THE GENEALOGY ROADSHOW DEBUTS

One of the common critiques of the Who Do You Think You Are? program has
been the use of celebrities. I've often seen comments and posts from people
wishing that WDYTYA would do shows centered around "everyday" people.
Then last Spring PBS announced a new program, The Genealogy Roadshow,
that would do just that. It premiered Monday night.

The format is very much like its sister program The  Antiques Roadshow: there
are several longer segments involving interesting stories interspersed with
shorter segments.  Those longer segments included a few minutes of background
information on the historical figures  to whom people thought they might
be related, such as Davy Crockett and Jesse James.  Just as on Antiques Roadshow,
some theories were disproved and some were confirmed. Two experienced
genealogists, Kenyatta Berry and Joshua Taylor, did a great job of presenting
the evidence and conclusions reached by the show's researchers. Overall, I thought
the show was well done and enjoyable.

Not everyone in the online genealogy community agreed. Some complained there
were too many people covered and thought two or three cases for the hour would
be better. Others wanted more emphasis on showing the research process. And
others just plain out didn't like the whole format. I certainly didn't expect everyone
to like the show, so I wasn't surprised at most of the criticism, but there were a very few
whose remarks were over the line into nitpicking territory.

The Genealogy Roadshow is a limited run series with three more episodes yet to air.
Whether it gets renewed or not for a second season depends on the ratings and the
reception by the general public.  So while some genealogists want less emphasis on
confirming famous relatives and more on research methods, it's important for us
to remember that the show's future depends on its appeal to that general audience.
They want to be entertained, not educated about every step in genealogical research.
 If the show does its job and entertains it will prompt some viewers to begin their own
research, and that's where the education will begin for them

I'm looking forward to the rest of the first season and hope there will be more to come
for The Genealogy Roadshow.

THE CANCELLATION OF "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

I'd been watching the declining ratings of Who Do You Think You Are? this
season with growing concern. I knew they were putting the future of the
series in doubt but I hoped that NBC would still renew it as a commitment
to better programming on their part. So I was dismayed to learn last
night that the network had cancelled it for the upcoming 2012-2o013.

Several opinions were offered as to why WDYTYA had not been renewed.
one was that the program failed to appeal to the coveted 18-49 years old
demographic. But if you look at the weekly ratings, it's CBS' shows'
that dominate the Top 20 and their demographics are considerably older.
If the 18-49's are more valued, why are ads on the CBS shows more
expensive and the network's income up?

Another theory is one that's been heard before, that perhaps the show
would do better if it had dealt with normal every day people instead of
celebrities. I don't know if the producers have that option. Remember,
it's based on the original BBC show and everyone of the other eleven
international versions(including NBC's) followed the same format as
the mother series, much in the same way programs such as "The Voice:
and "America's Got Talent" follow the same format as the original
British programs. I doubt that f they were allowed to change
who the show spotlighted that the show would have even lasted
a single season if it aired at all. Networks tend to like star power.

  Anyway, I emailed NBC to protest the cancellation.


"Dear NBC,
I am greatly disappointed in your decision to cancel Who Do You Think 
You Are? At a time when there are so many ridiculous so-called "reality 
shows",  you've chosen to drop the one show on your schedule that is 
not only educational but inspiring as well. The fact that such a quality 
program is to be replaced by the likes of Howie Mandel's "White Elephant" 
is especially disheartening.


There was a time when NBC was known for the quality of its prime time 
lineup. I'd hoped that "Who Do You Think You Are?" signaled a return to 
those days. Please reconsider this terrible decision and renew the program. 
If you do,  it would answer a question I now have about your network:


Who Do You Think Your Are, NBC: a quality network, or one now 
dedicated to  shows aimed at the lowest form of entertainment?


Bill West "

If you want to send your own comments to NBC about this, go to
http://www.nbc.com/contact/general/  . Be sure to select "Who Do
You Think You Are?" from the "Select Show" box in the middle of the
screen. Share that link with your friends who like the show as well
and encourage them to let NBC hear their opinion. It's a long
shot but maybe we can get them to bring it back.

Friday night for the past few years has been "Genealogy Night" for
many of us. I'm going to miss it.

LINES OF DISTINCTION: ROB LOWE ON WDYTYA

Back in March I attended the 2012 New England Family History Conference,
and one of the sessions was one by Michael Potaski on "Finding Obscure
Family History Ancestors". Now I have many ancestors who fought in the
Revolutionary War but I have others from that period who I have not been
able to find any record that they served, so I was hoping to pick up some tips.
Then Mr Potaski mentioned something that surprised me. He mentioned that
there were other ways for a person to qualify for DAR or SAR membership
besides having an ancestor who fought in the war: ancestors who contributed
 money and supplies, or who served in some government capacity during
the Revolution, for example.

