Podcast appearances and mentions of steve luxenberg

Send us a Text Message. In this week's episode of Conversations with Kenyatta -Kenyatta D. Berry, host of PBS' Genealogy Roadshow and author of The Family Tree Toolkit - is joined by Steve Luxenberg, author and associate Editor of the Washington Post.Steve's story is fascinating - as an adult, he found that his mother had kept a family secret - that she had a sister who was committed to an asylum and then died. He never knew anything about his aunt and delved into finding out more about her in his book Annie's Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret.Steve is also known for his second book Separate, which is a narrative of how the United States embraced “separation” and its consequences, and examines the famous Plessy vs. Ferguson case. The music for this episode, as always, is "Good Vibe" by Ketsa. We are dedicated to exploring and discussing various aspects of genealogy, history, culture, and social issues. We aim to shed light on untold stories and perspectives that enrich our understanding of the world. **Please note that some links in our show notes may contain affiliate links, on which Kenyatta receives a small commission.

Carlos Lozada is currently an Opinion columnist at The New York Times, after spending nearly 20 years at The Washington Post - where he earned the Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for criticism as The Post's nonfiction book critic. He's also an author, with his second book -  The Washington Book - recently published: a collection of essays exploring what books by and about D.C. power players reveal about the people and political conflicts that define Washington. In this conversation, Carlos talks his path from Peru to South Bend to D.C., his accidental route to working in the press, some of his favorite Washington books and stories, and deeply mining his own insights into our current political moment.IN THIS EPISODECarlos' personal journey from Lima, Peru to Washington D.C...Carlos "gateway drug" books into the genre of Washington books...How Carlos defines what exactly is a "Washington Book"...Carlos weighs in on what he considers some of the earliest Washington Books...Carlos' rave  review of the U.S. Grant memoir...The place of All The President's Men in the pantheon of Washington Books...Carlos' favorite cliches from presidential campaign memoirs...The D.C. corridors of power that are undercovered in Washington Books...The Washington Books that are purely exercises in settling scores...Carlos compares the Donald Trump of 2016 to the Donald Trump of 2024...The Washington Books that never were that Carlos would love to read...What reading Vladimir Putin revealed to Carlos about the Russian leader...Carlos' 101 on sharp essay-writing...Carlos waxes nostalgic about the late Washinton Post Outlook Section...AND The 1619 Project, Alexis de Tocqueville, all sorts of minutia, Jody Allen, the American Enterprise Institute, Carol Anderson, animating impulses, The Appalachian Trail, Appomattox, asymmetric polarization, Peter Baker, Steve Bannon, Bob Barnett, beleaguered officials, Joe Biden, Joan Biskupic, Kate Boo, George H.W. Bush, Robert Caro, Jimmy Carter, Jesus Christ, Julie Davis, drop-down menus, enabling environments, farm foremen, The Federal Reserve, Craig Fehrman, Foreign Policy magazine, full absorption, Susan Glasser, Garret Graff, Lindsay Graham, Alan Greenspan, Stephanie Grisham, Maggie Haberman, Susan Hennessey, Fiona Hill, Dustin Hoffman, holy crap anecdotes, David Ignatius, joining-ness, Jurassic Park, Bob Kaiser, Ibram X. Kendi, the Kerner Commission, Adam Kushner, Robert E. Lee, Joe Lieberman, Steve Luxenberg, Thomas Mann, David Maraniss, Mark Meadows, mid-level authoritarian regimes, military duds, Mark Milley, Robert Moses, Robert Mueller, murdered darlings, murky institutions, The New York Review of Books, Kirstjen Nielsen, Notre Dame, Barack Obama, obligatory campaign memoirs, obscene crescendos, Norm Ornstein, parallel histories, the paralysis of power, George Pataki, Tim Pawlenty, policy wonks, John Pomfret, Robert Redford, Marco Rubio, Mark Sanford, Michael Schaffer, Brent Scowcroft, Michael Shear, silent Moscow, John Sununu, Barton Swaim, targeted excerpts, Mark Twain, Mario Vargas Llosa, velociraptors, Scott Walker, Ben Wittes, Michael Wolff, Bob Woodward...& more!

Steve Luxenberg is an associate editor at The Washington Post and an award-winning author. He discusses his book, Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, […]

Trump on Trial: The Investigation, Impeachment, Acquittal and Aftermath by Kevin Sullivan, Mary Jordan A compelling and masterful account, based on fresh reporting, of the investigation, impeachment, and acquittal of President Donald Trump, a ferocious political drama that challenged American democracy itself. In the spring of 2019, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did not favor pursuing Trump’s impeachment. Her view was: “He’s just not worth it.” But by September, after a whistleblower complaint suggesting that Trump had used his office for his political benefit, Pelosi decided to risk it. The impeachment inquiry led to charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, a gamble that ultimately meant Trump would be the first impeached president on the ballot in US history. Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporters Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan have crafted a powerful, intimate narrative that concentrates on the characters as well as the dramatic events, braiding them together to provide a remarkable understanding of what happened and why. Drawing on the deep reporting of Post journalists as well as new interviews, Sullivan and Jordan deliver a crisp page-turner with exquisite detail and scenes. They put readers in the room for both sides of the now-famous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, 2019, revealing the in-the-moment reactions of those listening to the call in Washington, as well as the tension in Kyiv, as aides passed notes to Zelensky while he was talking to Trump. Sullivan and Jordan deftly illuminate the aims and calculations of key figures. Pelosi’s evolution from no to yes. Trump’s mounting fury as “the I-word” became inevitable. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell firmly telling Trump on the phone about the Senate trial: You need to trust me. Trump on Trial teems with unexpected moments. House member Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, alone at the National Archives, walking amid the nation’s founding documents, weighing her vote on impeachment. Fiery Republican congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, a favorite Trump warrior, deciding to lead the storming of the secure room in the US Capitol basement, where witnesses were testifying. The authors paint vivid portraits of the men and women branded by the president’s supporters as foes from the “deep state”: Ukraine experts Fiona Hill and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman; ambassadors Marie Yovanovitch and William Taylor. The narrative spools out amid Trump’s nonstop tweeting and the infinite echo chamber of social media, which amplified both parties’ messages in ways unknown during past impeachments. Sullivan and Jordan, aided by editor Steve Luxenberg, follow the story into the aftermath of Trump’s acquittal and the president’s payback for those whom he believed had betrayed him. The retributions took place as the nation reeled from a devastating pandemic and widespread protests about racial injustice, with another trial looming: the 2020 election.

Steve Luxenberg is the author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation and the critically acclaimed Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret. During his thirty years as a Washington Post senior editor, he has overseen reporting that has earned numerous national honors, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Separate won the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.  This episode was originally aired on October 24, 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted on the 124th anniversary of the infamous decision, this virtual program tells the story of Plessy v. Ferguson in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of segregation.National Constitution President Jeffrey Rosen was joined by Steve Luxenberg, associate editor at The Washington Post and author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, along with Dean Risa Goluboff of the University of Virginia Law School and Ted Shaw of University of North Carolina Law School.   Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Author Steve Luxenberg discusses with us his new book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation.

