I have been watching the interchange, between people who watched the Sarah Jessica Parker episode of who do you think you are, American version. Several points stand out. It seems to me that the there is a fundamental difference in cultures in America and Britain.For instance, while engaging in my own research in Britain, I was amazed to find out for instance, that a lot of Church records/ documents were removed from churches such as St. Marys' in Ecclesfield, during at least one of it's battles with France. These same documents were then sent to France to the the mother house (they are still there to this day)...why is this imformation revelant? because, I was looking for records of my own ancestors, who were definitely English. While in Britain, the history of the country and documents pertaining to ancestry are writ large. In America which is such a young country by comparison; a lot of people do not know who their ancestors are past their grandparents. The documents to prove the connections were not available (until lately) to the general public. It is interesting that as in Britain the people being showcased on these Ancestry Programmes are somewhat famous...the average person in America does not have the funds to find the information for their own ancestors to the degree that more prominent people can . Also the U.S.A. is a huge place in comparison to England. Unlike most of my ancestors who stayed within the boundaries of Ecclesfield for hundreds of years, it is much more likely that Americans lost their early roots when they left England, Europe or wherever they came from. I do not think that their Ancestry was much on their minds in the early days as a huge number of people who entered America did so within certain time frames, and in a lot of cases, without the benefit of being able to speak English and in a survival mode. My husband's family was a case in point. His ancestry centered around a family who came in from Poland in the early 1920's. They left with only their clothes, being refugees... His Grandfather was from Romania. he entered the Port of New York with his father, who spoke no English. My husnband's Grandfather was a Talmudic scholar in Budapest, but ended up as a farmer in Saskatchewan... The person in authority at the Port of New York, asked my husband's Grandfather his name. He replied 'Herchel Lazar Cohen'. His name was misheard and then fore shortened to 'Herchel Lazaresko'...soon after arriving in New York, the family decided to take advantage of free land in Saskatchewan Canada...a place named 'Goose Lake' as there were no other people around except for the indigenous population, who incidently kept the family alive, the name Goose Lake was appropriate... there were only a handful of families who had travelled to that destination, and had no skills or knowledge to survive the terrible winters inherent in Saskatchewan...They later moved to Saskatoon Saskatchewan and from there to Toronto Canada... If you could withold judgement I am pretty sure you will see the episode where Lisa Kudrow, discovers her own ancestors past, particularly heart rending...This episode made me weep...quite a few immigrants did not want their identities known for fear of reprisals within the communities where they had to live, in the New World, and because they also feared reprisals on those family members left behind... The old saying that New York was a melting pot, was perfectly true. Fighting between different immigrant groups was legendary. The search for ancestors in America is only now being approached in any meaningful way. Too many times becuase of their ancestry having originated in foreign lands, it involves multiple venues of research must be consulted. In poland it was thought for a long time that all Jewish history had been erased. It has now come to light that docuements were in many cases hidden by the local population who did this at great risk.While the British trot off to the local record offices and London to the Pro etc etc.( And I include myself among this group), the records in Canada and America are a lot more spread out and harder to find. I think if you are patient with the programmes, you will find it worthwhile. Also keep in mind that while America and England are suppsoed to speak the same language there mores, attitudes and life experiences are much different. I have lived in England half my life, and the other half in America and Canada, and the older I get the more I realize how different the countries are. One last thought, re Sarah Jessica Parker, I very much doubt that she would have been able to find her heritage so easily, if she had not had the means to be able to do so...Kindest regrads, Josephine M. Laxton Ontario Canada. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jane Howard" <janemariehoward@hotmail.com> To: <eng-sheffield@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:27 AM Subject: [SHEFF] Sarah Jessica Parker/"Who Do You Think You Are?" > > Americans are a "quick-fix society?" Gotta love these generalizations... > > > > In any case, as far as this program goes, there is just one hour (including commercials) to get the story across out of the dozens of hours spent conducting the actual research. I think the whole point of these episodes is to give people an idea of what can be found about our ancestors and the part they may have played in American History. > > > > As far as documentation, census records were clearly shown along with actual correspondence from one of the friends reporting on the death of SJP's ancestor in the gold fields. There was also the deed to the actual claim. As far as the Salem Witch Trials, there were court documents cited just for starters. Of course there isn't going to be time to give microfilm/page numbers and other source material, but it gave viewers an idea of what kinds of records are out there to be gleaned. > > > > Would I have liked to have seen more on the actual research process? Of course. However, I think the main aim of this series was entertainment, as is with all television, and there is a history lesson thrown in to boot. Furthermore, who knows how many people will have been bitten by the genealogy bug that prompts them to undertake a search of their own roots - a search that, who knows, might end up providing to a long lost relative YOU have been trying to find? > > > > > Jane M. Howard > > Pets are NOT disposable! > > Spay, Neuter, Adopt! > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your inbox. > http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_2 > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-SHEFFIELD-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Internal Virus Database is out of date. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2919 - Release Date: 06/05/10 06:25:00

I think if your family originated in UK and crossed the pond, many of them took with them their family bibles. They kept in touch - albeit irregularly. They weren't necessarily escaping religious persecution or poverty, many were going to make a buck!...and, many came back having made their fortunes. Friends in Ontario have said that they weren't too impressed with the "majority" of the US programmes but enjoyed the UK ones. Thinking about it, many of the famous people that had their lives researched on the UK version were actually from Eastern bloc countries or Turkey, etc. but they managed to trace their families back there - Jews, Christians and Orthodox - and they visited those places. Perhaps some of the future programmes will be more interesting. As for the Salem Witches - I visited there last Autumn/Fall - and I got the impression that everyone is looking for ancestors who were involved just like the Aussies are looking for convicts! I recall being told that my Perkins lot were involved with the Salem Witches they were in Massachusetts. John PERKINS left England for Mass. before 1635 - I went to the US for the induction of his 6xg daughter-in-law (ie wife of his 6xg grandson) into the National Women's Hall of Fame. I didn't have any problem looking for the family. It's a bit like England - if they stayed still, if they were wealthy or if they were very bad, then they are not too difficult to research. Those that are difficult are the ones who were escaping their country of origin for whatever reason. I had an email from a gentleman who assured me that I had the wrong connection as it was his grandfather. Poor man was very embarrassed when I had to tell him that his grandfather had actually committed bigamy as he'd left a wife and children behind in England! There are others that I'm still looking for but not so easy when they changed their names. Liz www.btinternet.com/~e.newbery OPC for Street, Somerset ----- Original Message ----- From: "Josephine Laxton" <rlaxton@rogers.com> To: "Jane Howard" <janemariehoward@hotmail.com>; <eng-sheffield@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 6:59 PM Subject: Re: [SHEFF] Sarah Jessica Parker/"Who Do You Think You Are?" > I have been watching the interchange, between people who watched the > Sarah Jessica Parker episode of who do you think you are, American > version. > Several points stand out. It seems to me that the there is a fundamental > difference in cultures in America and Britain.For instance, while engaging > in my own research in Britain, I was amazed to find out for instance, that > a > lot of Church records/ documents were removed from churches such as St. > Marys' in Ecclesfield, during at least one of it's battles with France. > These same documents were then sent to France to the the mother house > (they > are still there to this day)...why is this imformation revelant? because, > I > was looking for records of my own ancestors, who were definitely English. > While in Britain, the history of the country and documents pertaining to > ancestry are writ large. In America which is such a young country by > comparison; a lot of people do not know who their ancestors are past their > grandparents. The documents to prove the connections were not available > (until lately) to the general public. > It is interesting that as in Britain the people being showcased on > these Ancestry Programmes are somewhat famous...the average person in > America does not have the funds to find the information for their own > ancestors to the degree that more prominent people can . Also the U.S.A. > is > a huge place in comparison to England. Unlike most of my ancestors who > stayed within the boundaries of Ecclesfield for hundreds of years, it is > much more likely that Americans lost their early roots when they left > England, Europe or wherever they came from. I do not think that their > Ancestry was much on their minds in the early days as a huge number of > people who entered America did so within certain time frames, and in a lot > of cases, without the benefit of being able to speak English and in a > survival mode. > My husband's family was a case in point. His ancestry centered around > a family who came in from Poland in the early 1920's. They left with only > their clothes, being refugees... His Grandfather was from Romania. he > entered the Port of New York with his father, who spoke no English. My > husnband's Grandfather was a Talmudic scholar in Budapest, but ended up as > a > farmer in Saskatchewan... The person in authority at the Port of New York, > asked my husband's Grandfather his name. He replied 'Herchel Lazar > Cohen'. > His name was misheard and then fore shortened to 'Herchel > Lazaresko'...soon > after arriving in New York, the family decided to take advantage of free > land in Saskatchewan Canada...a place named 'Goose Lake' as there were no > other people around except for the indigenous population, who incidently > kept the family alive, the name Goose Lake was appropriate... there were > only a handful of families who had travelled to that destination, and had > no > skills or knowledge to survive the terrible winters inherent in > Saskatchewan...They later moved to Saskatoon Saskatchewan and from there > to > Toronto Canada... If you could withold judgement I am pretty sure you will > see the episode where Lisa Kudrow, discovers her own ancestors past, > particularly heart rending...This episode made me weep...quite a few > immigrants did not want their identities known for fear of reprisals > within > the communities where they had to live, in the New World, and because they > also feared reprisals on those family members left behind... The old > saying > that New York was a melting pot, was perfectly true. Fighting between > different immigrant groups was legendary. > The search for ancestors in America is only now being approached in > any meaningful way. Too many times becuase of their ancestry having > originated in foreign lands, it involves multiple venues of research must > be > consulted. In poland it was thought for a long time that all Jewish > history > had been erased. It has now come to light that docuements were in many > cases > hidden by the local population who did this at great risk.While the > British > trot off to the local record offices and London to the Pro etc etc.( And I > include myself among this group), the records in Canada and America are a > lot more spread out and harder to find. I think if you are patient with > the > programmes, you will find it worthwhile. Also keep in mind that while > America and England are suppsoed to speak the same language there mores, > attitudes and life experiences are much different. I have lived in England > half my life, and the other half in America and Canada, and the older I > get > the more I realize how different the countries are. One last thought, re > Sarah Jessica Parker, I very much doubt that she would have been able to > find her heritage so easily, if she had not had the means to be able to do > so...Kindest regrads, Josephine M. Laxton Ontario Canada. > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jane Howard" <janemariehoward@hotmail.com> > To: <eng-sheffield@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:27 AM > Subject: [SHEFF] Sarah Jessica Parker/"Who Do You Think You Are?" > > >> >> Americans are a "quick-fix society?" Gotta love these generalizations... >> >> >> >> In any case, as far as this program goes, there is just one hour > (including commercials) to get the story across out of the dozens of hours > spent conducting the actual research. I think the whole point of these > episodes is to give people an idea of what can be found about our > ancestors > and the part they may have played in American History. >> >> >> >> As far as documentation, census records were clearly shown along with > actual correspondence from one of the friends reporting on the death of > SJP's ancestor in the gold fields. There was also the deed to the actual > claim. As far as the Salem Witch Trials, there were court documents cited > just for starters. Of course there isn't going to be time to give > microfilm/page numbers and other source material, but it gave viewers an > idea of what kinds of records are out there to be gleaned. >> >> >> >> Would I have liked to have seen more on the actual research process? Of > course. However, I think the main aim of this series was entertainment, > as > is with all television, and there is a history lesson thrown in to boot. > Furthermore, who knows how many people will have been bitten by the > genealogy bug that prompts them to undertake a search of their own roots - > a > search that, who knows, might end up providing to a long lost relative YOU > have been trying to find? >> >> >> >> >> Jane M. Howard >> >> Pets are NOT disposable! >> >> Spay, Neuter, Adopt! >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _________________________________________________________________ >> Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from >> your > inbox. >> > http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_2 >> >> ------------------------------- >> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ENG-SHEFFIELD-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---- > > > > Internal Virus Database is out of date. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2919 - Release Date: 06/05/10 > 06:25:00 > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > ENG-SHEFFIELD-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >