Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Stories That Live In Us
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When Family Secrets Surface: Escaped Camps, Hidden Children, and DNA (with Erika Hanchar) | Episode 136 | 05 Nov 2026 | 00:48:59 | |
How many times have you hesitated to dig into an old family mystery because you were terrified of what you might find? In this episode, I sit down with writer and photographer Erika Hanchar (host of the Granddaughter of Immigrants podcast), who inherited a cryptic bedside stack of untranslated Ukrainian records at nineteen and spent twenty years unraveling the silence her grandparents took to their graves. From escaping a WWII forced labor camp in a stolen supply truck to a surprising AncestryDNA match sitting in her junk folder, Erika shares the heartache, hidden children, and profound healing that came from wading through her family tree's messiest corners. Listen in as we discover why stepping into the truth of our roots is the very thing that shows us who we really are. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| A Person Dies Twice: How Family Stories Keep Us Alive | Episode 135 | 29 Oct 2026 | 00:22:09 | |
What will your family remember about you when you're gone? And how do we keep the stories of the people we love alive for generations? When I pulled over on an empty desert road near Utah Lake and handed my 18-year-old nephew the keys to my convertible, I felt my late Aunt Rhonda sitting right there with us. She was a larger-than-life woman who never had children of her own but left an unforgettable legacy of love. From a wild ride down Sunset Boulevard in the 1990s to a quiet moment beside Utah Lake decades later, I'm reflecting on grief, remembrance, and the power of family storytelling. Because family history isn't just about remembering the people who came before us. It's about how their lives continue to shape who we are, how we love, and what we pass on to the next generation. And stay tuned until the end for a HUGE announcement about something I've been working on for the past two years! 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| All the Beautiful Things: What Really Brings People Back to Faith (with Shelley Graham) | Episode 134 | 22 Oct 2026 | 00:50:01 | |
How many times have you sat across the table from a child or sibling who sees faith completely differently than you do, and felt an aching gulf between you? In those moments, our first instinct is usually to defend what we believe, but my guest today is here to help us flip the script. Playwright and BYU theatre professor Shelley Graham joins me to share the incredible stories behind her verbatim stage production, All the Beautiful Things, revealing what actually brings people back to faith and how radical listening can heal our deepest family divides. Listen in to discover how to hold space for your loved ones' hardest stories and find hope in God's relentless pursuit of us all. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| The Countess of Cons: Uncovering Scandalous Ancestors (with Deborah Holman) | Episode 133 | 15 Oct 2026 | 00:37:15 | |
"When I noticed a yellowed piece of paper physically taped over a portrait in an old family book, I knew there was a secret waiting to be found." 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Black-Market Adoptions to Broadway Stars (with Lisa Elzey) | Episode 132 | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:43:58 | |
What if the secret to breaking through your own genealogy brick walls is stepping away from your family tree entirely? In this episode, my dear friend, colleague, and podcast producer Lisa Elzey joins me to explore how researching strangers' family trees—from solving the dark mysteries around the 1950s Georgia "Hicks babies" black-market adoptions to uncovering the immigrant roots of the cast of the Broadway show Anastasia—completely transformed the way we do family history and genetic genealogy. By stepping outside our own pedigree charts, we learned how to drop research bias, untangle messy DNA matches, and build skills that brought us back to our own family trees with fresh eyes. Listen in to discover how helping others solve their story might just be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for! 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Why You Probably Have Cousins Everywhere (And How to Find Them) | Episode 131 | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:24:00 | |
What if the person sitting next to you right now (at work, in church, or at a wedding) isn't a stranger at all? When I started doing descendancy research and checking my DNA matches, I realized we are constantly crossing paths with living cousins in the most unexpected places. From college roommates to the groomsmen out on the dance floor, our ancestral threads weave us together in ways that completely change how we see the world. Join me for the start of National Family History Month as we explore why you probably have cousins everywhere and how to start finding them. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Breaking a 150-Year German Brick Wall (with Jenny Ashcraft) | Episode 130 | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:36:35 | |
When a 150-year-old German brick wall kept my friend Jenny Ashcraft stuck for nearly two decades, she decided to stop pushing straight backward and try a completely different research strategy. By fanning out to document all ten of her ancestor's children, the floodgates opened—leading to an unbelievable library encounter with the author of the exact emigration index she needed, a mysterious phone call revealing an unmarked grave, and a renewed connection with living cousins. If you've been staring at an empty void on your family tree, join Jenny and me for an inspiring conversation on collateral research, modern miracles, and why our ancestors are so eager to be found. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| The Heirloom Portrait & The Danish Flood: Verifying Family Lore (with Rhonda Budge) | Episode 129 | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:34:34 | |
