Olive Tree Genealogy in 2nd Historic Niagara TV Episode

Some of my readers may recall that I was invited to participate in a TV Series episode on Laura Secord. Olive Tree Genealogy was very honoured to have been asked to participate in this new episode on Waterfalls of Niagara.

This episode produced by Peter Sacco of Historic Niagara fame, is about waterfalls of Niagara. Special guests were Harry Houdini's son George Hardeen and Amazing Race Canada's Jon Montgomery.  Be sure to take a peek at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5BkuuCX3To&t=7s

I am in two spots, around the 15.5 minute and 31 minute mark, but please watch the full 35 minutes. It's a great series and so interesting to watch. 

Another Episode of Historical Niagara

Ready for my shot! Yes I just did two more interview for two more episodes of Peter SaccoTV series “Historical Niagara”. 

Details to be posted on my Olive Tree Genealogy blog later this week. Chopped my hair again yesterday in preparation for today - my Pandemic haircut!

A New Leaf TV Show Starts Oct 5th!

Host Daisy Fuentes is taking ordinary people on an emotional journey to help them discover more about their family’s origins. Who will add A New Leaf to their family tree?

From A New Leaf Facebook page:

A New Leaf will follow everyday people on the cusp of key life inflection points, using family history, genealogy, and sometimes DNA analysis to help guide them on their journey of self discovery. Along the way, viewers will learn about different cultures as our featured guest uncovers new information about their family's heritage. Each week, A New Leaf will teach viewers the importance of appreciating and understanding their family history in order to make important decisions to enact positive changes in their lives.

Catch the Series Premiere on NBC on Saturday, October 5th!

TLC RENEWS WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? AND LONG LOST FAMILY FOR ADDITIONAL SEASONS

The following announcement was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy: 

TLC announced today that the network has ordered additional seasons of the fan favorite series WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? and freshman series LONG LOST FAMILY. The most recent seasons of both series averaged over 1.8M P2+ viewers.

Executive Produced by Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky, the two time Emmy-nominated WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? follows some of today's most beloved and iconic celebrities as they embark on personal journeys of self-discovery to trace their family trees. The most recent seasons have featured Bryan Cranston, who uncovered an ancestor’s heroic dedication during the Civil War, and Molly Ringwald, who learned about the dangerous conditions her coal-mining ancestors endured.

LONG LOST FAMILY features the highly emotional and touching stories of people who have suffered a lifetime of separation from their family members. The series reunites those separated by adoption, uncovers secrets behind unsolved mysteries, and helps individuals answer lifelong questions. This past season reunited several family members in emotional meetings, including a mother and a daughter who actually worked together and did not realize they were related. The series is hosted by Chris Jacobs and Lisa Joyner, who uniquely share their own stories of adoption while leading others in their own family discoveries.

Ancestry.com,  the leading provider of online family history data and personal DNA testing, is teaming up with TLC again as a sponsor of the upcoming seasons for both series. As part of the sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research to help make discoveries possible on both series.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? is produced for TLC by Shed Media and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, and is based on an original format created by Wall to Wall Media and Alex Graham. LONG LOST FAMILY is produced for TLC by Shed Media, and is based on the format entitled Find My Family/Spoorloos devised by KRO-NCRV, distributed by Lineup Industries.

Double Episode This Sunday Who Do You Think You Are

 

This Sunday will be the season finale of the current season of TLC’s Who Do You Think You Are? This week TLC wil be airing two new episodes back-to-back: Chris Noth at 8/7c & Lea Michele at 9/8c.

Chris Noth: Airs 8/7c on TLC Sunday, May 1

Actor Chris Noth tracks down family torn apart by a devastating disaster. He follows his relative’s trail from Spain to Ireland, and finds a man who endured harsh oppression, but rose up to fight in one of the fiercest battles of all time and became a war hero.

Lea Michele: Airs 9/8c on TLC Sunday, May 1

Actress Lea Michele goes on a journey to unravel the secrets of her Jewish ancestry. She uncovers the heartbreaking and inspiring details of her great-grandmother’s story, who fled one country but was shunned by the next. She finds personal accounts of her great-grandparents, who were desperate to be together despite the cards being stacked against them, and she discovers ancestors who suffered devastating loss.

Ancestry.com, the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor of the upcoming season. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.

The series is produced for TLC by Shed Media and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, and is based on an original format created by Wall to Wall Media and Alex Graham. More information can be found at TLC.com/WDYTYA. ‘Like’ Who Do You Think You Are? on Facebook.com/WDYTYA and follow @WDYTYA on Twitter.


