Greetings Fellow Family History Sleuths,

I imagine most of you are still recovering from the release of the 1940 census – either that, or still feverishly searching or indexing it! I had the opportunity to be at the launch at the National Archives, just as I was waaaay back in 2002 for the 1930! While I was there, I snagged a few shots (below). Before I dive back into the census (a huge help for my Army cases!), I just wanted to take a moment to thank all those who were kind enough to add a review to Amazon, B&N, etc. for my latest book. Can't tell you much I appreciate it! Here's hoping you find everyone on your list!

1940 Census Photos

Look who's first in line:

1940 Census opening:

It's here:

John Spottiswood of Archives.com speaking at NARA 1940 Census Opening:

Dad in 1940 Census at 19 Sycamore St., Wilkes-Barre, PA - census, photos then and last week:

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Genealogy Round Up, April 5

Complete 1940 Census records go public, open window on history – USATODAY.com

Make History in Your Pajamas

WWI draft registration cards and more! 
Records Update 30 Mar 2012

How to Research Your Family Tree

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation SMGF Bi-Weekly Brief

Some familiar names in here! 
1940 census: Amid website overload, some report success finding ancestors

Celebrities in the 1940 Census

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Helen Hunt, Cory Booker, John Lewis, Harry Connick, Jr., & Branford Marsalis get their roots done

Just about everyone I know is an avid viewer of Who Do You Think You Are? which airs on Friday nights on NBC, so there’s a good chance that many of you reading this already know that Helen Hunt will be featured this week.  But I want to make sure y’all know about what else is heading our way this weekend.

The latest genealogical TV series, Finding Your Roots (PBS), starts on Sunday, March 25th, with a double-opener – a pair of episodes featuring Harry Connick, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Cory Booker and John Lewis.  I did a little work on the show, and specifically requested to research Cory Booker.  I wish the show could have been longer because his family tree is even more remarkable than what you’ll see.  In fact, I can honestly say that I’ve never encountered one quite like his in all my years of research. And yes, for my genetic genealogy friends, DNA will be involved!

Here are a couple of photos from one of the shoots.  I know the second one is a little odd, but I like the fact that we’re both cracking up!  And yup, that’s Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr. in the background.

BTW, Finding Your Roots will be ten episodes long with 20 celebrities, so when you take both series into consideration, we’re in the midst of a 4+ month stretch of genealogical programming!  Not shabby, eh?!

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Genealogy Round Up, MaRch 29

Looking forward to sharing the 1940 excitement with Archives.com! 
Megan Smolenyak Joins as Family History Advisor to Archives.com

Would someone please write my 20th review?? 
Amazon.com: Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing

So May will be the 12th anniversary of my genealogy grants and July will be the 150th grant. Any ideas how to celebrate? 
Genealogical Research Grants 

Share this fun 1940 census infographic!
Find Your Family in the 1940 Census [INFOGRAPHIC] 

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Genealogy Round Up, March 22

Unexpected Irish

Though this piece makes it sound like a he-said/she-said situation, it's Annie! 
Discovering a New Photo, Perhaps, of Ellis Island's Annie - NYTimes.com

C'mon, Slovakia! 
Records Update 19 Mar 2012 from FamilySearch.org

Meeting with his Irish cousins yet again. Here's how they were found. 
President Barack Obama's Roots

Over 4 Million England, Hungary, and Italy Records Added at FamilySearch
Records Update 21 Mar 2012

Cool idea! Student exhibits based on family history - like a science fair!
Family artifacts, history displayed at Tuesday’s LVHS Night at the Museum

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Honoring Our Ancestors Grants

Congrats to our recent grant recipient! Don't forget that you can apply here.

March 2012
The Family History Information Standards Organisation is a new organization that was created to help develop a new standard to facilitate the transfer of genealogy information from program to program. The grant award will be used toward incorporation and other startup fees of the organization. 

February 2012
The Vine Lake Preservation Trust in Medfield, MA serves the genealogical communities who visit Vine Lake Cemetery by providing walking tours to interpret and celebrate noteworthy events and persons buried on-site, as well as support for family historians and collaboration with professional genealogists. The grant award will assist the Trust in developing a self-guided walking tour map, titled "Walk Among the Shadows." The map will be the first in an information series that will provide stories of 50 selected persons buried in the cemetery. 

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Upcoming Events

If you plan to be near any of the events where I'll be speaking, I would love to meet you. It's always a kick for me when folks mention that they read this newsletter, my blog, Huffington Post or whatever, so don't be shy about introducing yourself!

For more information on these events, please see my Events Calendar. And if you're interested in scheduling me, just click here.

• April 18-20, 2012 - Houston, TX - Texas Library Association - "Next Generation Genealogy"
• April 22, 2012 - Haddonfield, NJ - Haddonfield Friends of the Library - "Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing"
• April 24, 2012 - Princeton, NJ - NovoNordisk - "Who Do You Think You Are?
• April 25, 2012 - Legacy Family Tree - "Reverse Genealogy: Finding the Living" Webinar
• May 3, 2012 - New York, NY - White and Williams LLP - "Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing"
• May 19, 2012 - Valley View, OH - East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society - "Trace Your Roots with DNA," "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Find The Obituary! Online Newspaper Research" and "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"
• June 5, 2012 - Short Hills, NJ - Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society - "Trace Your Roots with DNA"
• June 8-10, 2012 - Burbank, CA - 2012 Southern California Genealogy Jamboree - Family History Writers Conference Session, "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Giving Back: A Look at 10+ Years of Genealogy Grants" and "Find That Obituary! Online Newspaper Research"
• June 24, 2012 - Chicago, IL - Irish American Heritage Center - "Right Annie, Wrong Annie" and "Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing"
• June 26, 2012 - Basking Ridge, NJ (delivered live via Skype) - Bernards Township Library - "Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing"
• June 29, 2012 - Annapolis, MD - Kunta Kinte - Alex Haley Foundation - "Hey America, Your Roots are Showing"
• July 20-21, 2012 - Indianapolis, IN - Indiana Historical Society Midwestern Roots Conference - "Adventures Behind the Scenes" Panel, "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Cold Cases: Genealogists, Coroners and the FBI," "Hey, America, Your Roots are Showing" and "Trace Your Roots with DNA"
• August 1, 2012 - Legacy Family Tree - "Neglected History" Webinar
• August 18, 2012 - Williamsburg, VA - The Tidewater Genealogical Society - "Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing"
• September 12, 2012 - New York, NY - New York Public Library - "Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing"
• September 29, 2012 - Manassas, VA - Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC) for Genealogy and Local History - "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"
• November 3, 2012 - Pensacola, FL - West Florida Genealogical Society - "Right Annie, Wrong Annie," "Trace Your Roots with DNA," "Find That Obituary! Online Newspaper Research" and "Honoring Our Ancestors"

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