Amelia Earhart: American aviation pioneer
Amelia Earhart
American aviator Amelia Earhart, born 115 years ago today, disappeared on July 2, 193, over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island.
Amelia was attempting to complete a round-the-world tour on a twin-engine Lockheed Electra with navigator Fred Noonan, when they lost radio contact. A dozen ships and 50 aircraft, from the US government, searched for them for several months. Nothing of significance has ever been discovered about their whereabouts and Amelia, then 41, was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939.
Amelia, a pioneer of American aviation, was born July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. In 1922, she broke the women's altitude record for flying above 14,000 feet. In 1928, she became the first woman to be flown across the Atlantic Ocean and in 1932 she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, and the first person to cross it twice. That same year, she received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society.
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WDYTYA: An interview with Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow in the episode on her own family (Season 1, Episode 3)
Lisa Kudrow, executive producer of the US version of “Who Do You Think You Are?” was the guest for a group phone interview on Friday, January 27.
I was honored to participate in the call which focused on the show’s new season, which begins at 8pm, Friday, February 3, on NBC.
This year"s celebs are 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.
Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch, my own questions could not be answered. However, the others asked some great questions, and Lisa responded in kind (see below).
Other geneabloggers on the call were Thomas MacEntee, Lisa Louise Cooke, Angela Walton-Raji, Kathryn Lake Hogan and Diane Haddad, along with newspaper and entertainment industry magazine writers.
Here are some questions and Lisa’s responses.
Q: What advice do you have for people who become frustrated or stuck in their research?
Lisa: There doesn’t have to ever be an end. That's what makes it such a great hobby. I think there's always research you can do on different branches, different cousins and you go back. And then it's not just names and dates. Then you start looking at where they were living, what was happening there at that time, you start looking at historical documents. And you can maybe draw some conclusions or guesses about what was motivating some of their choices in life.
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Genealogy News: North America, 10 January 2012
Welcome to 2012! The genealogy conference schedule is just beginning and there is lots of news about the programs, presenters and events.
MyHeritage will be at both RootsTech (February 2-4, Salt Lake City) and at Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! (February, London UK). Stay tuned for more information about both events.
TELEVISION
Of course, all of us interested in family history are looking forward to the new season of the US version of Who Do You Think You Are?, with the celebrity lineup just announced.
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Steven Tyler: A fascinating family tree past and present
On January 2, Steven Tyler - legendary front man of rock-and-roll band Aerosmith - announced his engagement to girlfriend, Erin Brady.
Tyler’s professional success is known to many. Aerosmith has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, while American Idol, on which he is a judge, is the top-rated American television show.
Not as well known are the details of his amazingly diverse heritage, the rich history of musicians among his ancestors or the complex structure of his current family including his partners (ex and current) and his children.
To kick things off, we’ve pulled together Tyler’s family tree.
Click on the image below (or HERE) to be taken to the actual family tree on MyHeritage.
Click to see the tree
As part of our research on Tyler’s family, we found some other fascinating information.
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Genealogy News: North America, 27 December 2011
For the last-of-2011 edition of the North American Genealogy News, here are some interesting items.
Included are the US Securities Exchange Commission’s definition of a family member (who would have thought the SEC was interested in family history?), the 2011 list of the 100 most popular boys’ and girls’ names, a Canadian “living” village, changes to the Social Security Death Index and more.
Defining the family
For those who think that governments are not interested in genealogy, note that the US Securities Exchange Commission has now defined family members, in connection with a new rule requiring hedge funds to register with the SEC if they manage other people’s money.
Read the definition here:
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Ellis Island: 57 years later
On November 29 - 57 years ago- the greatest monument to a proud history of American immigration was closed. I am talking, of course, about Ellis Island.
The Great Hall
During a 2008 trip to New York, I visited Ellis Island (I’m from the UK) with my family.
Many visitors to New York take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty for that iconic photograph. Fortunately, we had the foresight to remain on the ferry and visit Ellis Island. It was worth it.
Although the architecture of the Main Building (now the Immigration Museum) does hint that Ellis Island comprises an important part of American history, it isn’t until one enters The Great Hall that you realise the sheer number of immigrants that Ellis Island handled. It is very substantial - to anyone’s eyes! Continue reading "Ellis Island: 57 years later" »
Genealogy News – North America – 20 November 2011
Today’s edition includes map resources (including Google Earth), genealogy classes covering diverse topics, information on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a Maryland newspaper digitization project, easing adoptees’ efforts to obtain their original birth certificates, and the start date for the new US season of "Who Do You Think You Are?".
ON THE MAP
The New England Historical and Genealogical Society provided more major map collection resources:
- The Boston Atlas
- The Harvard Map Collection
- The Yale Map Collection
- Historic USGS maps of New England and New York on the University of New Hampshire Library website
- New York Public Library Digital Gallery maps
- David Rumsey Map Collection
- Library of Congress Map Collections
- Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas
- Historic Atlas of Canada Online Learning Project
- Historic Cities
GOOGLE EARTH CAN HELP YOU
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Genealogy News: North America – 13 November 2011
This week’s edition includes an archaeological find, more on a new book, NARA’s citizen archivist dashboard, Canada’s Veterans’ Week, a Canadian newspaper digitization project, new FamilySearch records and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society’s new website.
Follow the links for each item to find more information and read the complete articles.
VETERANS’ DAY
-- In the US, Veterans Day was observed on November 11, and there is a MyHeritage Blog post devoted to this important day.
-- In Canada, Veterans’ Week was observed November 5-11. For full coverage of this remembrance week, see the Genealogy Canada blog, authored by Elizabeth LaPointe. She has done a masterful job of spotlighting organizations, institutions and websites connected to veterans in a series of posts. If you have Canadian family that served, her resources may assist you to find information.
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Thanksgiving Special: What’s on your table?
Thanksgiving Day is only a few weeks away and Americans are planning how to celebrate this important family holiday.
MyHeritage is also preparing holiday-related posts - and some surprises - so stay tuned during November.
A national holiday, Thanksgiving is observed in the United States - and worldwide wherever North American expats reside - on the fourth Thursday of November.
Every immigrant group to the US has also adopted the special day, which crosses all ethnic and religious lines.
"Turkey day" is a universal and delicious event, while the four-day holiday weekend also features football (not soccer!) games, major shopping days and great sales.
Thanksgiving Day's centerpiece is the lovingly-prepared feast on our tables, which we share with family and friends. People begin to plan holiday menus very early. Therefore, we invite the MyHeritage community to participate in our poll below:
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Genealogy News: North America – 30 October 2011
Happy Birthday to the Statue of Liberty, who doesn't look a day over 125! And, in the same general location, Ellis Island has opened the Peopling of America Center.
A major map library has moved into state-of-the-art quarters and the largest collection of Hispanic American newspapers is now online.
In celebration of Halloween or Dia de los Muertos - take your pick - the Genealogy Canada blog will post an updated list of websites and blogs for Canadian obituaries tomorrow. If you are searching family north of the border, your elusive ancestors may be among records on those websites.
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