ISHI 27 – David O’Shea and the Grandmothers of the Plaza
The 2017 International Symposium on Human Identification (ISHI27) was amazing. Top DNA researchers from the international community attended, along with forensic specialists and law enforcement personnel interested in advancements in DNA technology. The topics ranged from DNA phenotyping with ever-more-accurate predictions of hair color, eye color, and ethnicity, to the sexual assault kit backlog, to Rapid DNA analysis for mass disasters and missing […]
Who Am I? What is My Name? – Part XII – Taking Stock
As with all research projects, there have been so many zigzags in this story, it’s only reasonable to take a break to take stock of where we are in solving the puzzle of Pnina’s identity.
Who Am I? What Is My Name? Part XI – Berlin, Warsaw, and the German Soldier
I recently traveled to Berlin and Warsaw to personally research in the various German and Polish archives. My hope was to find more information about Gertrude Priess-Spiro and her circle of acquaintance and friends, towards the goal of finding the birth identity of Pnina Gutman, whom she helped smuggle from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. I feel […]
Extreme Genealogy – Arrival in Berlin and First Visit to the Berlin Bundesarchiv
Flight to Berlin and ArrivalThursday, August 11, 2016 My trip from Los Angeles to Berlin went smoothly with a layover in Keflavik Interntional Airport. It is the cleanest airport in the world. It felt more like an igloo than an airport – snug from the elements. Yet it was a beehive of activity – with people snacking […]
Who Am I? What is My Name? – Part IX – Gertrude’s Sisters!
Since 2012 we have been trying to discover the birth identity of Pnina Gutman, who as an infant was smuggled from the Warsaw Ghetto with the assistance of a woman named Gertrud Spiro. We realized from the beginning that our best chance at solving the mystery was to find out as much as we could […]
They Never Thought I’d Find Them but I Did!
When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them “I read minds”. This is not far from the truth.The case of the Chedidi’s* stands out in this regard. In about 2007, the international investment company I worked for gave me an assignment to find a couple named Jack and Lily Chedidi* who […]
An Adventure in International Unclaimed Property – Seeking The Von-Fiorellos
About ten years ago, when Andy and I were in Merida, Mexico on business, I received an email from the international investment company I worked for. They had been trying to find owners associated with unclaimed property, but without success. They contacted me, as usual, for a last ditch effort in solving the case. The names they gave […]
Who Am I? What is My Name? – Part VIII – Gertrud and Leo’s Trial
Das Bundesarchiv Trial RecordsAccording to Widerstand in Berlin gegen das NS-Regime 1933 bis 1945 (Resistance in Berlin against the Nazi Regime 1933-1945), Leo and Gertrud Spiro were put on trial in Berlin in 1938. Trying to locate their court records, I contacted the editor of the book Dr. Gunter Wehner, a scholar of the German resistance. Dr. Wehner is 83 […]
Who Was Joseph Smith – Close Calls and Possible Candidates
We have just a few scraps of information to go on in searching for Joseph Smith’s original identity, many of which are questionable. But we have to make the most of what we have, since that’s all we have. Joseph always said his birth date was 15 July 1896. My experience has been that if someone changes his […]
Who Was Joseph Smith?
The early life of Joseph Eugene Smith is a complete mystery. Joseph’s son Morton and Morton’s daughter Karen have researched Joseph for over 20 years, yet they still don’t know who he was. Hopefully by reading his story, someone may come forward with new insight into Joseph’s so far impenetrable history. Over the years, Karen has gathered an impressive collection […]