That night when I went back over the notes I'd taken that day I thought about what
Michael had said and as a historian realized it made sense. By supporting the
Revolution financially or by taking part in the new government, you were commiting
treason against the British Crown. You might not be facing the British army on the
field of battle, but you were still placing yourself in harm's way. In the early years
when things weren't going well for the Continental Army, there was always the
possibility that the crown would put down the rebellion, and then there would be a
reckoning. There were records with your name on them showing you had given
money to the King's  enemies, or had been part of the rebel government. Loyalists
would let the British troops know who the rebel sympathizers in town might be.
So for the first few years of the Revolution civilian supporters were in a different
sort of danger, but still in danger nevertheless.  So I could see why descendants
of such non combatants might qualify for membership in the Daughters of the
American Revolution or the Sons of the American Revolution.

Then this past Friday came the Rob Lowe episode of "Who Do You Think You Are".
Rob hoped to find that one of his ancestors had fought the British in the Revolution
but was shocked to find out an ancestor had actually been a Hessian soldier who
had been captured after the Battle of Trenton. Johan Christoph Oeste took
advantage of an amnesty offered by the Americans and left the British army to
settle in Pennsylvania. His descendants would know him as "Christopher East". 
Rob Lowe was thrilled at the end of the episode when he was invited to join
the SAR on the basis of Christoph's  payment of a "war tax".

Some viewers were upset by this, and I can understand that. I think somebody
either from the show or the SAR saw how badly Rob Lowe wanted to have an
Revolutionary War patriot for an ancestor and found a way to fulfill that wish.
I also think that desire colored Rob's interpretation of why his ancestor chose
to stay in America rather than return to Germany. The decision was probably
more for economic reasons rather than from a sudden conversion to the
colonists' cause. But I am concerned with how some have now leveled
criticism at the DAR and SAR for allowing membership for descendants
of noncombatants as if their ancestors were somehow less patriotic than
those who fought the British troops. After nearly 250 years, how can we
say whose ancestor was more patriotic? We weren't there. We can't know
what reasons someone might have had for not serving in the Continental
Army. Were my ancestors who went home after Lexington and Concord
less patriotic than my other ancestors who fought at Saratoga and spent
the winter at Valley Forge? Where do we draw the distinction? I don't think
the British would have made any. They would have all been either executed
or perhaps sent off in exile to another colony. Christoph Oeste would
have been executed as both a traitor and deserter.

They were all patriots.  The descendants of merchants and farmers who
gave money, or the officials of towns that supported the Revolution are
just as entitled to feel proud of  their ancestors as those of us whose
ancestors fought on the battlefield. The DAR and SAR are right to
recognize all their contributions to the Revolutionary War.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" :ROSIE O'DONNELL

The third episode of WDYTYA was the best so far this season and has
replaced the Vanessa Williams installment as my all time favorite in the series.
Rosie's mother died when Rosie was a child so a lot of information about
that side of the family tree was missing so that was what she focused her search
on. It was a great display of solid research techniques such as starting what
records you already have, what information another family member might have,
and in Rosies's case, a mysterious photograph. With the usual assistance
along the way, she made use of census records, newspaper articles, church
records and obituaries. Rosie took notes and seemed quite comfortable operating
microfilm machines when necessary.

I especially liked that Rosie and the viewers were made aware of multiple
spelling s of names. In her case, the further back she went, her maternal Murtha
line became Murtaugh.It was also nice to see them show how investigating
a collateral line can be just as engrossing and emotional as your direct line.

Rosie's search took her from Brooklyn to Montreal and finally to a poor house
in County Kildare Ireland. Her discoveries touched her emotions and in the
end changed her outlook on her own life.


There were three things Rosie said that rang very true to me. The first was her
remark was that "This isn't going to be as easy as it looks on tv!" Nope, it never is,
Rosie!


The second was a statement to the effect that we Irish Catholics don't like to
talk much about the sad things in our lives. I saw this in my own family in the
way my Mom would rarely say anything about her father who hadn't kept in
touch with his children after he and my grandmother Aggie divorced.

The third was after she toured the poorhouse. Rosie was visibly shaken and
in tears at one point speaking about the horrible conditions her ancestors had
endured there.Then she looked at the cameraman and said "Now get me the
hell out of here!" It was so much like something my Mom would have said.

