Genealogy Blog Family History

Suddenly, Genealogy is… Cool?Posted by Administrator on April 8th, 2010

 It used to be that family history research was the domain of sweet, little old ladies in dusty microfiche libraries. Then came shows like PBS’s American Experience and National Geographic’s Human Family Tree that made family history work high drama, high-tech, and, even, dare I say it, sexy. The newest show to draw on genealogy for entertainment and maybe enlightenment is NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, a reality-style series that delves into the family history of celebrities like Emmit Smith, Susan Sarandon, and Spike Lee. 

The show concept has me wondering: when did this happen? Were we just tired of reality shows packed with badly behaved contestants in outlandish, as-far-from-reality-as-possible scenarios designed to bring out their worst natures? Is there some greater influence at work stoking our interest in our pasts? When did genealogy become sexy?

Not that this is a bad thing. Not at all. In fact, such interest in real stories and real people can only result in good things. I mean, I would rather have my kids watch this show any day than Desperate Housewives or Jersey Shore. I’d rather have them watch this show than the news- at least this show can stoke their interest in the lessons of the past, instead of getting them swept up in the sensation of the week, day, or moment. 

Good for NBC for having the guts to produce this type of material. Hopefully, we will see more like it. Also on the docket of celebrities is Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Matthew Broderick. I’ll tell you what I think after I watch the first episode.

My New Year’s Resolution: Family HistoryPosted by Administrator on December 27th, 2009

 I saw a funny flier at a local LDS chapel. It read: "Do you get the feeling some dead person is waiting for you?" It was a flier to attend free family history classes at their building. The question certainly caught my attention- it was weird but also true. When we talk about genealogy or family history, we are talking about the search for dead people. This flier and other experiences have prompted me to add another resolution to my always-long list of resolutions: to do more family history work.

I want my kids to know where they came from. I have a vague idea but not enough to give them any definitive story. The more I look into it, the more I realize I don’t know, even in the more recent past. I don’t have the photos or the names of towns. In short, I have a lot of work to do. 

So I’ll be looking for dead people this year. I’ll be spending some time at the local family history library and talking to the older generation in my family. Hopefully, at the end of 2010, I’ll have a better idea of where I came from.

Ancestry.com proves Obama and Buffett CousinsPosted by Administrator on December 15th, 2009

When Warren Buffett was promoting Obama for the presidency, neither of them could have imagined that they were actually related.

That’s right. Reuters released a report today saying that Ancestry.com has found that President Obama and super-investor Warren Buffett are cousins… er, seventh cousins three times removed. Apparently, waaaaay back, their family trees meet at a 17th-century Frenchman named Mareen Duvall. The discovery was made by accident on Ancestry.com by researchers doing work on Obama’s roots. It is just another cool example of how Ancestry.com’s tools can help us learn unexpected things about our family histories.

Ironically, these same researchers found that Obama is also related to Dick Cheney. But something tells me they won’t be having a family reunion anytime soon.