Sat, 14 March 2009
Published March 14, 2009 I am just back from attending the Family History Expo in St. George Utah. And once again my Google classes were packed! In fact I got word that both my Google: A Goldmine of Genealogy Gems Parts 1 and 2 classes broke attendance records. Here are some of the folks you're going to hear from on today's show- We talked about how to set up a genealogy iGoogle page, Google Alerts, Site Search and a wide range of brand new Google tools that can be used to move your research forward. MAILBOX: I got an email from Tina Kelly who lives in the United Kingdom and she has a question about obtaining vital records here in the U.S. and since I have lots of listeners outside the U.S. I thought this would be worth sharing. GEM: Interview with Steve Nickle, President of Familylink.com Steve Nickle, President of Familylink.com shares some exciting news about a new website they are preparing to launch called GenSeek.
GEM: Part 2 Interview with Darby Hinton of Daniel Boone Fame In our last episode #60 we got to spend some time with Darby Hinton who was a child star back in the 1960s, and for six of those years he played Isreal the son of Daniel Boone played by Fess Parker in the hit TV series Daniel Boone. In part 2 of my interview with Darby and his wife Shan I get to share what I found on the Hinton Family History. (Above: Darby's grandfather Edward L. Hinton holding Darby's father) Listen to Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Episode 21
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Mon, 2 March 2009
Published March 2, 2009 In this 60th episode we celebrate the two year birthday of the Genealogy Gems Podcast. And Lisa's very special guest is Darby Hinton who played the son of Daniel Boone on the hit TV series Daniel Boone that ran from 1964 to 1970. Darby is currently working on a television pilot for a new series called Hinton Living History. In today's episode is part one of Lisa's interview with Darby, who talks about his TV career which started before he could even walk. Darby has appeared in in movies like the Son of Flubber, and classic TV shows like Mr. Ed, Wagon Train, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and The Big Valley. But of course we all know him as Isreal the son of Daniel Boone, played by the wonderful Fess Parker. He had a fascinating childhood meeting the likes of Walt Disney and having Charleton Heston for a godfather. GEN CLASS WINNER: Linda Scham of Illinois is the winner of the two free genealogy classes courtesy of GenClass.com Congratulations Linda! MAILBOX: Listener Teresa Redway emailed a brickway about her ancestor Isaac Lovell born in 1844 in Bristol, England. Lisa recommends investigating both Isaac and Alfred further in England. Look in church records for Alfred as a witness to the events of others in the church. Locate birth records in Allegheny County, PA: Start with the US GenWeb site to find out more about the records available in that county as well as the history of county. Allegheny County US Gen Web site Another option is the vitalrec.com website. Click through to Pennsylvania and Allegheny County to find more information on the vital records for the county. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, PA hold birth records for Pittsburg from 1870 to 1905. Fee: $5 US which is a non-refundable fee for search and copy of a Birth record. For Historical Context, Teresa can check out what was going on in Pennsylvania from 1869-1874 at the Explore PA History website. About.com website has a timeline on Pittsburgh history. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburg also has a chronology of the cityâs history and lots of other great info. The March 2009 issue of Family Tree Magazine article called "Hard Times" by Fern Glazer on page 29. GEM: Interview with Darby Hinton of Daniel Boone Fame Darby Hinton was just seven years old when he signed on to play Isreal, the son of Daniel Boone which ran from Sept 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC. And over 165 episodes he worked and played alongside the 6 foot 6" actor Fess Parker on the film sets in California and Utah. In this episode you'll hear part 1 of my three part interview with Darby Hinton and his lovely wife Shan. Today we're going to start back at the beginning as Darby shares his memories of how he broke into the TV business, and what it was like to be working on the set of Daniel Boone. Watch The TV Legends 7 part interview with Fess Parker on YouTube Here's an excerpt from the first episode of Daniel Boone...
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Sun, 15 February 2009
Published Feb 15, 2008 Family Reunions I'd love to hear from you if you've held a family reunion. What kinds of activities did you plan, and what kinds of things did you wish you had thought of back in the planning stage? I've been toying with the idea of having a family reunion on my mom's side of the family, but I could really use some good advice on the subject. So drop me a line if you've organized a family reunion before and tell me about your experiences.
