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Two of America's pop-culture icons a ' music superstar Madonna and TV powerhouse Ellen DeGeneres a ' are distant cousins with Canadian roots, according to the Toronto-based online genealogy service Ancestry.ca. Photograph by: Madonna photo by Montreal Gazette, Ellen DeGeneres photo Two of America's pop-culture icons a ' music superstar Madonna and ...

James DeWolf Perry VI's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather used African slaves to grow coffee on this rocky hillside outside Havana, and to him its thorny weeds and small sugar plots feel haunted.

March 30, 2010 The following announcement was written by GeneTree: - New GeneTree Products and Services Focus on Making Genetic, Family History Information Comprehensible and Meaningful to Users - As a wholly owned subsidiary of Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, GeneTree is able to Leverage the World's Most Comprehensive Collection of ...

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 uncommon. Even when accounting for dates and places, sorting through the possible matches was proving difficult. But military records contain all sorts of identifying details that can help a researcher narrow down choices, and one of those details is occupation. So a simple reference to “Joe the postman,” helped eliminate a handful of other possible matches and whittle the field down to one.

It’s another score for the power of a family story. Even if every bit of the story doesn’t turn out to be true, there’s almost always something in one that is. Always take notes – or even better, attach an audio version directly to someone in your Ancestry.com family tree. To do so, click on the person’s Profile page and select Record Audio from the Media Gallery.

Everyone loves a good story, so listen to the ones from your family more than once. Compare what you heard to what other family members were told, ask the person who told you the story the first time to tell it to you again (invite kids to listen, too – they love family stories). You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn a second time through, even when you’re positive you got it all the first time.

By the way, if you missed Matthew Broderick’s family history story last Friday, you can catch it online here, where you’ll also find bonus scenes that weren’t in the episode. While you’re at it, watch a preview of this week’s episode, when Brooke Shields traces her family tree back and back and back to its royal roots.

Also, be sure to note the revised Who Do You Think You Are? schedule, which includes an encore presentation of Sarah Jessica Parker’s episode on Friday, April 9. So if you missed that first episode and haven’t had a chance to watch it online, you’ll be able to see Sarah Jessica uncover the details of her very American family tree.

Those interested in tracing their family tree can find help at the Community Library in Sunbury.

I’m not related to 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 20^th century. Even so, when a copy the Pub Black List landed on my desk, my initial “perusal” went on for two hours.

To enforce the 1902 Sale of Liquor to Habitual Drunkard’s Licensing Act, the Watch Committee of the City of Birmingham provided licensed liquor sellers with photos and descriptions of tippling citizens who were not to be sold liquor. These are the 82 souls who inhabit the pages of the Birmingham Pub Black List. And I confess, once I started looking, I had a hard time looking away.

There was Richard “Dick the Devil” Flemming, a “Hawker and Newsvendor,” with his suit coat—or what was left of it—held closed with an enormous safety pin. He looked like he might have a bit of the devil in him, to be honest.

On the other hand, Catherine Finnerty, with a smart straw hat and fancy brocade bodice, looked more like she might be a friend Mary Poppins would meet for tea. A sort of glum friend, maybe, and of course, you can’t see the cut scars on her face, the five tattoos onto her forearms, and the missing finger on her left hand in the picture.

When it comes down to it, I’m just a sucker for a good story, and there are 82 of them in the pages of the Birmingham Pub Black List. So when one of you who is a descendant finds out who Alice Tatlow’s true love was (I’ll give you a hint: the initials are K.B.) or how Walter Harrison got the nickname “Property,” I want to know.

People frequently become interested in preserving their family tree. It might be to have a record for the grandkids or to help make some sense of the strangers at familiy reunions.

The Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City is considered the largest genealogical library in the world.

I'm looking for any information about Patrick Geraghty and Margaret Geraghty . They were both born in Mayo, as was their eldest son Thomas who was born there around 1886.

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 got “gassed” while fighting in World War I.

Where would Matthew have to go to learn more?

• National Archives, New York City, NY – Matthew starts by reviewing his grandfather Joe’s military records at the National Archives. He discovers his grandfather served in France and was transferred to the medical department. But what did Joe do there?
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive, near Verdun, France – At the Meuse-Argonne battlefield, Matthew learns his grandfather’s job was to attend to the wounded until stretcher-bearers could arrive. He also discovers that his grandfather received the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during service here.
• Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, near Verdun, France – Row after row of headstones marks the graves of soldiers who died here during World War I, including soldiers who served with Joe. Matthew learns that his grandfather also received a recommendation for a distinguished service cross. His grandfather was a military hero, yet Matthew had never heard this before.
• Connecticut State Archives, Hartford, CT – But there’s another side to his father’s family that Matthew wants to learn about: Mary, Matthew’s grandmother. At the Connecticut archives, Matthew checks Ancestry.com for census records and finds Mary living in an orphanage in 1910. Additional records from the archive note that her father, William, died in a work-related accident in 1908. Following this family further back, Matthew finds William living with his mother and his siblings in 1870 – but where is William’s dad? 1860 doesn’t help (the family can’t be located) but 1850 does. That year William was living with his mother and Robert, his father.

But 1860 raises a red flag for Matthew: Civil War. Was Robert involved? An index of Connecticut residents who served indicates he was. Further research produces Robert’s enlistment date and a physical description. Muster rolls place Robert at Gettysburg, but it wasn’t Robert’s final battle.

• Battlefield near Atlanta, GA - Matthew discovers that it was at the Battle of Peachtree Creek where his great-great-grandfather met his fate courtesy of a musket ball on July 23, 1864. At a nearby rail yard, Matthew sees where fallen Union soldiers were temporarily buried before re-interment a few years later in a national cemetery.
• Marietta National Cemetery, near Atlanta, GA - Matthew visits the grave of his great-great-grandfather. Although soldiers buried in this cemetery had been meticulously documented, until this search, the remains under this simple monument had not been linked to a specific soldier.

Throughout his search, Matthew locates answers in federal census records and military records, both of which can form the foundation of a family tree. At Ancestry.com, the military collection includes American records, some of which date back as far as the revolution and forward to Vietnam, as well as military records from the UK, Germany, and other countries. Big finds can take place in pension records (look for names of other family members, including widows who may have remarried) and draft and enlistment cards, but conducting a search of the full collection and browsing individual titles may help you turn up even more answers.

With military research, just like any other type of family history research, remember to keep an open mind. Family story change as they get handed down – tales of an ancestor’s heroic battle in North Carolina during the Civil War may have actually played out in North Dakota during a different skirmish entirely. Creating a timeline can help root out the truth: a 9-year-old wouldn’t have fought in the Civil War, but a teenaged sibling may have.

If you missed the Matthew Broderick episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, you can catch it online here starting Saturday morning; you’ll also find a few bonus scenes that didn’t make it air there as well. And be sure to tune in next Friday night to find out just how far back Brooke Shields can trace her family tree.