Genealogy Roundup, October 5
This week: old wedding photos recreated, preserving the smell of history, raise a glass at 10 of the remotest bars on the planet, the cave where Nat Turner hid, and more.
Genealogy Roundup, September 21
Lots of inspiration this week! Start with a look at a memorial which had as its genesis this thought: "The character of a nation as a people of great deeds is one, it appears to me, that should never be lost sight of." Explore the story of Lucy Lee Shirley, a woman who transcended the shadows of slavery and domestic abuse and who, among other things, was able to educate herself and her family and leave her children more than $23,000 in today’s money; check out the update on the DNA of long-lived Italians which was previously reported as stolen, and more.
Genealogy Roundup, September 14
Lots of goodies in this week's Roundup! British celebrities highlight their "refugenes" in an effort to help refugees. We also have two stories around DNA, two stories in which blacksmiths play a part -- one forging awards from pieces of the Statue of Liberty and the other performing marriage ceremonies(!) -- two stories about segregation in cemeteries, and more.
Genealogy Roundup, September 7
In this week's Roundup, read about a woman who, inspired by a memoir of her grandfather found after his death, delved deeply into the world of her great-grandfather, a prominent portrait painter in Warsaw in the early-to-mid-20th century. Also this week: old documents which had lain in a bottle for more than 60 years tell about life, death, and love as seen through the eyes of a young girl called Hanna, a Who Do You Think You Are? retrospective, Melissa McCarthy, Irish Civil Registration records, and more . . .
Genealogy Roundup, August 31
In this week's Roundup: dream over Russian window art (stunning!), read the stories of some Missouri adoptees who were able to learn their biological parents' identities thanks to passage of a recent law, check out the world's tallest cemetery, and much more.
Genealogy Roundup, August 24
In this week's Roundup, get your funny bone tickled with an Ellis Island cartoon, explore a tattoo shop formerly frequented by medieval pilgrims (and still in the same business!), check out two family sagas you might enjoy reading, and more.
Genealogy Roundup, August 10
This week: a heartwarming video about the trans-Atlantic reunion of sisters who never knew of each other (made possible by DNA, with a little help from Ancestry.com and British Airways), the man who named the Buffalo Bills, empty mansions, and more.
Tim Kaine Ancestral Samplings
I recently took a peek into the family tree of Tim Kaine in a piece that combined a big-picture perspective with a mini-saga of the Kaine branch. During the course of my research, though, I came across other random tidbits of interest, so thought I’d share them clustered by branch of the family tree.
Genealogy Roundup, August 3
In this week's Roundup: Ukrainian flower crowns (gorgeous! be sure to click through to the gallery in the photo credit), ancestry tourism, a juxtaposition of portraits and genetic ancestry from Brazil, talking statues, and more.
Hillary Clinton’s Celtic Roots
When it was announced that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be inducted into the Irish America Hall of Fame in 2015 for her work on the Irish peace process, it was inevitable that I would explore the branches of her family tree, but it wasn’t the first time. Having delved into her roots in years past, I was familiar with the basics, but when I took a deeper dive into the Welsh portion of her heritage, I discovered that it’s rather surprising that Hillary Rodham Clinton exists at all.