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Henry Louis Gates Jr. celebrity genealogies series
posted by genplant29STAFFMOD on January 30, 2019 at 4:51 PM
Anyone else here watch this PBS series either regularly or occasionally during its airing seasons? I've watched most of the installments since the beginning, throughout the years to present, and find the series to be well done and consistently interesting.
Besides the actual genealogical findings from via documents, etc., it's amazing what DNA testing can reveal - often very unexpectedly. It's especially fascinating when they determine an adoptee's precise definite parents, or an out-of-wedlock-born child's father, whose identities hadn't till then otherwise been known.
Likewise is fascinating when DNA research determines and reveals that whom someone always believed was their biological grandfather or whatever scientifically couldn't possibly have been, as there's no shared family DNA (thus grandma clearly did some "playing around on the side" during her marriage, that only now has the secret come out).
Reply by bratface
on January 30, 2019 at 7:05 PM
I've seen a few episodes mainly to see a particular person (Michael K. Williams was the most recent). My problem with the show is that everyone of those 'celebrities' has the money to do all of the research needed to find out what they want to know. Why not choose some everyday people who would like to investigate their family tree but do not have the resources?
Also, sometimes I think Gates pushes a bit too much to get an 'overly emotional' response from the celebrity of the week.
Reply by genplant29
on January 30, 2019 at 7:19 PM
I agree with you on both counts. I guess the series goes with celebrities simply to increase viewer appeal.
I've been very "in" to genealogy since the mid 1970s, but much more seriously since the mid '80s (and very seriously since the early '90s), so am always interested in any shows that cover the findings of genealogical investigations, and to see how the researchers reached their various conclusions (which I don't always agree with, incidentally). It's especially interesting to learn the results of DNA testing, as some very unexpected surprises can wind up revealed, or answers become possible to identity questions that otherwise would forever remain unknown.
For a couple or so seasons on PBS, till around three years ago, there was a Genealogy Roadshow series. It covered regular everyday people, in a format along similar lines to how PBS' Antiques Roadshow series works. I gather Genealogy Roadshow didn't do well in ratings, since it didn't last long. I didn't mind that series (and watched probably all of its episodes), but never was very impressed by it, as its approach was so "gee whiz" about every little thing.
Reply by bratface
on January 30, 2019 at 7:43 PM
It is easier to research family genealogy now than a few years ago but it still takes a lot of money to go back more then a couple of generations.
A cousin of mine did a thorough search of our family a few years ago but for unknown reasons other than mercenary ones will not share a lot of it. Some of us in the family know a lot but he had gone back to the 1600's or so.
Reply by genplant29
on January 30, 2019 at 9:16 PM
In every family there unfortunately, inevitably, always are people who feel like they selfishly own, just for their own personal self (and for their immediate family group members), all their research findings. To me, it's a major waste of time and effort, and the totally wrong attitude, to do the research and spend the time (which normally is considerable) and then not share it with everyone/anyone, also in the more distant family (1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins, etc.), who's interested. Ditto old family pictures, document copies, etc.
I've always enjoyed making contact, and sharing and exchanging family information, stories, and pictures, with distant cousins. Many (particularly the elderly ones) have, throughout the decades, been extremely generous and helpful.