Unclaimed Persons (video)

As I explained last week, I've started uploading videos that used to reside on RootsTelevision (RTV). One of the fortunate aspects of waiting to do this is that YouTube now accommodates longer videos, and many RTV ones exceed their earlier length restrictions. Now I have the luxury of uploading a single, complete video, rather than a sliced-up version in two or three separate sections.

This week, I decided to share one of our classics - Unclaimed Persons. In case you're not familiar with this concept, it's essentially "lost and found," but for human beings instead of gloves and umbrellas. It's a quiet but disturbing epidemic. People are going to their graves with no family to claim them. Medical examiners and coroners' offices — frequently overstretched with burgeoning case loads — are turning to an unexpected resource for help: genealogists. 

This video shows me tackling cases from Lackawanna County, PA (heads-up - the Finch case mentioned has been solved!) and San Bernardino County, CA. I started assisting coroners and medical examiners back around 2005, and several years later, we figured that this would make an interesting topic for RTV to cover, so we produced this video. When we shared it, I was inundated with requests from fellow genealogists saying that they wanted to help,and that's how the volunteer organization organization known as Unclaimed Persons was born.

If you like this video, please tell your friends and keep your eyes open for more!

Genealogical Cruising (video)

Many people have asked me about the thousand or so videos that were once featured on RootsTelevision. I've been meaning to share at least some of them, but frankly, have a busy life with lots of competing priorities. Still, I've been wanting to do this and am delighted to finally start! I set up a personal YouTube channel, and over time, will upload selected RootsTelevision videos.

The first one I've popped up is all about genealogical cruising. I've had the good fortune to be invited to speak on about half a dozen cruises (hope to see some of you this September on Legacy Family Tree's Panama Canal cruise!), and highly recommend it. This is a homemade video my husband and I put together on the second genealogical cruise we went on. It's nothing fancy, but we figured that folks who hadn't tried it yet might want a taste of what it's like. You'll recognize a few faces, no doubt -- Dick Eastman, John Grenham, Cyndi Howells, Bob Velke, and others -- and get a sense of the ship, food, events, and so forth.  But perhaps most importantly, you'll also hear reactions from the participants themselves toward the end. Enjoy!