Growing up, my guest Rhonda Budge spent hours sitting beside her grandmother, staring at a massive framed portrait of her great-great-grandfather, Johann Christian Hansen. Family lore claimed he heroically rescued neighbors from their rooftops during an 1872 Danish flood, lost his ship, and gave away his reward money. It’s a story that sounded almost too extraordinary to be completely true. But when Rhonda set a clear research goal and wrote to an archive in Denmark, a 1908 newspaper obituary proved every single detail of her grandmother’s hero story was real. Join us for a powerful conversation about verifying family legends, preserving photo heirlooms, and discovering the unbelievable truth behind the pictures on our walls. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| From Utah to Iceland: Passing Living Heritage to the Next Generation with Eric Allen | Episode 128 | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:30:00 | |
How do you take dry facts on a family tree and turn them into something your kids can actually feel? In this episode, Eric Allen joins me to share how a trip from a pioneer monument in Spanish Fork, Utah, to the volcanic coast of Iceland transformed his family's connection to their roots. From discovering heritage food traditions in the kitchen to an unbelievable workplace coincidence involving ancestors who lived in the exact same house 140 years ago, we explore how family stories build resilient kids and bring our past alive. Grab a cozy drink and join us for a heartwarming conversation on living heritage! 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| From Belarus to the Boston Meat Wars: Uncovering a Rebel Ancestor (with Suzanne Hoffman) | Episode 127 | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:42:59 | |
When Suzanne Hoffman sat down to help her daughter with a middle-school history project, she never expected to uncover a radical rebel in her own family tree. In this episode, Suzanne shares the remarkable story of her great-grandmother Eva, a 15-year-old Jewish immigrant who spoke six languages, led street marches for working mothers, and spearheaded the famous Boston Meat Wars boycott when food prices spiked. From Belarusian photo studios to secret passenger manifests, we explore how historical newspapers and archival records can reveal the true grit, heart, and personality behind our ancestors' names. Press play to discover how your family's fiery past might still be living in you today! 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| How the Air Force Saved My Father’s Life (with Victoria Robinson) | Episode 126 | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:40:32 | |
When Victoria Robinson’s father stepped in to defend an elderly coworker at an Arkansas sawmill in 1952, he had to run for his life. Shaken and hiding in the dark balcony of a segregated movie theater. A chance encounter there saved him and sparked a powerful family legacy of military service and resilience. Join us on Stories That Live In Us as Victoria shares her father's harrowing escape, her mother’s groundbreaking military service, and how unexpected paper trails (from quiet Salt Lake archives to Virginia court records) can reunite us with our past. Listen in and discover how telling your family stories keeps generations deeply connected. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| The Adoptee, The Next Door Neighbor, and The DNA Twist No One Saw Coming | Episode 125 | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:32:12 | |
When I handed an adoptee a paper with his biological siblings’ names, he burst out laughing. Turns out his long-lost brother was his neighbor! After connecting with an AncestryDNA cousin match looking for his biological family, I spent hours piecing together census records and city directories to identify his biological parents. But nothing prepared either of us for the moment he read the name of his oldest brother. In this episode of Stories That Live In Us, I share the incredible story of an AncestryDNA match that led right next door, how my sister’s college roommate fit into the puzzle, and the delicate balance of navigating unexpected genealogy discoveries when one side welcomes you with open arms and the other turns away. Push play to hear how DNA testing brings hidden family connections to light! 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Raising 8 Kids After Divorce with Music, Faith, and Family Roots (with Bubba Page) | Episode 124 | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:58:45 | |
When my guest Bubba Page walked into the studio holding his grandfather’s 1960 vinyl record album, I knew we were in for a special conversation about legacy. But after facing a painful divorce that left him with his eight children 50% of the time, Bubba turned his family’s roots in music, faith, and Depression-era resilience into a daily blueprint for intentional parenting. Join us as we discuss Sunday family jam sessions, the joy of having grandparents move close to home, and how we can anchor the next generation through life's hardest transitions. Click play to listen now! 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Bootleggers, Mine Massacres, and Brooklyn (with Linda Stasi) | Episode 123 | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:39:56 | |
