Hi everyone!
It's time to get to know another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Jana Diamond.
Jana became a Wiki Genealogist in October of 2015. She is one of our awesome Greeters.
When and how did you get interested in genealogy?
As a child, grandparents on both sides regaled me with stories of their infamous (paternal grandfather) and famous (maternal grandmother) relatives. In high school, I even did a research paper on Anne Boleyn (4th cousin, 13x removed). My dad’s family was large; my mom’s complicated; it seemed I was always going to some sort of family reunion.
But I didn’t really get interested in genealogy until around 2001 or so. I was extremely excited when Ancestry first started selling the DNA kits, and bought one right off the bat. And then the results weren’t what I expected, so I tossed it out, and buckled down on the research. My maternal grandmother had traced her lineage on a roll of butcher paper, sometime in the 1960’s. A great-aunt on the other side had asked questions at all those reunions and documented what she could. I took both of those records and started documenting, tossing out what family legend, and focusing only on what was provable.
What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?
Outside of genealogy, I am an avid SF/F reader, and a collector of Salt and Pepper shakers. My dad started me on the shakers when I was 8 or 9, buying me a set when he was away on a business trip. My parents got a really cute donkey condiment set in the 50's, as a wedding present, and I picked up a set here and there over the years. Then about 5 years ago I discovered that this is a ‘thing’ and there are groups that do this. This picture is of one of my favorite types of shakers, by Adam+Ziege for Goebel.
What is your genealogical research focus?
My focus started as my personal family. Then expanded to my husband, and my ex-husband. And then to the families of the spouses of my siblings.
And then, in 2016, I did another DNA test, with the same results as the first one. Knowing that my dad was 1/8 Native American (his grandmother was 1/2), I knew I should have more than 0.0% Native American! Which started me down a completely different path – first finding the truth, and then documenting it. Which means my focus recently has been on documenting the families of the bio-fathers of my siblings and myself.
My father told a story about how he was a pre-teen / tween and was jumping on the bed, and it hurt to jump. That was how they discovered he had the mumps – the glands in his neck were not swollen at all. Apparently, this left him sterile. Wanting children, my mom found ways to make that happen. This discovery was startling at first, but as time has passed, I see so many more people that are finding the same situation when they do DNA testing. So very many of us have half-siblings and other variations of halfs out there, that it is rather astounding.
When asked about DNA testing, I now warn people that they shouldn’t do it unless they are prepared to have questions raised that they may not want to know the answer to. While this doesn’t happen to everyone, I think everyone should know that it is a possibility. The flip side to that, is that everyone should also know their genetic heritage. This test, and its results, removed several health spectres, when my biological father changed.
Do you have a favorite ancestor?
Oh, my goodness! I have so many favorites! Anne Boleyn of course! And then there is Doc Holliday – 3rd cousin 3x removed – who is not at all part of the Oklahoma horse thieves and outlaws that my grandfather said were his cousins and uncles. And then there is my husband’s grandfather William Armstrong (Lewis) Engledow; he killed a man and changed his last name to that of his first wife when he married his second wife. The name change was after an indictment for murder, I guess, as a "lawman" that wasn't something that was acceptable, even in the Indian Territories.
(interview continues in comments)
