Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak’s Roots World

“GIFT OF LIGHT” FROM MACY’S TO BENEFIT LADY LIBERTY’s 125TH ANNIVERSARY

Song to highlight Macy’s Fireworks on October 28th

New York, NY (October 18, 2011)—The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. announced today that in celebration of the Statue of Liberty’s upcoming 125th Anniversary on October 28th, Macy’s has committed the proceeds from the sale of its newly recorded song “Gift of Light” to benefit the Foundation’s non-profit mission for projects at Liberty and Ellis Islands, working in partnership with the National Park Service.

With music by Grammy- winning composer Doug Katsaros and words by Emmy-winning lyricist William Schermerhorn, “Gift of Light”  was first recorded by Ann Hampton Callaway and The Broadway Inspirational Voices as a highlight of the 2004 Macy's 4th of July Fireworks score.

In honor of the anniversary of Lady Liberty's dedication 125 years  ago in 1886, the song has been expanded and recorded specifically as a special feature of the musical accompaniment for the Macy's Fireworks display which will be the grand finale of the upcoming October 28th festivities on Liberty Island. 

This new version, in English and French, celebrates the Statue as a gift of friendship from France to America, and features Tony Award winning actress Anika Noni Rose and cabaret artist Gay Marshall. 

The “Gift of Light” single is available on iTunes with proceeds to benefit The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.

For more information on the work of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, please visit www.ellisisland.org.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to raise funds for and oversee the historic restorations of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, working in partnership with the National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior. Its endowment has funded over 200 projects at the islands.

Macy’s

Macy's, the largest retail brand of Macy's, Inc., delivers fashion and affordable luxury to customers at more than 800 locations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Macy's stores and macys.com offer distinctive assortments, including the most desired family of exclusive and fashion brands for him, her and home. Macy's is known for such epic events as Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®, as well as spectacular fashion shows, culinary events, flower shows and celebrity appearances. Building on a 150-year tradition, Macy’s helps strengthen

communities by supporting local and national charities that make a difference in the lives of our customers. For Macy’s media materials, images and contacts, please visit our online pressroom at www.macys.com/pressroom.

The Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986. 

Thanks so much for all the wonderful birthday wishes! Am in Salt Lake City getting ready to head back to NJ (had a great time with all the ASG folks last night!) and just wanted to share this cartoon from today's Parade.

Interesting!
Geni Creates First Comprehensive Genealogy Service With Record Providers Archives.com and GenealogyB

This one's going on my to-read list:
Family History Seen Through Tenement Rooms – Forward.com

Cool #DNA project for Hemings descendants!
Your Genetic Genealogist: DNA Test Spurs Surprising Discovery of Great Grandfather Thomas Jefferson

Please come join me in Princeton, NJ on 10/18 to talk #genealogy.
Megan Smolenyak: Who Do You Think You Are? at Barnes & Noble - Market Fair, Princeton NJ

Icecream - ReflectionOf.Me

WDYTYA for "ordinary people" in UK
Brightsolid shifts profit focus to Freeview - and the rest is history - Scotsman.com Business

Blue Man genealogy
http://www.offthemark.com/cartoons/2003-06-08.gif

Seeds of a Trans-Atlantic Reunion

Who Do You Think You Are? The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History | Family Tree

Seeds of a Trans-Atlantic Reunion

3 celebs announced for season 3 #WDYTYA
Marisa Tomei meets the relatives in ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ — EXCLUSIVE | EW.com

Love that FamilySearch is uploading estate records!
Records Update 5 October 2011

TheWildGeese.com ... Irish Genealogy And Family History: How Megan Traced Barack Obama's Irish Family

The National Archives

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                           

October 4, 2011

Statement by the Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero

Washington, DC . . . Today, former long-time National Archives employee Leslie Waffen pleaded guilty to stealing original sound recordings from the National Archives and selling them on eBay.  Mr. Waffen has agreed to turn over more than 955 sound recordings belonging to the National Archives that were seized from his home and pay restitution for the full amount of the loss.  

While I am pleased that we are one step closer to justice in this case, I am disappointed and angered by Mr. Waffen’s violation of the trust placed in him by colleagues and the American people to safeguard our nation’s history. It is an outrage that an employee entrusted with protecting our heritage became a threat to those holdings.

As I have stated since I became Archivist of the United States, the security of the holdings of the National Archives is my highest priority. 

Our Holdings Protection Team has been working closely with archival units to improve training techniques, institute new policies and procedures, and purchase new equipment to ensure that our holdings are safer.

