small college-student reliant town? Or maybe I'm just too old to get it?

Strangely, the photos of the house that made it seem rather rural didn't show that they were actually right next to an apartment house and other houses.

Perhaps this particular crime story especially caught my interest because I had my own college experience living on a campus while trying to find off-campus housing. That experience of mine also made me furious when I heard some professionals, such as people who worked as detectives or for the FBI say some things about the suspect who'd been arrested, Bryan Kohberger, that was just stupid, such as that he majored in Criminal Justice to learn how to murder. I was once surrounded by grad students and these opinionated guests seemed to be without understanding of the demands of graduate work or the fact that many a grad student works as a TA - Teaching Assistant - and some of them are not great at teaching or reasonable on how they grade. This is especially true when a TA does not want to teach after they get their Phd.

Some podcasters and newscasters would talk about how Kohberger had failed to commit the perfect crime and get away with it and was actually dumb. Or he was accused of intellectual arrogance and was actually too smart. 

His right to be assumed guilty was over quickly. I didn't believe he could get a fair trial. 

Then, in July 2025, the man admitted he did commit the murders. I'm sure some of the investigators - as well as the taxpayers - were happy they had the right guy all along especially because millions had been spent. He got a plea deal that means he will not be executed by firing squad but spend his life in prison.

Back in 2022, I started searching for more information and I started to listen to YouTube videos - podcasts - about the murders, the investigation, the arrest, and all things Kohberger and the Idaho Four. When I heard that the whole case was circumstantial - though videos, cell phones, and other new technologies had been applied - it seemed that "touch DNA" in the metal button of the knife sheath was the most important thing connecting the man to the crime.

When The Night Comes Falling is the book I read recently with an eagerness to know more than I had heard on YouTube podcasts, having listened to an easy hundred hours of discussion, speculation, or reportage, of these since the murders, November 13, 2022.

So yes, there were a few things in Howard Blum's book that I had not heard before. 

Blum intimates that Bryan's father had grown suspicious that his son had become a murderer - but that was unthinkable. Another is that that DNA Bryan was packing up in little plastic bags and taking to the neighbor's trash cans in the middle of the night was his dad's not his. And that some other relative of theirs had posted on a genealogy database that lead to the dad. 

I also was amazed that touch DNA is based on a very small number of skin cells, especially considering that we're shedding skin cells wherever we go. Honestly, a speck of dandruff has more than the shed of a quick touch of finger! 

Kaylee was only home for a visit and had already moved out. She wanted to see friends and party and perhaps also reignite her on and off relationship with a boyfriend that she had ended. They still shared a dog but she was going to travel in Europe and then take a job in another state. Jack was a suspect and went through some investigation but was quickly considered innocent of any involvement.

Maddy was the target and there's a question as to when Bryan began to fixate on her but maybe he did eat at the Mad Greek where she waitressed once though no one remembers that. 

Ethan and Xana were likely as unexpected in the house as Kaylee was but then at least one of them went to see what the noise was. 

Two of the victims fought for their lives - Kaylee and Xana. 

The FBI had a small airplane following Bryan and his dad as they traveled back to Pennsylvania in his car during what was to be a month long school break. Bryan left before the letter stating that he had been let go as a TA was received so he didn't know that yet, and he talked to his dad about some difficulties and said no way would the university be able to just let him go. The FBI did not tell the other investigative entities such as the police know they were leading the case. It was the Indiana traffic stops that made the FBI think another investigate entity had come to the same conclusion they had. His dad had driven out with him in the first place. (I never thought having a companion for a long drive was a bad idea.)

Of course, the gag order has been lifted since Kohberger admitted he was the murderer. This means that some of the speculation will end because more facts will come out but I wonder, because so this case has spawned so much news when it will actually fade away. It seems to me that a lot of podcasters will have to move on to other murders. I sometimes wonder what will be as compelling to their listeners.

My curiosity about how our legal system works - or how it does not - will continue, as will my interest in how investigations are conducted.

***

TRUE CRIME : My number one favorite is/was Surviving the Survivor. I also listened to Grizzly True Crime, which is probably my number two. I listened to Harsh Reality, one of the stations that maintained some doubt or questioning about Bryan Kohberger being the murderer. I have to warn you that a turn off is the hosts use of foul language.

ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

Our genetic and spiritual ancestors help us with our research quests 

and, while we follow a linear research path, 

amazing dreams and synchronicity abound. 

We explore multicultural ancestry worship 

and the use of genealogy for past-life verification, 

as well as practical ways and means to achieve your research goals.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PORTUGAL : Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo : INCLUDES A WORLD WAR II HOLOCAUST COLLECTION

Portugal has been in the media quite a bit lately, as a good place to move to, but somehow the history of the country seems obscure to me. The country's archive goes back into the mid 1600's and yes, there is a digital archive porthole for your research to begin.  A special note is that Portugal has a World War II Holocaust Collection. I was humored to read that the archive page mentions there are two bars nearby!

