Who do you think you are?

[Jen]

Has anyone caught this show on CBS? I just found out about it last night (ok tv isn't generally my cup of tea unless it is NCIS). With the help of a professional genealogist, celebrities trace their roots. I have only seen the episode with Lisa Kudrow whose great-grandmother was executed by the Nazis in World War II. While this show is a big plug for Ancestry.com, it shows that genealogists (and I will include historians) aren't just creepy people who hang out in cemeteries and prefer dead people to live ones (ok, maybe some of us are!).

I come from a genealogy background and found that the processes are similar if not identical. Genealogy is generally visualized as a tree, while I see our type of research as blades of grass. We focus on the subject, and maybe parents and children, but disregard the extended family. Instead, we focus on surrounding people (other blades of grass).

My question is how other posters think this show will impact potential future researchers as it generates new interest, and secondly, by focusing of some pretty big names in Hollywood, will there be any measurable shift toward history in the land of lights and glitter? Or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

Jen

[Stan H]

I never gave much thought to my family history, but my sister is all involved in it, and I must admit, after she showed me some of our history, it was pretty interesting.

As to the show, I refuse to watch any of those so-called "reality" shows.

[Gay Mathis]

I have watched it, so far, since I am a genealogist..Interesting concept to generate interest, if one is so inclined the way they are doing it..Although, I think much is left out of the show that shows the real numbers of steps and years to acquire good documentation, and in some cases, it can never be had because of courthouse fires, poor record keeping, etc. for some..

I, also, like the Dr. Henry Louis Gates shows on PBS, for example, "Face of America"..

Documenting true genealogy is long and hard work, and one needs to be prepared for what could be lurking in your family tree as it may not turn out the way your family stories were always told to you........:)

[Wild Bill]

I've been spending the past month on Ancestry.com working on my family tree - since I was adopted at birth and only learned of my blood relations in my 20's I didn't grow up with any real family stories.
The ones I have are the ones that we've made together since. The work I'm doing on making my tree is giving my kids and grandkids something I didn't have, a history of where they came from. The thing I've learned the most is not as much about my family but about families in the 1700 - 1900's. I come from a long line of farmers in the mid-west and I just see the long list of kids my ancesters had - whoa. And the names - they are the best.
You never know where a link will take you - I have a great aunt named Lorena Mae Holliday and family lore is she's from Doc's family but I haven't made that final link...yet. But you never know who else you'll dig up, and I have found a couple of interesting items in the tree.
But I haven't watched the show - I'm with Stan H on 'reality' shows and doubt this show will have the impact like Roots had (if you remember that).

[Stan H]

One of the problems we run into is the difference in name spelling.

For instance, Wild Bill mentions Holliday's. My Grandmother, (my father's mother) was named Halady. However, tracing it back, her ancestor's, comming from Ireland,(about 1700) was named Halladay. The name changed a couple of times over the years. Now, the pertinaent part: William Halladay, the man from Ireland, had a number of sons. Tracking them, after a couple of generations, we find the name Holliday!

So, Wild Bill, how ya doin', cousin?

(am interesting side note, when my father's ancestor came here from Scotland, the forms filled out when he reached the US showed he was from Belfast, Scotland,,,,lol His name was also misspelled)

[Wild Bill]

Doin' fine cuz :-)

Stan makes a great point - my grandfather was a Headley but prior to him it is spelled Headlee. I don't know exactly when it changed because it seemed to change on the whim of the Census decade by decade. It also is listed in many variations thru the 1800, spelling was not one of the 3 R's and it shows. When tracing back my family you had to be ready to find it under a variety of spellings - both last and more so first names.
I'll also note that most of the time the newspapers of the period spelled James Butler Hickok's name as Haycock - at least they added the "of Harper's fame" so you knew it was him.

[Jen]

A change in spelling doesn't mean someone set out to change it. Many people couldn't write, or write in English. The person taking the information may have just winged it. Many spelled it out phonetically, or the way it sounded. If a branch of the family moved to another area and didn't know how to spell it, someone else created their spelling for it. Who knew? One of my family names is Phillippi/Phillipi/Philippi/Philipi/Phillippe/Phillipe/Philippe/Philipe/ plus 'begins with F' or 'ends with Y, IE or EE'. And just when I thought I had it all covered, what did I find?? PHILLIPBY!! ARRRGHHHH!!

A fairly well known example in my family, if there is one, is Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. If you saw "Bonnie & Clyde" with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beaty, it was pronounced 'Hammer' in much of that movie, until Frank, played by Denver Pyle, corrects them. Well, the part of that family that remained here in Indiana used (and still uses) Hammer and Hammers.

Some likely changed their names to burn bridges, escape law enforcement, or to 'Americanize', but after decades of research, my take is that in most cases the changes 'just happened'. Add to all of that poor handwriting, ink deterioration, sloppy transcriptions, worn gravestones. It's a wonder we can find ANYONE!! LOL!!

Additionally, spelling in general wasn't standardized until the late 1880's. Catalogue became catalog, etc.

Happy hunting!
Jen

[Ginny Morgan]

Jen, I love this show. The first two episodes were just as compelling as Lisa's...The first one with Sarah J. Parker actually traced her family back to an accused witch in Salem..LOL I find that funny simply because she played a witch in Hocus Pocus...just my wierd sense of irony...the next one with Emmit Smith was also very good...tracing his slave heritage back to Benin, Africa..done with no bitterness..very professional. The episode with Lisa K was just sad and poignant...but still good.

I have been doing geneaology for over thirty years and have traced both my family and my husbands back to the Vikings. In the time given the show does a very good job..I think it has already generated a lot of interest in family research..I recently joined a facebook fan page for ancestry.com and seems like a lot of folk are getting into it. It can only benefit anyone who wants to trace the family. As for it changing the way Hollywood views history I very much doubt it. The powers that be, there, are in it for the money.

[Danny Meadows]

Well, True West Magazine inspired me to research my roots and that is why I'm here now a part of this community. If anyone cares to know more about the story check out my profile for the letter I wrote to thank BBB and Marshall Trimble .