Aired: 8 Apr 2011
"...so English I'm American."
To everyone that has wondered here due to William Brewster: HI COUSINS!!! I will post this weekend on how I'm specifically related. All I will say right now is that I am a descendant through his son Jonathan. Please feel free to visit this space often!
Ancestry.com Presence: Two commercials and one mention of 'looking on the internet for military records' but just going directly on to ancestry.com.
Pros:
- William Brewster! Pilgrims! Actually Being Related to the Celebrity! (AKA Why I'm more excited about this episode than some of the others!)
- I really loved that they focused on the amputation of her ancestor during the Civil War. Yes, it was gruesome, but really filled out the details I think on what her ancestor went through. (Since it is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War in April, I'm planning on posting a little on George Washington Lyon, my Union Civil War soldier and why I want his pension but can't afford it right now.)
- I will always love seeing someone finding a picture of their ancestor, regardless of the time period, even more considering I've experienced the joy today that I may finally find out what my grandfather looked like.
- I regrettably did not make it to Plymouth when I was in England, so it was very nice to see a bit of it. (I am totally willing for someone to take me though if there are any offers. *g*)
- Gloves! I like when they use gloves. In my opinion, you don't have to use them all the time, but I will appreciate you even more if you request them. (...if I ever get a full-time archivist job where I perform reference services. Anyone with an opening? I love working with genealogists!)
Cons:
- The chart of magical knowledge showing her ancestry to William Brewster. (see Things I'd Like to Reiterate.)
- It seemed rushed in order to focus a lot of the Brewster connection. (Though given that, my complaint is not that passionate.)
In the End: As much as I harp on the series for not being totally honest in the process of genealogy (i.e. how long it takes, etc.), I can't deny that it is bringing new people to explore their family history. I love helping people find their own personal family stories so I very much appreciate the spotlight on the profession/hobby.
Rating: 4.9 out of 5 (Mainly because even though I'm excited they featured my ancestry...the chart is just a little too much for my archivist's sensibilities to bear!)
Things I'd Like to Reiterate:
- As someone who is currently looking for an archivist position that involves reference, every time I see this show, a little bit of me cringes. Tonight was particularly hard on me when they unrolled the lovely chart of her ancestry to William Brewster. This rarely (though sometimes does occur) happens in real life and makes me feel bad to inform patrons of this fact. Just FYI.
Links:
- New England Historic Genealogical Society (You will find PLENTY here on their databases.)
- Mayflower Society
- One of the Many Books About the Brewster Lineage
- Footnote (Civil War Records and More)
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (National Park Service)
- Descendants of William Brewster (Facebook Group)
- Blog Talk Radio-Geneabloggers (They have a podcast discussing this episode.)
Next Week: Unfortunately, this was the last show in season 2. Stay tuned to the blog because I've still got most of Season 1 to go over and of course there will be other assorted genealogy posts! (Also, I'm still accepting research requests.) And one day
I love that you called it the "chart of magical knowledge!" I watched the Brooke Shields episode from Season 1 on DVD right after seeing the Ashley Judd one. Brooke gets a chart of magical knowledge too. Like you, I cringe.
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