Steve Luxenberg presents the myth-shattering story of how our nation embraced separation and the devastating consequences of that decision. Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with "separate but equal," created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their nearly unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is at the center of one of the most dramatic stories of the 19th century, and its cultural reverberations are still felt today. Wending his way through a half century of American history, Luxenberg begins at the dawn of the railroad age in the North, home to the nation's first separate railroad car, and then moves through the Civil War and Reconstruction to its aftermath: separation taking root in nearly every aspect of American life. Luxenberg draws from letters, diaries and archival collections to tell the story of Plessy v. Ferguson through the eyes of the people caught up in the case: resisters from the mixed-race community of French New Orleans, led by Louis Martinet, a lawyer and crusading newspaper editor; Homer Plessy's lawyer, Albion Tourgée, a best-selling author and the country's best-known white advocate for civil rights; Justice Henry Billings Brown, from antislavery New England, whose majority ruling endorsed separation; and Justice John Harlan, the southerner from a slaveholding family whose singular dissent cemented his reputation as a steadfast voice for justice. Luxenberg's new book, Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation, has been long listed for the 2019 Cundill History Prize, an international award recognizing the best history writing in English. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Luxenberg is the author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation and the critically acclaimed Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret. During his thirty years as a Washington Post senior editor, he has overseen reporting that has earned numerous national honors, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Separate won the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.  This episode was recorded live at RJ Julia Booksellers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, on this archive edition of Midday: In 1896, in the infamous “Plessy v Ferguson” case, the Supreme Court allowed “equal but separate” accommodations for blacks and whites, legalizing segregation for more than 60 years. In his latest book, Steve Luxenberg tells the back story of some of the people who were central to this historic case, tracing the pernicious roots of racism in American history that are far from being eliminated in American society. The book is called Separate: The Story of Plessy v Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation.

A myth-shattering narrative of how a nation embraced "separation" and its pernicious consequences. Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with “separate but equal,” created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their near-unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is one of the most compelling and dramatic stories of the nineteenth century, whose outcome embraced and protected segregation, and whose reverberations are still felt into the twenty-first. Separate spans a striking range of characters and landscapes, bound together by the defining issue of their time and ours―race and equality. Wending its way through a half-century of American history, the narrative begins at the dawn of the railroad age, in the North, home to the nation’s first separate railroad car, then moves briskly through slavery and the Civil War to Reconstruction and its aftermath, as separation took root in nearly every aspect of American life. Award-winning author Steve Luxenberg draws from letters, diaries, and archival collections to tell the story of Plessy v. Ferguson through the eyes of the people caught up in the case. Separate depicts indelible figures such as the resisters from the mixed-race community of French New Orleans, led by Louis Martinet, a lawyer and crusading newspaper editor; Homer Plessy’s lawyer, Albion Tourgée, a best-selling author and the country’s best-known white advocate for civil rights; Justice Henry Billings Brown, from antislavery New England, whose majority ruling endorsed separation; and Justice John Harlan, the Southerner from a slaveholding family whose singular dissent cemented his reputation as a steadfast voice for justice. Sweeping, swiftly paced, and richly detailed, Separate provides a fresh and urgently-needed exploration of our nation’s most devastating divide.

Steve Luxenberg has created an unusual history of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 19th century’s segregationist practices in his book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation (Norton, 2019)  It is unusual because it is chiefly an ensemble biography of Henry Brown, John Marshall Harlan, and Albion Tourgee, three men intimately connected with the Plessy case.  The book covers the Antebellum period youth of the three men, each from a different part of the young nation and each encountering freedmen, slaves, and the institution of slavery in different social and political contexts.  We follow these men through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Reconstruction period leading up to the Plessy decision.  The Plessy case helped solidify official, state-enforced segregationist practices throughout the United States.  It made the now-infamous phrase “separate but equal” a constitutional doctrine that was the law of the land until the 1950s and 1960s. Ian J. Drake is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include American legal and constitutional history and political theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Luxenberg has created an unusual history of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 19th century's segregationist practices in his book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation (Norton, 2019) It is unusual because it is chiefly an ensemble biography of Henry Brown, John Marshall Harlan, and Albion Tourgee, three men intimately connected with the Plessy case. The book covers the Antebellum period youth of the three men, each from a different part of the young nation and each encountering freedmen, slaves, and the institution of slavery in different social and political contexts. We follow these men through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Reconstruction period leading up to the Plessy decision. The Plessy case helped solidify official, state-enforced segregationist practices throughout the United States. It made the now-infamous phrase “separate but equal” a constitutional doctrine that was the law of the land until the 1950s and 1960s. Ian J. Drake is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include American legal and constitutional history and political theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Luxenberg has created an unusual history of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 19th century's segregationist practices in his book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation (Norton, 2019)  It is unusual because it is chiefly an ensemble biography of Henry Brown, John Marshall Harlan, and Albion Tourgee, three men intimately connected with the Plessy case.  The book covers the Antebellum period youth of the three men, each from a different part of the young nation and each encountering freedmen, slaves, and the institution of slavery in different social and political contexts.  We follow these men through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Reconstruction period leading up to the Plessy decision.  The Plessy case helped solidify official, state-enforced segregationist practices throughout the United States.  It made the now-infamous phrase “separate but equal” a constitutional doctrine that was the law of the land until the 1950s and 1960s. Ian J. Drake is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include American legal and constitutional history and political theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Steve Luxenberg has created an unusual history of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 19th century’s segregationist practices in his book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation (Norton, 2019)  It is unusual because it is chiefly an ensemble biography of Henry Brown, John Marshall Harlan, and Albion Tourgee, three men intimately connected with the Plessy case.  The book covers the Antebellum period youth of the three men, each from a different part of the young nation and each encountering freedmen, slaves, and the institution of slavery in different social and political contexts.  We follow these men through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Reconstruction period leading up to the Plessy decision.  The Plessy case helped solidify official, state-enforced segregationist practices throughout the United States.  It made the now-infamous phrase “separate but equal” a constitutional doctrine that was the law of the land until the 1950s and 1960s. Ian J. Drake is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include American legal and constitutional history and political theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Luxenberg has created an unusual history of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 19th century’s segregationist practices in his book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation (Norton, 2019)  It is unusual because it is chiefly an ensemble biography of Henry Brown, John Marshall Harlan, and Albion Tourgee, three men intimately connected with the Plessy case.  The book covers the Antebellum period youth of the three men, each from a different part of the young nation and each encountering freedmen, slaves, and the institution of slavery in different social and political contexts.  We follow these men through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Reconstruction period leading up to the Plessy decision.  The Plessy case helped solidify official, state-enforced segregationist practices throughout the United States.  It made the now-infamous phrase “separate but equal” a constitutional doctrine that was the law of the land until the 1950s and 1960s. Ian J. Drake is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include American legal and constitutional history and political theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Luxenberg has created an unusual history of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and the 19th century’s segregationist practices in his book Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation (Norton, 2019)  It is unusual because it is chiefly an ensemble biography of Henry Brown, John Marshall Harlan, and Albion Tourgee, three men intimately connected with the Plessy case.  The book covers the Antebellum period youth of the three men, each from a different part of the young nation and each encountering freedmen, slaves, and the institution of slavery in different social and political contexts.  We follow these men through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the post-Reconstruction period leading up to the Plessy decision.  The Plessy case helped solidify official, state-enforced segregationist practices throughout the United States.  It made the now-infamous phrase “separate but equal” a constitutional doctrine that was the law of the land until the 1950s and 1960s. Ian J. Drake is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. His scholarly interests include American legal and constitutional history and political theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Luxenberg, author of “Separate", talks about the Jim Crow era and the landmark case that stated "separate but equal" is not equal.

Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with “separate but equal,” created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their near-unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is one of the most compelling and dramatic stories of the nineteenth century, whose outcome embraced and protected segregation, and whose reverberations are still felt into the twenty-first.Separate spans a striking range of characters and landscapes, bound together by the defining issue of their time and ours―race and equality. Wending its way through a half-century of American history, the narrative begins at the dawn of the railroad age, in the North, home to the nation’s first separate railroad car, then moves briskly through slavery and the Civil War to Reconstruction and its aftermath, as separation took root in nearly every aspect of American life.Award-winning author Steve Luxenberg draws from letters, diaries, and archival collections to tell the story of Plessy v. Ferguson through the eyes of the people caught up in the case. Separate depicts indelible figures such as the resisters from the mixed-race community of French New Orleans, led by Louis Martinet, a lawyer and crusading newspaper editor; Homer Plessy’s lawyer, Albion Tourgée, a best-selling author and the country’s best-known white advocate for civil rights; Justice Henry Billings Brown, from antislavery New England, whose majority ruling endorsed separation; and Justice John Harlan, the Southerner from a slaveholding family whose singular dissent cemented his reputation as a steadfast voice for justice.Sweeping, swiftly paced, and richly detailed, Separate provides a fresh and urgently-needed exploration of our nation’s most devastating divide.22 black and white photographs See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A 30-year writer and senior editor at The Washington Post, Steve Luxenberg has overseen reportage that has won a host of awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes for explanatory journalism. He is the author of Annie's Ghosts: A Journey in a Family Secret, the tale of his eponymous aunt who was locked away in a mental institution and seemingly erased from his mother's memory. In Separate, Luxenberg unearths the Philadelphia-born court case that established the idea of "separate but equal" in the courtroom, thus creating legal precedent for the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case. (recorded 2/21/2019)

Gal Beckerman discusses “How to Disappear,” by Akiko Busch, and “Silence,” by Jane Brox; and Steve Luxenberg talks about “Separate.”

Awarded the 2016 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award, Luxenberg’s second book is a deeply researched account of events leading up to the infamous “separate but equal” Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Announced on May 18, 1896, the decision had a deceptively quiet reception. But as Luxenberg shows, the case went to issues at the heart of the nation’s unresolved image of itself. Focusing on the individuals involved in bringing, arguing, and deciding the case as well as on the broader separatist currents throughout the era of westward expansion and industrialization, Luxenberg, a longtime Washington Post senior editor, forces us to see both how entrenched racism has been as well as how some have always struggled to root it out. https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780393239379Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Tom's guest is Steve Luxenberg, a longtime associate editor at The Washington Post. His latest book, Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation, chronicles the events that led up to the landmark 1896 Supreme Court ruling.In 1892, Homer Plessy, a young black musician who often passed for white, boarded a train in New Orleans, and was arrested when he sat in the whites-only railway car. His arrest formed the basis of a Supreme Court challenge to the Louisiana Separate Car Act, a state law that segregated black and white people while riding the train. The Court’s decision, four years later, enshrined in American law the ----separate but equal---- doctrine. It wasn’t until 60 years later, in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, that the doctrine of “separate but equal” was repudiated by the Court. Tonight at 7 p.m. Steve will be discussing his book with Judge Robert M. Bell, the former chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals. The event is part of the Open Society Institute's ----Talking About Race---- series and will be held at the Church of the Redeemer in Baltimore. For more details about tonight's event, click here.We live-streamed this conversation on WYPR's Facebook page. Watch the video here.

@KGNUClaudia, Claudia Cragg, speaks here with Steve Luxenberg, @the author of Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation and the critically acclaimed Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret. During his thirty years as a Washington Post senior editor, he has overseen reporting that has earned numerous national honors, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Separate won the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with “separate but equal,” created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their near-unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is one of the most compelling and dramatic stories of the nineteenth century, whose outcome embraced and protected segregation, and whose reverberations are still felt into the twenty-first.  Separate spans a striking range of characters and landscapes, bound together by the defining issue of their time and ours?race and equality. Wending its way through a half-century of American history, the narrative begins at the dawn of the railroad age, in the North, home to the nation’s first separate railroad car, then moves briskly through slavery and the Civil War to Reconstruction and its aftermath, as separation took root in nearly every aspect of American life.

In this episode: A look back to 1896 and a landmark Supreme Court decision that is considered one of the worst in the court's history. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the court upheld a Louisiana law that required racial separation on passenger trains. The decision preserved and furthered segregation (----separate but equal----) throughout the nation well into the 20th Century. Guest: Baltimore-based journalist and author Steve Luxenberg, a former Sun reporter and editor, and senior editor at The Washington Post. His new book, being published this week, is “Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation.” On Wednesday at 7 p.m., Steve Luxenberg will be in conversation with Judge Robert M. Bell, former chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, at the Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Street. The Ivy Bookshop will have copies of the book for sale at a signing following the program.

We all have secrets we keep within our families, or secrets our families keep from us. Steve Luxenberg discovered that the people closest to him had been lying for years when a form letter from his grandparents' cemetery revealed the existence of an extra grave. We'll hear his story, and then Dr. Lisa Mazzio will join us as we listen to yours. Please call us during this show at 440-2665 or (800) 940-2240.

This week on Fieldstone Common our featured guest is Steve Luxenberg, author of the book Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret. Bio – Steve Luxenberg Steve Luxenberg, an associate editor at The Washington Post and author of the … Continue reading →

