A criminal defendant may offer a pertinent trait of his or her character circumstantially -- to show the defendant's doing or non-doing of a specific act.

United States v. Edelmann, 458 F.3d 791, 809-810 (8th Cir. 2006) (upholding trial court's admission of accused's prior bad acts because (1) even though the three prior convictions were approximately 15 years old, such were....A person's propensity, or character, is not barred by the character rule if it is offered for any purpose other than to show a person's conduct on a particular occasion.

United States v. Hilgeford, 7 F.3d 1340, 1345-1346 (7th Cir. 1993) (upholding trial court's admission into evidence of accused's prior failed litigation involving his farms where such evidence demonstrated accused's knowledge that "returns, premised as they are on his ownership of the property, were...Evidence of a criminal or wrongful act apart from the act that at issue at trial Is not barred by the prohibition against circumstantial use of character if intent, knowledge, mistake, or accident is a legally-material factual issue, the opposing party suggests the non-existence of knowledge or urges mistake or accident as a defense, and evidence of another crime, wrong, or act is offered to prove the knowledge or the absence of mistake or accident by a criminal defendant or other person.

Fed. R. Evid. 803(13) ("Statements of fact concerning personal or family history contained in family Bibles, genealogies, charts, engravings on rings, inscriptions on family portraits, engravings on urns, crypts, or tombstones, or the like.").Federal Rule of Evidence 803(13) creates a hearsay exception for statements of fact concerning personal or family history contained in family Bibles, genealogies, charts, engravings on rings, inscriptions on family portraits, engravings on urns, crypts, or tombstones, or the like.