Roots Television | Megan's Roots World

November Grant Awarded

The Friends of the Archives Historical & Preservation Society of Monroe County, Tennessee brings historical records into public usage through their archives and on the Internet. The grant award will fund the purchase of archival grade, acid-free boxes so the organization can safely store donated journals and very old family bibles.

You can apply for an Honoring Our Ancestors Grant here.

Genealogical Round Up, November 19

Chris Dunham strikes again!
The Genealogue: Also, Is My Cousin's Cousin Famous?

Good news from the DAR!
DearMYRTLE's Genealogy Blog: DAR: Online databases now available

One of my favorite tweeps:
Ivy Bean (IvyBean104) on Twitter

Hmmm . . . a VoiceQuilt, eh? What do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?
VoiceQuilt Personalized Keepsake Gifts With Voice Messages And Recorded Voice Memories

Got a strange call yesterday re: using dead celebrities' hair to create perfume:
Perfume's heaven scent: New 'Antiquity' fragrances based on DNA of dead celebs

Hadn't heard of this one. Anyone familiar with it?
Genealogy in Many Languages with Genealogy In Time™ Magazine

Thanks for the shout-out, Dick!
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: Are You My Cousin?

The Unclaimed Persons group would welcome new volunteers. Please consider contributing your sleuthing skills!
Unclaimed Persons - Private

Am confused. Is DNA Print Genomics coming back? "DNA Test Reveals Secrets of Past Ancestry"
DNA Test Reveals Secrets of Past Ancestry

Upcoming Event

November 24, 2009 - Burlington, NJ - Tabernacle Baptist Church - "Michelle Obama's Roots" - 6:30 p.m. - 150 East Second Street

Hope to see you there!

Genealogical Round Up, November 12

The latest additions from Joe Beine. More, please!
Genealogy Roots Blog: Recently Added Online Birth and Marriage Records Indexes

Jenice Armstrong: Michelle's family tree is multi-hued - like so many others | Philadelphia Daily Ne

Ellis Island immigrant from Slovakia celebrates 100th birthday. Wishing her many more!
Mrs. Stanya celebrates her 100th birthday | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette

Linda Avey, co-founder of 23andMe, writes of "unchecked paternalism." Well put.
The Life and Times of Lilly Mendel

Who's going this year??? RT @WDYTYALIVE Tickets on sale! Quote TWITTER241 for 2 for 1 tickets (£2 transaction fee)
Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2010

Blood Atonement | Red Room

Genealogical Round Up, November 5

Deja vu all over again. This time it's Massachusetts. Please sign the petition and use the share feature here to help spread the word. Thanks!
Save Your State Library! Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com]

Yes, I know. Weird source for genealogical news, but check out the second item.
Heavy Lift - News

Hmmm . . . think I might like Slice of Life best. What's your favorite? (Thanks, Buzzy!)
My Tree and Me — Products

Couldn't agree w/Sharon Tate Moody more. WPA was a silver lining to the Great
Depression. Let's do it again!
TBO.com: Yes we scan: a letter to the president

Wow. Wonder if he has any living descendants?
210-year-old Irish immigrant's grave uncovered in New York park | Irish News | IrishCentral

October Grant Awarded

The goal of the Boulder Pioneers Project in Colorado is to identify the original pioneers to the area for Boulder's upcoming sesquicentennial anniversary. The list currently includes more than 10,200 people. The grant award will go toward providing gift copies of the indices to the major genealogical research libraries.

You can apply for an Honoring Our Ancestors Grant here.

Genealogical Round Up, October 29

Meet one of my great-grandfathers, David Shields. I had never seen what he looked like until I snagged this image from his passport application. He applied when he went back home to Ireland to visit relatives.
Family Pics

What are they thinking??
Answer Angel offers alternatives to the burden of an estate sale -- chicagotribune.com

A charming tribute . . .
www.telegraph.co.uk

Sounds like a great project!
DNA Tests in Ghana May Shed Light on African-Americans’ Origins

Genealogical Round Up, October 22

Hmmm . . . have only played with this for a couple of minutes, but looks promising!
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: FamilySearch Community Trees

This would be seriously bad news and greatly hamper NARA research. Time to make ourselves heard again.
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter: NARA Seeks to Shrink Research Space and Services in D.C.

