I have a large framed picture of one of my ancestors in my room. She was my great-great-great grandmother and rumored to have been a brothel owner. Every time I look at the picture, I think about her and imagine what she was like. She is my connection to my past and I want to learn as much as I can about her. But somehow I’ve not yet gotten round to yet.
Today I caught an episode of Oprah which featured celebrities who found about their past. Listening to their stories got me thinking about my g-g-g-grandmother again and that I really need to start doing something about my family history. Here are the shows they featured, maybe they can also motivate you to start searching into your family’s past as well.
Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
In this series Harvard scholar Gates explores the family histories of 12 renowned Americans including chef Mario Batali, actress Eva Longoria, musician Yo-Yo Ma and director Mike Nichols. An interesting finding was that Eva Longoria and Yo-Yo Ma shared a common ancestor.
Based on a British series of the same name, this American series traces the personal histories of American celebrities such as Lisa Kudrow (also the series’ executive producer), Sarah Jessica Parker and Brooke Shields.
I cannot write a post about family history/genealogy without mentioning the book “The Great genealogical search” written by my old friend, Kevin Shepherdson. This book tells the story of Kevin and his family’s 20 year search for their family history. But more than that it is a resource to help others get started on doing their own family history. While there are hundreds of books on genealogy and family history, very few are applicable to the Singapore context, so this is a much welcomed addition. Learn more about the book here.
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