Greetings Fellow Family History Sleuths,

Happy July, everyone! Last month, I mentioned all the genealogical programming that’s coming on air – Family Tree; (just wrapped up on HBO and about to start on BBC), Who Do You Think You Are? (beginning 7/23 on TLC), and the upcoming Genealogy Roadshow and Finding Your Roots (both on PBS). Well, if all that’s not enough and you need a fix right now, please consider visiting my YouTube channel where I’ve recently started sharing RootsTelevision videos, starting with episodes of DNA Stories and Down Under (cemetery tales!). And stay tuned because there’s lots more where that came from!

The First LUCKY 13 Grant Has Been Awarded

Recently, I announced what I'm calling my LUCKY 13 initiative and committed to giving 13 grants for the purpose of purchasing family treasures from pawn stores, doing the detective work to track down descendants of the original owners, and returning the item to that family. I'm pleased to announce that the first of this Lucky 13 grant series (number 163 overall!) has been awarded. Carol MacKay of Family Photo Reunion of British Columbia reunites old photos that she finds in antique shops and second hand stores with families of origin, and will use this grant to cover the purchase of a carte de visite photo album and a few other items she rescued in Calgary.

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DNA Stories: A Tale of Two Sisters

As promised, I'm continuing to share RootsTelevision videos, and this one will be of particular interest to folks who are into genetic genealogy or thinking of trying it out. It features a clever use of mtDNA testing to get past a long-standing brick wall, and the man behind it is Bill Hurst, who's well known in the DNA community. As you watch, it might be worth pondering whether the same approach might not help knock down a brick wall or two in your own research.

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Genealogy Round Up, July 1

Who Do You Think You Are? Celebrities Announced

Unexpected - got a shout-out in a Ghanaian publication. "Obamas to confront ancestry on Senegal slave island" - ModernGhana.com

A Filthy History: When New Yorkers Lived Knee-Deep in Trash | Collectors Weekly

Always enjoy stories like this! Son Of WWII Soldier, Receives Father's Letters 69 Years Later

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Genealogy Round Up, June 24

A piece about Unclaimed Persons (including video). Happy 5th anniversary! Lost and Found for Humans

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: A Must Read Book for 'Newbies'

How cool is this?! Michigan Message in a Bottle Mystery Solved

Great video illustrating a clever use of mtDNA testing to solve a family history mystery. Features well known genetic genealogist, Bill Hurst. 
DNA Stories: A Tale of Two Sisters - Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak's Roots World

PBS uncovers American family histories. Meet host & genies: http://t.co/Y6Jm4cZbcv

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Genealogy Round Up, June 17

Down Under: The Case of the Cannon Tombstone (video) featuring George Morgan & Drew Smith

Fun toy! Megan Smolenyak's Vizify Bio | Twitter Video

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Down Under: The Case of the Cannon Tombstone

Over the last few weeks, I've started uploading popular RootsTelevision videos, and I've just added one that was a favorite of many. Down Under is a series that focuses on tombstone tales. We've all wandered a cemetery and found ourselves curious about this or that person whose name we spotted on a grave, and this show is an effort to ferret out some of those untold or long-neglected stories behind the stones. 

In this instance, The Genealogy Guys - aka George Morgan and Drew Smith -- find themselves drawn to a tombstone with a cannon on it, and in the course of their sleuthing, we learn the unexpected story of Idlebrando Zacchini. Enjoy!

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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.

• September 22 - October 7, 2013 - Legacy Family Tree 2013 Genealogy Cruise - Panama Canal Cruise
• November 9, 2013 - 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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