We have heightened security in our facilities nationwide and continue to strive towards creating a culture of increased vigilance among our staff. New procedures include exit screenings, in which security officers check all bags of visitors and staff alike – including mine—at both our Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland, facilities.  This routine practice will soon be extended to all 44 of our facilities nationwide.

The Holdings Protection Team is upgrading its centralized registry of individuals banned from Archives facilities to a secure directory that keeps track of the facilities they visit, and the documents they ask for.

I commend the staff of the Office of the Inspector General and our Motion Picture, Sound and Video Branch for their handling of this investigation and their commitment to ensuring the restoration of stolen property back to the National Archives.

David S. Ferriero

ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES

Cool! Don't know specifics yet, but will be speaking at the Tucson Festival of Books next March!
Tucson Festival of Books

At 92, he's earned a break!
Andy Rooney Ending Regular '60 Minutes' Appearances

A quick education of record types that can include mentions of slaves.
Unknown No Longer - Virginia Historical Society

The latest good stuff from FamilySearch!
Records Update 28 September 2011

Man Friended by Thousands via Messages in a Bottle

Will DNA solve this mystery?
Police grapple with mystery of the boy ‘who lived in forest’

Dolores Hope, Widow of Bob Hope, Dies

Now South Africa gets US #WDYTYA
Celebrities uncover their hidden ancestry

If you're a wee bit Irish, interested in the Titanic (2012 anniversary coming up), or curious about the journeys our ancestors took, please consider "liking" Cobh, The Queenstown Story on Facebook. This is the Irish counterpart to Ellis Island and among other things, the place that Annie Moore and her brothers departed from. And BTW, if you're ever in Cork, be sure to visit! (P.S. Would greatly appreciate folks sharing this! Thanks!)

Don't know how long it will be here, so you might want to watch while you can:
Who Do You Think You Are - JK Rowling

Glad to hear in good hands!
Time capsule cottage: Left untouched for decades, a unique snapshot of rural life

Congrats to our most recent grant recipients!

August 2011
Mary Moran and her husband received a number of boxes of Moran family letters, documents, pictures, tintypes, cabinet cards, invitations, birth announcements, playbills and more from the family home in Dresden, TN, dating back from the mid-1880s to the mid-1960s. Mary is working to scan in all of the information to preserve it and share it on her blog. The grant award will be used to purchase a scanner that can scan high-resolution images, negatives and large documents.
 
September 2011
The Smyth County Genealogical Society in Smyth County, VA is working to digitize old family documents from the local area, including Bibles brought in during a recent "Family Bible Photography/Preservation Project." After these documents have been photographed, the digital copies are made available online and a hard-copy is maintained in the Southwest Virginia Heritage Room at the Smyth-Bland Regional Library. The grant award will go toward the purchase of external hard drives and scanners so the Society can continue this digital archiving project.

Apply for a genealogy grant here.

Genealogy will have a presence at the 2011 Emmys, but you'll have to look for it.  Last year, Top Chef surprised even those associated with the series when it snapped the seven-year winning streak of The Amazing Race in the reality competition category.  This year, Bravo's Top Chef is trying again with an Ellis Island-based episode entitled, "Give Me Your Huddled Masses"  

The competition is tough, but this genealogist will be holding her breath since I had the privilege of researching the family histories of the all-star chef-testants for this episode.  Turns out that learning about your roots is a terrific source of inspiration and all the chefs cooked their hearts out.

But at the risk of being greedy, I'd love to see even an even more conspicuous genealogical presence next year.  It's no secret that we in the U.S. frequently borrow show concepts from our British friends, where family history programming has been on the upswing for the past half a dozen years.  Lisa Kudrow, for instance, imported celebrity-centered Who Do You Think You Are? after catching it in her hotel room in Ireland one evening.  

Heritage-based series in the U.K. are so popular that viewers there will soon be treated to a game show called Guess the Relative.  Whether anyone will feel compelled to bring this latest offering across the pond remains to be seen, but it's no accident that NBC (Who Do You Think You Are?), PBS (Faces of America, African American Lives, etc.) and OWN (Searching For . . .) are all getting in the act - and that's not counting shows with family history undertones such as History Detectives, Antiques Roadshow, and the recent rash of stuff-related programs (Buried Treasure, Pickers, Pawn Stars, Cash 'n' Cari, etc.).

Is anyone else seeing a trend here?  We've seen the waves of design and cooking shows, and I think it might just be genealogy's turn next (Who Do You Think You Are? in 2012, perhaps?). But until then, I'll be watching on Sunday night and rooting for Top Chef!

Full disclosure: I've worked on several of these programs, wrote the companion book for Who Do You Think You Are?, and have been a long-time fan of Top Chef, so don't pretend to be neutral!