Comments on: Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 1 – Sarah Jessica Parker

By: JeanR

JeanR — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:12:45 +0000

#65 Nancy – Thank you — and Kimberly — for this. It has been bothering me since the show first aired.

By: James W Cummings

James W Cummings — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:25:14 +0000

I didn`t have any ancestors who sought their fortune in California but my 3rd Great Grandfather Joseph S Cummings of Belgrade, Maine had a brother Seth Greeley Cummings who did go from Ohio to San Francisco during the gold rush dying there in 1850. he (3 Gr grdfather) helped Seth`s widow return to Maine from Ohio and they settled in Belgrade, Maine. As to witches, Susannah (North)Martin was accused in 1666, 1669 and 1692 being hung at Salem the last time. 3 out of four of my Great Grandmothers Ida (Cushman) Cummings, Marjorie (Stevens)Condon and Effie (Delano) Miller descend from her children Esther (Martin) Jameson, Jane (Martin) Hadley and Richard Martin respectively. Great Grandfather Charles Ford Miller born in New Brunswick, Canada descends from witch martyr Mary (Towne) Estey. an apparent accused New Hampshire ” witch” Isabella(Austin) Towle who was held at Hampton, New Hampshire in July 1680 was accused of witchcraft by Mary (Cox)Godfrey who claimed that Rachel (Brasbrige) Fuller whom she accused of witchcraft which resulted in the death of her son Moses Godfrey told her that she and several others including Grace (Swain) Boulter, and Mary (Boulter) Prescott were also witches. of these Mrs Towle is ancestral to my Great Grandmother Jennie Grace (Garland)Croxford , Mrs Boulter and Mrs Prescott were ancestral to Great Grandfather Warren Cummings and the accuser Mrs Godfrey was an ancestor of the before mentioned Great Grandmother Effie (Delano) Miller.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:54:14 +0000

Andrea #63, the letter did seem too good to be true, but on her Genealogy Blog Kimberly Powell explains how it could be found. Here’s the link:
http://tinyurl.com/ykcvc7g

By: Karen L.

Karen L. — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:42:28 +0000

I just think it would be a good idea if the show would include one more episode on “How The Research Is Really Done When You Don’t Have The Resources (money/time) To Travel and Hire Professionals”. I think that would pretty much cover all the complaints about the show.

By: Andrea MacDonald

Andrea MacDonald — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:24:55 +0000

I could not agree more with most of the comments on the show. The one thing that jumped out at me most was the miraculous discovery of the letter about the death of Hodge supposedly written by his partner. I did not hold true. Where did it come from, who had it all this time and how was it found. Just don’t buy that part.

The show was no help to those of us without unlimited resources. I’m disabled and have to rely on what’s on the Internet and the help of others who are willing to do leg work for me.

Better luck next time. I won’t be watching the rest, if only to miss all the Wow’s and Oh my God’s.

By: Sharon R. Watson

Sharon R. Watson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:45:35 +0000

I missed the show, but I’m glad it is on air. I won’t miss the next one.
As one that has worked on family trees for years, I know exactly what it takes. Time and patience. It took me 10 years to go past my husbands gr gr grandfather. And last night I just broke through another wall that has taken 15 years and found the family of his gr gr grandmother.
I wish schools had genealogy classes, as it would really get the children into loving history. Genealogy makes history come alive when you realize where your family lived during that age.
My gr grandmother told stoies of watching the soldiers fighting at Lookout Mt. Now I know that my husbands gr grandfather was one of the men fighting at Lookout Mt. Telling my grandson this has made him interested in history and he is always wanting to know what new things have found.
Thank you Ancestry.com for putting on this program.

By: Susan D.

Susan D. — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:03:05 +0000

Hey, I have known for sometime that I am a Hodge, several generations back. So, SJP and I are very distant cousins, I think. Of course that doesn’t help my spelling as was pointed out by # 26 FHC Librarian. I am sure there is some relative that had that quirk. I just have to keep looking. I’ll pay close attention on Friday night. I might find the answer! Look what I found out last Friday. It was a WOW moment for me!

By: Ann G

Ann G — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:49:59 +0000

Well said. Really important is to stress the fact that it takes much effort and they may find nothing.

By: Andy Hatchett

Andy Hatchett — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:42:52 +0000

Heather-

There would be plenty of time if they cut out all that stupid recap stuff after every commercial.

That said…

1. Take 2 minutes at the start of the shows to explain that the show is only for entertainment and bears no resemblance to actual genealogical research.

2. Re-do those cloying commercials “all I had to do was click”- I mean- really!

3. Be upfront and honest- don’t present things which will give newbies unrealistic expectations.

Then- once you get them online provide real training tools and stress the fact that looking at other people’s trees and copying their info is NOT research. Research means dealing with source documents- not copying other’s unsourced offerings.

By: Heather Erickson

Heather Erickson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:51:18 +0000

Many of you have shared your thoughts around the show’s format. As you expressed, an hour unfortunately doesn’t offer much time to delve into the research processes that genealogists used as they traced the ancestors highlighted in “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Since the purpose of the show is entertainment and only has time to skim the surface of research, how can the genealogy community help educate newbies on how to do their own family history?