PORTAL EHRI PROJECT EU PORTUGAL

Link to the Holocaust Collection : PORTAL EHRI JEWISH HOLOCAUST COLLECTIONS

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NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF SPAIN : Archivo Histórico Naciona : DIGITALIZED RESOURCES UNIFY VARIOUS ARCHIVE LOCATIONS

I haven't had anyone from Central or South America ask me to do their research so I'm not experienced in the specifics by country, but I do know that many families who are from Mexico or other "Latin" countries have ancestry in Spain. Spain was in the Americas while colonies on the eastern seaboard of Colonial America struggled. Like, Italy or France, Roman Catholic archives are also useful to any family history or genealogy quest in Spain. Like some other countries, the actual physical archives are in various departments/places but there is a more unifying porthole. The main branches of the National Archives of Spain include the General Archive of the Indies in Seville, the National Historical Archives in Madrid, the General Administrative Archives in Alcala de Henares, and the General Archive of Simancas.

Excerpt:

Portal de Archivos Españoles (PARES) is a documentary archive established and hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Education. It offers free access to digitized images of the Spanish Archives.

Here's where you go to find digitalized images from the archives: PARES CULTURA GOB SPAIN : DIGITAL NATIONAL ARCHIVES

At another time I'll get to posting archives in Central and South America, but for now, let's continue to focus of Europe.

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NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF ITALY : Archivio Centrale dello Stato : FAMILY HISTORIES - CIVIL REGISTRY - MILITARY ENLISTMENT

Italy is the home of a number of archives, including Roman Catholic Church archives, that are useful to genealogists. However, knowing the desire for genealogy oriented documents, the country has established a resource just for genealogy.

As you may know, Italians coming into the United States would often say they were Calabrese, or Sicilian, rather than Italian. Risorgimento is the word for the Unification which happened about 1861 but ethnic self identity continued in this way.

ANTENATI CULTURA GOV (ITALY GENEALOGY)

This archive has records before the Unification of Italy.

Excerpt on holdings:

The State Archives hold many private and public sources that are essential to the genealogical research and the History of some families and persons. The main sources are: The Civil Registry together with the attached 1 year and 10 year origin indexes. Enlistment and military career documentation (e.g. Conscription Lists and Military Records) Notary public archives, family and personal archives....

As always, explore the site and don't hesitate to contact an archivist!

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THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF FRANCE : THE FRENCH REVOLUTION and AMERICAN HISTORY TOO

ARCHIVES OF FRANCE  see the language selection EN for English  SP for Spanish FR for French

Want to research the French Revolution, Napoleon, or perhaps Thomas Jefferson in Paris? THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF FRANCE is a great place to research American History too! 

Excerpt: The Archives Nationales, a civic-minded institution for France's collective history. The Archives Nationales was created by decree of the National Constituent Assembly in 1790. It has three sites (in Paris, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, and Fontainebleau) whose role is to collect, preserve, and provide access to documents produced by the central administrations of State since the 7th century.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF FRANCE ONLINE CATALOG LINK

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NATIONAL ARCHIVES : DON'T FORGET TO USE THESE FANTASTIC RESOURCES

Last fall (2024), I posted links to the National Archives of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. Now I'm going to provide you links to some European National Archives that are also useful. Databases do not have everything and I think some researchers have forgotten about the archives of nations.

Some countries are newer at having National Archive resources digitized. YOU WILL WANT TO INTERACT WITH THEIR ARCHIVISTS IF YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS and perhaps, the old fashioned way, send for copies or pay them to research for you.  Contacting an archivist is usually possible through e-mail. Some will ask you to set up an account, others not.

I use Google translate function when the site does not provide language options!

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PROQUEST HISTORY VAULT - HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION IS ALSO LABOR HISTORY

These days, so much about immigration - legal and illegal.  With Labor Day coming up I thought you might be interested in learning more American history because labor in the United States has always been tied in with immigration.

https://congressional.proquest.com/historyvault

Includes history of Immigration and Naturalization Service...

Read about anarchism, labor strikes, subversive and illegal aliens - deportations and expulsions.

I use this at a genealogy library... check to see if your library makes Proquest History Vault available to library card holders at no charge.

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FIREWORKS

 

ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT

Our genetic and spiritual ancestors help us with our research quests 

and, while we follow a linear research path, 

amazing dreams and synchronicity abound. 

We explore multicultural ancestry worship 

and the use of genealogy for past-life verification, 

as well as practical ways and means to achieve your research goals.

CITIZENSHIP : UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : #4 COLONIALS WHO BECAME CITIZENS OF THE NEW UNITED STATES : REVOKING BRITISH CITIZENSHIP and BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION : CONSTITUTION ANNOTATED

Here's an excerpt: Read the whole article at the link!

During the eighteenth century and prior to American independence, the British Parliament passed laws that allowed certain foreign nationals to naturalize and become subjects if they met specific requirements under those laws. For instance, a 1709 law allowed the naturalization of foreign Protestants who took an oath of allegiance and paid a small fee.8 More significantly for the American colonies, in 1740, the British Parliament passed a law that uniformly provided for the naturalization of any foreign national residing in a British colony for at least seven years, effectively superseding the naturalization policies of the individual colonies.

image of Lady Liberty is from GraphicsFairy