Conferences: The Southern California Genealogical Society is well into their planning for their 40th Annual Genealogy Jamboree which will be held June 26-28, 2009, at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, in Burbank, California They just announced their list of speakers which you will find on The Genealogy Gems News Blog I'll be there teaching my Google: A Goldmine of Genealogy Gems Seminars, Parts I and II as well as participating in the Son of a Blogger Summit. The Official Jamboree blog Who Do You Think You Are TV Update I wrote about Amazon.com's recent announcement that the New Kindle 2 is ready for pre-order. I would really like to hear from you if you have or have used a Kindle. So check out the Kindle and the improvements that have been made. Any time you go to Amazon from one of our website links and purchase something you help keep this genealogy podcast free. Thank you very much for your support! Lincoln's Birthday: 8 Civil War Era Records Coming Online in Feb. 2009 Ancestry has just announced that they have posted five of those databases: 1. Abraham Lincoln Papers (from the Library of Congress) 2. The New Orleans Slave Manifests, covering 1807 3. The Confederate Pension Applications from Georgia 4. The Confederate Applications for Presidential Pardons 5. The U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Ancestry's Civil War Collection Family History: Genealogy Made Easy Episode 16: The Family History Library including catalog research tips that will help you get even better search results!
GEM: Profile America - The First U.S. Presidential Picture Become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member GEM: Interview with Holly Hansen - Family History Expos Watch videos at The Family History Expos TV channel at YouTube Feb 27 & 28, 2009: St. George, UT More information and registration GEM: GenClass with Lisa Alzo One lucky listener is going to win not one but TWO free classes from Gen Class! Lisa Alzo and the folks at GenClass have been gracious enough to provide me with 2 classes to give away FREE, which is a great educational opportunity. And education is a big part of what I want to provide here on the show as well. So hereâs what you need to do to have a chance to win: Send an email with your name, state, and email address and the topic you would most like to learn about in 2009 on an upcoming podcast episode by midnight on Sunday Feb. 21, 2009 I will draw one lucky winner from all of the email entries. The winner will get their choice of any of the two classes provided by GenClass. Iâll be announcing the winner on the Genealogy Gems News Blog and Episode 60 of the Genealogy Gems Podcast. Thanks to the folks at GenClass, and good luck! GEM: Profile America - Number Please? Sign up for the FREE Genealogy Gems e-newsletter |
Sat, 31 January 2009
Published Jan 31, 2009 #1 Diane Haddad's Family Tree Magazine Genealogy Insider Blog New and Next at Ancestry.com #2. From Paper (or Film) to the Web #3 Online Searching: It's Complicated #4 Inside Ancestry.com's Top-Secret Data Center #5 Diane reveals the secret identity of the mysterious Ancestry Genealogy Blogger. Or does she? You'll have to check that one out for yourself. In fact if you're an Ancestry user or are considering a subscription I highly recommend Diane's blog series at the Genealogy Insider. The latest edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage & Culture has been published over at Small-leaved Shamrock http://www.small-leavedshamrock.blogspot.com The next edition of the Carnival of Irish Heritage and Culture will be a St. Patrick's Day "virtual parade" online. Anyone who would like to particiate is welcome, whether or not they have Irish roots. For more information on how to participate or to check out the latest carnival head over to http://www.irishheritagecarnival.blogspot.com. Recent Genealogy Gems News Blog postings: I wrapped up my ten genealogy strategies for the new year on Jan 21, 2009 I also posted about the new American version of the television show Who Do You Think You Are? Set your recorders to Monday nights at 8PM on NBC starting April 20. Subscribe for free to the Genealogy Gems News Blog There are some milestones going on these days as well. The Library of Congress just crossed the 25,000 mark for books digitized. A good article appeared about that on the Voice of America website: Scanning Project Digitizes 25,000 US Library of Congress Book
