‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ Reboot In Limbo At NBC After One Season – déjà vu, eh?

‘Proof I was there’: every Japanese American incarcerated in second world war finally named

Oh wow! How getting more awe can improve your life – and even make you a nicer person – “We recently interviewed 320,500 people from 26 countries about what brings them awe – and no one mentioned their smartphone.”

For those who got a kick out of the exact-DOB-for-babies enumerator I mentioned previously, here are a few of his entries. Looking for a few to snag for this, I realized that he also carefully numbered twins 1 & 2 (and that included twins up to the age of 32). I suspect he actually troubled to ask which was born first.

Photo Credit: Mike Mozart under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, October 12 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Looks as if I have another entry for my collection of butcherings of the Smolenyak name.

Always so strange cold-calling a twin and asking whether they were born first or second.

The post Genealogy Roundup, May 11 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Should I tell my brothers that one of them has a son? Carolyn Hax readers give advice. – We’ve all been there, right?

Our Obsession with Ancestry Has Some Twisted Roots – Quite a depressing view of genealogy. These days, it’s all about connection, and genealogists understand better than most how intertwined we all are. Wish the writer had spoken to some of us to learn how much more inclusive it’s become this century. Still very much a work in progress, but as someone who’s been doing this for the last half century, I can’t begin to tell you how far we’ve come.

Unearthing the past with artificial intelligence – Excellent application of artificial intelligence – still with human assistance, though!

Top Image Credit: Roberlan Borges under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, May 4 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

How many Americans imagine their family tree

For anyone who might be curious, here’s 6 year-old Barry Manilow (name already changed from Pincus) in the 1950 census. (Click image below to see enlarged version.)

Top Photo Credit: moonietunes from Pixabay

The post Genealogy Roundup, April 13 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

The first census records of three American presidents … almost – Fun article on presidents in the 1950 census with a little shout-out for yours truly!

As we count down the hours until the release of the 1950 census, I thought I’d share some memorabilia from the release of the 1930 and 1940 census collections!

My mother Seton’s census debut!

First Mom, and here’s Dad.

And there he is, baby Bruce, in the 1950 Census.

Oh, how I wish she were still with us to see this. 25 year-old “television actress” Betty M. White with her parents, Horace and Tess, in the 1950 Census.

Anyone who knows me knew I was going to look this up. President Joe Biden with his family – including his grandfather Ambrose Finnegan whose tales he likes to share & his aunt Gertie who made the best rice pudding – in Scranton, PA in the 1950 Census.

The Green and White House: Ireland and the U.S. Presidents – I’m admittedly biased because I’m in here, but am reading “The Green and White House” by Lynne Kelleher and finding it really interesting. Have read about Kennedy, Nixon, and Reagan so far and looking forward to the rest. If you’re Irish or have Irish heritage, I suspect it might grab your attention as well.

NBC Summer Lineup Includes ‘Who Do You Think You Are?,’ 10 Years After Last Network Airing – Hey, y’all, Who Do You Think You Are? finally returning to NBC this July.

Due to questions in Facebook post comments about my 1950 census finds, I’m posting this here so it’s not buried in the comments:

• If you know at least the city where they lived, you can try searching by place and name here: https://1950census.archives.gov
• This first round transcription has been done by AI, so it’s hit or miss.
• If that doesn’t work, find their address circa 1950 and then use https://stevemorse.org/census/unified.html OR use Ancestry’s address search feature for the 1950 census (they just got it so are in the process of uploading it, but you can at least search for the enumeration district).
• Once you’ve identified the Enumeration District, search here by place/ED and page through: https://1950census.archives.gov.

Top Photo Credit: Kent Kanouse under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, April 6 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Captured in Time: 8-Year-Old Percy Hemingway upon Arrival in America in 1890 – Check out this little fellow crossing the Atlantic on his own in 1890 at the age of 8!

The Wallpaper That Is Also a ‘Reminder That My Ancestors Had My Back’ – I love everything about this.

The True Crime-Obsessed Philanthropists Paying to Catch Killers – This makes me all kinds of uncomfortable.

Countdown to finding my mother in the census for the first time!

Bride Will Be the 11th Woman in Her Family to Wear 120-Year-Old Heirloom Wedding Dress – Love these living heirloom stories!

Top Photo (The Holodomor Memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine) Credit: Andrew J.Swan under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, March 30 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

RIP Renay Mandel Corren – You haven’t read an obituary until you’ve read this one.

The post Genealogy Roundup, December 22 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.