Ancestry

My daughter was on ancestry.com the other day trying to type in information about our family to the best of her 11 year old knowledge.  Her timing wasn't very good for me to help her so I told her we would work on it another day.  She made the comment that she was interested in learning where she came from. Oprah had a whole show on ancestry which I found fascinating.  Actress, Lisa Kudrow has a reality series "Who Do You Think You Are" where people explore their past and learn about their roots.  I have never seen the show, but enjoyed the parts I saw on Oprah.  One of the histories I found the most interesting was football legend Emmitt Smiths.  He is a descendant of slaves and while searching for clues about his past found that the book containing his genealogy was in book 22 which was the number he chose throughout his entire football career. Another surprise was Lisa Kudrow discovered one of her family members that had survived the Holocaust which they thought was dead.

I often ask myself, "What is my place in this world?"  My ancestors were from Italy and Holland.  I would love to have a villa in Italy one day.  I feel as though I have a connection to that country.  I don't know much of my family history past my grandparents, but would like to learn more.  In the PBS series, "Faces of America",  Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores genealogy through cutting edge DNA research.  On his show celebrities found that we are all more connected than we think we are.   Eva Longoria Parker and Yo-Yo Ma share descendants as well as Meryl Streep and Mike Nichols. I guess you never know who you might share a common ancestry with.  Perhaps Sophia Loren and I share a common link.   "Know thy past, know thyself."  -  Henry Louis Gates, Jr.