by | Jun 25, 2014 | 01 What's New, Genealogy TV
Have a family mystery that you need the experts to unravel? Get help from the team at Genealogy Roadshow! Season 2 is crossing the United States later this year and your story could be center stage!
Click for more information about Genealogy Roadshow casting in the following cities:
A PBS news release states:
“After participants are chosen, genealogy, history and DNA experts will use family heirlooms, letters, pictures, historical documents and other clues to hunt down more information. These experts will enlist the help of local historians to add color and context to the investigations, ensuring every artifact and every name becomes a clue in solving the mystery….Residents are invited and encouraged to submit their personal stories as ‘Genealogy Roadshow’ will unearth family and community secrets, reveal notable relatives and discover unexpected stories that connect the past to the present. Many answers will be revealed on camera before a local audience, in a historic building relevant to the cities – and the participants’ – histories.”
by Lisa Cooke | Oct 16, 2013 | 01 What's New, Who Do You Think You Are?
Genealogy Roadshow logo
Genealogy Roadshow is now casting for its next season. Are you a contender?
In case you missed the first season, Genealogy Roadshow is a PBS series much like Antiques Roadshow–only your ancestors are the antiques. Instead of everyday people bringing their old collectibles and antiques in to be appraised by experts, everyday people bring their family stories and pedigree charts. Genealogists research their stories and reveal new details to them and their relatives.
Filling out the preliminary application may feel a bit like auditioning for a part along with your entire family. There are questions like “What is your story and why is it important to you to find out now?” “Have you or any member of your family or outside group looked into any branches of your family’s history? If so, please describe who and explain what roadblocks or limitations they encountered.” “What would uncovering this information about your family mean to you and your family?” Applicants are asked to submit GEDCOMs, if they have them, and whether they have DNA samples.
Interested? Check out the online application yourself! Then, in case you missed them or want to catch them again, catch episodes from the first season on PBS Video.
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 16, 2013 | 01 What's New, Ancestry, Who Do You Think You Are?
The final episode of TLC’s first season of Who Do You Think You Are? came with more than just an extra helping of ancestral drama. Along with the end of the season came the welcome announcement that WDYTYA? will return in 2014 on TLC.
First, the final episode recap: American actor Jim Parsons explored his paternal line and discovered one ancestor who was lost in a tragic accident–and another who narrowly escaped death by guillotine.
The Ancestry.com research team reports, “When we went digging into Jim Parsons’ family tree we found his third-great-grandfather was Jean Baptiste Hacker, a phy
sician who was raised in New Orleans but moved to Plaquemine, Louisiana, after starting his medical career. Just a few years later, Dr. Hacker, along with his daughter Leocadie and his nephew, was killed in a tragic fire on board the steamboat Gipsy in December 1854.”
They documented the accident through an article from New Orleans paper the Daily Picayune (digitized at Newspapers.com and shown here):
Another line of research takes Jim’s ancestry back to France, where he learned one of his forebears was an architect to Louis XV. “The timing of Louis Francois [Trouard]’s appointment is significant: 1787 is only two years prior to the French Revolution. Four architects were executed during the Revolution, and another 25 were imprisoned. Yet Louis Francois escaped Republican retribution….”
“At the Chapelle de la Providence, a structure designed by his ancestor, Jim discovers the startling truth: Louis Francois had good revolutionary credentials, including houseguests such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.”
Along with that riveting last episode, TLC just announced it will bring back more of the same next season. On September 10, Digital Spy reported that 2014 will see 10 more episodes. Celebrity guests haven’t been announced yet, so stay tuned! We’ll keep you posted on future developments.
Meanwhile, TV watchers, mark your calendars for the American version of Genealogy Roadshow, the PBS show scheduled to debut next week.
by Lisa Cooke | Jul 30, 2013 | 01 What's New, History, Inspiration, Who Do You Think You Are?
Genealogy Roadshow logo
Lovers of Who Do You Think You Are! and other genealogy TV favorites will be pleased to know that Genealogy Roadshow is filming for airing this fall on PBS.
This clever show follows a format similar to the popular Antiques Roadshow, in which antiques experts travel to various cities to talk about artifacts brought in by area residents. Residents may lug in tall grandfather clocks, faded letters or other old objects. Experts comment on the historical context, rarity and value of their artifacts. Viewers enjoy watching owners who become overjoyed, stunned, fascinated and occasionally disappointed by what the experts say.
Genealogy Roadshow spins that format in a family history direction. PBS describes it this way: “Participants want to explore unverified genealogical claims passed down through family history, that may (or may not) connect them to an event or a historical figure. Experts in genealogy, history and DNA will use family heirlooms, letters, pictures, historical documents and other clues to hunt down more information. These experts will enlist the help of local historians to add color and context to the investigations, ensuring every artifact and every name becomes a clue in solving the mystery.”
This season, hosts are Kenyatta Barry and D. Joshua Taylor, young but expert and enthusiastic voices in the American genealogy community. The cities hosting Genealogy Roadshow are Nashville, Austin, Detroit and San Francisco. PBS explains that “these cities were chosen as American crossroads of culture, diversity, industry and history, with deep pools of potential participants and stories.”
This has already been a popular series in Ireland, where Genealogy Roadshow is in its second season. The series premieres in the U.S. on KQED on Monday September 23.
Have a family mystery that you need the experts to unravel? Get help from the team at Genealogy Roadshow! Season 2 is crossing the United States later this year and your story could be center stage!
