Podcast appearances and mentions of megan smolenyak

Megan Smolenyak, Genealogist, reveals US President Joe Biden's family links to Galway, ahead of his visit to Ireland next week.

Host Scott Fisher opens this Classic Rewind show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. David begins by losing his head over a story about Marie Antoinette's mirror. It's a mirror, mirror on a wall in England, but until recently no one knew its origins. David shares some details. Then, a teen in Britain has made a fascinating find on a British mountainside that impacted a family in Australia. Hear what he discovered. Next, there's been another astounding discovery in England… a massive Anglo-Saxon grave site going back 4,000 years. Find out about the objects found there. Then, Smithsonian has shared a remarkable story about a female spy who started out cracking mobster codes in the 1930s, and eventually broke open a Nazi ring in South America a decade later. Catch the story of Elizabeth Smith Freedman. And finally, Megan Smolenyak has published some of her findings on the origins of new President Joe Biden. Are you related? Next, Fisher visits with Loretto Thompson. A few years back Loretto learned about a treasure trove of letters from her father to the family during his time serving in World War II. He died when Loretto was only four years old, and the letters have led her on a remarkable journey… even by genie standards! Then, Dr. Henry Louis Gates is back to talk about the next episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS. David returns for the final segment as the guys answer another question on Ask Us Anything. That's all this week on Extreme Genes, America's Family History Show!

Amy chats with Megan Smolenyak, a genealogy adventurer and storyteller who loves solving mysteries, making discoveries and pushing the boundaries of genealogy.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. David begins by losing his head over a story about Marie Antoinette’s mirror. It’s a mirror, mirror on a wall in England, but until recently no one knew its origins. David shares some details. Then, a teen in Britain has made a fascinating find on a British mountainside that impacted a family in Australia. Hear what he discovered. Next, there’s been another astounding discovery in England… a massive Anglo-Saxon grave site going back 4,000 years. Find out about the objects found there. Then, Smithsonian has shared a remarkable story about a female spy who started out cracking mobster codes in the 1930s, and eventually broke open a Nazi ring in South America a decade later. Catch the story of Elizabeth Smith Freedman. And finally, Megan Smolenyak has published some of her findings on the origins of new President Joe Biden. Are you related? Next, Fisher visits with Loretto Thompson. A few years back Loretto learned about a treasure trove of letters from her father to the family during his time serving in World War II. He died when Loretto was only four years old, and the letters have led her on a remarkable journey… even by genie standards! Then, Dr. Henry Louis Gates is back to talk about the next episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS. David returns for the final segment as the guys answer another question on Ask Us Anything. That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!

Megan Smolenyak, former Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com, and Andy McCarthy, from the New York Public Library's Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy, return to explain how to trace your family tree, what records and documents are particularly helpful, and how to get started on your own genealogy project.  

Megan Smolenyak, the former Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com, and Philip Sutton from New York Public Library's Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy explain how to trace your family tree and get started on your own genealogy project.

"No man left behind" is more than a motto to Megan Smolenyak and others who work on repatriating the remains of US servicemen and women whose remains are finally discovered.  Megan shares insight into what it takes to identify the person and his or her relatives, including what it's like to call a family member to tell them the news.  Megan also shares three of her favorite cases (out of the more than 1400 she's worked on!), including a Tuskegee Airman, a guitar hero, and a Red Cross worker.  The show notes have links to articles about the three people Megan highlighted and a collection of digitized letters written by one of them. You can find the show notes at AmyJohnsonCrow.com/29.

Megan Smolenyak takes a fascinating look into geneology and family trees.

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org.  The boys discuss a spooky occurrence at Fisher’s home recently that may (or may not) have involved Fisher’s long deceased ancestor. David then shares the news of an exciting new partnership involving Ancestry and NEHGS that could mean new finds of your ancestors. You’ll want hear about this 10 million name database the two organizations will be working on together. Then, David notes you’ll soon be running out of time to take advantage of a bargain price on MyHeritage’s DNA kit. Hear how low they can go! Next, David talks about the non-story that everyone in England seems to be talking about. It concerns Prince Harry and his girl friend. See what you think. David then talks about the story of why facial hair, while popular again now, lost its glamour in the early 20th century.  David’s Blogger Spotlight this week shines on genealogylady.net  by Debra Sweeney. She often writes about family letters and family diaries. Next, renowned genealogist Megan Smolenyak talks about Army Repatriation. As an “army brat,” Megan’s pride in the military has turned into a passion as she assists the government in verifying descendants of military people lost overseas. Some of her cases go all the way back to World War I. Megan explains all that’s involved in her very fulfilling work, and how a pair of her cases resulted in the awarding of the Medal of Honor. Then, a new app is out that will help you with your next step up from photo digitization. It’s called MemoryWeb.  Fisher rarely spends show time to talk new products, but this one could be a game changer. Hear what creator Chris Desmond has to tell you about it. Then, Preservation Authority Tom Perry shares some of his unique ideas for unforgettable family history oriented gifts that cost little or nothing! That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!

Featured Guest Megan Smolenyak Megan Smolenyak2 is a real life history detective who loves to solve mysteries. You might have spotted Megan or her handiwork on Top Chef, Who Do You Think You Are?, Finding Your Roots, Faces of America, Good Morning America, the Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, PBS and NPR. Her news-making discoveries include uncovering Michelle Obama's family tree, revealing the true story of Annie Moore, the first immigrant through Ellis Island, and tracing Barack Obama's roots to Moneygall, Ireland. Formerly Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com, she also founded Unclaimed Persons. Megan is the author of 6 books, including Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing and Who Do You Think You Are? (companion to the TV series), and conducts forensic research for the Army, BIA, coroners, NCIS and the FBI. Contact Links Websites – Megan Smolenyak and Honoring Our Ancestors Facebook – Megan Smolenyak Twitter - @megansmolenyak Pinterest - Megan Smolenyak Other Links    Unclaimed Persons Seton Shields Genealogy Grant Megan Smolenyak at The Huffington Post One Action Genealogists Can Take Right Now "I got myself a virtual assistant right out of the gate . . . Even if you don't think you're ready for one yet, explore the possibility.” Recommended Book Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson Productivity Tool Timehop Advice "In terms of genealogical careers, do what excites you." Action Item For your action item today I want you to think about where your career is going to be in 5 or 10 years. What will the world of genealogy look like then? How would your services change if all records were online? Or if all genealogy clients asked for DNA interpretation along with their researched family tree? What if the main demand was for heir research or perhaps mineral rights?  What other directions might genealogy go in that might not be obvious now? Also, think about your interests and your passions. If you research, for example, colonial Pennsylvania, what can you do to ensure that your business will continue to grow and make use of new technology? Can you harness photos or videos to find a new way to share the results of the research you've done? Or perhaps can you find new ways to work with professionals from other disciplines such as archeologists, biographers, or k-12 text book writers. So what I'm suggesting is that you take a morning or evening walk and allow your mind to consider the future, your future. Think about it now so you can be ready to create it for yourself or to grab opportunity when it comes.   Direct link to this post: http://www.thegenealogyprofessional.com/megan-smolenyak/

Fisher opens the show with the sad news that this week is the final week of Who Do You Think You Are for this season.  But also the exciting news that Turn: Washington's Spy Ring has returned to AMC... a great program set in occupied Long Island and New York during the Revolution.  And in "Family Histoire News," Julia Bell of Plymouth, England has found her grandfather.  You'll be amazed at how much she put into locating him and his family!  Fisher also shares his latest family history relic find from eBay.     Then, nationally-recognized "genealogy adventurer" Megan Smolenyak talks about her discovery that EVERYONE has a wrong grandparent for Hillary Clinton in on-line trees.  She explains the reason for this and the implications to ALL of us concerning how we post our research results.  You won't want to miss this segment.   Then, Ancestry ProGenealogists.com researcher Gordon Remington visits to talk about those pesky "lines" to Adam and Eve.  A lot of people have them, but what should we make of them?  Should this lines be framed, or tossed?!  Gordon will tell you.   Then Tom Perry with some alarming concerns about a key software company for preservation, and what you should do about removing photos from those sticky '70s-era albums.   A lot of good stuff again... this week on Extreme Genes, America's Family History Show!

The news includes: Information about the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference and the Illinois State Genealogical Society Fall Conference. WikiTree has added a DNA feature. Findmypast.com.au has released new content for the Royal Naval Division service records (1914-1920). Findmypast.com has announced that it will be adding the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) to its site in coming months. Findmypast.com.au has secured the rights to publish all of the registered wills from New South Wales from 1800 to 1952. Drew provides a recap of highlights in the newly released images at FamilySearch. RootsMagic has released an update to RootsMagic 6 that introduces Problem Alerts. RootsMagic has a YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/RootsMagicTV at which you will find shorter training videos. These supplement the Webinars/Online Classes at their website under the Learn tab. Megan Smolenyak has announced that one of The Guys' Down Under: Florida video episodes, about the Flying Zacchinis, has been re-released and is available at http://megansmolenyak.posthaven.com/584139. Origins.net has released many more older records at its website. Saving Memories Forever has announced a strategic partnership with the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). The mail includes: Susan asks if The Guys' new book, Advanced Genealogy Research Techniques, will be available in digital form. It is now posted at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble in electronic formats and those will be available when it is released in September. Preordering is already available. Melody asks for guidance on how to download the podcast from our website. Stephanie has a question about Polish Armed Forces records for those persons who escaped Poland after Hitler's invasion in 1939 and who fought with the Allies. George cites a good Wikipedia article titled "Polish Armed Forces in the West" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_armed_forces_in_the_west. Lisa asked about the Facebook group that deals with organization. Drew points her to "The Organized Genealogist" group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/organizedgenealogist/. Connie asks about SSDI records at Ancestry.com that add place of death from the "Last Benefits" field of the online records. Elaine asks questions about how and where we store our digital photos and about how we share those photos with others. Elizabeth LaPointe has developed an e-booklet titled The 1921 Canada Census User Guide that will be available when that census is publicly released. Its price is $5.95 CDN and copies can be reserved by sending an email to GenealogyCanada@aol.com and including "1921 Census" in the subject heading. Jenny has a question about linking Family Tree Maker trees at Ancestry.com. Mary asks about the expression "first generation American." Noi has some questions about locating a German place name for Noi's great-great-grandfather. Steve asks about how to locate information about his grandfather who he thinks was a census enumerator in Chicago for the 1940 U.S. federal census. Drew also discusses the Family History Information Standards Organisation.

The news includes: FamilySearch announces the update of its YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/familysearch. MyHeritage.com now offers shared group subscription payments. Family Tree DNA is now accepting third party transfers of test results. Synium Software has released MacFamilyTree 6.1 and MobileFamilyTreePro. FamilySearch has released 12 million new records and images for England and Mexico, 1.8 million records to 23 U.S. collections, and 2.3 million images to its Hungary collections. Joel Weintraub and Steve Morse announce a new One-Step Tutorial at http://stevemorse.org about the forthcoming 1940 U.S. federal census release in April 2012. The Guild of One-Name Studies announces extended membership to new joiners at the NZ Family History Fair in Hamilton on 26-27 August 2011, and for the whole month of August 2011 at www.one-name.org/nzfhf-offer.html. WikiTree announced that they have passed 2 million profiles and that they have released a new Relationship Finder. In addition, they have announced that Thomas MacEntee has joined the WikiTree team as their Genealogy Ninja. The Admiral Nimitz Foundation has recently created the Society of the Sons and Daughters of World War II Veterans. The Society's goal is to preserve the stories of sacrifice and achievement of America's "greatest generation." They plan to preserve important materials in digital format to preserve them and make them available. Listener email includes: Nancy suggests that Colleen expand her New York query by checking city directories. Joseph asked about the existence of a Florida cemetery registry. Drew suggested he contact the Florida State Genealogical Society. Sue asked about the availability of software for genealogical societies' websites. The Guys suggested that she contact EasyNetSites which provides modular society software service. Russ asked if The Guys were aware of the blog about the Stockton School in East Orange, New Jersey. Drew replied that it belonged to his brother! Alan advised that there is OCR software that reads Fraktur. He obtained FreeOCR from http://www.freeOCR.net. John asked whether Drew's Twitter feed had been compromised. Erin asked Drew about using his iPad for genealogical research vs. using a netbook. Melanie asked about a relationship term used in the 1910 U.S. census wherein an ancestor, his wife, and four children have an older widow living with them whose relationship is listed as "companion." Listeners can send in their comments and suggestions about this to us. Grace is our new "Marathon Woman." She also asked about RootsTelevision. Megan Smolenyak advised George recently that the site has been taken down. The Guys hope to learn more at the FGS Conference in Springfield, Illinois, next month. Carole made some suggestions for Beverly's quandary about Canadian immigration information. The Indiana Genealogical Society issued a matching $10,000 grant challenge to help funding for the FGS "Preserve the Pensions" program. See their site at http://www.indgensoc.org/projects/1812_pensions.php and donate to make your dollars grow! And learn more at http://fgs.org/1812. Dave installed the new Mac OS X Lion, but was really upset that Carbonite (back up) is not ready to support it!

Expert genealogist Megan Smolenyak delves into the tips and techniques for uncovering your Irish ancestry.

The "News You Can Use" this week includes: Announcement of the National Genealogical Society's awards and competitions, details about which are can be found at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/awardscompcalendar.cfm; Ancestry.com has published U.S. Passport Applications for 1795-1925 at its Web site at http://www.ancestry.com; Fly Away Travel has announced its "2008 Genealogy at Sea" on October 25-November 1, 2008 on the Royal Caribbean's fabulous Liberty of the Sea, sailing from Miami to Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, and a private location at Labadee, Haiti -- with 8 great, internationally known speakers. Details are available at http://www.GenealogyCruises.com. Family Roots Publishing Company has just released a two-volume set of books, Census Substitutes & State Census Records by well-known author, speaker, and census expert William Dollarhide. Details are at http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/servlet/StoreFront. The Guys respond to a wealth of listener e-mail covering topics such as: DNA testing; locating WWI serial numbers; marking multiple graves scattered across a single cemetery; displaying a family tree on one's Web site; the name change of naval hero John Paul Jones; an article in the Nov. 4th Cleveland Plain Dealer concerning the ancestry of Carl Stokes, the city's first African American mayor, and Megan Smolenyak's discovery of an 1845 document in GA identifying the mayor's g-grandfather; home demonstration/extension clubs still exist and may be a source for your ancestors' genealogical information; and reworking an old manuscript with newly discovered information. The show concludes with Drew announcing the new Google Maps feature that allows you to not only create your own customized maps, but you can now invite other people to collaborate with you, add customized pushpin icons, graphics, videos, and other cool tools. Check out the My Maps user guide at http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=68480 for details about how to use this great new feature.

News this week includes: the first ten years (1908-1917) of issues of Chicago's historic Polish newspaper, Dziennik Zwiazkowy (translated, Alliance Daily) has been digitized by the Center for Research Libraries and is fully searchable at http://ecollections.crl.edu, along with other interesting collections;  GenWed.com (http://www.genwed.com/) is a new and growing Web site that will help you locate free online marriage records, and you can submit records for inclusion in the databases; and finally, on 30 October 2007, a gravestone has been set in St. Louis' Memorial Park for George's great uncle, Brisco Washington Holder -- his brick wall for over 20 years.The Guys will be featured presenters at the Texas State Genealogical Society Conference in Tyler, Texas, next weekend -- 9-10 November 2008. More information is available at http://www.rootsweb.com/~txsgs/conference.pdf and The Guys hope you can drop by and say hello! George will be autographing limited numbers of his latest book, The Official Guide to Ancestry.com.Mister Edd in Cape Coral, Florida, asked for advice for websites that help reunite people with old photos of their family members. George suggested Megan Smolenyak's "Honoring Our Ancestors" site at http://www.HonoringOurAncestors.com/orphanphotos.html and DeadFred at http://www.deadfred.com. Drew's "Society Tip of the Week" was a recommendation of the use of a Web site called SurveyMonkey.com at http://www.surveymonkey.com/. Basic surveys for less than 100 responses are free; other size responses are reasonably priced for a monthly or annual basis. SurveyMonkey may be an ideal way to allow electronic voting in society elections, conducting surveys of members for preferred meeting and seminar topics, and obtaining feedback on programs, projects, and other subjects.George's "Web Site of the Week" is a new Web site called GenDisasters at http://www.gendisasters.com which contains dates, descriptions, newspaper transcripts, drawings/photos of fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, train wrecks, bridge collapses, and more, with dates spanning from the 1800s to the 1950s. The site is searchable by state and county, and browseable. It is ideal for helping place your ancestors into historical context with these calamitous events and/or to determine which courthouses and other repositories may have been damaged and their records lost or destroyed.The Guys share a collection of entertaining epitaphs from gravestones around the world. Drew reviews a book by Andro Linklater titled Measuring America, and then The Guys discuss land measurement systems that have been used in the United States.Finally, Drew discusses how to deal with missing data, such as maiden surnames, or no data whatsoever in your genealogical recording systems.