Roots Television | Og Blog

Og doesn't know whether to blush or to crow. Thanks to Nancianne Parkes Suber for the kind review, "Roots Television making its own history", in the Clarion Ledger.

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Any cemetery crawler out there knows that not all graveyards are created equal. Some are in a shameful state of disrepair. But one man is making all of the difference at Snyders Church Cemetery in Pennsylvania. See what treasures a wire brush, some sandpaper, and a bit of elbow grease uncover in UMTV's Cemetery Restoration.

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of the day, Og's bringing back some old favorites. In Ancestors: Getting Started, Victor Villasenor, bestselling author of "Rain of Gold", shares how his life was transformed by his search for his Mexican roots. And in our Roots Books interview with George Ryskamp, author of "Finding Your Hispanic Roots," you'll learn some helpful hints for Hispanic research.

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Submissions are rolling in for our Wild Roots Contest. Check out the latest entry, "Our Summer Vacation". You have just over 5 weeks left to show us how wild you are for genealogy. Don't miss out - the deadline for the Wild Roots contest is June 15th!

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Memorial Day is just around the corner, and if your family is anything like Og's, you'll be congregating at a favorite aunt's for a healthy dose of comfort food and family stories. And while you take a moment to honor family members who have passed away, especially those who gave their lives in service to their country, it's also the perfect time to think about what remembrances you'll leave behind for those who will follow.

In "Time Stands Still," watch as a Tennessee church cracks open a 100-year-old time capsule. What a perfect Memorial Day project for the family! Og's giving you plenty of warning - whether you stash a few photographs and documents in an old paint can in the back yard, or get your descendants off the couch with a clever geocapsule, start thinking about what you can do to help time stand a little still.

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Dick Eastman has been raving for years about Britain's National History Show, and now we have him as our very own personal guide! This year, the show was even grander than usual as the BBC took its hit series "Who Do You Think You Are?" live to the event. Major sponsor Ancestry.com.uk also made a "live" appearance, with lectures by genealogist Megan Smolenyak, among others.

If you didn't get a chance to attend this landmark conference, or just want to relive the warm-fuzzy feeling of being surrounded by such spectacular family history, tune in to Dick Eastman's introduction to the event.

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That's probably the most common question fielded by Dave from the Solent Sky Air Museum. A reasonable inquiry, considering he manned the full-size, flight-ready replica of a WWII Spitfire fighter plane, which happened to be parked in the middle of the exhibit hall at the recent Who Do You Think You Are? Live! and National History Show in London.

Join us as Dick Eastman gets you up close and personal with the aircraft that defended Britain during the War. And if you want to hear from a real-life Spitfire pilot, you'll want to revisit John Weir's interview for the Testaments of Honour project. Mr. Weir was not only a Spitfire pilot during WWII, but after he was shot down over enemy territory, and subsequently imprisoned at Stalag Luft III, he became a key planner in The Great Escape.

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In our latest installment from the WDYTYA Live! and National History Show in London, Dick Eastman interviews Maggie Loughran, Administrator for the Federation of Family History Societies. With over 200 member societies throughout the English-speaking world, the FFHS supports a membership of family history societies and other genealogical organizations world-wide. Among many things, the Federation organizes collaborative projects and conferences, ensures the preservation and availability of archival documents, and even holds webmaster seminars. You can contact the FFHS through their website at www.ffhs.org.uk.

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Paul Blake, British genealogy expert and former Chairman of the FFHS, chats with Dick Eastman at the WDYTYA" Live! and National History Show in London. Trying to find your dear old ancestor who emigrated from England might be a bit tricky. The British government didn't keep immigration records until 1795, and even those were halfhearted at best. In 1827 they started to keep passenger lists outwards, but your best chance for finding British immigration records begins in the late 19th century.

You'll also enjoy Discover Your Roots, authored by Paul Blake and Maggie Loughran. With 52 ideas for how to approach genealogy, Paul and Maggie can keep you busy every Saturday for a year!

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Og's just posted the new video Wartime Pen Pal to the site. When an army of fly boys descended on Walnut Ridge for training during WWII, Arkansas pastor Robert Bearden became a pen pal to many of these young boys' parents. Keeping worried moms in touch with their sons, comforting the community, and even baking cakes for homesick soldiers, the Reverend Bearden and his wife enjoyed the most exciting time in their 60 years of service.

If you or someone you know has a stash of wartime letters of your own, you should also check out Andrew Carroll's War Letters and Legacy Project.

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You can't keep a good woman down. After leaving her job rather unexpectedly, Jacqueline Depelle was determined to make the most of her circumstances and began teaching family history. But it was at the Yorkshire History Fair that she became "The Hat Lady." Jacqueline is a highly sought-after teacher, tutor, and speaker. If you think it's time to put a few leaves on your own family tree, it might be time to contact The Hat Lady. Watch our interview with Jacqueline at the WDYTYA? Live! and National History Show in London.

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Brad Jenks is one wild teen. How many of you will spend four days over this Memorial Day Weekend camped out in a cemetery? Check out our latest Wild Roots submission to learn how one teenager did just that, and helped preserve and index an abandoned cemetery in Bingham Utah.

Not only is Brad crazy for cemetery records, he is also the look up volunteer for Bingham City Cemetery, serves on the FGS Youth Committee, and was the youngest speaker at the 2006 FGS Conference in Boston. Og has to agree with Brad - pretty wild for a teenager!

Don't worry - you still have two more weeks to submit your own Wild Roots video to our contest.

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Here's a bit of trivia - did you know that Waterloo, NY is officially credited with being the birthplace of Memorial Day? Dating back to the 1860's, it is likely that Memorial Day actually found its beginnings in several different towns as people gathered to honor their dead.

Over the years, the meaning of Memorial Day has diminished somewhat as we all (Og included) tend to head out to the lake for the long weekend. So maybe it's time to peek into the past and see what oldtime Memorial Day celebrations were really like. As we're enjoying our well-deserved time with family this holiday, let's see whether we can honor the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m. local time, and pause to remember and respect those who gave their lives for their country.

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You won't want to miss our latest pair of interviews from the WDYTYA? Live! and National History Show.

First, Dick Eastman interviews Josh Hanna, who is the Managing Director for Ancestry Europe. Josh talks about the great access to records in the UK - in some cases back to the 1500's - the types of British and European records available at Ancestry.co.uk, and what new features are coming online in the near future.

Then, Dick meets with Chris Pomery, author of DNA and Family History and member of the Society of Genealogists. Chris talks about why genealogists should be interested in their DNA and how they can use DNA to trace their family trees.

Og from Roots Television