All in all, an excellent episode . I hope Rosie keeps on with researching the
rest of her family history, because as many of us geneabloggers can tell her
there are many other stories out there waiting to be discovered.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" :TIM MCGRAW

I've put off commenting on last night's second episode of "Who Do You
Think You Are" because I couldn't quite put my finger on why it is probably
my least favorite episode in the entire series so far. I still can't say precisely
why that is after thinking about it over the course of today.

Perhaps it was how quickly they jumped 8 generations to get Tim McGraw's
lineage back to Jost Hite. Maybe it was that he didn't seem as involved in
the actual research as Vanessa Williams was last week. I also felt less of
an emotional reaction from Tim in some parts of the story. I thought the
details of his ancestor being killed by Indians seemed to give him pause
as if he wasn't quite sure how he should react on camera to that.

It's been interesting to see how those who've reviewed last night's show
have viewed how Tim reacted. Many of the female comments have been that
he's a guy and guys don't show their emotion as much as women do. But there
were other male viewers in the Geneablogger Radio chat last night who felt the
same disconnect that I did. Don't get me wrong. I don't feel a reaction too far
towards the other end of the scale is necessary (the preview of Rosie O'Donnell's
appearance next week had me wincing atg the montage of "WOW!"s),

Even though it's the least favorite episode for me I didn't hate it. The disappearance
of the recaps is most welcome and the show just flies by. Maybe we can get them to
lengthen the time to 90 minutes?

And despite the "Wowfest" I'm looking forward to Rosie's segment next Friday night!

'WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?'" PREMIERE WITH VANESSA WILLIAMS

A few thoughts on the season premiere of "Who Do You Think You Are?"
with Vanessa Williams:

-- As many geneabloggers noted, the producers did away with the annoying
summaries of the preceding segments when the show came back from commercial
breaks. Obviously someone took note of the criticism of the summaries from
the first season!

--The "Gloves Or No Gloves" controversy rages on. I've taken the view that the
experts displaying the documents are knowledgeable enough to decide when
gloves are needed. Last night was a perfect example of that when they used white
gloves to handle the daguerrotype at the National Archives.

--I thought Vanessa Williams' ancestry showed that there are many facets to
our ancestry. Not every Irishman came over because of the Potato Famine. Not
every African American was a freed plantation slave. Sometimes we have
preconceived notions on who our ancestors were which hinder our research.

--I felt Vanessa Williams was more involved herself with the research than
some other celebrities from Season 1. I like that she took notes and that she
visited the family cemetery to get some clues as to where to start her search.
I also like that she did much of the voice over narration herself. Whether this
was her decision or the producers' we'll find out in the next episode.

All in all, it was an excellent episode with an interesting story and displaying
good research techniques. I give it an A+!

THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST SEASON OF "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

I was able to view the Spike Lee episode season finale of "WDYTYA?"
online last night. Another fascinating show, even though not my
favorite one of the season. (My favorites were the SJP, Mathew Broderick
and Susan Sarandon installments; the least favorite was Brookes Shields).
I agree with Thomas MacEntee that more investigation into whether
slave owner Griswold was indeed Spike's ancestor would have been good,
but I'm not surprised that he didn't look further. It seemed to me that
Spike was uncomfortable at times with what he learned, and that's
understandable. Many people, both black and white, have difficulty with
the slavery issue and their family's involvement in it. And people should
be aware that sometimes there are unpleasant chapters in our family
histories when we start looking into them.

All in all, I was quite pleased with the first season. I expect to see the
show stick to the same formula of highlighting celebrities. I know some
of my fellow geneabloggers would like to see ordinary people as
subjects, but the producers know celebrities attract viewers. I believe
the original BBC version hasn't used ordinary people either.

But the best thing about Season 1 is that it IS Season 1! I'm happy the
show has been renewed and look forward to Season 2. Hopefully we'll
see it this fall and not have to wait until 2011 to enjoy it.

Congratulations to Lisa Kudrow and her fellow producers!

THE OXFORD ALABAMA INDIAN MOUND ONCE MORE ENDANGERED

Last July, Terry Thornton alerted us to a post at the Deep-Fried Kudzu blog about the
partial destruction of a 1500 year old Indian mound in the town of Oxford, Alabama. It
was being destroyed so that the dirt could be used for the foundation of a new Sam’s
Club store. Despite protests raised over the loss of a site that could have significance
to Native Americans, the mayor of Oxford remained adamant on continuing with the
project. Quite a bit of damage was done to the mound and only an offer from a local
farmer to provide dirt saved what was left.

Now comes word that the mayor is planning to level off the top of the hill to build a
new restaurant or hotel.

When I read this article yesterday I immediately thought about Emitt Smith’s segment
of “Who Do You Think You Are?” where he looks over the fence at the cemetery where
his slave ancestors are buried in unmarked graves in the woods. What if that area had
been cleared for a building or paved over for a parking lot?