Image credit: TLC

The Irish Factor on Finding Your Roots

Tonight on Finding Your Roots: explore the shared Irish ancestry of three powerful social commentators of our times. Watch The Irish Factor at 8/7 on PBS

Explore the shared Irish ancestry of Soledad O’Brien, Bill O’Reilly and Bill Maher and how they have been deeply influenced by their Irish roots.

Good News! Finding Your Roots Returns Jan 5/16!

PBS will show the delayed third season of Finding Your Roots on Jan. 5, marking the return of the show since host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was gave in to Ben Affleck’s request to not mention a slave-owning ancestor from the actor’s episode of the genealogy series. See PBS Suspends Finding Your Roots Over Affleck's Improper Influence

An internal review found that Gates “violated PBS standards” by, among other things, not informing executives at PBS or producing station WNET about Affleck’s request to censor the show’s genealogical research into his ancestors.

After an internal review, an additional researcher/fact-checker, another genealogist and an expert in DNA-based genealogical research have been added.

In the new season of Finding Your Roots Gates traces the ancestral trails of 28 new guests including Maya Rudolph, Richard Branson, Soledad O’Brien, Bill Hader, Julianne Moore, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Senator John McCain, Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes, and more.

Major corporate support for the third season of Finding Your Roots is provided by Ancestry.com , Johnson & Johnson, POM and the Ford Motor Company. 

Tonight's Episode of Who Do You Think You Are? with Tom Bergeron

This Sunday, August 30 at 9/8c TLC will air TV host’s Tom Bergeron’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

In the episode, Tom Bergeron sets out to unravel the murky history of his paternal roots. Tracing back over 400 years, he uncovers the dramatic story of his 10x great-grandparents, who endured brutal warfare and starvation in France. Then Tom follows their daughter, who was orphaned as a teenager and bravely set off across the Atlantic, playing a significant role in establishing the New World.

Brought to us by TLC with Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, teaming up again as a sponsor, Who Do You Think You Are? takes celebrities on a journey to discover their roots. 

Image credit: TLC

Who Do You Think You Are? With Bryan Cranston

It's that time again - Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Bryan Cranston airs Sunday August 23rd.

Bryan Cranston had a happy childhood until his father abandoned the family when Bryan was just 11. Curious whether this is a family trait, Bryan sets out to explore his paternal roots; he finds men both honorable and shameful, a troubling pattern of desertion, and an aunt he never even knew existed. 

Brought to us by TLC with Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, teaming up again as a sponsor, Who Do You Think You Are? takes celebrities on a journey to discover their roots.  

Image credit: TLC

Who Do You Think You Are? presents Into the Archives This Sunday

Ancestry.com , the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.

This Sunday, August 16th on TLC “Who Do You Think You Are?” digs into its archives and features highlights throughout the seasons including triumphs and tragedies, delightful discoveries and sobering moments. This special episode also unveils outtakes and never-before-seen footage from the “Who Do” vault. 


Image credit: TLC

Why Canadians Missed Out on JK Rowling Episode of Who Do You Think You Are

Last week Canadians saw many promos for the upcoming episode on Who Do You Think You Are? featuring J.K. Rowling. TV guides showed that it would be airing Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern. 

But Canadians found themselves watching a repeat of an earlier episode with Cynthia Nixon. Twitter started buzzing with annoyed Canadians posting on TLC's Twitter Feed, wanting to know what was going on. Facebook also saw its share of questions on TLC Facebook page. But no answers were forthcoming.

However I reached out in private communications with my TLC contacts and am pleased to provide my readers with the explanation of why Canadians could not watch the J.K. Rowling episode.

“Apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced. TLC Canada sometimes has different programming than TLC in the United States. At this time, the J.K. Rowling episode is only airing in the U.S. and unfortunately, there is no way for us to prevent the U.S. promos from airing in Canada."

It's straightforward and makes perfect sense. The rights to air a program in Canada can be prohibitively expensive.  And so the airing is denied which is why Canadians often get the blank screen on You-Tube or TV station sites that announce they are unable to display the video to anyone in Canada. 

Bottom line: If you live in Canada, unless you have a proxy server set up on your computer you may not be able to view the J.K. Rowling episode. I believe the original UK version is available on YouTube.  As a TLC screener I had private access to it and really enjoyed it. So if you get the chance, be sure to watch it.

Murdoch Mysteries aka The Artful Detective Coming to USA

This morning my Twitter Feed was buzzing with this tweet

Great news, U.S. viewers! Season 8 of #MurdochMysteries aka #TheArtfulDetective debuts on @ovationtv on Sat Feb 21 at 7pm!

I live in Canada and I've been watching Murdoch Mysteries since Day 1. If you've never heard of it or never been able to watch it, you are missing out. Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian television drama series and is called The Artful Detective in the United States, featuring Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto Ontario around the turn of the twentieth century. The television series is based on characters from the novel series by Maureen Jennings.