Long before mobster legends took over New York, Italian immigrants were riding in rodeos, surviving coal mine massacres, and brewing bootleg wine in the Colorado mountains. In this episode of Stories That Live In Us, best-selling author and journalist Linda Stasi joins Crista Cowan to uncover how her family survived the horrific 1914 Ludlow Massacre in Pueblo, Colorado, fled to Red Hook, Brooklyn, and inspired real-life Western mafia lore. Plus, stay tuned for an eerie family address coincidence you have to hear to believe. Push play to discover how reclaiming your family’s wild, untold past can bring your history back to life. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Alex Haley is My Uncle: The Rest of the Story of My Family “Roots” (with Chris Haley) | Episode 122 | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:59:59 | |
Growing up with a world-famous uncle whose book transformed American history, Chris Haley spent decades pursuing stage lights and applause before realizing his true calling was waiting inside dusty archives. In this deeply moving conversation, the nephew of Roots author Alex Haley shares how making cold calls to phone book listings led him to face hidden family truths, discover a Civil War ancestor, and direct major archival research at the Maryland State Archives. Listen to learn how confronting your own family's off-limits stories can help you step out of any shadow and build an enduring legacy. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| A National TV Crew Showed Up At My House: Discovering a Lost Legacy (with Melissa Stafford) | Ep 121 | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:42:46 | |
What if a national TV crew showed up at your door to reveal a family secret? Have you ever felt a missing piece in your family tree that you couldn’t quite place? In this episode, I sit down with Melissa Stafford, who thought her family history stopped with her immediate grandparents until an unexpected email from Ancestry® and a visit from Good Morning America changed everything. From driving past a local statue in her town for 13 years to discovering she is the direct descendant of Revolutionary War hero Deborah Sampson, Melissa shares the emotional moment her lost family line was restored. Tune in to discover how forgotten branches of your tree hold your family's most powerful legacy. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Stories That Connect Us (And Why DNA Isn't Enough) | Episode 120 | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:17:14 | |
Shared ancestors make us related. Shared stories make us connected. Can I tell you a secret? My absolute favorite part of family history isn't just discovering people who lived hundreds of years ago. It's what those stories can do for our living relationships right now. Welcome to the Season 3 premiere of Stories That Live In Us! In this episode, I’m sharing a powerful realization I had during a recent, three-day primitive youth camp in the high, wildfire-threatened mountains of Utah. After putting a group of teenagers to the test to see if they could name their own grandparents, I discovered a shocking truth: having your names on the same family tree or sharing DNA makes you related, but it doesn't automatically make you connected. Tune in to hear the difference between a "storytelling household" and a quiet one, how a giant family tree chart can act as the ultimate curiosity spark at your next reunion, and a hilarious story about why my Grandpa Victor drove around Los Angeles treating stoplights as mere suggestions. Plus, stay tuned until the very end for our brand-new segment: One Word, One Story! I’m opening up "The Story Drawer" for the first time to pull a completely random word and share an uncataloged memory involving a bicycle, a local drugstore, and some rock-hard bubblegum ice cream. Connect with me:
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| Fifty Nifty United States (with Lisa Elzey) | Episode 119 | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:59:09 | |
What happens when you spend a year chasing family stories across all fifty states? I'm Crista Cowan (known online as The Barefoot Genealogist), and for this special Season Two retrospective, I’m pulling back the studio curtain. I’m sitting down with my longtime friend, producer, and editor, Lisa Elzey, to look back on our epic cross-country journey—from a 150-year-old sourdough starter in Alaska to a gripping witch trial in Connecticut. We’re swapping behind-the-scenes secrets, revealing which interviews left us in tears, and unpacking the moments that surprised us most. Behind the Scenes of Season Two:
Whether you've followed along since Episode One or you're just joining us as we head into Season Three, this retrospective is a reminder that every family—including yours—is carrying treasures worth sharing. Links & Resources Mentioned:
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| Delaware: Courage to Save the Words That Built America (with Anna Crowley Redding) | Episode 118 | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:47:18 | |
How close did America come to losing its foundational words forever? In this episode of Stories That Live In Us, host Crista Cowan (The Barefoot Genealogist) takes us to Delaware—the First State—as our countdown to America’s 250th birthday reaches its finale. Our guest is Anna Crowley Redding, an Emmy Award-winning investigative television reporter turned acclaimed children’s book author. Anna shares the thrilling, forgotten history behind her book, Rescuing the Declaration of Independence: How We Almost Lost the Words That Built America. Together, Crista and Anna unpack the incredible true story of Stephen Pleasanton, an ordinary State Department clerk who risked everything to save the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and thousands of historic documents from British torches during the War of 1812. Beyond the history books, this episode dives deep into the personal. Anna opens up about her own profound trial of courage, balancing the grief of losing an infant nephew and a sudden breast cancer diagnosis at age 39, all while fighting to get her stories out into the world.