In this episode we wrap up my 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites List On Friday I babysat my two grandsons Davy and Joey, and I put together a little game that was prompted by a listener email. You met long time listener and Premium Member Dot in Australia during our virtual Christmas Party in episode 147, and after the show aired, Dot wrote me to say how much she enjoyed it and to tell me about a little concentration game she put together for her granddaughter.  When my kids were growing up we called in the Memory Game and I know some folks call it the Match Game. But no matter what you call it, it's the game where you have a set of cards that are all pairs, and you lay them upside down in rows on the table and two at a time turn them over trying to find matches. The person with the most matches wins. Dot made up cards with photos of her family members. She writes: “She opened the little box I was holding and went through the photos one by one. We put a few pairs down at a time, and as she turned them over she matched them. I included our pets as well.” I wrote Dot back to let her know that MyHeritage.com had something similar. You have to sign in to your free account. In the menu you will find the MyHeritage Family Game under the Apps tab When Davy, who is three years old, arrived on Friday I got to thinking about all this, and I quickly whipped together a set of cards using photos of family members and ancestors. How to Make a Quick Memory Game: Software:  Microsoft Publisher Create one rectangle outline shape the desired size of the cards Copy and paste the shape to fill up the page. (I fit 6 cards per page) Duplicate the page enough times to have enough cards for a game. (I just started with 9 pairs) Using the Insert Picture feature, fill each rectangle with a digital photo from your computer (adjust the size of the image to fit the rectangle so all the cards would be uniform.) Print them out on Glossy Photo paper Cut out the cards It was a lot of fun and a great way to incorporate family history in to daily activities. I think when we do that it makes family history more of a natural part of our kid's lives. Dot also mentioned to me that she found an app for her iPad called Match. (Update: this app appears to be discontinued. Try Match the Memory at )  And the other fun things I did this weekend was watch a movie called Play the Game. My daughter Hannah told me about it and set it up in my Netflix Instant Queue when she was here over the holidays, and we finally got a chance to sit down and watch it. If you're looking for a Valentine's movie to watch with your sweetie, this is it. It is a little independent film from 2008 starring one of my all-time favorites – Andy Griffith. It's about the relationship between a young man and his grandfather, and how they coach each other through their love lives. It's funny, and sweet, and that's very refreshing. You can check it out at the movie's website called     GEM: 50 Fabulous Family History Favorites Free ChartsGenealogy charts in one form or another have been around since people started keeping track of their family history. And even with all the technology we have today, sometimes there is just no substitute for a paper chart to help you work through the complicated relationships in your family tree. My first favorite gems are in the chart category, free charts that you can use online and offline to help you keep things organized, as well as help you share your family tree with others.   26. About Genealogy View, download, save and print free family tree charts and forms including U.S. Census Extraction forms. In this collection you will find traditional family tree suitable for printing, as well as interactive charts that allow you to type in the fields online (using the free Adobe Reader program) before saving them to your computer.    27. Ancestry.com Deep in the Ancestry website are a diverse collection of free downloadable forms and charts. Select from Ancestry Ancestral Form, Research Calendar, Research Extract, Correspondence Record, Family Group Sheet, Source Summary, US, UK and Canadian Census forms.             28. Family Tree Magazine   Offers a wide selection of free downloadable charts including a Five-Generation Ancestor Chart, Family Group Sheet, Research Calendar, and Repository Checklist. You'll also find forms for Cemetery Transcription, Immigration, Records, Oral History, Heirlooms, and census extraction forms for every US enumeration.   29. MarthaStewart.com At marthastewart.com they offer an online decorative Family Tree Fan Chart template suitable for framing.  In the search box on the site's home page search for “Family Tree Charts” and you'll find several lovely charts in the results list that include instructions and downloadable templates. You'll also find other “good things” including free videos and family tree display ideas.   30. FamilyChartmasters.com The Family ChartMasters chart creation tool--Family ChArtist-- is a great way to make a decorative 8.5x11 chart suitable for scrapbooking, framing or other craft projects.  Enter your information manually or via gedcom and choose one of the simple pedigree chart designs.  You can edit your information and then choose from hundreds of borders, background and embellishments or even use your own pictures in your chart.  Movies You can tell by the way I opened this show that I love a good movie, and I particularly love movies with family history themes and stories of immigration. This next group of favorites is what I consider to be some of the best:   31. “Writer Nick and his wife Emily are expecting their first child. When a necessary home repair proves too costly to afford, Nick must swallow his pride and visit his father, a proud immigrant stonemason with whom he has a difficult relationship, and ask him to do the work. Confronting the issues of religious and family tradition which have separated father and son causes Nick and Emily to reevaluate their lives and the things they value most.” Starring the incredible Judy Holliday who you'll remember from the original version of the movie Born Yesterday, and Richard Conte   32. Sweet Land The Movie website: When Lars Torvik's grandmother Inge dies in 2004, he is faced with a decision – sell the family farm on which she lived since 1920, or cling to the legacy of the land. Seeking advice, he turns to the memory of Inge and the stories that she had passed on to him. The movie is based on Will Weaver's short story A Gravestone Made of Wheat and shot on location in Southern Minnesota. 33. The Emigrants Starring Max Von Sydow. In episode 24 I mentioned the book which was made into a movie.  (Swedish: Utvandrarna) “The Emigrants” is a 1971 Swedish film directed by Jan Troell. It tells the story of a Swedish group who emigrate from Småland, Sweden to Minnesota in the 19th century. The film follows the hardship of the group in Sweden and on the trip. The film is based on the first two novels of The Emigrants suite by Vilhelm Moberg: The Emigrants and Unto a Good Land.”   34. (British title The Anatolian Smile) A 1963 American dramatic film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, from his own book. In this tale, loosely based upon the life of Kazan's uncle. Turner Classic Movies has started showing it occasionally, so check their schedule.   Conferences and Events One question I get asked a lot is about conferences. Most folks don't have the time or money to attend them all, and I often get asked, if I could go to just one which would it be? Well, first and foremost it's the one that has the kind of classes you are looking for  for your particular research, but I do have some overall opinions on conferences that I think you really can't go wrong with. 37.   38. WDYTYA Live in London (Update: This conference has been discontinued) 39.   Stuff for Kids Every day that we invest in genealogy research it becomes even more important that we capture the interest of the next generation in family history. If we don't, it could all be lost and for nothing. This next group of faves are tools you can use to accomplish this important task. 40. 41. 42. 43.   My Favorite Episodes 44. The Forensic Linguist Dr. Robert Leonard   45. My interview with Venice   46. Interview with Lisa Kudrow   47. Chris Haley sings   48. Steve Luxenberg and   49. Interview with Gena Ortega   and   50. Heritage Quilts  

