23 September 2008

Family crest?

Here is an image from a gentleman with the last name of "Treschinsky" whom I had emailed. He commented on the fact that he did know of some relatives in Riga, as well as Kiev. I wonder if I will find any basis for my heritage being related to this image...

19 September 2008

I got an answer from Roberts Trusinskis!

"Declined". HAHA. I sent him an email a couple of times through what appeared to be his work email address. No response. So, I saw that he had a profile on "LinkedIn.com" and paid a small fee to send him an email there. I just got a message back saying that my message was "declined" with the reason given as "inappropriate".

I am only barely annoyed. What is it about someone who doesn't have the level of curiosity to respond to a "hey, we may be related" note that included an explanation?? The note clearly wasn't spam and doesn't solicit any information unless we were both convinced that there was a biological relationship -and the information in that instance would be very limited. Is the suspicion a legacy of the Soviet era?? At least now I know that I shouldn't bother to contact him again. I did ask that he reply if he weren't interested so that I would know not to bother him any further.

If he is a descendant of Johann Theodor Truschinsky -as is possible- I won't contact him.

We do have our source in Latvia who will likely know of this person and any other "Trusinskis" if they are indeed related. Indeed, I probably should have only pursued that route.

16 September 2008

DNA Results are in

They arrived late last night. There are 12 exact matches to people in the FamilyTreeDNA.com system. I ordered the most basic, "12 marker" test. To further refine the results, I will have to order the 37 marker test. Of course, the more matches the greater the likelihood of a close biological relationship.

It is unlikely this will yield much new information for my genealogical research, unless I get others who share a similar surname to take the test, as well. I can think of a number individuals I would like to take the test but given they don't even reply to emails, it is unlikely they will take a DNA test for this purpose.

Oh, one more thing: overall, the most matches were with people in Norway (as a percentage of those in the FamilyTreeDNA.com system). I did find that to be interesting!

13 September 2008

August Johann Theodor Trusinskis/Truschinsky

I found what I was looking for. I found a birth record for August Johann Theodor's first child. Don't get this wrong, but I am disappointed because it is a daughter, not a son. I am a bit disappointed because when she got married (if so) she very probably did not retain her family name. If it were a son, he and his descendants would be easier to find! I just sent an email to a gentleman in Latvia who may be of some help. I sure hope he responds! (UPDATE: That was the "Roberts Trusinskis")

07 September 2008

Jakobs Kirche

A new film has arrived which I will review on Saturday. It has birth records for the late-1930s at Jakobs kirche. I am hoping to find a birth record for a child of my great uncle -whose first marriage I now have documented.