O'Baby! Get your Gaelic on -- on your iPhone. Irish baby names app
New iPhone app for Irish baby names | Irish News | IrishCentral

I love what this woman has done. I wanted to snag a place in Osturna, the Slovak village that's home to all the Smolenyaks in the world, but doubted I would get over there enough to make it worthwhile. She lives in Moscow, so this makes much mor...e sense for her, but it's fairly remarkable what she's put together. Would love to visit her!
In Russia, a Schoolhouse Home - NYTimes.com

I have to say that I'm beginning to believe that just about everybody is part Irish!
Springsteen, born in the USA but with Irish roots - The Irish Times - Tue, Oct 13, 2009

Have a feeling we're going to hear more about this - Sperm donor passed on sudden death heart defect:
The Associated Press: Sperm donor passed on sudden death heart defect

Jenice Armstrong: Digging up Obama roots: First lady is Haddonfield genealogist's latest coup | Phil

Several countries claiming Mother Teresa's remains. I'm honored to say that she spoke at my Georgetown graduation. I tried to meet her several times when I was in Kolkata (Calcutta), but no such luck. What do you think? Albania, India or Macedonia?
Albania to India: Give us Mother Teresa - CNN.com

Wow, imagine future descendants researching their roots only to learn that their homeland is under water. The comments at the end about advance migration planning are among the most interesting.
From underwater, Maldives sends warning on climate change - CNN.com

I was really wiped at this point so look a little worse for wear, but if you didn't catch this, here's another piece on Michelle Obama's roots. Enjoyed having the time to explain in greater depth and to do this with Rachel Swarns of the NYT.
Online NewsHour | PBS

Dignity at last for remains of Irish immigrants | Staten Island Featured Entries - Breaking News - -

Genealogical Round Up, October 8

Video (well, glorified PPT) re: Michelle #Obama's roots:
Free African Genealogy Videos on Roots Television: Africa, African-American, DNA, descent, ancestry

Have been looking into Michelle Obama's roots for a while and the NYT just came out with an article about it.
In First Lady’s Roots, a Complex Path From Slavery - NYTimes.com

Hmmm . . . wonder if this will happen in the U.S.??
Rosanna inspires family tree boom time - Around Town, Entertainment - Herald.ie

Good news for genetic genealogists!
I.B.M. Pursues $1,000 Genome Sequencing - NYTimes.com

Thanks for the shout-out for RootsTelevision.com, Leland!
Roots Television is 3 Years Old!

More online goodies!
Ancestry.com Expands Partnership With the National Archives Through New Off-Site

Lisa Kudrow brings series to MIPCOM

World’s oldest human-linked skeleton found - Science- msnbc.com

Genealogical Round Up, October 1

Hmmm . . . wonder if my half-Italian husband would qualify?
Dual citizenship may be possible for Italians - Las Vegas Sun

Thanks a million, Randy! Appreciate the kind words!
Genea-Musings: Roots Television's Top 10 Videos

Hey Everyone, RootsTelevision.com is 3 years old today! If you've enjoyed our shows, please celebrate by telling 3 friends about RootsTelevision.com! And check out the top 10 viewers' favorite videos!
Roots Television | Og Blog: The Best of RootsTelevision.com for a Birthday Celebration

Irish-American acting legend Maureen O’Hara is the ultimate survivor | Entertainment in Ireland and

I've included Love Peace Joy in a few of my talks. You can find him in the Canadian census.
Ancestry.ca Reveals the Most Interesting Baby Names in Canadian History | SYS-CON INDIA

Here's a weird experience. Last year, I wrote an article about tracing then-candidate Obama's roots to Ireland (you can read it here: http://bit.ly/38CF4z). This involved research I did back in 2007. Recently, Ancestry Magazine began placin...g a lot of its extensive collection of articles online -- including this one -- and a writer at Irish Central must have spotted it. The result? The article that follows -- which largely parallels my own. How did I learn about this? Tom Kemp of GenealogyBank spotted the article and tweeted it. Welcome to the wild, wooly world of the Internet . . .
Obama researcher reveals how she found president's Irish roots | IrishCentral

Not at all what I was expecting from the headline, but still an interesting use of DNA testing.
Tribe to use identity testing for prospects | MLB.com: News