"You can be a regular person... and yet, an opportunity can arrive in your lap to do something courageous, and you can come through in a way that makes a real difference." — Anna Crowley Redding Hit subscribe to follow along as we journey through all 50 states to uncover the deep connections and stories that live in all of us! Links & Resources:
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| Pennsylvania: Stashed-Away Secrets and Forgotten Family (with Jessica Rae) | Episode 117 | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:49:36 | |
What happens when a simple hint on your family tree uncovers a decades-old secret? In this episode of Stories That Live In Us, host Crista Cowan (The Barefoot Genealogist) sits down with nurse, history lover, and content creator Jessica Rae to discuss a discovery that changed her life forever. While researching her maternal line, Jessica stumbled across a U.S. federal census record that listed her great-great-grandmother, Susan, not in a household, but as an "inmate" at Mayview State Hospital—a historic mental institution in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. What followed was a deep dive into an incredible story of immigration, extreme poverty, domestic abuse, heartbreaking loss, and a system that often silenced vulnerable women. Jessica shares how Susan immigrated alone from Slovakia at just 17, lost four babies to the hardships of early 20th-century Pittsburgh, and was ultimately committed to an institution for over 30 years—a fact hidden from her own grandchildren. In this episode, you’ll discover:
"I come from thousands of years of women who have survived and overcome the odds that were against them... I have found myself in this work." — Jessica Rae Whether you are hitting a brick wall in your own genealogy research or hesitant to wade into the "messy" branches of your family tree, Jessica’s journey will inspire you to reclaim your ancestors' truth with empathy and courage. Links & Resources:
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| New Jersey: A Sentence of Survival | Episode 116 | 18 Jun 2026 | 00:57:09 | |
Imagine diving into your family tree to discover that your ancestors left you a secret message more than 300 years ago, encoded into the literal names of their children. I follow a trail of meticulous Quaker records from a genealogy brick wall in Ohio all the way back to 17th-century Boston to discover the story of Richard and Abigail Lippincott, my 10-times-great-grandparents. Together, they survived public excommunication in colonial Boston, two imprisonments in Devonshire, England, and relentless persecution. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean a third time, they finally found a home in New Jersey that guaranteed "free liberty of conscience without any molestation or disturbance whatsoever." The children they had along the way bore names that aren't just unusual; they're a sentence of survival written across two decades, three ocean crossings, two continents, and three colonies. If you're fighting your own family tree brick wall right now, this one's for you. Links & Resources Mentioned:
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| Georgia: Two Lives, Two Coasts, One Massive Secret (with Julie Merrill) | Episode 115 | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:47:08 | |
A dapper playboy, a broken plantation safe, an embezzlement scheme, and a grandfather who completely vanished. What happened to William H. Wheeler? 🕵️♂️🔍 When an 83-year-old client named Jane came to Julie Merrill, an accredited genealogist with Ancestry ProGenealogists, looking for clues about her missing grandfather, she had no idea the search would lead away from Washington state, straight past California, and deep into a high-society scandal in 1890s Georgia. Armed with DNA clusters and old newspaper archives, Julie chased down this 100-year-old family history mystery and uncovered a jaw-dropping double life. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Connecticut: The Windsor Witch | Episode 114 | 04 Jun 2026 | 00:21:40 | |
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| Massachusetts: From Rags to Riches to Ashes to Starting Again (with Laura Tasse) | Episode 113 | 28 May 2026 | 00:32:26 | |
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| Maryland: A New Kind of Identity | Episode 112 | 21 May 2026 | 00:19:23 | |
Four months pregnant, two babies already buried in German soil, Anna Maria Niccum boarded a wooden ship in 1749 and crossed an ocean she'd never seen. Not for a revolution but for a foothold. My six-times great-grandmother made an extraordinary journey from the exhausted Rhineland Palatinate to the wild red-earthed frontier of Maryland's Toms Creek, where she would hold the line for nearly two decades so her children could inherit something no tyrant had ever offered her family: a new kind of American identity. Her story is one that history almost forgot, but your family tree may be hiding one just like it. Somewhere in your ancestry, a woman who signed nothing and appears in almost no official records made your existence possible. It’s time to find her. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| South Carolina: Ancestors Leading the Charge in Battle and in Life (w/ Anne Mitchell) | Episode 111 | 14 May 2026 | 00:30:32 | |
