Brooke Shields journey led her to Italy and France where she found a wealthy banker and a cousin of a King in her lineage! What a feeling it must be to descended from a royal family??
The further you trace your ancestors back, the closer you may find yourself related to royalty. Most Americans can trace branches of their history to Europe. Many royal families married into other royal families from different countries. If you find one royal name, you'll probably find others!
Brooke was also able to visit local sites in New Jersey where past family members lived, and died. She was able to find a newspaper article about her great uncles death and birth certificates of her grandmother and all of her siblings. Brooke was able to make connections of past events in her grandmother's life to better understand the decisions she made later in her life.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
War Veterans
Have you ever wondered how many of your ancestors fought in battle? Matthew Broderick discovers he has at least two war heroes in his family line on the television show, "Who Do You Think You Are".
Like others, Matthew's family didn't talk much of generations past and he didn't know much of his grandfather. He longed for more of a connection to him. He discovered his grandfather had crossed an ocean to join the fight in one of the World Wars. Like many who discover they have a war veteran in their family line, he was filled with much pride and surprise.
Matthew also found out that he also had a Civil War veteran in his family tree. He traveled to the site where his ancestor had fought and been buried in Georgia. He had been buried in a specific cemetary for the civil war casualities. Matthew was blown away he was able to find correlations between his ancestors and a role he had played in a movie years ago.
Like others, Matthew's family didn't talk much of generations past and he didn't know much of his grandfather. He longed for more of a connection to him. He discovered his grandfather had crossed an ocean to join the fight in one of the World Wars. Like many who discover they have a war veteran in their family line, he was filled with much pride and surprise.
Matthew also found out that he also had a Civil War veteran in his family tree. He traveled to the site where his ancestor had fought and been buried in Georgia. He had been buried in a specific cemetary for the civil war casualities. Matthew was blown away he was able to find correlations between his ancestors and a role he had played in a movie years ago.
Lisa Kudrow
A few weeks ago Lisa Kudrow explored her family's past history, on "Who Do You Think You Are". She spoke to her father about the earlier generations and gathered information for her genealogical journey.
The Holocaust and the Nazis were a powerful force in Lisa's family and many members never saw each other again after one of their homes had been raided. It was extremely dramatic and sad to hear the stories of the events that occured from this time, from the original towns people. I thought the hardship would never end!
Then....after determining what happened to a long lost cousin of her father's, Lisa and a local Polish historian found this cousin! To her suprise, he was alive and well! It's miraculous when someone can find a long lost relative. That has got to be one of the best rewards from researching your family and their roots!
The Holocaust and the Nazis were a powerful force in Lisa's family and many members never saw each other again after one of their homes had been raided. It was extremely dramatic and sad to hear the stories of the events that occured from this time, from the original towns people. I thought the hardship would never end!
Then....after determining what happened to a long lost cousin of her father's, Lisa and a local Polish historian found this cousin! To her suprise, he was alive and well! It's miraculous when someone can find a long lost relative. That has got to be one of the best rewards from researching your family and their roots!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The second Show in the Series!
Last week on "Who Do You Think You Are?", Emmitt Smith explored his family history. His perspective was a bit different, considering religion and the Bible, as a starting point of his lineage.
He traveled to the deep south, and the east coast looking for answers. Many questions he had regarding his family history could not be answered due to the sad history of the slave trade. Unfortunately, the slaves of Africa were not valued as humans worthy of a honored history and background to be perserved in writing.
Emmitt's trip ended on a somber note when visiting the town in Africa where his ancestors were placed on the slave ships. The slave trade is still operating and often children have to bare the burdens of this lifestyle to better the lives of their families.
Genealogy teaches us much about ourselves and the cultures of our ancestors, and it can even teach us of present day cultures.
He traveled to the deep south, and the east coast looking for answers. Many questions he had regarding his family history could not be answered due to the sad history of the slave trade. Unfortunately, the slaves of Africa were not valued as humans worthy of a honored history and background to be perserved in writing.
Emmitt's trip ended on a somber note when visiting the town in Africa where his ancestors were placed on the slave ships. The slave trade is still operating and often children have to bare the burdens of this lifestyle to better the lives of their families.
Genealogy teaches us much about ourselves and the cultures of our ancestors, and it can even teach us of present day cultures.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Who Do You Think You Are?
http://www.nbc.com/Primetime/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are/index.shtml
Did you catch the new NBC television series, "Who Do You Think You Are?".....Finally a primetime slot for genealogy and history. On the surfice this show is great for learning history and deep down, it can be a tool used to motivate us in our own family research.
In the first show we saw Sarah Jessica Parker travel the the United States finding graves, documents and other historical landmarks that helped her figure out who her ancestors were and what their lives might have been like. Not all of us have the resources to travel the nation and get our hands on these resources and information but we can still utilize tools that will get us closer to our own personal family history.
I can't wait to see future episodes of this new show! Hopefully it will inspire all of us to appreciate our personal family history.
Did you catch the new NBC television series, "Who Do You Think You Are?".....Finally a primetime slot for genealogy and history. On the surfice this show is great for learning history and deep down, it can be a tool used to motivate us in our own family research.
In the first show we saw Sarah Jessica Parker travel the the United States finding graves, documents and other historical landmarks that helped her figure out who her ancestors were and what their lives might have been like. Not all of us have the resources to travel the nation and get our hands on these resources and information but we can still utilize tools that will get us closer to our own personal family history.
I can't wait to see future episodes of this new show! Hopefully it will inspire all of us to appreciate our personal family history.
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