It's funny, it's serious, it's historical and it has really interesting story lines. The writers often choose a historical event or person and craft an episode around that.  For example I first heard of the Jubilee Singers from a Murdoch episode! Murdoch is somewhat of an inventor with wonderful ideas on using fingerprinting, using black light to see invisible organic matter and other modern techniques which were not in use during his time. 

The historical aspect of the show is fascinating as is Murdoch's creative mind and the interaction of the main characters. For those of us in Canada it's also lots of fun to see the individuals who are coaxed into appearing on the show, including our own Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had a brief scene as a desk clerk at the Police Station in one episode.

One of the episodes (Murdoch Ahoy) was filmed not far from where I live. You can read about the ship they used at The S.S. Keewatin is Back Home!


Murdoch Mysteries is worldwide now:
 
CBC in Canada
Ovation in the United States
UKTV’s Alibi and Drama Channel (Freeview 20) in the UK
Distributed in 110 countries worldwide by ITV Studios Global Entertainment
And on France 3 in France

J. K. Rowling on Who Do You Think You Are? This Sunday

Who Do You Think You Are? “J.K. Rowling” (US premiere, originally aired in the UK)

Tune In: J.K. Rowling’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs Sunday, August 2 at 9/8c on TLC

 Ancestry.com , the leading family history company, is teaming up again with TLC as a sponsor. As part of the show sponsorship, Ancestry provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities to help make discoveries possible and build out the story of each episode.

Famed Harry Potter author and philanthropist JK Rowling is eager to trace the  French roots of her maternal side, having always been very close with her mother who’s passed away. She knows that her great-grandfather, Louis Volant, received the Legion d’honneur for his WWI efforts, but she doesn’t know why. 

She embarks on a journey in France to trace her mother’s roots. She discovers that a family war story might not be what she thought when military records reveal a surprising truth. Tracing the trail even further back, Jo learns of her 2x great-grandmother, who had plenty of struggles both as a poor, single mother and a witness to German invasion during wartime, which forced her family to choose sides in a time of turmoil.   

I'll be watching! Will you?


Photo credit: Andrew Montgomery

Banished Gets a Thumbs Down From Me

Banished is a new 7-part series on CBC Television, premiering July 27, 2015 at 9pm. In 1788, Britain banished its unwanted citizens & convicts to Australia. Last night's episode focused on two convict lovers who are forbidden to marry, and their best friend. 

(Semi-spoiler alert ahead!)

I was looking forward to Part 1 but confess that it disappointed me. It had a very predictable storyline and characters. We had the obligatory evil convict, the hero convict who will suffer death rather than relinquish what he believes are his rights as a human being, the good-guy convict who puts on a good show of bravery but in reality is a coward. 

Then you have the oh-so-horrid soldier, the overly practical officer who sees all problems in terms of what's best for the troops (with no humanity shown), the governor of the colony who is at heart a decent man constrained by rules and laws, the overly sympathetic and empathic minister's wife and on and on it goes! 

Every major character was straight out of a beginner's handbook on writing romance novels. 

Even the costumers and sets were too polished. The convicts' clothing was not dirty or torn enough. The soldiers in the field had immaculate uniforms. Everything looked like a stage set to me. Yes Elizabeth Quinn's hair was matted and rumpled, but it looked like the way we teased our hair with rat-tail combs back in the 60s. It just didn't have the ring of authenticity. 

I was expecting more history, more of a documentary feel, and not quite so much fluff. 

Yes I will watch the next episode (reluctantly) if only because I hope the writing and story line will improve.

Banished, a New Series on CBC Television Starts Tonight!

Banished is a new 7-part series on CBC Television, premiering July 27, 2015 at 9pm.

In 1788, Britain banished its unwanted citizens & convicts to Australia.

Among the first convicts to be exiled are close friends Elizabeth Quinn (MyAnna Buring), Tommy Barrett (Julian Rhind-Tutt) and James Freeman (Russell Tovey).

In this new world, relationships between convicts aren't allowed, but Elizabeth and Tommy break the rules.

When their romance is revealed to the soldiers in charge, it sets in motion a series of events that put friendships and ideals to the test, at a time, and in a place, where survival depends on having the back of those you love.

Image: Screenshot from CBC website. 

Who Do You Think You Are? Ginnifer Goodwin

Who Do You Think You Are? Ginnifer Goodwin

Airtime: Sunday, July 26 at 9/8c on TLC

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin knows nothing about her paternal grandfather’s family because he refused to talk about his parents. She goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind her great-grandparents’ story, and is shocked to discover turbulent lives filled with court cases, drugs and incarcerations.  

