Jorge Estevez DNA Test

Posted on by Thor

Jorge Estevez, a WFTV Channel 9 news anchor, was invited by Pam Schwartz, the Orange County Regional History Center Chief Curator, to take an Ancestry DNA test to learn more about his family history. She also researched the family histories of other well-known Central Floridians, including
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; 
journalist Brendan O’Connor of the Bungalower; Toni Pressley, Orlando
Pride soccer team defender; and Geraldine Thompson, state
representative and senator and founder of Orlando’s Wells’ Built Museum.

Jorge met Pam at the History Center Research Library where she asked him about what he did know about his family history. To do the DNA test he had to spit into a test tube which was a great photo opportunity for Melissa Procko, History Center Research Librarian, who was documenting the moment with video and still photography.

A line of Jorge’s family tree comes from Cuba which turned out to be problematic for online research since Cuban records must be researched from the courthouses and archives on the island. Pam was afraid she might have bit off more than she could chew, but she enlisted the help of a genealogist who specializes in Cuban research. This genealogist also does research for a TV program called Finding Your Roots.

It turns out that Jorge comes from a family line which is renowned for being public servants who notarize documents. Being a notary in those days was a position of high honor. She even found their notary stamps. The family line was researched way back into the 1500s. Jorge joked that he has never had a tattoo, but he is considering getting a tattoo of one of those ancient hand-drawn stamps since it means so much to him.

Genome VIP Opening

Posted on by Thor

Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code opened at the Orange County Regional History Center (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801) with a VIP opening reception in the lobby. The traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution is presented by Orlando Health and is open through January 6, 2019.

This special exhibit examines the complexities of the
genome—the genetic or hereditary material of a living organism—through
cutting-edge displays, animation, and fascinating real-life stories that
reveal the links between generations and how our histories begin long
before we are born. The exhibit also examines both the benefits and
challenges the study of genetics presents to our society.

The exhibit also contains a special area, custom designed by History Center staff, that
explores three genomic ties to Central Florida – in the fascinating
findings at the Windover Bog archaeological site in Brevard County, in
the development of citrus, and through the family histories of some
well-known Central Floridians, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Jorge
Estevez, WFTV Channel 9 news anchor; journalist Brendan O’Connor of the
Bungalower; Toni Pressley, Orlando Pride soccer team defender; and
Geraldine Thompson, former state representative and senator and founder
of Orlando’s Wells’ Built Museum.

At the VIP reception all the participants in the family tree project were given time to discuss their feelings about the project. Buddy Dyer took time to thank Pam Schwartz for her contributions in spearheading a collecting initiative of memorial items after the Pulse Nightclub massacre. Geraldine Thompson gave the most moving testimony as she described her feeling after discovering that she had a close relative that she didn’t know existed. A man who was searching for his biological father contacted Pam and she was able to prove through DNA and family history who his father really was. Unfortunately the father had died a few years prior. But the man and Geraldine are both seem excited to meet one another.

The exhibit features large interactive displays with projections and video. You can literally spend hours learning about DNA and life’s code if you read every text panel. The evening was winding down before I could finish my explorations.