Published August 29, 2012 Let's get ready to go back to school - family history school! And I've got some exciting new to tell you about! Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode #139 brought to you by two times Grandma Lisa Louise Cooke.  Yes, indeed my second little Grandson was born on August 15, 2012 about 2 ½ weeks early, and he and his mommy my daughter Vienna are doing marvelously. His name is Joseph, and we'll all be calling him Joey which I absolutely adore, and even better his middle name is Cooke. Life is good, and being a Sha Sha as Davy calls me is heaven on earth that's for sure. Genealogy News: This month Ancestry announced that it has completed the records indexing process for the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, which you can find at . Since the initial release of the 1940 U.S. Census by the National Archives in April, Ancestry.com has progressively published information state by state.  But now, no longer will you have to look up enumeration districts.  Now all 134 million records are now searchable for free by name, date, place of birth and other key information recorded in the census. You'll also be able to make corrections or update information that is incomplete, leading to a better overall database of information. Assisting you with navigating the 1940 U.S. Census is Ancestry.com's Interactive Image Viewer, which enables users to browse document pages with simple graphical overlays. The viewer adds highlights, transcriptions and other functionality directly on the Census page. This enables users to access small census fields by scrolling over them and getting a pop up that magnifies the information that was recorded by census takers. In the 1940 census you find information on whether your ancestor's owned or rented their home, the value of the residence and how many people lived there. For the first time, census takers in 1940 also asked questions specific to income and education. And you may be surprised what you will not find, like details on military service, whether they could read or write, and whether they spoke English which were all questions that were asked in prior censuses. You will find the 1940 census in its entirety at FamilySearch Volunteer Opportunity: US Immigration & Naturalization Genealogy Project FamilySearch also has indexed the 1940 Census with the help of more than 160,000 volunteers, and they are launching a new volunteer opportunity. Now they are turning their attention to the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Community Project, an indexing effort to make passenger lists, naturalization records, and other immigration related records freely searchable online. Hundreds of thousands of North American volunteers are expected to contribute over the next 18-24 months, focusing initially on passenger lists from the major US ports. If you of your genealogy society wants to pitch in you can visit for all the details. Read more about it:     In my last , I mentioned that , the Library of Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Congress' historical newspaper website, sent out a newsletter on using Civil War maps printed in the New York Daily Tribune. I just have to share more on this with everyone!     And finally, here's something fun from George Mason's University's History News Network website: If you have teens in your family then chances are you have heard the phrase OMG which stands for oh my God. But have you ever wondered who started it? You may have thought it was Alicia Silverstone in the 1995 movie Clueless, but actually you have to dig much further back in history to find its origins. All the way back to 1917 in fact.    MAILBOX: Amy in Santa Rosa, CA posted the following question on the Genealogy Gems Facebook Fan page: "On your podcast, I hear you recommend Roots Magic for genealogy software, but I have a Mac and as far as I can tell, it only works with PCs. I thought at one point you mentioned you were starting to use a Mac, so I'm wondering if you use different software on the Mac or if you use a PC for your genealogy software. I used to use Family Tree Maker before my PC crashed, but thought I'd do some research before buying software for the new Mac …Just thought I'd get your opinion, since I value your expertise on the podcast. It is probably just as well that my PC crashed because I never did any source citations (didn't know about it when I started genealogy and now it just scares me!), so I'll be learning how to do that as I add names back in..." Lisa's Answer: While I use both Mac and PC, I only do genealogy on the PC which I prefer. I did publish a series of segments on comparing genealogy programs for the Mac starting with Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 51. Go to and click PODCAST in the menu to get to them. Amy has one more question: "Do I include the grandpa I grew up knowing on my family tree or the biological grandfather. I'm inclined to include the biological one, that feels right. How do others in this situation do it? Wouldn't it be "blood" lines, not "fake" lines? My father really wants to know about his biological father, whom sadly never knew he existed. He died in a VA hospital, would that be a good place to contact for information? I have his birth and death certificates and his mother's death certificate. The only people I know anything at all about in that family are my biological grandfather and his parents." Lisa's Answer: In regards to your other question, I'm afraid you may not have much luck with the VA hospital. Hospitals are notorious for closed records, although in my interview with author Steve Luxenberg, he talked in and about how he worked around some of those challenges. Stick to proven genealogy methodology to find out more about him. Start with his death and move backward in time. I would look for a newspaper obituary, census records (if he was alive prior to 1940), general ancestry.com searches, and military records. As for the family tree in your database, adoptive parents are just like step parents (which are included on our trees) and can, and I believe should, be included. explaining how many users have accomplished this. It's perfectly ok to have 2 sets of parents because that was the reality of the situation. And it only seems right as adoptive parents do the actual parenting. I can't imagine leaving them out. I hope that helps. Good luck and thanks for listening to the podcast! Brandt has a question about place names "In going through some of my records, I've come across a few where the records were created here in the States, but name places back in Europe or elsewhere. The place names are often spelled phonetically, and sometimes I can't figure out what they were trying to say even with a Google search. Do you have any tips on figuring out how to find misspelled foreign place names" Lisa's Answer: Gazetteers are always great resources, but when I'm really stuck I often (not surprisingly) turn to Google.  Type the location name (to the best of  your knowledge) and run a search.  Google will do it's best to suggest the closest matches to names it can find.  It's even better if you can include an additional key word or two to help Google narrow it down.  So if the place name is a village in Germany, type the village name in, and add the keyword Germany.  If you have a surname associate with it you could even try adding that as perhaps there are people today in the location with that surname.  With a few tries you might just get the answer.  And consider running the search in Google Earth since it is geographic in nature.  It's the same Google Search engine. Ricky in Alabama also has two questions "I'm still working my way through your genealogy gems podcasts. One thing I'm curious about. I have gone to a library and found obituaries on microfilm. I print the image, then scan it when I get home. So it saves as a .jpg. When I save it to my database (FTM right now but I just got roots magic5) it saves just like a photo. Should I create a word document and insert the image making it a document? Same for death certificates I've saved from microfilm." Lisa's Answer: I just save them as jpeg, and make a note in the source citation in RootsMagic. No point in creating extra work. If you want more detail attached to the image, consider going into your computer files and adding data into the Properties of the image. On    On the PC:  1.    Open Windows Explorer and locate the image on your hard drive          2.    Right click on the image          3.    Select Properties          4.    Click the DETAILS tab          5.    Enter keyword tags and details about the image To keep jpegs and other files organized and coordinated with your genealogy database, check out the Hard Drive Organization video series that is part of . Ricky's second questions: "I was listening to an older Genealogy Gems podcast recently, and I heard mention of the web site Random Act of Genealogy Kindness…is this site back online. If not, are there any sites similar to it??" Lisa's Answer: With Social Networking sites so abundant now, my first stop would be Facebook. Many genealogists befriend genealogists around the country and put out a request when looking for help. And you can search for friends by location.  If you're not active on Facebook, I would recommend going to the   and going to the state and then county website for the county where you need the help.  Many county sites have LookUp help and ways to connect with those in the area who can be of help.  And of course if you are looking for help with obtaining a photograph of a grave, try  or   This time of year everyone is heading back to school, and it's a good reminder that not only could we benefit from continuing to pursue our own genealogical education, but in an effort to foster an appreciate for our family history and ensure its survival we really need to be educating the children in our families about family history, what it means, why it matters and even how to learn more about it on their own.  Earlier this year at the National Genealogical Society conference that was held in Cincinnati, Ohio a young mom approached me and told me she just published some books on how to teach your children about genealogy.  And this wasn't just a book but rather a curriculum. Branching Out Curriculum by Jennifer Holik If you're not quite ready to jump into a curriculum, maybe you're just not sure that your kids could actually really get interested you've got to check out the Chart Chick blog by my friend Janet Hovorka.  Janet has been sharing her personal genealogy journey with her kids, and she calls it like it is. You'll be inspired and entertained and you'll pick up some great gems along the way for working with kids on family history .   Read my Family Tree Magazine Facebook Interview:   Exciting New Book In this episode Lisa mentions: Turn Your iPad into a Genealogy Powerhouse by Lisa Louise Cooke The updated book is called Mobile Genealogy: How to Use Your Tablet and Smartphone for Family History Research and is available .    

