Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

What's New At Ancestry.com: May 2013 Edition

Crista Cowan gives a quick look in a YouTube video at the new features and tools available to help make your family history easier and more fun. You can view the video at http://youtu.be/lY0FBu-R1-U or by clicking on the icon in the middle of the picture below:

Ireland's Family History Year

Tourism Ireland has announced that 2013 is to be Ireland’s “Family History Year” in a bid to encourage people around the world to find out more about their Irish ancestry. Hundreds of clan gatherings, as well as genealogy and local history events, are planned all over Ireland this year, as part of The Gathering Ireland 2013.

Family Tree: New HBO Show Debuts May 12th

Set your VCR or video disk recorder! The new "Family Tree" television show will appear on HBO with the first episode to be aired on May 12th. Seven more episodes will follow. Here is a trailer about the show:

Video: A Conversation with Dirk Weissleder

I recently had a chance to talk with Dirk Weissleder, National Chairman of the DAGV (Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft genealogischer Verbände e. V. ), the federation of genealogical societies in Germany. Dirk talked about his start in genealogy, beginning in 1982, and the work he has done since then. Our conversation took place at the RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dirk talked about the cooperative agreement that had just been signed between DAGV and the (U.S.) Federation of Genealogical Societies. Our conversation was videotaped and is now available at http://youtu.be/B_Jm71UxPvg or you can click on the image below:

Kelly Clarkson to Appear on the New U.S. Version of "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Here are two news stories rolled into one:

1. Kelly Clarkson will be featured on a future episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" to be broadcast in the U.S.
2. There WILL be future episodes of "Who Do You Think You Are?" to be broadcast on TLC.

The program ended on NBC last year but many genealogists have hoped it would re-appear. Rumors have floated around for months about a possible re-appearance of "Who Do You Think You Are?" in the U.S. However, the network involved was not announced until Clarkson was recently spotted in Americus, Georgia prior to filming her segment at the Andersonville National Historic Site. The location is the home of a confederate military prison where 45,000 soldiers were held during the Civil War.

Who Do You Think You Are? Livestreaming Video is Available on the Internet

I attended Day #1 of the Who Do You Think You Are? Live conference in London today. In theory, I could have stayed home and watched much of the same thing. That's a great theory but, trust me, in-person attendance is always better. However, if you are unable to attend, you can view "the next big thing" via LIVE video streaming on the Ancestry.co.uk Academy web site. If you are outside the U.K., don't forget about time zone changes!

If you would like to watch the live events at The Olympia Exhibition Center in downtown London, go to the Ancestry.com Blog at http://goo.gl/rU4Zq.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. Answers Genealogy Questions Online

To kick off Black History Month, Henry Louis Gates, host of the PBS series Finding Your Roots, will be answering genealogy questions on a blog called The Root.

Video: Famine and Shipwreck, An Irish Odyssey

In the Spring of 1849, a coffin-ship called the Hannah, carrying 180 Irish emigrants fleeing Ireland's potato famine, hit an ice reef in the strait near Cape Ray, off the coast of Newfoundland. The captain, a 23 year-old Englishman, took flight in the only lifeboat, leaving his passengers to either drown or freeze to death. Seventeen hours later, the survivors were rescued by another famine ship, the Nicaragua.

Follow-up: Genealogist David Lambert Did Appear on "History Detectives"

As predicted two days ago at http://goo.gl/l6JnU, David Lambert did appear on the television program History Detectives. He used genealogy research to identify the owner of a powder horn from the French and Indian Wars. If you missed the program or if your local PBS station did not broadcast it, newsletter reader Humphrey offers another alternative: you can watch the program on your computer or tablet at any time at http://video.pbs.org/video/2323355629.

When I watched the program online, the video took some time to load. Be patient. It will play eventually.

 

Genealogist David Lambert to Appear on "History Detectives"

David Lambert is a professional genealogist and researcher at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. He will be featured on the national television show, History Detectives, this Tuesday Jan 8, at 8pm Eastern time on PBS.  Hey! That's tomorrow!

David reports, "It was a great time filming the episode  - I can't say much more until after it it airs on TV.  But I help uncover the mystery behind one of the objects on the show."

Check your local television listings for the time and channel in  your area. It will be broadcast on most PBS stations on January 8. I'm setting my digital video recorder to capture the episode.

 

FindMyPast Series Starts on U.K. Television Tuesday 8 January at 9.00pm

Television viewers in the U.K. can watch a genealogy programme on television starting this week on the Yesterday channel.

The new FindMyPast series has five new episodes:

• Great escape
• Dickens' Double Life
• Battle of Trafalgar
• Scott of the Antarctic
• Abdication crisis

"Allt för Sverige" (All for Sweden): 10 Americans Travel to Sweden to Search for Ancestors

Newsletter reader Sue Wilson wrote to tell of a television program on Swedish television called "Allt för Sverige" (All for Sweden). The program features ten Americans who traveled to Sweden to search for their ancestors. It´s a competition, so the winner gets to meet his/her Swedish relatives.

