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From: Cyndi Howells <>
Subject: "Ancestors" writer needs your stories
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 14:16:24 -0700

Hello all -
I am forwarding you the following note from Megan Smolenyak,
. She is working on a companion book
for the Ancestors program on PBS.
Have fun,
Cyndi

========
Several months ago, many of you kindly submitted your stories for
the upcoming PBS "Ancestors: The Family Search" series that will
air in early 2000. Unfortunately, we could only select about a
dozen stories from the more than 1,000 that we received. We'd like
to thank every one of you who took the time to share your tale and
assure you that every single story was read and considered. And
now, we'd like to ask for your help again.

The series will have a companion book which will complement the
show itself. At this point, it is tentatively called "Honoring Our
Ancestors: 101 Stories of Serendipity, Kindness, and
Connection." As you can tell from the title, we're looking for
slightly different stories than the ones we solicited for the
show. Here are the categories of stories we're looking for this
time out:

-- What Were the Odds?
Almost all avid genealogists experience serendipity in their
research. A book just happens to fall off the library shelf and
provide the missing clue that has been sought for years. The bed &
breakfast inn chosen at random for a research trip coincidentally
turns out to have belonged to the researcher's family 100 years
ago. In a roll of microfilm with a thousand unindexed pages, the
genealogist magically scrolls to the exact page that contains
great-granddad's information. Please share any experiences you've
had like this.

-- Trusting Your Intuition
Genealogists are great detectives, and like the police variety,
learn to trust their hunches even when there is no logical reason
to do so. We'd love to hear about any times when you "trusted your
gut" and were rewarded for listening to that inner voice. You
know, those "something just told me . . ." stories!

-- Connecting with Kin
One of the most addicting experiences in genealogy is the thrill of
finding long lost cousins, or in some cases, parents, children, or
siblings -- and one of the most wonderful aspects of genealogy is
how it rebuilds the severed bridges that have separated so many
families over the years. Please tell us about your reunion tales or
how you connected with distant cousins.

--The Kindness of Strangers
Genealogists are some of the most generous people on this
planet. Many members of this extended community have helped
countless strangers over the years "just because." Some rescue
family photos and bibles from antique stores or flea markets and
reunite them with descendants of the original owners. Volunteers
at historical societies will often take a personal interest in a
query from a stranger and take the extra step of publishing it in a
local newspaper or seeking out living relatives for the writer.
Some Americans have benefited from the generosity of unrelated
Europeans who have helped them in their research simply to show
their continuing gratitude for the United States' role in WWII. We
want to hear about the random and not-so-random acts of
genealogical kindness you've experienced or performed.

-- Breaking the Time Barrier
A good genealogist strives to get past the "just the facts" mode of
research (i.e., just names, dates, and places) to discover what his
ancestors were like as living, breathing people. In fact, many
serious family historians find themselves drawn to a handful of
ancestors that seem to call to them. Learning about a
great-grandfather's survival in a shipwreck or meritorious service
in the Civil War is often a source of pride and strength, and even
those inevitable black sheep are amusing and show a family's
ability to rise above circumstances. We invite you to share
stories that show that even the passage of time and death itself
are not strong enough to break family ties -- of how you feel
connected to that ancestor, even though he/she passed on 100 years ago.

-- If at First You Don't Succeed . . .
No one can ever accuse genealogists of lacking creativity and
persistence in their search for roots. A family bible has been
passed down through five generations of maternal lines and is now
in the possession of a person who has no clue how he's connected to
the family in the bible? No problem. A genealogical sleuth will
track him down and prove they're cousins. Please take this
opportunity to show off your doggedness, ingenuity, and perseverance!

If you're interested in having your family's tale appear in the
book, please write a brief summary and send it to


We'd appreciate it if you would use the category your story fits
into as the subject for your message. As with the last time, we
regrettably will not be able to respond to all messages due to the
anticipated volume, but since we need 101 stories, the odds are
certainly better this time! Also, please submit them no later than
August 18th. Thanks and best of luck!
===========

Take care,
Megan

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• "Ancestors" writer needs your stories by Cyndi Howells <>