Ancestors Series

Getting Started

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:01:58 -0700

Episode 101 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Victor Villasenor, best-selling author of "Rain of Gold," tells how discovering his roots changed his life. Featuring guest expert Desmond Allen.

Looking at Home

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:13:22 -0800

Episode 102 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn how to look at home, in some of the most unlikely places, to find clues about your ancestors and pieces of the past.

Family Stories, Part 1 of 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:43:56 -0800

Episode 102 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Featuring Fabiana Chiu and her quest to document her family's story from China through Peru and to New York City.

Family Stories, Part 2 of 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:44:43 -0800

Episode 102 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Featuring an interview with journalist Bill Zimmerman, author of "How to Tape Instant Oral Biographies."

The Paper Trail

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:56:42 -0800

Episode 104 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn how to search records to make your ancestors come alive, and watch as Rafael Guber recreates the profound Ellis Island experience. Featuring guest experts Sharon Carmack and John Colletta.

George Morgan at Jamboree 2009

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:16:46 -0700

Dick Eastman talks with George Morgan, author, director and publicity chair of the Federation of Genealogicial Societies and one of The Genealogy Guys about their website and podcast. For more info: http://www.genealogyguys.com/

Libraries and Archives

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:15:30 -0800

Episode 105 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Hosts Jim and Terry Willard take you to the largest genealogical library in the world, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, where staff and patrons offer their personal tips.

Eric Keith at Jamboree 2009

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:56:17 -0700

Matthew Poe talks with Eric Keith, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at FootNote.com- the resource for original historical documents online. For more info: http://www.footnote.com/

Military & Census Records, Part 1 of 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:54:09 -0800

Episode 106 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Garry Bryant tells how his feeling about serving in the Vietnam War changed when he discovered his military roots, including ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War.

MIlitary & Census Records, Part 2 of 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:55:27 -0800

Episode 106 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Featuring guest expert Curt Witcher.

African American Research, Part 1 of 2

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Episode 107 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Meet Colette DeVerge, who begins the search for her African ancestors after a chance meeting with Alex Haley.

African American Research, Part 2 of 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:01:39 -0800

Episode 107 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn from experts how African Americans can successfully search for their ancestors. rootstelevision.com

Your Medical Heritage

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:49:45 -0800

Episode 108 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn why tracing your family medical history is just as important as filling in your family tree. Genetic scientists and counselors discuss the ins and outs of your medical heritage.

High Tech Help

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:47:25 -0800

Episode 109 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Computers allow genealogists to discover, store, access, and share family history information with speed and convenience the average hobbyist wouldn¿t have thought possible even a few years ago.

Leaving A Legacy, Part 1 of 3

Fri, 22 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Episode 110 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. The More Family has been holding family reunions to celebrate their Scottish heritage since the turn of the century.

Leaving A Legacy, Part 2 of 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:07:16 -0800

Episode 110 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Author NancyLou Burdick found her family history woven into her grandmother Tallulah's quilts.

Leaving A Legacy, Part 3 of 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:07:50 -0800

Episode 110 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Honoring ancestors through African American music and traditions, with celebrated musician Hannibal Lokumbe.

Records at Risk, Part 1

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:49:10 -0700

Episode 201 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Introduction to family history records. What happened to all those items that belonged to people living three or more generations ago? They were likely lost or destroyed.

Records at Risk, Part 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:55:13 -0800

Episode 201 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Featuring the natural destruction of records.

Records at Risk, Part 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:55:34 -0800

Episode 201 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Man made destruction of records.

Records at Risk, Part 4

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:55:53 -0800

Episode 201 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. An inside look at Steven Spielberg's ambitious project to record the oral histories of Holocaust survivors.

Records at Risk, Part 5

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:56:16 -0800

Episode 201 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Record Repositories.

Records at Risk, Part 6

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:56:38 -0800

Episode 201 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. An overview of the records that will be highlighted in the 13-part Ancestors series, produced for public television.

Family Records, Part 1 of 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:53:19 -0800

Episode 202 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Some people believe that genealogical research is conducted exclusively in archives and libraries, but the reality is that one of the richest resources is right at home.

Family Records, Part 2 of 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:53:48 -0800

Family Records, Part 3 of 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 09:54:24 -0800

Tracing Your Family Roots - Courthouse Records

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:30:25 -0700

Chuck Mason talks about the records that can be found in a courthouse. Producer: Sidney Sachs, http://tracingroots.nova.org.

Compiled Records

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:41:00 -0800

Episode 203 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Compiled records - comprised of information gathered, assembled, and with a bit of luck, indexed from other sources - are usually an enormous time saver in genealogical research.

Genealogy and Technology

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:06:16 -0800

Episode 204 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. While genealogy can still be done without computers, most people who have been researching their roots from pre-technology days will testify to how much more progress they have made with a computer.

Vital Records, Part 1

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:00:00 -0800

Episode 205 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. In this segment learn what vital records are and how to use them. Meet Jeff Gallup as he begins his search for this grandparents' Italian marriage certificate.

Vital Records, Part 2

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:00:00 -0800

Episode 205 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. In this segment learn how death records, obituaries, and funeral home records can help trace your ancestors.

Vital Records, Part 3

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:00:00 -0800

Episode 205 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. In the 3rd segment of the Vital Records episode from "Ancestors" learn how birth and marriage records can provide valuable infomation about your ancestors. Rootstelevision.com

Vital Records, Part 4

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:00:00 -0800

Episode 205 of the popular PBS Ancestors series. In the concluding segment join the Gallup family on their search for vital records in Piana, Italy.

Religious Records

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:14:08 -0800

Episode 206 from the popular PBS Ancestors Series. Before the advent of civil registration of vital statistics, church records rank as the best available sources for information on the important life events of birth, marriage, and death.

Cemetery Records

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:15:04 -0800

Episode 207 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Topics include tombstone inscriptions, sextons records, photobases, transcription, and more.

US National Archives 1940 Census - Part 1

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:16:54 -0700

US National Archives introduction to the video series about the 1940 United States of America census, when 120,000 census takers gathered up pertinent data.

US National Archives 1940 Census - Part 4

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:17:20 -0700

The last in the US National Archives' series on the 1940 census. The agricultural census collected information from close to 7 million farms in operation in 1939, which had either 3 acres of land minimum or made $250 in produce income.

US National Archives 1940 Census - Part 3

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:12:37 -0700

US National Archives 1940 census series, episode dealing with housing. Census takers enumerated all houses, vacant or occupied and even collected data on non-dwelling residences such as boxcars or shacks.

US National Archives 1940 Census - Part 2

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:12:27 -0700

From the US National Archives 1940 census series, discussing the population of the United States of America. Discusses briefly how many people, where they live, what work they do and what education they have.

Census Records, Part 1

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:15:56 -0800

Episode 208 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. In this first segment learn why census records are called "mini-biographies" and provide a wealth of information about your ancestor. Part 1of 5. rootstelevision.com

Census Records, Part 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:16:33 -0800

Episode 208 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn where to find U.S. census records, how they are organized and the clues they provide fto the next step in your research. Part 2 of 5. rootstelevision.com

Census Records, Part 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:17:10 -0800

Episoe 208 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn how census information was collected, what an enumerator does, and how to use the soundex index to locate your ancestors. Part 3 of 5. rootstelevision.com.

Census Records, Part 4

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:17:40 -0800

Episode 208 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Darius Gray tells about an inspriring breakthrough moment in his research and professional genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills gives expert tips for census research.

Census Records, Part 5

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:18:16 -0800

Episode 208 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. City Directories are introduced as an excellent companion research tool when working with census records.

Military Records, Part 1

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:19:02 -0800

Episode 209 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. An introduction to the use of military records in family history reserach, featuring a poignant father-daughter WWII story, told by guest Susan Hadler.

Military Records, Part 2

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:02:42 -0700

Episode 209 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Military records frequently reveal all sorts of information about an ancestor and can help lead you to other sources.

Military Records, Part 3

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:03:00 -0700

Episode 209 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Military records frequently reveal all sorts of information about an ancestor and can help lead you to other sources.

Military Records, Part 4

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:03:17 -0700

Episode 209 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Military records frequently reveal all sorts of information about an ancestor and can help lead you to other sources.

Newspapers as Records, Ancestors

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:00:00 -0800

Episode 210 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Learn how you can use newspapers to further your genealogy research.

Probate Records

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:23:23 -0800

Episode 211 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Probate records are the documents generated in the course of settling an estate. They exist in places and for time periods when few other records are available.

Immigration Records

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:24:02 -0800

Episode 212 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. To find actual evidence of our own ancestors' entry into a country, immigration records are the key, as these are the documents that most directly link us to the homelands of our ancestors.

Writing A Family History, Part 1

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:25:02 -0800

Episoed 213 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Taylor McDonald follows his grandparents' oral history trail through the wartime adventures of Pancho Villa on his way to writing his family history.

Writing A Family History, Part 2

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:25:40 -0800

Episode 213 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Featuring family historian Taylor McDonald and his grandparents who were contemporaries of Pancho Villa. www.rootstelevision.com

Writing A Family History, Part 3

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:26:21 -0800

Episode 213 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. When Taylor McDonald's grandfather, grandmother, and father all died in the late 1960s and early 1970s he set out to discover his family history and write it down.

Writing A Family History, Part 4

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:26:58 -0800

Episode 213 from the popular PBS Ancestors series. Family historian Taylor McDonald discovers priceless family stories and weaves them into a written family history.