Actress Ginnifer Goodwin never knew her paternal grandfather, John Barton Goodwin, who died when she was an infant. She’s been haunted by the lack of information surrounding his family line; he never talked about his parents to her father, Tim. Understanding the generations that laid the foundation for her has grown more important to her since becoming a mother herself. The birth of her son Oliver has reignited her desire to know why her grandfather never spoke of his mother and father.    

Ginnifer starts her search for information with her dad, who recalls that his father John Barton’s parents were named Nellie and John “Al” Goodwin, and that for some unknown reason, John Barton was abandoned when he was just 11 years old.  

Photo Credit: TLC

Season Finale of Who Do You Think You Are? This Sunday

The season finale of Who Do You Think You Are? features singer Melissa Etheridge as she goes on a journey to uncover her father’s maternal roots. The episode airs this Sunday, April 26 at 10/9c on TLC.

Melissa finds French Canadian ancestors who were shaken by a scandalous lawsuit, a turbulent relationship entangled with tragedy and an adventuresome ancestor who prospered in colonial America.

Credit: Image from TLC

Get Set for Another Who Do You Think You Are? Episode

For the first time ever, Who Do You Think You Are? heads to Honduras as actress America Ferrera sets out to search for a connection to her father, whom she barely knew. The episode airs this Sunday, April 12 at 10/9c on TLC.

Throughout her journey, America uncovers the fascinating details of her paternal great grandfather, who was a General in the army and led numerous revolts against Honduran leaders to fight for the people’s rights.

Key details from America’s episode include:

·         With the help of historians and documentation, America discovers that her great grandfather, at the young age of 27, left a job as a tax collector to join a military campaign to help the liberal president’s party fend off a plot to overthrow them.

·         America finds that her great grandfather then led numerous successful revolts against corrupt Honduran presidents apparently in order to ensure the rights of the people. General Ferrera and his actions made such a mark that he was written about by the United States government and considered a troublemaker, eventually being exiled from Honduras.

·         Upon his return to his homeland some years later, General Ferrera declared that he wished to keep the peace – and then broke his promise as he stockpiled ammunition and prepared once again to take on the latest president and his political party.

·         Finally, America learns from an article which referred to General Ferrera as “the principal enemy of Honduran peace” that he was killed in action.

·         America finds that regardless of her ancestor’s motivations, her great grandfather was loved and considered an icon by the common people of his homeland.

Credits: Image courtesy of TLC

Almost Time for Who Do You Think You Are? on Sunday

Sean Hayes’ estranged father has a troubled past, so Sean goes on a journey to discover the root of the problem on Who Do You Think You Are?, airing this Sunday, March 29 at 10/9c on TLC.

Sean’s journey takes him to Chicago where he uncovers the sad details of his grandfather’s early death on skid row. Sean then follows his ancestral trail to Ireland, where court documents reveal the chaos in the Hayes family runs generations deep. Through Sean’s search, he is able to deepen his understanding of his father and appreciate that he’s broken a turbulent family pattern on his own.

Who Do You Think You Are? is sponsored by Ancestry.com

Image credit: TLC

Almost Time for Who Do You Think You Are? With Angie Harmon

Angie Harmon sets out to discover the roots of her beloved father, whose heritage is relatively vague, on Who Do You Think You Are?, airing this Sunday, March 22 at 10/9c on TLC.

On her journey, Angie uncovers the dramatic story of her 5X great grandfather, who endured hardship and danger as an immigrant coming to America. She discovers that he fought in the American Revolution and risked death for standing his ground. She makes modern connections with some of her own values that appear to have been in the family for generations.

Key details discovered in Angie’s episode include:

·         Angie traces all the way up to her 5x great grandfather Michael Harmon. She discovers that Michael was the first immigrant ancestor on the Harmon side, and to her surprise, from Germany.

·         Angie discovers Michael Harmon gave up his freedom to come to America, fought for his new country’s independence, and risked everything at a pivotal point in America’s history.

·         Angie finds out that Michael Harmon as an indentured servant once arriving in the US.

·         Michael Harmon was released from servitude right in the middle of the Revolutionary War, and enlisted with the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment on May 10, 1777.

·         Angie discovers that Michael Harmon camped at Valley Forge under the command of George Washington.

·         However, Michael and his entire Pennsylvania line mutinied due to horrible conditions. Eventually the U.S. army met their terms, and the soldiers were able to leave service if they chose – Michael’s war service ended after the mutiny.

·         Michael owned multiple plantations and finally got married and had 7 children, perhaps starting the tradition of big Harmon families.

·         Angie finds her ancestors land on an old map, and heads out to see her ancestral land.

Image Credit: TLC