Greetings Fellow Family History Sleuths,

I remember when summer used to be laid back, but it's been nothing like that this year. Am busily working on another genealogy TV series and lots of Army cases. If I can't be swimming at the beach, I might as well be swimming in cases! Here's hoping August finds you swimming in something you enjoy!

Winners of incredibly cool heritage t-shirts announced!

Thanks so much to the almost 600 of you who decided to follow me on Google+ last week! As promised, three were selected as winners of customized, roots-based t-shirts from MeOnATee.com! Since I know so many fellow genealogists, I asked my husband to randomly select from my circles. The winners have all now been notified so I can share their names. Hearty congratulations to:

• Madaleine Laird
• Bret Petersen
• Pam Brinegar

Here's hoping they'll model their shirts once they get them!

If you'd like one of your own, remember that you can still get a 25% discount between now and August 15th. Just go to Meonatee.com and use the discount code of -- what else? - roots. As to me, I'm snagging one for half-Irish, half-Rusyn. Just debating whether to go with the flags or pie chart!

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Genealogy Round Up, July 14

Caught in the act!
Pair tried to steal millions worth of historical documents, police say

The French Ancestry of J.K. Rowling

Like this even though I'm just a half-and-half (Irish and Rusyn)! Reminds me of www.Meonatee.com - #Genealogy Insider - If You Were a Pie Chart
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Genealogy Round Up, July 21

Not taking sides, but DAR comment re: DNA off. No need to dig people up!
Daughters of the American Revolution challenged by Bates family of Virginia

Did you catch my interview on @blogtalkradio with Jane Wilcox re: Barack Obama's Irish roots and the family tree of Michelle Obama?
Obama Genealogies Megan Smolenyak - Your Ancestors Stories

Am working on this series!
Kyra Sedgwick Finds Out She's Related to Husband Kevin Bacon on TV Show (Video) - Hollywood Reporter

If These Plates Could Talk

6 Degrees of Separation: Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon Are Cousins

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Genealogy Round Up, July 28

Can't wait to see this show! Did Carla's roots for TopChef!
Chef Carla Hall

Why we do it. One of these was Sharon's case and one was mine. RIP.
Three MIA World War II soldiers finally laid to rest

Tradition meets technology!
Genome Quilts by Beverly St. Clair

Documentaries love to do this for DNA drama.
Rudolf Hess Exhumed: A Look At World Figures Who Were Dug Up Post-Mortem from LIFE.com (PHOTOS)

The Real French Ancestry of J.K. Rowling

Painful. Reminds me of an unclaimed persons case I did.
A Brevard woman disappeared, but never left home - St. Petersburg Times

WDYTYA for cars, eh?
BBC America Looks to Expand Roster of Original Content with 5 New Pilot Orders » BuzzFocus.com

Seriously cool.
Long-lost brothers members of same church

NARA's getting ready for us!
NARAtions » Are You Preparing for the 1940 Census? We are!

Be part of a 10,000 person movement to power genetic research for African Americans 23andMe.
Roots into the Future - 23andMe

Check out the settee! (a phrase I never expected to utter)
Family Cherished: Creative Ways to Display your Heritage

A little history mystery I tackled!
Mystery Tombstone Finds Its Place of Rest

Wow!
Unearthing an African-American Village Displaced by Central Park

Hey, is he mocking my name?!
JustASC » Blog Archive » I heard you the first time

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Genealogy Round Up, August 4

Love this!
VIDEO: Woman learns of siblings at age 94, meets them in Quincy 

Have seen this concept before, but these specific examples range from smile-inducing to heart-breaking.
Dear Photograph

Bad news.
Private companies own your DNA – again - Steven Salzberg - Fighting Pseudoscience - Forbes

Well, of course, I am.
Are you an heir to a lost fortune?

Just a touch ironic!
Gen-Ys want census forms destroyed

More of our Osturna roots thanks to Thom Kolton!
Osturňa House Tour - #210 to #279 (the end of the road)

Yup, I knew!
Obama Genealogy and Megan Smolenyak | 4 Get Me Not Ancestry

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Honoring Our Ancestors Grants

Congrats to our recent grant recipient! Don't forget that you can apply here.

July 2011
The Skagit Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS) provides educational programming throughout Skagit County, Washington on research methods, getting started in genealogy, and more. The SVGS genealogy library currently has a collection of over 1,500 books, and has outgrown its shelf space at the Burlington Public Library. The grant award will help fund the purchase of more shelf space for the growing collection of books, and will be used as a matching gift "seed" to encourage others to join in and help SVGS by matching this initial gift.

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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.

• October 8, 2011 - Salt Lake City, UT - American Society of Genealogists - "Giving Back: A Look at 10 Years of Genealogy Grants"
• February 8, 2012 - Princeton, NJ - Present Day Club
  
• May 19, 2012 - Valley View, OH - East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society - "Trace Your Roots with DNA," "Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones," "Find The Obituary! Online Newspaper Research" and "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"
• September 29, 2012 - Manassas, VA - Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC) for Genealogy and Local History - "Cases That Made My Brain Hurt"

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