Greetings Fellow Family History Sleuths,

Well, as you'll see from this issue, March was all about Ireland for me (St. Patrick's Day and Irish American Heritage Month), but now I'm moving on to Iowa, Michigan and Vegas, baby! Hope to see some of you there! In the meantime, here's hoping you're all enjoying a Spring interlude!

P.S. For those of you who get HBO, the new genealogy mockumentary series, Family Tree, is slated to begin on May 12th! Brace yourselves!

10 Things You Didn't Know About Jon Hamm's Roots

In AMC's Mad Men, Don Draper's true origins were something of a mystery until he was revealed to be Richard "Dick" Whitman, a fellow who had assumed the identity of an officer he had served with in the Korean War. The origins of Jon Hamm, who portrays Draper, are less mysterious, but there's little floating in the google-sphere beyond his Missouri birth.

St. Louis, it turns out, has played a central role in his family history with several generations parked there, but there's more to the story, including strong women, immigrant struggles, and Mormonism.

Read full article.

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Genealogy Round Up, April 11

Well, of course. 
DNA-Mapped Furniture Imprints Your Genetic Profile in Your Living Room Wired.com 

Join us on 4/18! 
Cold Cases: Genealogists, Coroners and the FBI (via Skype) - Cedar Falls Public Library

Coming to HBO May 12th! 
Family Tree Season 1: Trailer

Classic: 
Finding Knute Rockne in the Ellis Island Database - Megan Smolenyak's Roots World

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Genealogy Round Up, March 28

Joey From Scranton – VP Biden's Irish Roots 

Almost 150 years! Farrington Service: Queens gas station has been open since 1868 under same family  
From horseshoes to Hot Rods, and everything in between: The New York City gas station that has been.

Homeless Man Who Returned Ring Reunites With Family (video)

Wow! 500 years of history in St. Augustine! 
Work under way to digitize 1500s Fla. records

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Genealogy Round Up, March 21

Trove of Irish Historical Artifacts in County Mayo 
The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia

Who's cruising with us??
Legacy Genealogy Cruise 2013

Family Tree Mockumentary Series Coming to HBO & BBC

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Genealogy Round Up, March 14

Letter to Ireland Answered -- 28 Years Later

Not long ago, I received a response to a letter I wrote to a stranger in Ireland -- in 1984. Making the experience more peculiar still is the fact that the gentleman I contacted had passed away in 1990. Perhaps I should explain. Read full article.

Learn more about the heroic men of the USS Monitor
USS Monitor - Megan's research identifying sailor's remains recovered from the USS Monitor

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Upcoming Events

If you plan to be near any of the events where I'll be speaking, I would love to meet you. It's always a kick for me when folks mention that they read this newsletter, my blog, Huffington Post or whatever, so don't be shy about introducing yourself!

For more information on these events, please see my Events Calendar. And if you're interested in scheduling me, just click here.

• April 18, 2013 - Cedar Falls, IA (delivered live via Skype) - Cedar Falls Public Library - "Cold Cases: Genealogists, Coroners and the FBI"
• April 27, 2013 - Charlevoix, MI - Charlevoix Public Library - "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Find That Obituary," "Right Annie, Wrong Annie" and "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"
• May 8-11, 2013 - Las Vegas, NV - NGS 2013 Family History Conference - "Solving Historical and Family Mysteries with DNA" and "Lucky 13: A Modest Proposal Regarding Genealogy Grants and Pawn Stores (with Mark Hall-Patton of Pawn Stars)"
• September 22 - October 7, 2013 - Legacy Family Tree 2013 Genealogy Cruise - Panama Canal Cruise
• November 9, 2013 - Pensacola, FL - West Florida Genealogical Society - "Right Annie, Wrong Annie," "Trace Your Roots with DNA," "Find That Obituary! Online Newspaper Research" and "Honoring Our Ancestors"

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