A wounded soldier refuses to dismount. His boot overflowing with blood, his hat riddled with three bullet holes, he rallies his troops up a South Carolina hill in Pennsylvania Dutch. History turns on a single moment. Anne Mitchell, a South Carolina native whose roots run deep in the Palmetto state, joins me to share the story of her sixth great-grandfather, Frederick Hambright, a German immigrant who helped win one of the most decisive (and least talked about) battles of the Revolutionary War. As we count down to America's 250th birthday, Anne shares how a family tree hint on Ancestry led her to the Battle of King's Mountain. There, Hambright's courage helped force Cornwallis to change his entire strategy. This is a story about what it means to stand up when history calls your name and why the most powerful family stories are often the ones nobody told you growing up. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| New Hampshire: Chosen Family, Jewish Roots (with Nancy Kotz and Lynne Snierson) | Episode 110 | 07 May 2026 | 00:45:29 | |
Chosen family and Jewish roots run so deep in New Hampshire's Lakes Region that two families spent generations wondering where one ended and the other began. In this episode, Jewish genealogy researcher Nancy Kotz and award-winning journalist Lynne Snierson share the stories of their families, woven together across generations. From a Lithuanian rabbi who may have missed his train stop in 1902 to lakeside lobster bakes and a synagogue that still carries the nameplates of the original founding families, their story is a testament to what community can build when people choose to show up for one another. If you've ever wondered whether the family you were born into is the only family that shapes you, this episode will give you a beautiful, definitive answer. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Virginia: One DNA Match and a Woman Who Didn’t Want to Be Found (with Nicole Palsa) | Episode 109 | 30 Apr 2026 | 00:35:30 | |
What must it feel like to grow up knowing your mother walked out the door when you were just three years old and never came back? After Nicole Palsa heard her great-grandmother’s heartbreaking story, she spent the next twenty years searching for answers. Nicole’s great-great-grandmother, Dessie Dulaney, disappeared from Virginia around 1914, leaving behind a little girl, a grieving family, and a silence that lasted generations. When a single DNA match arrived the Friday before Mother's Day 2018, everything changed. And what Nicole uncovered was far more complicated, tragic, and surprisingly triumphant than anyone expected. From the Blue Ridge Mountains of Floyd County, Virginia to a small Illinois village where people still remembered Dessie's name, this is a story about the secrets women kept to survive, the daughters left behind, and what it means to finally find someone your family spent a century trying — and failing — to forget. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| New York: A Melting Pot of Resilience (with Scott Pratt) | Episode 108 | 23 Apr 2026 | 00:36:11 | |
What would you do if a single letter revealed that everything you thought you knew about your family was only half the story? Scott Pratt walked into a historic Brooklyn church as part of Ancestry's powerful documentary Railroad Ties expecting to find some connection to his Scottish colonial roots. Instead he discovered that he's a descendant of enslaved people who escaped to freedom on the Underground Railroad. In this deeply moving conversation, Scott and I trace the extraordinary arc of his family tree: from Sophia, the light-skinned Black woman who fled slavery through Brooklyn, to her grandson Frank, a silent film star who kept a journal about passing for white that now sits in the Harvard Library. Scott's story is about so much more than genealogical discovery. It’s about the grief of lost stories, the complexity of inherited identity, and the fierce resilience that echoes across generations when we finally let ourselves claim the whole truth of who we are. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| North Carolina: Buried Treasure, Buried Stories | Episode 107 | 16 Apr 2026 | 00:28:27 | |
He buried a fortune in gold under a bent white oak. Then he died before anyone could find it. My 6x great-grandfather Abraham Kuykendall lived 93 extraordinary years. He survived colonial America, fought in the Revolution, crossed the frontier with 13 children, and built an empire of 2,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. But when I found him on a Sunday night FaceTime research session with my dad, I discovered that history remembers him as a ghost story. There's still an iron wash pot full of coins buried somewhere near Pheasant Branch in Flat Rock, worth an estimated $8 million today, and treasure hunters are still looking for it. But in this episode, I want to tell you who Abraham actually was and why the gold isn't the real treasure that got lost. Your family has buried stories too. You still have time to unearth them. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Rhode Island: A Spirit of Independence (with Maureen Taylor) | Episode 106 | 09 Apr 2026 | 00:42:51 | |
What can a single vintage photograph tell you about your ancestors? Maureen Taylor, know as The Photo Detective®, has spent decades proving that old family photos can solve family history mysteries in pretty fascinating ways. Born and bred in Rhode Island and currently serving as president of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, Maureen takes us on a tour of the 13th state’s unique history. She recounts stories of her great-grandfather’s paper hanging business in Pawtucket and her grandmother who crossed the border from Quebec to work in the textile mills. Along the way, she shares how a tiny state with fierce independence and a rich industrial heritage shaped generations of families, including her own. If you’ve ever wondered what the place your ancestors called home might reveal about who you are today, this conversation will inspire you to start looking. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Vermont: Conversations of Green Mountain Kingdoms (with Mike Brousseau) | Episode 105 | 02 Apr 2026 | 00:37:00 | |