On January 16, 2009 we started in on Online Family Trees. Read more The more I explore them the more I become convinced that they are a powerful research tool that I predict in the next few years will become an absolute necessity for family historians. Episode 12: I you a comprehensive overview of online family trees. And then we go straight to the source with an in depth interview with Kenny Freestone, Senior Product Manager at Ancestry.com whose primary responsibility is their online family tree tool. Episode 13: We continue exploring our tree options with Scott Huskey of Photoloom.com. They offer an incredible online visual approach to trees and research that centers around your own personal family photos. Then I talk to Sasha Masick of GeneTree, who spices up their family tree tool with a DNA testing component. Episode 14: You've got to tune in to hear how to go from one name and birth year, to three generations of family in 1 hour or less. It's absolutely possible, and I'll show you how in this episode. Then as we finish up with online family trees, I thought it was important to go over the techniques for following up on all those great connections you can make by posting your family tree online. We'll get started in Episode 14 talking about how to locate telephone numbers online, the prep work you need to do before you start to dial, breaking the ice and conducting the interview. Then we'll finish up in Episode 15 on Feb 6 with what we as the interviewer should be doing during the call, what to do if No Answers, we'll cover the "Must Ask" Questions, and how to wrap up the call. NEW RECORDS ONLINE The folks over at the 1911census.co.uk officially launched their website this month. And they have added many of the counties that were unavailable during beta testing including Lancashire, Essex, Kent, Yorkshire (West Riding), Nottinghamshire and Herefordshire so you can now access those British census records from 1911. World Vital Records recently added 20 newspaper databases from Mexico and Canada ranging from 1833-1994: Agricultor Mexicano y Hogar (Ciudad JuÃrez, Chihuahua, Mexico) MAILBOX: Subscribe to GENEALOGY GEMS PREMIUM today and save 20% by using this coupon code: SAVE20 FAMILY HISTORY: Genealogy Made Easy GEM: Profile America Gem: Family History Valentine The gem was called Christmas in July and I showed you how to make cover a store bought candy bar with a home made Christmas Label that would evoke genealogical memories. The candy bar made a great stocking stuffer. Well, I'm up for chocolate any time of year, and Valentines day is a perfect time I think to take a new twist on that idea. This time we have a new theme to inspire us - the theme of Valentines Day and love. I'm guessing thereâs a romantic couple or two in your family tree. Perhaps your bar could pay tribute to one of them or to a few couples. You could give these candy bars celebrating the love of the past to your family of today. Your kids and their spouses, grandkids, you get the idea. Think how surprised and thrilled an elderly aunt or uncle would be to be remembered on Valentines day with a small package in the mail containing a family history candy bar.
If your feeling a little more grand than a simple candy bar, consider buying a heart shaped box of candy, tracing the lid, and creating a label that could cover the entire label with a custom message of ancestral love. Use heavy weight or photo paper and attach it with a light coat of rubber cement or use double sided tape. If the box is just a bit bigger than a piece of printer paper you could put the digital file you create on your computer of the label onto a flash drive and take it into your local copy store to print out in the correct size. Here again is your chance to share some of your family's heritage with your family today. Kindle their interest in the familyâs history while showing them that you care with a sweet memories candy bar or valentine box. If you do create some sweet memory candy bars this Valentine's day be sure and snap a photo and email it to me. I really enjoy seeing what you guys come up with! GEM: Profile America
REGISTER TODAY FOR CONFERENCE I'll be there teaching 4 classes, as well as conducting lots of new video interviews for Family History Expos TV channel on YouTube. And of course be sure and stop by the Genealogy Gems Booth in the Exhibit Hall and say Hi! If you'd like more information or you'd like to register for the 2 day conference go to www.familyhistoryexpos.com |
Sun, 11 January 2009
GEM: Profile America Richard Knerr (right) and Arthur Melin, founders of Wham-O
GEM: Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree Paula Hinkle, Co-Chair June 26 - 28, 2009 I will be there teaching classes and at a booth in the Exhibit Hall. Website GEM: Profile America Red Skelton as The Fuller Brush Man
GEM: Interview with Sally Jacobs, The Practical Archivist PHOTO Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast
The Genealogy Gems TV Channel at YouTube |
Sat, 13 December 2008
Published Dec 13, 2008 GEM: Name That Tune I'll See You In My Dreams was a big hit for Cliff Edwards who also performed it on the ukuele. In fact he was known as "Uulele Ike." If you think you know the name of today's mystery song, please email me call and leave the answer on the voice mail line at 925-272-4021.
