Small Details Make a Big Difference
Did you catch the reference to “Joe the postman” in Matthew Broderick’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? While the moniker was mentioned in passing on the show, to researchers working with Matthew’s family history, “Joe the postman” was the key that opened up all sorts of doors. Matthew’s grandfather’s name wasn’t entirely… Read more
My Little Black Book
I’m not a descendant of any of the “habitual drunkards” on the Birmingham Pub Black List just released on Ancestry.com—at least so far as I know. My family began leaving Europe in the 1700s and were pretty much done with the old country well before the turn of the 20th century. Even so, when a… Read more
Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 4 – Matthew Broderick
When Matthew Broderick started his family history journey on Who Do You Think You Are?, he knew one thing for certain about his father’s family: they didn’t talk about the past. His dad’s dad, “Joe the postman,” was ill-tempered and quiet, so noted Matthew’s sister, who also dropped another clue: Joe received money because he… Read more
Getting Your Own Expert Opinion
Like Lisa Kudrow, I also have family lines that lead to Eastern Europe – both of my grandmothers hail from there. I was also relatively certain that there was no way I’d find out anything about those lines once they left U.S. records. There were plenty of times I wasn’t even sure they were in… Read more
Family Tree Maker and GPS
We’ve all been there. You’ve spent days (or years) looking for a relative’s grave, and when you finally locate it in a middle-of-nowhere cemetery, you realize that you’ll never remember how you got there. Or be able to explain to anyone else how find the same location. In years past you might have created your… Read more
Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 3 – Lisa Kudrow
It was a tough journey for actress Lisa Kudrow. On tonight’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, Lisa returned to the place where members of her family – her great-grandmother included – had been murdered in the Holocaust. But she ends on a high note: a reconnection to an ancestor Lisa and her… Read more
Family Tree Maker Webinar Rescheduled
Previously we announced that the Family Tree Maker team would be holding an Advanced Topics webinar on March 24th. This webinar has been rescheduled for May 19th. We would like to apologize for an inconvenience we’ve caused and also thank all of you who have already registered and submitted questions. We hope you’ll be able… Read more
Personal Accounts of the Irish Famine Now Online
AUTHORED BY: Annabel Bernhardt, PR Manager for Ancestry.co.uk. Earlier this week we published online a fantastically rich collection of Irish records entitled the Ireland, Famine Relief Commission Papers, 1845 – 1847. These 7,000 original letters were written by Irish citizens who were requesting help during the Great Famine in the mid 19th century. I was… Read more
Am I Related to Everyone with My Last Name?
It probably makes statistical sense that Emmitt Smith would run into a distant cousin when he visited Burnt Corn, Alabama. If your family put down roots in a small town and remained there for any length of time, at least a handful of descendants could still be around the town today. In Burnt Corn, which… Read more
Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 2 – Emmitt Smith
On tonight’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? on NBC, Emmitt Smith wanted to take his family roots back to Africa, and while the task may have seemed impossible at first, the stars aligned for Emmitt and researchers – not only did Emmitt trace the path of his American slave ancestors, he also… Read more
Here you will find informational, and sometimes fun, posts from the folks behind the scenes here at Ancestry.com. We hope you’ll notice just how passionate we are about family history and about the products we’re building to help connect families over distance and time.
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