Along the way, the Americans travel to different parts of Sweden and experience different things in Sweden and learn about their ancestors. The programs are mostly in English with a little Swedish introduction (sometimes also a bit of Swedish explanations during the show).

New Release in Voices of Genealogy Video Series

The following announcement was written by the (U.S.) National Genealogical Society:

New Release in Voices of Genealogy Video Series: Robert Charles Anderson, FASG “Building Bridges Between Genealogy and History”

ARLINGTON, VA, 30 NOVEMBER 2012: The National Genealogical Society is honored to announce a public release in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ): Robert Charles Anderson, FASG, director of The Great Migration Study Project, on “Building Bridges between Genealogy and History.”

Video: Doing Genealogy Research in a Real Time Collaboration Experience

 

A new video from FamilySearch Wiki is now available that describes one approach to fast genealogy research. David Rencher narrates the video and even describes the concept of real time collaboration as being similar to "a genealogical barn raising." It features video conferencing amongst several genealogy experts.

The video is adapted from a presentation given at the 2010 National Genealogical Society Conference entitled Doing Research in Real Time-An Exhilarating Collaboration Experience! Its purpose is to demonstrate that genealogical research can be conducted by forming a collaborative team that can work together online. By utilizing this type of approach, a small team of researchers can produce more artifacts and results in less time than a single researcher working alone.

New Release in Voices of Genealogy Video Series: “Research Adventures in England”

The following announcement was written by the U.S. National Genealogical Society:

Arlington, VA, 28 September 2012: The National Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the September video release honoring the 100th anniversary of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ): Ronald Ames Hill’s recollections of “Research Adventures in England.”

Dr. Hill was a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when he inherited a collection of early nineteenth-century letters from the collection of his great-aunt. Already a highly skilled scientific researcher, he went to work learning the stories of his ancestors with the same determination and thoroughness he brought to his profession. He undertook his first journey to Cornwall, to the parishes of his ancestors, in 1971 and by now has made sixteen such trips for fourteen months of on-site research. Since his retirement from Sandia in 1994, ancestral research and publishing have become a full-time occupation. He has published thirty-one articles in national genealogical journals (over twenty in the NGSQ) and four books based on his ancestral research.

TLC Network Reported to Be in Talks to Pick Up "Who Do You Think You Are?" TV Show

This isn't an official announcement just yet, so don't go celebrating. Label this as a rumor. Bloomberg is reporting that TLC is in talks to pick up the U.S. version of the popular “Who Do You Think You Are,” a show that works with Ancestry.com Inc. to unearth the genealogy of celebrities, two people familiar with the discussions said.

Producers of the television show, which was canceled by NBC earlier this year, are also in talks with other networks, said the people, who asked not to be identified yesterday because the discussions are private. Negotiations with the TLC cable network are at an advanced stage, one of the people said.

You can read the full story on Bloomberg's web site at http://goo.gl/ORSW4.

Death or Canada: Fleeing the Irish Famine

Ballinran Entertainment produced a two-part documentary for Canadian television several years ago that appeared on Irish, English, and Canadian television. The one-hour 34-minute program  describes the Irish immigration to Canada during the potato famine. The story in the film is heartbreaking and at the same time commands respect and awe for those that made the trip in "coffin ships" and survived that their children and children's children might have a better life in North America.  The film mentions John F. Kennedy, Bing Crosby, and Henry Ford as three that owe their existence to these Irish that chose Canada rather than death. The program won rave reviews and then seemed to slip into obscurity.

Thanks to computer technology and the Internet, anyone in the world can now watch this moving documentary.

NGS Releases New “Becoming a Genealogist” Video with Henry B. Hoff

The following announcement was written by the National Genealogical Society:

Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, FGBS: “Becoming a Genealogist” -
New Release in Voices of Genealogy Video Series

Arlington, VA, 24 August 2012: The National Genealogical Society is pleased to announce the August celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) with the release of Henry B. Hoff’s story of Becoming a Genealogist.

U.S. National Archives' "Know Your Records" Videos Available Online

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration has been adding more and more instructional and informational videos to its collection. You can find such titles as Genealogy Introduction—Military Research at the National Archives: Volunteer Service, or Genealogy Introduction—Immigration Records at the National Archives, Passport Applications, 1795-1925, and Let No Man Put Asunder: Freedmen's Bureau Marriage Records.

You can learn more about the Know Your Records program at http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records . The videos are available at http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2012/nr12-141.html.

Will "Who Do You Think You Are?" Re-Appear on Another Network?

Dan Bucatinsky posted the following on his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DanBucatinsky:

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" on DVD ! And Season 3 coming soon. Look for an all new season in 2013!!! on an all new network!

And who is Dan Bucatinsky? and why would he know? Dan was the co-executive producer (along with Lisa Kudrow) of the recently-canceled U.S. version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" on NBC. I would think he should know.