Friday, February 4, 2011

Favorite Things Friday - Genealogy on TV

As I may have mentioned previously, I am an avid genealogist, although that hobby has taken a backseat in recent years to other things, like quilting.  I've done a lot of research into our family tree, and the things I discovered, well, I could write a book (and did, on some of it).

One set of great-great-grandparents, born in Pomerania

About five years ago, there was a PBS documentary series called African American Lives, which aired during February, Black History Month.  I was absolutely riveted to it.  The following year, there was a second installment that aired, African American Lives 2, every bit as good as the first series.  I'll put links to both below, where you can go watch snippets of some of the video from the program.  Ultimately, I bought the two DVDs from the show, and I'll probably watch both again sometime soon.

Last year, NBC launched a series that seemed to be a spin-off of the theme called, Who Do You Think You Are?  It follows various well-known people, tracing their roots and discovering some fascinating things.  Season 2 begins tonight at 7 p.m. Central Time.  I can't wait!


Links to explore:

9 comments:

Jane said...

You won't believe this but I'm reading your post while watching "Who Do You Think You Are"!! I'm an avid genealogist too and I love this program. I haven't done much genealogy research lately but I know watching this show will get me motivated again.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jane

Kate said...

Family history is such a fun thing to explore. I did some genealogy many years ago, found out all kinds of cool things I didn't know.

thea said...

I wish I had more time to do this. It's on my to do list ..

Marg said...

I've traced some of my family back quite a few generations but haven't been able to trace very far on the other side. It is so very interesting isn't it, but I have put it on the back burner in the mean time while I've been quilting and crocheting.
We have Who Do You Think You Are here too.

Larri said...

Fabulous favourite, P.~

I hate to say it, but I am more interested in genealogy now that all my grandparents are gone. I regret not asking more questions. There are some my parents simply cannot answer for they just don't know. Life is too busy for me to start researching, but I know one day I will pick up where my grandfather left off. He wrote a book, though I think he changed some history to suit his prideful nature. ;o)

Thanks for sharing a great FTF! Oh, and I watched the beginning of the show last night. Alas, I fell asleep when Vanessa was on her way to Beaufort, a beautiful city in my state. :o) I hope it's on Hulu today so I can finish watching. I believe last season's episodes are already there.

Shay said...

I started my family history in 1995 and like you it's taken a back seat to quilting the last couple of years. I can completely identify with this favourite P! Family history is so interesting.

I'm going to confess I've never watched an episode of WDYTYA because Im usually too busy on the computer.

Thanks for sharing the links. I'll definitely check them out.

Kirsten's Cooking said...

Very interesting! We thankfully still have three grandmother's living - so to learn directly from them is really special.

Can you share sometime about your family history? It would be really interesting to hear about!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

My genealogy competes with my quilting too. Although I spend more time quilting than searching for family information, I do try to spend a few minutes every month to learn something new. It was a good show - I wish they had more episodes, instead of playing it as a rerun the the same weekend! It was on again yesterday.

Michelle said...

Interesting stories, aren't they?