Published Jan 24, 2012 In this episode Genealogist Shirley Gage Hodges will share her genealogical wisdom with you as well as talk about her status as "perennial student." NEWS Marilyn attended my class called Inspiring Ways to Captivate the Non-Genealogist in Your Life and wrote in “I attended your class during the Arizona Family History Expo.  I enjoyed it very much!” Hear Me in Persongo to the Genealogy Gems Website at and Seminars in the menu. That's what I do to be sure I'm in the right place at the right time! Jamboree:The 43rd Annual Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree is now Burbank, CA  June 8 through the 10 of 2012. My Brand New Book is Available: Here's what Steve Luxenberg, Washington Post associate editor and author of Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret said about the book:   "Read it. Study it. Absorb it. But above all, use Lisa Louise Cooke's new book as the guide and instructional tool that it is meant to be. As a veteran of research and libraries, I found all sorts of nuggets and new resources. Beginners will find an embarrassment of riches, including an impressive appendix with a comprehensive list of online routes to national, international and local newspapers. This is as close as you'll get to one-stop shopping for learning about historical newspaper research." And that's really what I wanted it to be – One stop shopping for everything you need to know about finding your family history in newspapers.  There are some incredible stories out there waiting to be found, and this book is going to get you there!    MAILBOX: Myron from Iowa writes: “I have a Genealogical Gem that I think you would like to hear about. I have a recording of my Great Grandma's voice. My father served in the army 1946-1950, sometime while he was in the service his family took a trip from Nebraska to New York City. While visiting the Empire State Building, at the top there was this coin operated machine that would cut your own record, recording your voice, that you could mail to your friends.  My mom has that record. I recorded the record to a wav file and it sounds really bad.  I don't understand German so I hope they aren't saying anything bad. Enclosed are some photos of it and the wav files from it.”    Is there anyone out there who speaks German who could translate this recording for Myron?  If that's something you can help with, that would be amazing.  .  I'll share the results here on the show. there was definitely genealogically serendipity involved in this email from Myron because just before receiving it I had come across a video on YouTube that I thought was absolutely wonderful, and right along the same lines. Video:  No More Questions! from on . GEM: Interview with Genealogist Shirley Gage Hodges, “The Perennial Student” “Everyone has something to learn.” You can read Shirley's articles on genealogy at the The Immigration Experience Genealogy Gems App users check the Bonus Content for this episode for additional Immigration notes from Shirley!  What keeps Shirley motivated: Finding the stories of her ancestors Learning more about ancestor's connection with our country The lesson Shirley learned after her search for Grandpa Larkin: “We do have to be so careful!  He was a grand old gentleman, and I would have loved to have him as a Grandfather.”  Alas it turned out the he was someone else's Grandpa! Shirley Has Her Eye on the Future with These Historical Projects: The Harvey Girls Amazing Women of the West Creating a Family History Christmas Wreath. Learn how to make one for yourself!   s of Family History Christmas Wreath at the Genealogy Gems YouTube channel.   CLOSING: Thanks for the Shout Out I want to say thank you to some bloggers who have given me a shout out lately: The Posted the blog article about my recent speaking engagement at the Sacramento Central Public Library. And Genealogy Blogger and podcast listener Kim Von Aspern invite me to sit down with her a few weeks ago for one on one interview and she is publishing it as a blog series at her Check out her articles:      

Published Jan 10, 2012 What's Black, and White and READ all over?  Your Ancestors in old newspapers! In fact, your ancestors could be anywhere!  Most likely they were mentioned at some point in their own local paper, but they might also show up in a neighboring towns paper, or in a paper located thousands of miles away. Nothing is more exciting than finding information in an old newspaper that adds to your family history!  And I've been working feverishly on a new book that I can finally tell you about that is going to finally give you the answers and resources you need to be successful finding your ancestors in the new.  It's called and that's exactly what it is.  It's everything you need to know.  This book is going to change all that. I spell out a step-by-step process and give you a worksheet you can copy and use again and again.  There are tons of websites, search tips, and 3 very Cool Online tools that probably aren't using but you should be! Stay tuned because we'll be doing an official launch very soon, and I'm going to have a very special opportunity for you to get a signed copy of the book first.   NEWS: Polish Genealogy Podcast by Dave Newman New Website:  . Also now in iTunes Keynote Workshop at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London I'll be on the . is FINALLY published! My Classes at RootsTech: Thurs. Feb 2 at 11:00 am a hands on Google Workshop Friday Feb. 3 at 9:45 am Genealogy Blogs and Podcasts Saturday Feb. 4 at 1:45 Inspiring Ways to Captivate the Non-Genealogists in Your Life Improved Blog Search from Google Now you can search for blogs specifically focused on the family history topics that mean the most to you! New Google Search Option: 1. Go to Google.com 2. Search on specific keywords (ex. County Cork Ireland Genealogy) 3. Click “More” in the Search Options Column on the left side of the page 4. Click “Blogs” 5. Click “Homepages” or “blog Homepages” 6. Now your search results are for blogs focused on those keywords and not just individual articles 7. Click the RSS or “Google” button to add the blog to your Homepage in a Gadget (Learn more about transforming Google.com into your own Genealogy Research Dashboard by )   MAILBOX: Timothy wrote: “I want to thank you for having Steve Luxenberg on podcast episodes #120 and #121 to discuss his book Annie's Ghosts.” PBS documentary “Triumph at Carville: A Tale of Leprosy in America”    “Your interview with Steve also spurred me on to conduct further research into two other folks that I have been researching, both of whom died in the South Carolina State Hospital. The following brief history is from the South Carolina Department of Archives and    History, "The State Dept. of Mental Health has undergone several name changes in its history. The original name was the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum (1821-1895) which was followed by the South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane (1896-1919), the South Carolina State Hospital (1920-1963), and finally the State Dept. of Mental Health (1964 to the present)." I am now currently awaiting to hear back from the archives.” Book Reviews Have a Voice:  Post positive reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Lulu for genealogy books you enjoy! Richard Needs Your HelpAs I was going back over some items I have in my Aunt's photo collection, I found two items that I can't seem to find out anything about. Maybe you or your listeners can help. They are called “Foto Folds" and are raised pictures in a foldable container. I've attached three photos: 1)      Foto Fold – Closed image shows the two closed. One is the back and the other the front which is die cut. 2)      Foto Fold – Opened image shows both opened. One is a single picture and the other my Aunt, Her Brother and their Mother. 3)      Foto Fold – Side View shows that the item is not flat but raised. The raised part fits into the cut out piece on the right which then closes to the foldable container. They are most likely dated between the late 1940s and early 1950s.   What do you think our descendants will wish they had of ours 100 years in the future? Chris in Norwalk, CT chimed in with “Voice recordings (or, to go a bit further, video).  My family has had a touch of music for a few generations now.  My great-grandfather was a musical performer & my great-grandmother played piano. In fact I had recorded him singing shortly before he died.  Unfortunately, the tape was lost long ago.  In another branch of my family, I had a great-grandfather who was a bandleader in Providence, RI.  He played cornet & years later my father took it up as well…I play as well, but can't hold a candle to him.  I wish I thought to record him as well.” Google Earth Sharon in White Lake, MI   “I watched your webinar on the Roots Magic  It was fantastic.  In October, I went with my elderly parents and my husband to the Rives, Michigan cemetery where my great great grandparents were buried.  With the information I picked up in your webinar, I discovered that the original homestead was on the same road less than a mile north of where they were buried.  It was so neat being able to see where my family first located.  Thank you very much!” Kevin Writes to Share a Success Story“I have you to thank.  If not for your podcast about Familysearch.org and Family History Centers, I may not have found my great grandfather, Emanuel Babiuk's birth record from Ukraine…Your podcast (even though it was published several years ago) pointed me in the right direction to help me find, order and view the film at the local FHC.  If not for you, I may have had to wait for the film to be digitized and indexed.  P.S.  I subscribe to anything Lisa Louise Cooke and have 66 Gems and 13 Premium Gems to entertain me.” From Dan in North Carolina“I have been listening to you podcast for a while now and have gotten a lot from it…I decided to write a book about my father. I spent the summer collecting stories and photos. I decided to use the web site . This way anyone that wanted a book could order one. I finished about a month ago and had a lot of fun in the process.  I know most of the stories if not all but when you put them all down in a book it takes on a new life.  Again thank you for the motivation I need. Next? Maybe my grandparents.”  GEM: Interview with Tom Kemp, Director of Genealogy Products at GenealogyBank Click here to search   GEM: Your Life in 5 Minutes with Sunny Morton Part 4 Get Sunny's book "Your Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by clicking this link: 