Ever wonder how a "Hallmark movie" setting shapes a family for generations? In this episode, Mike Brousseau shares stories from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. It’s a place so deeply tied to his family that there's literally a mountain bearing their name. From a French-Canadian lumberjack who couldn't read but could build perfect spiral staircases, to a spicy French-Canadian grandmother who fixed refrigerators before YouTube existed, to a charming Dairy Queen meet-cute that almost didn't happen, Mike reveals how the rugged, community-focused spirit of Vermont stays in your blood. No matter how far away you travel. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Kentucky: Postmasters & Snapping Turtles (with Caitlyn Bruns & Paul Abell) | Episode 104 | 26 Mar 2026 | 00:38:27 | |
Paul Abell has never wanted to leave Kentucky, not even when he moved 90 miles away for college. When his daughter Caitlyn was born, he finally had the reason he needed to dive into the family tree in a way his uncles had been nudging him toward for years. In this episode, I sit down with Ancestry colleague Caitlyn Bruns, a genetic scientist turned strategist. She invited her dad Paul to join us. He’s a man with roots so deep in Adair County that the post office practically runs in his blood. Together, they recount their family's journey from post-Revolutionary Maryland to a Kentucky creek hollow. Here three log cabins, once the general store and post office for the community, have become a gathering place for a hundred cousins, a legendary turtle cook, and quilts hand-stitched by women who held the family together. Their story is a beautiful reminder that family history isn't just about the names on the branches of the family tree. It's about the land, the heirlooms, and the connections to the people who choose to keep showing up. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Tennessee: A Patriot From the Holler | Episode 103 | 19 Mar 2026 | 00:32:25 | |
What would it take for you to enlist in a war, march hundreds of miles in winter, survive one of the worst defeats in American history — and then turn right around and do it again? My own Revolutionary War ancestor, Daniel Jones, went from the backcountry of North Carolina to a tiny holler in Northeast Tennessee, where a single pension file, a stray boar, and a rundown farmhouse porch brought his story roaring back to life. I've stood on that porch. I've walked that field. And I promise you, once you start seeing your ancestors as real people who were terrified and brave and stubborn all at the same time, you'll never look at your family tree the same way again. Some stories don't just tell us where we came from. They show us who we're made of. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Ohio: Family Roots, Foundational Soil | Episode 102 | 12 Mar 2026 | 00:30:11 | |
What if the names your ancestors gave their children were actually breadcrumbs leading straight to the neighbors who helped shape their lives? In this solo episode, I trace my own Cowan family line from a young Irish weaver who had to register as an alien citizen during the War of 1812 to a doctor who built a house that became a historical society, a saddle maker who outfitted the Union Army, and a U.S. Representative who somehow kept his personal life completely out of the newspapers. But the discovery that surprised me most was buried in an 1830 census. And it's the reason two of George and Jane Cowan's thirteen children carry the names they do. Ohio wasn't just where this family landed. It was the foundational soil that grew a posterity now living in 47 states and seven countries. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Louisiana: Red Lipstick, Hidden Heirlooms, and Family Secrets (with Arlene Rome) | Episode 101 | 05 Mar 2026 | 00:50:28 | |
What if the most precious pieces of your family history were ones you had to secretly carry home five steps at a time? In this episode, I sit down with my cousin Arlene Rome, a Louisiana native and retired nurse whose story of love, loss, and quiet rebellion will stay with you long after you finish listening. Arlene grew up in the golden summers of Metairie with a grandmother who drove a red convertible, played "These Boots Were Made for Walking" on an 8-track, and loved her fiercely — until a family rift tore them apart. What Arlene did to stay connected, and what her grandmother gave her the day before she died, is the kind of story that reminds us exactly why family stories are worth preserving. If you've ever felt the ache of a family relationship cut short too soon — or wondered what it means to be the last one standing with all the memories — this episode is for you. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Indiana: Been Here All Along (with Lisa Fanning) | Episode 100 | 26 Feb 2026 | 00:51:12 | |
What does it mean to be an American when your family has been here longer than America itself? Lisa Fanning, a board member of the National Genealogical Society and DNA expert, has spent decades uncovering a story so layered, so uniquely American that it stopped me in my tracks. She descends from four of the six families who packed up a covered wagon and caravaned from North Carolina in the 1820s to build a thriving free Black settlement in southern Indiana called Lost Creek. But the story doesn't start there. It starts with an enslaved woman named Kate Anderson, a contested will, and 600 acres of prime Virginia land that was rightfully theirs. Land that is now the site of a U.S. Naval installation. This is also our 100th episode, and I can't think of a better story to mark the milestone. Some families don't just live through history. They are history. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Mississippi: Finding Far East in the Deep South (with Larrisa Lam) | Episode 99 | 19 Feb 2026 | 00:49:32 | |
What happens when a California family walks into Mississippi and walks out forever changed? Filmmaker and music executive, Larissa Lam, director of the documentary Far East Deep South, joins me to share how a simple trip to visit a family grave in the Mississippi Delta unraveled a mystery decades in the making and revealed a hidden chapter of American history most of us never learned in school. Together, we trace how her father-in-law's search for the father he believed had abandoned him led to an extraordinary discovery about Chinese immigrants in the Jim Crow South, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and one remarkable artifact that unlocked everything. If you've ever wondered how a single genealogy discovery can heal a wound that's been carried across generations, this conversation is for you. Learn more about Larissa’s film here: https://fareastdeepsouth.com/ 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Illinois: Scoundrels and Scandals (with Sue Talbot) | Episode 98 | 12 Feb 2026 | 00:33:56 | |
When Sue Talbot's grandmother casually mentioned items belonging to "Arthur," Sue discovered a family secret buried for decades. But that revelation was just the beginning of a journey that would uncover scandal, betrayal, and tragedy stretching from Victorian England to the streets of Chicago. In this episode, I sit down with British genealogist Sue Talbot as she shares the shocking story of her great-great-grandfather John Jenkinson—Methodist preacher, mayor, and jeweler whose respectable facade concealed darker truths. What Sue discovers forces her to reconsider everything her family believed about their "good stock" and reveals how one man's choices created devastating ripples across generations and an ocean. From mysterious disappearances to courtroom drama, from England's small market towns to Chicago's jewelry district, Sue pieces together a story of crime, consequences, and unexpected connections that ultimately bring her family full circle back to America. Sometimes the ancestors who shock us the most teach us the deepest truths about resilience and family bonds. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Alabama: Generations of Joy (with Noah Lapidus) | Episode 97 | 05 Feb 2026 | 00:36:52 | |
When Noah’s car broke down in rural Ukraine, he discovered something unexpected: the warmth of strangers who knew his ancestors had once called their town home. It's a moment that captures the heart of Noah's journey. As a professional genealogist his childhood obsession with family history led him from the Birmingham Public Library to the decimated streets of Kobryn, Belarus, searching for the roots of Alabama's surprising Jewish community. Join me and my guest, Noah Lapidus (Research Manager at Ancestry ProGenealogists and African American specialist), as he shares how his family's immigration story connects a small Russian shtetl to the coal mines of Birmingham, Alabama, where his ancestors established one of the South's unique Jewish communities in the 1880s. Through heirlooms, tall tales, and painstaking research, Noah uncovered the truth about how the "Magic City" became an unlikely home for Eastern European Jews and how that community, born from Kobryn, still thrives today. His story reminds us that family history isn't just about the past; it's about understanding the joy, resilience, and connections that live in us across generations. 💭 What family stories have you been told that turned out to be beautifully, unexpectedly true? 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Maine: Memories Making History (with Steve Bromage) | Episode 96 | 29 Jan 2026 | 00:39:57 | |
What if history isn't just about the past—but about creating connections that shape who we become? In this episode, I sit down with Steve Bromage, Executive Director of the Maine Historical Society, whose childhood road trips to a family camp sparked a lifelong passion for preserving Maine's stories. Steve shares how his organization has revolutionized history-making by putting communities at the center—from small-town historical societies to middle school students scanning precious photographs. Through the innovative Maine Memory Network, they've proven that when people share their own stories, history becomes living, breathing, and deeply personal. Steve also reveals Maine Historical Society's incredible plan to take one of only 26 surviving original copies of the Declaration of Independence on a statewide tour for America's 250th anniversary, ensuring every Mainer can encounter this sacred document in their own county. Discover how one state is redefining what it means to preserve history—not by locking it away, but by making it accessible, participatory, and profoundly meaningful for everyone. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Missouri: Disaster in the Heart of America (with Kim Harrison) | Episode 95 | 22 Jan 2026 | 00:39:22 | |
