Roots & Branches

While watching television, have you seen the Ancestry.com commercials?  They are informative and interesting.

I find their newest version is a hoot. Please take a few minutes to watch.

I am a person who enjoys humor in just about every part of my life so I try to look at this with a little humor and I hope you will too.

When helping patrons at the library or hosting a class, I always mention to the person(s) I am helping to remember our ancestors are only people just living their lives.  You may find good, find bad, or be very surprised.  This video clip is a great reminder to keep an open mind when working on your genealogy.  There isn’t one person out there that hasn’t had a family member that was hiding something.  We are all human and so were they.

Our ancestors have made us who we are today.  We may not always approve of all that our family members have done, but we need to delve into the lives they lived and the time they lived.  This is very important when understanding family member’s actions and mindset.  Living conditions and standards were very different back in time.

Recently I was reading “A Candle in the Darkness” by Lynn Austin.  Good book.  It is set in the 1850’s to 1860’s during the Civil War. I was reading for pleasure, but in doing so, I learned a great deal about the people and their daily lives.  I love historical fiction and nonfiction for just that reason, learning about the times and the people that lived in them.

Take the time to research and understand as much as you have time for.

Stop by your local library or look online.  Good Luck!

New on our shelves is the book

“Who Do You Think You Are? ” the Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History

(a companion to the NBC series) by Megan Smolenyak.

There is no such thing as an ordinary family.  Each one has its own stories: the black sheep, the Civil War hero, the ancestors who died to the United States, or the lost family fortune.  No matter how plain you think your background is, chances are there is a saga just waiting to be discovered.

The groundbreaking NBC series Who Do You Think You Are? Takes seven of America’s best-loved celebrities-from Lisa Kudrow to Susan Sarandon-on an emotional journey to trace their family history and discover who they really are.  The revelations are sometimes shocking, sometimes heartbreaking, and always fascinating.

With the Who Do You Think You Are? Companion guide, you will learn how to chart your own journey into your past and discover the treasures hidden in your family tree.  Featuring step-by-step instructions from one of America’s top genealogical researchers, Who Do You Think You are? Covers everything you need to know to start digging into your roots, including:

*Full-color profiles of the celebrities’ surprising revelations

*Starting the search-it’s as easy as pulling out the old family photos

*How to find and interpret clues to solve your own family history’s mysteries

*Census information-where to find it and how to use it.

*What birth, death, and marriage certificates have to tell us.

*How to track down immigration and military documents.

*The latest breakthroughs in DNS testing

*The best online resources to conduct your searches and store your newfound

discoveries to share with family and save for future generations

It has never been easier to bring your family history to life.  You will be amazed at how much there is to discover?

About the author:

Megan Smolenyan is the chief family historian and spokesperson for Ancestry.com, the largest genealogical company in the world.  She has consulted for and appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, NPR,  PBS, and the BBC.  She has written articles for numerous ancestry and genealogy publications, and lives in New Jersey.

Visit her at www.Honoringourancestors.com

I opened my email last night to find a frantic email from a very long distant cousin.  Keith and his wife had taken a very long awaited trip to Scotland to research their Scottish Line.  It seems everything was going well.  They had seen many of the sites, castles and lochs, etc.  He said the countryside was just gorgeous.  It seemed like a dream come true.

Next they started digging into family history.  It was going well when they took a break to find a little local cuisine. Dinner was nice, but as they stepped out into the street a local thug mugged them.  No one seemed to see what happened.  They thug had taken his wife’s purse and his wallet, and with them went their ID, passports and money.

Immediately they contacted the U.S. Embassy to ask for assistance.  Apparently they were able to get help,  but Keith and his family  were still stuck in Scotland.  It appears they must pay the hotel bill before leaving.  What a tough situation.

My point in sharing this story with you is this; we all want to visit the destinations where our ancestors first came.  The homeland becons to us to visit, but please be cautious.  It is so easy to get overly involved in the research.  We must all remember that we are still in unfamiliar surroundings.  Take the time to check around you and always keep your important documents and money hidden.

It was suggested to me when preparing for a trip to Canada that I make a few copies of my passport and credit cards.  Leave one copy at home with someone that you could contact and take one with you on the trip in your suitcase. The idea is that if you loose your purse/wallet in any way you can have a way to get the replacement passport much quicker or pay the bills with just a phone call.  This would be a huge difference for anyone in this unfortunate predicament.

As always I will continue to do my family history, but I will take this lesson with me and be a bit more cautious.  Research will now include family and safety tips.

Be Safe!

Books to try:

Travel Wise: How to be safe, savvy, and secure aboard

by Ray S. Leki

Travelers Handbook

by Jonathan Lorie

Travel Smarts: Everything You Need to Know to Go Anywhere

by Herbert Teison