Published Nov 27, 2011 In this episode you are going to hear from Forensic Genealogist Leslie Lawson.   Genealogy News   Return of Who Do You think You Are? NBC has just announced that the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? will be returning to television screens here in the U.S on Friday, February 3 at 8pm.  Since this falls at the same time as the RootsTech conference I wouldn't be surprised if they plan a group screening for attendees.   RootsTech 2012 The winner of the free RootsTech 2012 registration is Carol Genung.   So I look forward to seeing Carol there and hopefully many of you listening – there's still plenty of time to register for the conference at rootstech.org.  And for those of you unable to attend I'll have videos that bring the experience to via your computer in the comfort of your own home.   New Records at FamilySearch They've added a wde range of new records from 20 countries, including  Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, England, Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Philippines, and the U.S. The U.S. additions include records from California, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.   RootsMagic Update RootsMagic has released a minor update  (4.1.2.1) which fixes a few issues.  Read more at the   Google Milestones   Google Earth has now had more than 1 billion downloads!    Google celebrated it's 15th birthday in September 2011.   1000Memories Shoebox App 1000Mempories has launched a new free iPhone app called  "Shoebox" that they say is like putting a scanner in your pocket.    S   Watch a   Listen to Lisa's interview with Michael Katchn of 1000Memories in     MAILBOX   I had the pleasure of being invited up to Victoria British Columbia in October 2011 to give a full day seminar on using Google for Genealogy at the Victoria Genealogical Society. I had a marvelous time and I've had the pleasure of hearing from several who were in attendance that day including this email from Mike who wrote in to say.   “I couldn't make the seminar, sadly, but my better half -- Kate -- went and she came home brimming over with ideas, two books, a couple of DVDs and a ton of excitement!  We've been putting some of your ideas to great use, and having some walls get knocked down. Outstanding stuff!  I've also started listening to the GenealogyGems podcasts starting with #21, and in the first episode I already found some great hints on how to get US Naval records for my great-grandfather. Where have you been all my life?!  Thank you again for everything you do for the Genealogical community. You ARE one of the Genealogy Gems!! “     Feedback on Steve Luxenberg Interview A topic causing my mailbox to overflow was my interview with Steve Luxenberg and his wonderful book Annie's Ghost       Maureen posted on my Facebook Wall” “Genealogy Gems episodes 120 and 121 are, by far, two of the best family history research podcasts that I've ever heard. Steve Luxenberg author of Annie's Ghost was full of great research ideas. These podcasts are keepers!"   Brandt posted: "Thanks for the interviews with Steve Luxenberg and the recommendation for Annie's Ghosts. I LOVED the book, and the interviews added a lot to it. Hope he writes another one soon!"   Larraine posted: "Annie's Ghost by Steve Luxenberg is excellent. I can't put it down! It's thanks to you Lisa that I discovered the book after listening to your podcasts."   Julie M. emailed: “I just had to tell you how enjoyable your interview with Steve Luxenberg was! After the first part, I immediately ordered his book for Kindle (through your site, of course) and started it right away. It is compelling reading and I'm hooked on it.  What a great story told by a quality story-teller! I find it hard to put it down and look forward to getting back to it as quickly as possible. Perhaps you need to start a "good reads" section in your podcasts or newsletters. Hooked on your podcasts and trying to catch up on all of them.” I think that's an excellent idea! or leave a voice mail and tell me if you would be interested in a Genealogy Gems Book Club.    Find out more about the book at . Click on "Behind the Book," to view documents not part of the print edition.     More Terms of Endearment for Grandparents: And there's another topic that we've discussed here on the show that you've been continuing to write me about and that is terms of endearment for our Grandparents.   Sharon's cute quip: “When my son was born, my father would lean over him and put his hand on his belly and shake him a little bit saying "You little bum, you little bum!".  Well guess what my son started calling Grandpa from the moment he could form the word, "Bum!…As always Lisa, thanks for informative and entertaining podcasts!”   What Will Our Descendents Covet? In this next email, long time listener Pat poses an interesting question: What do you think our descendants will wish they had of ours 100 years in the future?   What comes to my mind I there is one thing that is becoming more rare today but has been around forever - our own handwriting. Everyone used to write letters and yet today we call, text and email. And yet handwriting is so personal. I think perhaps our descendants will be yearning for those rare handwriting examples.   I'd love to hear from the rest of you listening.    or leave a voicemail comment at 925-272-4021.   Laurie asks: “If I become a premium member, how do I listen on my iPod?  Is that only available on the computer?”   As a you can add our custom Premium Membership iTunes feed to your iTunes to subscribe to the premium podcasts. All the instructions are included in the show notes for the Welcome episode.  You can also download the mp3 files from the website and manually add them to your iPod if you wish.   Family Health History: Lisa wrote in recently with some questions around family health histories.  She writes: ”I was recently told that I have breast cancer and that got me thinking about what other medical issues I should be aware of...I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction to finding out my family medical history.”   Lisa I'm so sorry to hear about the diagnosis and I hope that it is early and very treatable.   I think Google Books would be a great place to start as they have all of the Ancestry magazines digitized and online. A quick search of medical history brought up several promising articles. here are some to get you started: Building a Tree of Prevention (article) article in Ancestry Magazine (section of article) has a health history focus I wish you a speedy recovery and I hope these resources are helpful to you. Take care!   Feedback from Kari on one of her favorite Genealogy Gems episodes: “I love your podcasts.  I have learned so many things from you and your guests.           was one of my favorites.  Your story about the barbie clothes and the sewing box brought back memories for me!   Kari asked about possible resources for creating a family calendar.  Lisa's suggestions:   Family Chartmasters (for more custom 1 sheet work) Click image below:   Costco (for more quick and traditional calendars)    (for good quality, fast service and variety of sizes)         Get your free audio book and over 40,000 audio book titles to choose from at Audible:     Audiobook tItles mentioned in this episode: The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro Finding Oprah's Roots: Finding Your Own by Henry Louis Gates   GEM: A Forensic Genealogist Interview with Forensic Genealogist Leslie Lawson.  Leslie specializes in missing heirs, and kinship determination. Visit Leslie's website:  Lawson Reserach Services, LLC at     GEM: Your Life in 5 Minutes with Sunny Morton Visit Sunny online at Get Sunny's book "Your Life & Times: A Guided Journal for Collecting Your Stories by clicking this link:    Lisa's “iPad for Genealogy” article will appear in Family Tree Magazine Jan 2012 issue and it starts mailing to subscribers 11/8

Published Nov 3, 2010 In this Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 121 and part 2 of my interview with Washington Post editor Steve Luxenberg, author fo Annie's Ghosts.  From the emails, Tweets and Facebook posts I've received from so many of you, it sure looks like you enjoyed part 1 of the interview in episode 120 as much as I enjoyed doing it.  Jenna at the Seeking Surnames blog tweeted “the Annie's Ghost podcast was great!  It's a close runner up to the Sha Na Na Guy as my favorite!” Jenna is referring to Dr. Robert Leonard who I interviewed in episode 89 and 90 about the topic of Forensic Linguistics.  I have to agree that Dr. Leonard is one of my all time favorite guests, and Steve is certainly up there with him! And you'll remember that I introduced Part 1 by reading the email from Jay in New York. Well after listening to episode 121 Jay sent me a follow up email saying, “Awesome interview with Steve Luxenberg about his book "Annie's Ghosts". It hit the nail right on the head. Thank you!” Steve is such a riveting writer and speaker, and it's fascinating to hear how someone who is not a genealogist, but rather a journalist approached his family history search in an effort to find the answers to mysteries in his families. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading Annies Ghosts.  This book inspired me, gave me concrete ideas for pursuing my own family history research, AND kept me on the edge of my chair.  What could be better?   GEM SERIES: My Life & Times with Sunny Morton (Use the above link to purchase the book at Shop Family Tree and you'll get free shipping and you'll be supporting this free podcast. Thank you!)

Published Oct 20, 2011 Fire up your Kindle!  In this episode I'm going to introduce you to the author or a riveting book full of secrets, family history, and discoveries!   GEM: Interview with Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie's Ghosts We're going to mix things up a bit in this episode, and I want to start off with an email I received recently from Jay in New York who writes:   “I have been catching up with all of your family history podcasts. Over the years I have collected a wealth of information on the family. Some good, some not-so-good, some out in-the-open, some hidden.   How do you deal with revealing "forgotten" items about family members to other family members? I had an uncle who had a marriage at a very young age, and would like to have forgotten about it. My mother told me about it. I put it on the tree. While showing off the fruits of my labor to his family this "forgotten" marriage was revealed with not happy responses.   The things we find in our tree may not always be "good", How does a person deal with that? and revealing it to others?”   This is a great questions, and it's sort of a cooincidence that this episode's publish date coincides with Family history Month and Halloween because we're going to explore ghosts and skeletons in the closet.   But actually there's nothing really spooky here, but rather these are things that can be found in many family.  Secrets, small and large.  Skeletons in the closet that are often closely guarded by others in our family.   It's a tricky business navigating your way through the shakier branches of the family tree, so I've invited a special guest to the show who has done an incredible job of climbing those branches in his own family.   Steve Luxenberg is a Washington Post associate editor and award-winning author. In his 25 years at The Post, he has headed the newspaper's investigative staff and its Sunday section of commentary and opinion.  Steve is going to join me for the full episode to talk about investigating and dealing with family secrets as he did in  his book Annie's Ghost.  It's a riveting tale that kept me feverishly tapping the “Next Page” key on my kindle.    is about a family secret that Steve stumbled upon in the late 1990s.  His mother, who had always claimed to be an only child, had a sister, Annie.  And while that was a big surprise all by itself, it was just the beginning of a series of secrets and revelations that Steve unearthed by tapping into his long career as an investigative journalist, and employing newly found genealogy techniques and strategies.  In this interview we talk about being aware of what's missing in records and stories, rather than just focusing on what is on the page.  For those of you who are Premium Members this discussion is a great follow up to Premium Episode #77 where we talked about being more keenly aware during our research. Steve's also going to share he thoughts on storytelling, which he truly masters in this book.    And then we get into some of the genealogical techniques he used.  How to avoid Tainting Memories in Interviews, and how to balance the give and take as well as win trust with the person you are interviewing.  And speaking of trust Steve describes how he was able to be incredibly successful in obtaining sensitive documents and getting cooperation from various government agencies and other repositories.   He's also going to tell us about a little known legal maneuver that he made that really made the difference for him in obtaining some of the most closely held documents and how you can use it too!   And finally he'll share his personal feelings about what it was like to get a add a new member to his family, his long lost Aunt Annie.   Resources Mentioned: Dillingham Commission's report on immigration, in digitized form, courtesy of the Stanford U. library. Vol. 4 describes immigration conditions in Europe (much of it focusing on Italy, if I remember correctly), and Vol 37 examines voyage conditions, focusing on steerage.       Quotes from Annie's Ghosts:  “What I didn't expect, as the week wore on, was that the family would expand to take in a new member.  But that's what happened.  As people dipped in and out of the records, as the debates flew about what we knew and what we didn't and whether we should be digging around in the past, Annie gradually became a part of the family consciousness.  She was no longer just a name on a hospital record.  She was no longer just a secret.”   “I stopped thinking like a son and started thinking like a journalist.”   “I offer to send her the letters; it's an unexpected present for her, and I'm glad to be able to make the offer, because it allows me to give as well as take, something reporters can't often do. It's also a good way to win trust.”    “I want to make sure that if she knows about Annie, she tells me before I tell her, so that I capture her spontaneious memory first.”   Stay tune - Episode 121 wil feature part 2 of this interview.  App users: check out the Behind the Scenes Steve and Lisa video!    

 Steve Luxenberg talks about his new book, Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret.Every family has a secret. Washington Post senior editor Steve Luxenberg discovered that his late mother, who had always claimed to be an only child, erased nearly every trace of a sister named Annie who lived in the family home until she was committed to a mental hospital at the age of 21. In his new book, Annie's Ghosts, he explores the personal motives and cultural forces that influenced his mother's decision to create and harbor the secret.Steve Luxenberg has worked at the Washington Post for more than 20 years. Raised in Detroit, the primary setting for Annie's Ghosts, he now lives in Baltimore.Recorded On: Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Guys welcome a new sponsor: NewspaperARCHIVE.com. This week's news includes: Ancestors Magazine, the monthly publication of The National Archives in the U.K., is now offering selected past articles in PDF format for download at a modest fee at their Documents Online site (click here); Calico Pie Ltd. has released Version 4 of its popular Windows-based genealogy database software, Family Historian, at http://www.family-historian.co.uk; Directgov in the U.K. provides access to ordering civil registration records; Footnote.com has updated its content with over a million new images online; WorldVitalRecords.com has made an enhancement to its image viewer, making it possible to magnify to 200%; NewspaperARCHIVE.com will be sponsoring the popular National Public Radio (NPR) news and comedy show Whad'ya Know? on May 16th from Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, Iowa; and the Ohio Genealogical Society has scheduled the groundbreaking ceremony for its new 18,000-square foot library on May 29th at 10:30 AM.This week's listener e-mail includes: Marty verifies that The Master Genealogist software accepts GPS coordinates; Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage Ltd. congratulates Drew on his new book, Social Networking for Genealogists, available from Genealogical Publishing Company; Lisa asks whether Everton's Genealogical Helper magazine is out of business, but The Guys have no information about this; Julie shared information about Steve Luxenberg's new book Annie's Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret, and Drew recounts the story he heard about the book on NPR (click here to listen to the story too); Gus recounts the lessons he learned on his recent research trip to Salt Lake City; Pat reports about migrating to Windows Vista and shares information about software compatibility; Pat also tells about having a brother take a DNA cheek swab, and that the postal clerk considered the package "hazardous"; Rich shares information about the U.S. Census Bureau's plans to use GPS technology in the upcoming 2010 census; Connie discusses a problem with automatic downloads of the podcast from iTunes, and Drew responds; Sam asks for suggestions for finding U.S. records for his Jewish great-grandmother who arrived in 1902; Noi asks for recommendations of episodes of the podcast that might be particularly helpful for beginners; and Noi also would like the Web address for the Pleasantville Cook-Book that Drew found online through Google Books.  Drew also discusses the advantages of being a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists.