Who Do U Think U R?

OK, the title is cheesy but if you're interested in history or genealogy it is fascinating stuff. Granted, I am a bit of a geek about genealogy (not just my own but others as well). They did fascinating profiles of the ancestry of Lionel Ritchie & Vannesa Williams; among others.

check it out
http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/​

 

I'd say it's fascinating to see how we can trace back our origins. Sadly, I don't really have the resources to trace back my family line, but I have some ideas as to where I stand in my genealogy.

 

yeah, that show is cool. It is kind of slow for me but I like it. I wish they would hurry up and get to the juicy stuff. there is one with professor skip gates on pbs where he does the same thing

 

I love this show! I've worked on my tree and been able to go back to the 1600s on my mothers side and found some of my fathers family from my generation and his, but I'd love to take a legitimate genetic DNA test to find out where my ancestors derived from geographically other than the countries I know about. A cousin of mine had an idea, but of course, no one can back it up. I'd also like to know what's in my ancestral make-up, again, besides what I'm aware of.

 

my oldest brother called me the other day and started telling me about a long lost relative from switzerland facebooked him...evidently this man had been working on the family tree and traced my dads side of the family to the usa...first in kansas...then wisconsin...to montana...our family tree is now completed back to the 1600s...so my brother sends me a picture of this very large house in switzerland that used to be the "powder" house...evidently our ancestors were in the gun powder trade...the house still exists and is now a youth center...i have done some research in SLC...very intriguing...

 

he does a much better job than the nbc show, but it's good nonetheless

 

very cool IB, genealogy is highly addictive - I love ancestry.com & have had an account there for a good while, though not a paid one at the moment. I also am interested in genetic testing to discover more about from where my ancestors orginated. Genetics is also an interest of mine, particularly nutrigenomics. All of this fascinates me, like I said before - a bit of a geek ...lol

 

Thank you!

I've always had an interest since I was a kid, but I could never fill in the boxes past a certain point. At one time, I had a site for my extended family, although I never used it (my intentions were good..lol). This guy contacted myself as well as my brother claiming to be our cousin. I found it to be fishy considering our surname is different than the family name. After conversing with him for a while, he provided a lot of evidence to show he's my cousin from 4 generations back. With his help, I've been able to trace back, like I said to the 1600s. He also helped me with putting together a letter my grandmother wrote mentioning all these names from her side as well as my grandfathers. I then contacted my mothers cousin and he too helped me fill in some of the missing names on my grandfathers side. It's a beautiful project to work on when you so many names, but getting there is extremely exhausting. I still have to put the names into my family tree program that the latter cousin gave me.

BTW, the initial cousin put me in touch with other cousins who aren't related to him and they're open to a relationship. Whereas my fathers side, are assholes and could give two shits if we stay in touch or not. It sucks cause they're first cousins/second cousins/aunt and with my mothers side, they're distant cousins. SMH!

You should pay the fee (at least for a month) and see what you find. I was able to tell my father the name of his grandfather and find some other minor details. You never know what you'll find. It's definitely worth it. If you need any help, let me know.

 

Starting February 3 - looking forward to this...

Martin Sheen, Marisa Tomei, Blair Underwood, Reba McEntire, Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Rita Wilson, Edie Falco, Rashida Jones, Jerome Bettis, Jason Sudeikis and Paula Deen Take a Look Inside Their Family Histories....

http://www.nbc.com/news/2012/01/06/nbc-announces-the-celebrities-tracing-their-family-trees-on-season-three-of-who-do-you-think-you-are/

 

This show is one of my favorites

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/profiles/index.html

www.africanancestry.com is a service I have used that is reasonable cost wise.

 

Try one of these: http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=72306&code=MR20027

 

Tomorrow night (February 24th) Blair Underwood will be the focus, can't wait! :grin:

 

I really enjoy the ones I have caught. So far out of about 7, I've enjoyed most Emmet Smith's, Brooke Shield's, Gwyneth Paltrow's, and SJP's.

 

If someone finds the Black star with biracial root like Black great uncle marries White great aunt etc,hope it is brought up.

 

The previews I've read sound interesting. They used DNA testing to determine where, in Africa, Blair Underwoods ancestors orginated & they located some of his living family members. I'm really looking forward to watching tonight.

 

Very cool...(I just love history)

Using DNA To Trace Michelle Obama’s Past​

First Lady Michelle Obama always suspected that she had white ancestors. But she had no idea who they were. With DNA testing and research, I was able to solve that mystery and finally identify the white forbears who had remained hidden in her family tree for more than a century.

All across the country, growing numbers of people are turning to DNA testing as a tool to help unlock the secrets of their roots, using companies such as ancestry.com, among others. When I started researching my new book, “American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama,’’ I pored over historical documents that I found in local archives, courthouses and libraries as well as records that I found online on ancestry.com and other state and local databases. But I knew that DNA testing would be the only way to unearth the truth.

I suspected that Mrs. Obama’s white ancestors belonged to the white Shields family that had owned her great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields. So I persuaded several descendants of the black and white Shields to do DNA testing.

The results showed that the two families were related. The DNA testing indicated that Melvinia’s owner’s son was the likely father of Melvinia’s biracial child, Dolphus Shields. (Dolphus Shields is the first lady’s great-great grandfather.)

This was painful news for many of the Shields descendants. They knew that that Melvinia might have been raped and that their kinship originated during slavery, one of the darkest chapters of our history.

But last month, members of both sides of the family – black and white — put aside the pain of the past. They got together for the very first time in Rex, Georgia at a ceremony to commemorate Melvinia’s life. They swapped family stories, posed for photographs, exchanged phone numbers and had a meal together.

It was something to see.

David Applin, who is Melvinia’s great-grandson, said the reunion was “wonderful.” And Jarrod Shields, who is the great-great-great grandson of Melvinia’s owner, described it as a day “my family will never forget.”

​

This story was contributed by guest blog author Rachel L. Swarns.

 

Celebrity Chef Ainsley Harriots 2008 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? was very intresting

[YOUTUBE]bSGXyzGgRRU[/YOUTUBE]

 

It was eye opening for me to discover that my Y chromosome is most commonly found in Present day Ireland. I highly recommend DNA testing as a way to search one's genealogy. It really helps to underscore the absurdity of the social idea of "race". I love the words on the back of this t-shirt.

"The Bible says modern people are the result of incestuous relations
Cain and his brothers had with their sisters.
Science says we are all descendants of Africans.
I believe science"
on the back.


http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0034/2402/products/110802AfricanTshirt_large.jpg?119

 

The Garden of Eden, which is where biblical man & woman originated, is in Africa...

 

Ha ha Ches, there always seems to be plenty of debate as to the location, per below from wiki.

"The Eden of Genesis has been variously located at the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates in northern Iraq, in Africa, and in the Persian Gulf. The Eden in Ezekiel, however, is unequivocally located in Lebanon."