Billy Porter discovers the real story behind great-grandfather’s death and Twitter is in tears – WDYTYA is back, y’all

Photo Credit: Corey Taratuta under Creative Commons license

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

On This Day: US President Barack Obama arrives in Ireland for a visit – I’ve done a lot of digging into the Obamas’ roots over the years!

How Iceland’s Horses Learned to Type Emails – I love that they took the time to do this.

Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You (Official Music Video) – Whenever I hear this song, my genetic genealogy brain ponders how many “boys in the rain” are hearing from their previously unknown children now.

New ancestry archive allows Argentines to track ancestors’ arrival – New immigration database from Argentina. So many of us of Irish, Italian, Eastern European (Jewish & Slavic), etc. heritage have relatives who went to South America. Here’s a tool to help you find that missing great-granduncle!

Top Photo Credit: DPAA (Staff Sgt. Olenik seated left)

The post Genealogy Roundup, May 25 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

8 Things You Didn’t Know about Jon Stewart’s Roots – Thought I’d re-up this since he’s testifying on the Hill today.

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

The story behind Paul McCartney’s “Magic Piano” – Hey, Beatles fans! Check out this article about Paul McCartney’s magic piano by my friend Brendan Farrell!

The Amazing Women in Stephen Colbert’s Family Tree – On his (recent) birthday, celebrating the ancestors who brought us the amazing Stephen Colbert!

TJ Holmes interviews Megan Smolenyak about her research on President Obama’s Irish roots – Continuing to share some of the videos I’ve unearthed during my decluttering, and given that Sunday, May 23rd, will be the 10th anniversary of meeting President Obama when he went to Ireland to explore his roots, this seems a good time to share this fun interview with TJ Holmes leading up to it.

Top Photo Credit: Steve Evans under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, May 19 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Happy 90th to William Shatner!

An exciting update on Reclaim the Records’ long-running lawsuit regarding access to the 1949-1968 New York City death certificates.

Among the strangest ancestral photos I’ve got is this one of my Aunt Peg. What’s yours?

Top Image Credit: _mixer_ under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, March 24 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

On January 1st, 129 years ago, Annie Moore of Ireland was the first immigrant to arrive at Ellis Island. This video is her long overdue 2008 memorial service when I had the honor of reading a letter from almost-POTUS Obama. Let’s hope that 2021 is the year when we once again welcome immigrants.

Hey, y’all, For those of you who follow me on Medium, you can now subscribe to get an email whenever I publish a new article. Not necessary to subscribe by any means, but since I’m so random about when I write, I thought some might find this handy.

Am I the last one who still has one of these?:

Top Image Credit: Colin Crowley under Creative Commons license

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

Memorial Service of Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson – I was privileged to research the case of CPT Lawrence E. Dickson, a Tuskegee airman who was killed in WWII. I also attended his moving memorial service last year and invite you to watch and share.

Correcting the Record of WWI Hero and Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Henry Johnson

Famous Genealogist Solves Her Own Family’s Mystery – You can see the original title in the URL. The editor likes me so took liberties.

9 years ago now. Lovely memory of meeting former President Obama in Ireland.

Photo Credit: Marines under Creative Commons license

The post Genealogy Roundup, May 27 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

As China rushes forward, more people seek their roots – When zupu exist, they can sometimes take lines back 4,000 years or so. Just one straight line of guys, tho.

Napoleon’s Heirs Include a Wall Street Banker, the Founder of the FBI and a Star Trek Actor – Based on the top photo, I suspect that Justin Trudeau might be a cousin of the heir apparent.

Betty White: White-Hot in Cleveland or Not – Happy Birthday to Danish, Greek, Canadian, English, Welsh icon Betty White!

Michelle Obama’s Ancestors: The First Lady’s Multicultural, Great Migration Past – Back in 2009, I had the honor of researching the remarkable roots of Michelle Obama. She stands on strong shoulders and has made her ancestors proud. Wishing her a Happy Birthday!

The post Genealogy Roundup, January 17 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

OK2Explore – Thanks to Brooke Schreier Ganz for the good news about this index to Oklahoma births and deaths now being online! I just went to experiment and found the death index working, but the birth one offline, but this is presumably a temporary glitch.

Green’s Dictionary of Slang – The awesome dictionary of retro slang (yes, including awesome) you never knew you needed to bring your genealogical writing to life. A few of my favorites include abbey clogs, mek-mek, and tollywhackers!

10 reasons why Barack Obama Plaza is the best place on earth – One of the stranger outcomes of my sleuthing – been open for years, but still sort of mystifies me

Dusty tapes to innovative website, tales from African Americans’ Great Migration – Thanks to Tara Penelope Calishain for bringing this amazing project to my attention! Check it out!

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

Photo Credit: President Obama being greeted by local residents in Moneygall, Ireland in 2011. The White House/Public Domain.

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