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Genealogy Websites - and they're free!

Here's another episode from "Tracing your Family Roots."  Hosts Arline Sachs and Sallyann Sack demonstrate the free genealogy websites that help them in their own family history research.  For more free instructional videos, check out the "How-to" section of Roots Television

Tags:  genealogy,  family history,  how to,  websites,  free,  video,  Roots Video,  Roots Television

1935 Wedding

Happy New Year from Roots Television!  Check out this silent footage from the Fulford Goettsch Wedding, dating all the way back to 1935 in Minneapolis.

Tags:  genealogy,  family history,  video,  wedding,  Minneapolis,  Roots Video,  Roots Television

Just my dog, my car, and my DNA

It's been a while, but we're back here at the Roots Television vlog with a great winter project - Digital Storytelling.  Inez Redding Bisbee's great-granddaughter left her native Maine for California, with little more than $20, her dog, and her DNA.  Forging a life of her own far from Maine's chilling winters, she finds herself again and again wrapped in thoughts of Grandma Buz and the ties of blood that they share.  If you've been waiting to unleash your inner muse, start by setting one of your own journal entries to digital images.

Tags:  genealogy,  family history,  digital,  storytelling,  photography,  video,  Roots Video,  Roots Television

The Veltz Family

The best stories seem to come from the times that stretch us the most as a family.  Watch this inspiring true story of one NYC family's journey through the music business.  From unemployment, to local success, to a record contract, and back, it is their connection to family that makes life go on.  31 years after their story began, they find new life and independence as "The Veltz Family". What's your family's name?  What's your story?

Tags:  Veltz Family,  video,  music,  stories,  family history,  genealogy,  Roots Video,  Roots Television

Tracing Your Family Roots: Methodology

Here is an episode from the series Tracing Your Family Roots.  Sallyann Sack, author of  Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy, talks with Arline Sachs about methodology for beginning genealogical research. Their discussion is based on the first chapter, called "Methodology: How to be a Genealogist", which was contributed by Eileen Polokoff.

If you are interested in Jewish genealogy in general, you may also want to check out the Tracing the Tribe blog, run by genealogist Schelly Talalay Dardashti.

Tags:  genealogy,  how to,  family history,  jewish,  video,  Roots Video,  Roots Television

Lost Tulsa

Have you ever wondered what happened to a favorite place or landmark around town?  Maybe your favorite high school hangout has disappeared or fallen into disrepair as new development takes over.   Tulsa Times' host David Crow interviews Tom Baddley, of the Lost Tulsa web site, about many of the  disappearing and vanished Tulsa landmarks that Lost Tulsa is attempting to preserve for the web. 

Did your grandfather grow up above the old pub on Center Street?  Did your mom learn to crochet at America's oldest knitting store?  Next time you make your way past the big box stores to the heart of old downtown, take along a camera and see what local history you can preserve.  It might even make a great school project for a budding historian.  Who's preserving the history of your hometown?

Tags:  photography,  genealogy,  family history,  Tulsa,  school project,  news,  video,  Roots Video,  Roots Television

Patricia Polacco's Family Tales

Patricia Polacco tells warm family tales drawn from her own childhood among an extended immigrant family of grandparents and cousins. In this interview by Reading Rockets, Patricia Polacco talks about writing and illustrating and the passing down of family history whose themes resonate with readers of all backgrounds. Reading Rockets is a national education service of public television station WETA. Funding is provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Throughout this holiday season, Roots Television is focusing on oral history and storytelling.  Programs such as "The Call of Story," "Capturing the Past," and "Grand Generation" can all be found in the How-to and Legacy sections.

Tags:  public television,  author,  books,  storytelling,  video,  genealogy,  family history,  Roots Television,  Roots Video

Canadian Thanksgiving Maple Cake

Happy Thanksgiving - and a belated Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! It's time to take a well-earned break from our research to enjoy the number one food holiday of the year.  Here's a maple cake recipe from our Canadian friends.  I haven't tried it yet, but it looks yummy to me!

Tags:  Thanksgiving,  Canada,  recipe,  family history,  food,  video,  Roots Television,  Roots Video

Life as a Kid

The Appalachian Media Access Center and the Athens County Library System trained local volunteers of all ages in oral history collection and digital video technology.  This video shows a small sample of the fascinating stories they collected.  Once you've finished your Family Health Portrait this Thanksgiving, why not start collecting your own oral histories?  All you need is a camcorder, cassette recorder, or even a pen and paper.  If you take a moment to interview your grandparents about their grandparents, suddenly you've spanned five generations! 

If you're looking for more inspiration, check out Grand Generation and Capturing the Past on the main Roots Television website. 

Tags:  oral history,  genealogy,  family history,  Thanksgiving,  video,  Roots Video,  Roots Television