Please spread the word about this disregard of Indian cultural history .If you
are a geneablogger, alert your readers with a post or with a link here to this article.
If you belong to a historical or genealogy society, tell your fellow members and urge them
to email or snailmail the Oxford, Alabama officials to protest the mayor’s plans.

The address is:
145 Hamric Drive East, PO Box 3383, Oxford AL 36203

The email address is
cityhall@oxfordalabama.org

You can read the article about the new plan in this weekends edition of the N.Y. Times.

Let’s use the surge of interest in genealogy to save this site and others like it
that are important to all our heritages.

MY "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" PROGRAM

It’s taking me a bit to get back into the swing of things since I came home and my late
night genealogy blogging and research have been on the backburner in favor of sleeping.
But it’s my day off today so I am hoping to get a post or two done today!

I’m starting off with a late(nearly a week!)response to Randy Seaver’s latest Saturday Night
Genealogy Fun challenge over at his Genea-Musings blog:

1) Pretend that you are one of the subjects on the Who Do You Think You
Are? show on NBC TV.

2) Which of your ancestors (maximum of two) would be featured on your
hour-long show? What stories would be told, and what places would you visit?

3) Tell us about it on your own blog, in comments to this blog post, or in
a Note or Comment on Facebook.

Well, this a no-brainer for me; I’d have them tackle my two big brickwalls.

First off, we’d have the experts research my ancestor John Cutter West. We’d start off
visiting the places in Maine that were important in his life:

Sumner Maine where he married Arvilla Ames in 1827.

Upton Maine where they and their family lived.

The roadside cemetery where he and several of his children are buried, The story of the
terrible diphtheria epidemic of 1862 would be told.

Then we’d travel to the NEHGS to meet with experts who will have found at long last
records of John Cutter West’s place of birth in Plymouth County Massachusetts and
the names of his parents.

The segment would end with a visit to whatever town where John was born and perhaps
the graves of his parents.

The other segment would be a search for my maternal grandfather Edward Francis White
Sr. This would take place mostly in the Boston area and look for the answers to:

Where did his parents come form?

Who did he marry after his marriage to my grandmother Aggie was over?

How many children did he have in his new family? What were their names and do I have
any cousins living near me? Do they even know about Edward’s first family? Would they
want to meet his other grandchildren, my sister, my brother and myself?

When did Edward die and where is he buried?

The program would end with a visit to his grave.

There it is. Not so far to travel but it would answer so many questions for both sides of
my family!

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

Like most of my geneablogging colleagues I was waiting for the premiere
of the new NBC genealogy program "Who Do You Think You Are?" with
great anticipation and hopes it would do a good job making genealogy
interesting to the general public. After watching the first episode last
night, I think the answer is a resounding yes.

I liked the fact that the search for Sarah Jessica Parker's Hodge
ancestors began where any family history research should start if
possible with a conversation with family members who might have
information. And then other sources were shown as useful for
tracing your family, such as census records, obituaries, and best of
all, historical and genealogical societies. I wish more had been said
about how long such searches usually take for the average person,
however.

One review I've seen refers to the program as "Ancestry with the
Stars" and some bloggers have said they wish the program would
use everyday people as subjects, but let's face it, folks, first and
foremost this is an entertainment program. If it is to have any
chance of ratings success it needs a Sarah Jessica Parker rather
than a Mary Jones to attract viewers.

One point that had some of my Fb friends concerned was that neither
SJP and the archivist were wearing gloves when handling the original
warrant for witchcraft against SJP's ancestor. But the use of gloves
seems to not be a universal rule. I recalled that the History Detectives
show mentioned this and found this link on Facebook about why they
are also occasionally shown not using gloves:

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=22490894413#!/note.php?note_id=126856096153

While I eventually tired of SJP's reactions I don't doubt they were genuine.
The show was filmed before the birth of her twins and she used the Hodge
and Elwell surnames as part of her childrens' names.

Finally, during the show my brother called. He and his fiancee were
watching and wondered if SJP's Elwell ancestor was one of the witches
in our own family tree. I told him no, that ours were Mary Eastey and
Rebecca Blake. Then after the commercial when SJP was visiting a
memorial to the victims of the Witch Hysteria, the second marker she
brushed the snow off was for Mary Eastey! What are the odds?

Overall, I give the premiere an A-. What did the general public
think? I haven't seen any ratings yet, but after the show aired,
traffic at the Ancestry.com site seems to have suddenly become
quite heavy!

So, what did you think of "Who Do You Think You Are?"