Dec. 24, 1968 In 1968 the three man crew of Apollo 8 became the first humans in history to orbit the moon. Their hastily-planned mission saw them enter lunar orbit on Christmas Eve after a three day voyage from earth. In one of a number of scheduled live TV broadcasts from the spacecrafts, the crew pointed their black and white camera at the lunar horizon and read the first ten verses of the Bible's book of Genesis.
History of British Christmas Traditions I thought it would be fun to ask my friend James Mowatt of the Historyzine Podcast to tell us alittle bit about the history of Christmas in Britain, and describe how our British ancestors might have celebrated the holiday.
From 1940: Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret's Christmas Speech
From 1917: Christmas, Christmas, Blessed Blessed Day
From 1916: Christmas Eve Music Box
From 1913: The Bells of Christmas
From 1911: A Christmas Classic - The Awakening of Scrooge
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Mon, 1 December 2008
Published Dec 1, 2008 Welcome all the NEW listeners who discovered the show at the Family History Expo in Mesa, AZ. We're so glad you"re on board! Watch this video to learn how to use the free iTunes software (you don't need an iPod to use it!), and subscribe to this podcast for free. Then watch this video to learn more about how to use the podcast website. Watching Family History Expo TV is like your own Video Conference! If you were lucky enough to go youâll get to see the folks you may have missed and get refresher info from those you did hear, and if you weren't able to attend, this is your chance to get some great tips and ideas from the experts who were there. The next Family History Expo will be in St. George Feb 27 & 28, 2009 Lisaâs Classes: And while I was in Mesa AZ, I finally got a chance to sit down and interview Dick Eastman. Dick is always the one doing the interviewing and blogging, and I just thought it was about time I sat him down and got him to tell us his story. And you can hear that interview in itâs entirety in Episode 5 of my other podcast Family History: Genealogy Made Easy. Subscribe for free to Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast in iTunes. I love getting to talk to genealogy experts up close and personal and I also have really gotten a lot out of going through the genealogy research process step-by-step. It's a great refresher for me as well as hopefully will help folks new to genealogy get started. It's a lot of fun! Fun at The Genealogy Gems News Blog The Genealogy Hoe Down featuring genealogy blogger Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Genealogy Podcaster DearMYRTLE, Family Tree Magazine Editor Allison Stacy, and managing editor Diane Haddad. Blog Post: Genealogists Run, Don't Walk, to Google! Houston Public Library's Fantastic Collection Coming Online. Listen to my interview with Susan Kaufman manager, Houston Public Library's Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in the October 2008 episode of the Family Tree Magazine Podcast. Subscribe to The Family Tree Magazine Podcast free in iTunes. New at Ancestry: Search the U.S. City Directories database Sign up for the free Genealogy Gems Podcast Newsletter Calling all Norwegian researchers! The folks at Family Search are going to start indexing the 1875 Norway Census! In the first week of December, they will start indexing the 1875 Norway Census. This will be a large segment of the census for rural areas of Norway, but not the entire census. FamilySearchâs Historical Family Reconstitution unit has joined forces with the University of Troms in Norway to complete this project. The university is indexing the census records for the urban areas of Norway. Pass the word along that anyone interested in Norwegian genealogical research is encouraged to help by volunteering as a FamilySearch indexer. New Google Gadgets: Read Listener Phil Hayes's blog post about his musical mom Jeanne T. Lewis. GEM: Interview with Curt Witcher, of the Allen County Library I got a chance to talk to Curt while attending the Federation of Genealogy Societies Conference in Philadelphia, PA this last Sept. 2008. Curt explains about the wide range of census records that many genealogists aren't taking advantage of. Name That Tune! The Darktown Strutter Ball Sheet MusicThe Darktown Strutter Ball Sheet Music You can even watch Guy Lombardo and Royal Canadians doing the Darktown Strutters Ball in the 1950s (video below) If you think you know the name of Mystery Song #3 that Lisa played on this podcast episode email the answer or call and leave the answer on the voice mail line at 925-272-4021 so your answer can be played on the show. A No Cost Way to Support the free Genealogy Gems Podcast. The holidays approaching and thereâs an easy way for you to get your online shopping done while supporting this show. By accessing websites like Amazon.com through the links on the Genealogy Gems homepage and throughout the website, Amazon gives The Genealogy Gems Podcast credit for your purchases. It doesn't cost you anything more, but by using the links on our website, you do a lot to help keep the free Genealogy Gems Podcast coming. Thank you! Visit the the Genealogy Gems YouTube Channel where you can watch lots of great genealogy themed videos. Join the Genealogy Gems Podcast fan page at Facebook. Catch up on what's going on in the world of genealogy at The Genealogy Gems News Blog. My Podcast Alley feed!{pca-b2d94e87bc16bcfd5226cfc6f3aaeee5} |
Sun, 2 November 2008
Published Nov 2, 2008 I am very happy to announce that I just launched my brand new podcast called Family History: Genealogy Made Easy. The new show really captures two areas of focus that are really sort of outside the focus of this show. First, I wanted to do a show that anybody could stumble upon and with absolutely no prior experience in genealogy be able to listen to and enjoy and that would walk them step by step through the process of doing family history research. It's like a long term free seminar that you can listen to and work along with! The other area I've wanted to focus on is success stories and words of wisdom from experienced genealogists. As I travel around going to conferences and as I read my email, I hear so many great stories. I wanted to have a show where I could really showcase these stories and the wisdom of experienced genealogists. Newbies to genealogy will get a sense of what they can look forward to, and more experienced genealogists like you guys can enjoy hearing personal stories from those that you have probably heard of in the world of genealogy. So that's what you'll find at Family History: Genealogy Made Easy - Personal conversations and stories from the experts, and a genealogy how to course all wrapped in to one. No matter what experience level you are at in genealogy I hope you will subscribe to the new show this week. It's a weekly half hour show and you can find it in iTunes right along with this podcast. Flash Alert: I recently received a prompt to upgrade the free Flash player on my computer and have had nothing but problems. I've been checking into troubleshooting websites and there is quite an uproar about all the glitches it causes. Please be careful, and note that you will very likely have troubles with the click to play buttons on the Genealogy Gems website if you do elect to upgrade. I'll keep you posted when I hear more about fixes. It appears that capability to view HD is the main focus of the upgrade, so if that's not a high priority, you may way to stay with the player you have for now. GEM: Profile America GEM: Interview with Colleen Fitzpatrick, The Forensic Genealogist GEM: MacGenealogist GEM: Quilting Family Traditions
Lee wrote me to say "Seeing your own love of quilts, you know how precious these handmade creations will be to our descendants throughout the generations. And so it goes, passing on skills, love and enjoyment across the generations through the use of sewing needles..." Great Family Tradition & Heirloom Ideas from Lee and Connie Drew:
Whether you're really artsy or don't have a creative bone in your body, there's a project out there for you that will allow you to express yourself, and promote lasting family traditions. More Resources:
GEM: Linguistic Bit by James Mowatt GEM: Name That Tune The Library of Congress American Memory Website had the old original sheet music. The song is entitled Hush-a-bye, Ma Baby with a subtitle of the Missouri Waltz. Lyric by J. R. Shannon. music from an original melody procured by John Valentine Eppel, and arranged by Frederic Knight Logan.
Thanks to those who wrote and called in for identifying the song for me!In this episode I play another song in the hopes that you'll be able to do it again. Mystery Song #2 - NAME THAT TUNE! If you think you know the name of that song, please email me or better yet call and leave the answer on the voice mail line at 925-272-4021. There are lots of ways to contact me: |
Mon, 20 October 2008
Published Oct 20, 2008 October is Family History Month
Genealogy Gems Halloween Greetings Halloween Haunts Podcast by WHRO FM radio: Stories based on ghostly legends and lore of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Thanks to my friend Michelle Gabriele-Harrell producer off the Halloween Haunts podcast. In iTunes: iGoogle Update 7 part iGoogle Video Series walks you step by step on the computer screen through set up to getting the full potential. It's just one of the things you get when you become a Genealogy Gems Premium Member. Sign Up Today Family History Expo WorldCat: I also wrote a blog recently called Getting the Most Out of WorldCat and I wanted to mention that there is going to be a Free seminar Oct 28 at 2PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific online sponsored by WorldCat so I'll have a link to that posting so you can read all about it. MAILBOX: Kerry Steward called in about some comments I made on Genealogy Gems podcast Episode #40. Here are two articles about Henrietta Pruisner Tesch and Katherine Tesch Rugg's families. GEM: Profile America - Oct. 13 Navy Month
"Hit hard, hit fast, hit often" Admiral "Bull" Halsey (above) GEM: Interview with Yvette Arts, Director of Content Partnerships at World Vital Records Strategies for getting the most out of World Vital Records from Yvette Arts: First-time users/browsing: Perform a Basic Search. You'll get the largest search results by just searching by last name. Look over the results to narrow down all the possibilities. Try adding first name next. Some combinations of first and last names are more difficult to find exact matches for than others (e.g., John Smith). But if you have an unusual name like Jared Quackenbush the search will only return a few results. Next, if you know the location enter a full state name in the Place search. There are some results in their databases, such as for Google Books, that may not come up via the geographic. Don't forget to try alternative spelling for a surname. If you descide to subscribe, I hope you'll do so here which helps support this free version of the podcast. Additional Search Tips: Entering a date is best when you only give a year. If you already know a lot about an ancestor and now want to know specific information, try the Advanced Search. Use broad search terms, not an exact year of birth. Although you may know this information, mistakes may have been made in a document, or a first name may be abbreviated (e.g., Geo* is a good search term for George or J* may bring up a John that is otherwise listed as Jn). Excluding a source from a search because you have exact knowledge about an ancestor could lead to less accurate search results. Sign Up For Genealogy Gems Premium Members Only Podcast Episodes & Videos GEM: Profile America - Oct 24 is the anniversary of Chips the U.S. War Dog being awared the Distinguished Service Medal A Dog Called Chips by Mary Ann Whitley at the U.S. War Dogs Website GEM: The MacGenealogist - In today's MacGenealogist Minute with Ben Sayer, Ben's continues his reviews of Genealogy software for the Macintosh computer with a review of iFamily for Leopard. GEM: Name That Tune - I need your help. Several months ago I received a reel to reel tape that was recorded by my husband's Grandfather and Grandmother Cooke. I'm going to play one song on each episode in the hopes that one of you dear listener's will recognize the tune and email me with the name. Or leave a voice mail at 925-272-4021. Thanks! Support the Show: With the holidays approaching thereâs a wonderful way for you to do your online shopping while supporting this show. By accessing websites like Amazon.com through the links on the Genealogy Gems homepage and through the website, Amazon gives The Genealogy Gems Podcast credit for your purchases. It doesn't cost you anything more, but by using the links on our website, you do a lot to help keep the free Genealogy Gems Podcast coming. Thank you! Visit the the Genealogy Gems YouTube Channel where you can watch lots of great genealogy themed videos. Join the Genealogy Gems Group on Facebook Catch up on what's going on in the world of genealogy at The Genealogy Gems News Blog. |
Mon, 6 October 2008
Published Oct 6, 2008 "And this year I hit the jackpot when I was able to track down one of his long lost cousins who had a treasure trove of family history tucked away in the rafters of her garage." (Below: Bill and cousin)
Premium episode all about how to tap into your inner private eye to find those long lost living relatives. Albert Farrington and chorus from 1914 sing "Rule Britannia" GEM: Interview with Rick Crume British National Archives and in itunes Ancestral Quest - new interface with New Family Search. Family Tree Magazine Podcast military records interview Genealogy Gems Premium: Sign Up Now and use Coupon code SAVE20 to get 20% off the anual membership GEM: Interview with Dr. Christopher Watts
Below: Harry Cooke's Apprenticeship Record, 1872
Additional Gems From Over The Pond: Lisa's Interview with Feargal O'Donnell of the Irish Family History Foundation. View the 2 part video series: British History Podcasts: Binge Thinking History with Tony Cocks Historyzine Podcast with James Mowatt More Ways To Stay In Touch:
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The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke - Your Family History Show (podcasts) The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke. The #1 family history show.
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