The Children of Sperm Donors Want to Change the Rules of Conception – Interesting article involving genetic genealogy.

Always fun when Ancestry gives you a new father. (Always, always, always consult the original source, y’all!)

GENEALOGY Comes to Broom Street Theater Next Month – A genealogy themed – and named – play.

Top Photo Credit: Warren LeMay | Public Domain

The post Genealogy Roundup, October 20 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Artist pays tribute to DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin with DNA-laced paint and DNA-coded images – Take a closer look.

Photo Credit: aehdeschaine under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, February 26 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

‘Finding Your Roots’ enlists Melissa McCarthy, Eric Stonestreet

Top Photo Credit: Enjoying a book and a snack in a Lower Manhattan cemetery. Library of Congress / LC-DIG-ggbain-19433

The post Genealogy Roundup, July 31 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Diaries Dating Back Nearly A Century Reunited With Family

Famous face Lulu spotted with a film crew at the People’s Palace – Lulu filming for #WDYTYA? Anyone else remember “Boom Bang-a-Bang”? P.S. Americans will probably recall “To Sir with Love”

10 Time Capsule Rooms Left Untouched for Decades – I could spend hours exploring these places. Still remember wandering the John Hanson mansion in Maryland when it was abandoned and boarded up (now known as Oxon Hill Manor and used for weddings, etc.). There’s something so cool about stepping back in time!

Chloe Sevigny dishes about her Lizzie Borden film – Chloe Sevigny to be in next “Finding Your Roots”

The post Genealogy Roundup, June 21 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

After briefly explaining that the series would focus on the use of genetic genealogy to solve personal history mysteries, it went on to say:

“Since this show is for a very male-oriented network, we’re looking for authentic, engaging male hosts between the ages of 30-55, who have a dynamic personality fit for television, and would be able to help people prove or disprove people’s claims …”

This struck me as … well, peculiar. In this age of ever-increasing chord-cutting, do the traditional demographics of the host network still override all other considerations? I’m a middle-aged woman, but watch Impractical Jokers on TruTV (60% male demo). Isn’t this kind of à la carte viewing rapidly becoming the norm?

Even if the answer is ‘yes,’ is it a given that men won’t watch women do something that interests them? History Channel demographics lean heavily male, but does that mean I shouldn’t watch American Pickers because I’m a woman? Or are we to believe that women will watch men on TV, but not the reverse?

And do they really want to toss aside potential female viewers? After all, every survey I can find about genealogy concludes that 63 to 72% of genealogists are female, so why did this show wind up on a network that apparently skews so male that all the hosts must be men? Is it only for the other 28-37%?

Perhaps those behind the series aren’t that well acquainted with genetic genealogy yet, so here’s a bit of a primer:

• Founder of ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy)? female
• CEO and both co-founders of 23andMe? female
• All genetic consultants to Finding Your Roots and Who Do You Think You Are? to date? female
• Majority of researchers for U.S. military repatriation efforts? female
• Authors of best-selling genetic genealogy book? female
• Sleuths behind news-making, genetic history mysteries ranging from Richard III to Alex Haley? female

To be clear, I’m not dissing the boys. There are plenty of well known and admired men in the genetic genealogy community we’d all be happy to watch, but when your casting eliminates such candidates as Katherine Hope Borges, Judy Russell, Diahan Southard, Joanna Mountain, CeCe Moore, Debbie Parker Wayne, Emily Aulicino, Ann Turner, Debbie Kennett, Angie Bush, Roberta Estes, Rebekah Canada, Anna Swayne, Linda Parker Magellan, and Julie Granka simply because they don’t sport a Y chromosome, you’re needlessly handicapping the show well before launch (Incidentally, Anne Wojcicki isn’t included because she’s too busy running 23andMe to consider hosting a TV show).

I’m deliberately not sharing specifics because I’m hoping those behind this show will reconsider and let some girls at least have a shot at gaining entrance into their playhouse. Genetic genealogy is not and never has been divided by gender, so it would be a pity to start now.

The post When It Comes to Genetic Genealogy, Women Need Not Apply appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

It only took about two decades, but this genie’s wish has finally been granted: genealogy is now officially its own TV genre. With current offerings including Who Do You Think You Are?, Finding Your Roots, Relative Race, Genealogy Roadshow, Long Lost Family, and Follow Your Past, it’s clear this is no passing phase. Family history on TV is here to stay.

The post Genealogy Is Officially a TV Genre appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Coming up on 8/13 on WDYTYA – Valerie Bertinelli researching her roots in Lackawanna County, PA

The post Genealogy Round Up, August 11 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Nas Discovers His Third Great Grandmother: Pocahontas (no, not THAT one) – coming up this season on Finding Your Roots

I know you’re just dying to know whether David Duchovny’s family was from Russia or Ukraine, right? Because of that Siberian beer commercial? Well, here’s the answer.

A SECOND Homecoming: LeBron James and His Return to Cleveland

Couple who could never forget one another are reunited 70 YEARS after their families forced them to break up in China

The post Genealogy Round Up, August 4 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

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