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| Arkansas: Nana and the Aunts | Episode 94 | 15 Jan 2026 | 00:22:24 | |
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| Michigan: Broken Headstones & Unearthed Stories (with Justin Frost) | Episode 93 | 08 Jan 2026 | 00:47:24 | |
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| Florida: A Good Deed Is Never Lost (with Meredith Kratzer Sellers) | Episode 92 | 01 Jan 2026 | 00:43:39 | |
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| Texas: Christmas Card Culture Connections (with Sylvia Hernandez) | Episode 91 | 25 Dec 2025 | 00:42:39 | |
When Sylvia Hernandez discovered vintage Christmas cards in a university archive, her coworkers didn't understand their significance. But for her, they represented everything familiar about growing up Mexican-American in Waco, Texas. Sylvia Hernandez, outreach and instruction librarian at Baylor University's Texas Collection and a seventh generation Wacoan, traces both sides of her family back to the Mexican Revolution. She has great-great-grandfathers, one on each side of her family tree, who crossed paths in remarkable ways long before their great-grandchildren ever met and fell in love. Through her work preserving Texas history, Sylvia has discovered her own family's story woven into the archives. From the Latin American Methodist church her ancestors helped found to the kindergarten they established for migrant children, her roots run deep in Texas. Her unique perspective as both archivist and descendant reveals how cultural traditions like Las Posadas, midnight Mass, and yes, even mysterious pots of mashed potatoes, create bridges between generations and preserve identity and connection across centuries. Discover how family stories, whether preserved in vintage Christmas cards or passed down at holiday gatherings, strengthen the connections that truly matter. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Iowa: A Love of Food and Family (with Rosie Grant) | Episode 90 | 18 Dec 2025 | 00:47:46 | |
When archivist Rosie Grant stumbled upon a gravestone with a spritz cookie recipe carved into it, she had no idea it would change her life. What began as a TikTok curiosity during her cemetery internship became a viral phenomenon and, eventually, a groundbreaking cookbook celebrating 50 recipes from gravestones across America. Rosie shares her remarkable project "To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes." We discover how her library science background and passion for community archives led her to document not just recipes, but the rich stories of the people behind them. From Maxine's Christmas cookies in Iowa, and the German tradition of hanging cookies on the tree, to intimate oral history interviews with dozens of families, Rosie reveals how food connects us across generations. You'll hear about Rosie's journey from cemetery intern to bestselling author, her dedication to both grandmothers who shaped her understanding of food and family, and the surprising ways these gravestone recipes are inspiring living families to preserve their own food traditions. Whether it's Iowa's community-minded spirit or the universal power of recipes to keep memories alive, this conversation reminds us that the stories we share around the table are the ones that truly live in us.
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| Wisconsin: Great Grandmothers and the Great Migration (with Dani Allen) | Episode 89 | 11 Dec 2025 | 00:33:16 | |
When Dani was in eighth grade, she watched her grandmother wash and braid her own mother’s hair. In that moment, she was witness to a ritual passed on through generations of Black women. Join me as Dani Allen, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Ancestry, shares her family's journey from the Deep South to Wisconsin during the 1930s and 40s as part of The Great Migration. Together we explore how her grandfather's search for work in the auto industry led their family north, the tumultuous marriage that nearly ended in tragedy, and the newspaper clipping that finally confirmed whispered family stories. From her great-grandmother's striking blue eyes and the meaning behind hair care rituals, to her weekly Zoom calls with her 90-year-old grandmother filled with freshly discovered stories, Dani reveals how intergenerational connections shape identity and preserve legacy. She shares how these discoveries help her two-year-old granddaughter understand the resilient women whose strength flows through her veins. Dani’s story reminds us that family history isn't just about the past. It's about the bonds we nurture today that will live on in generations to come. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| California: Stars Shooting Out of Silence (with Candace Dixon Horne) | Episode 88 | 04 Dec 2025 | 00:39:41 | |
When Candace Dixon-Horne's husband bought AncestryDNA kits in 2018, she hesitated before sending hers in. Raised by a single mom in Arkansas, Candace spent her entire life with her mom as the only blood relative she knew. One DNA match changed everything. A simple Google search led to names she recognized, faces that looked hauntingly familiar, and a connection to California's golden age of cinema that seemed too extraordinary to be real. I talk with Candace about the moment she realized the story she'd found was actually her story, and how meeting her biological father's family for the first time revealed generations of Hollywood history, creative passion, and family connections spanning from the silent film era to today. This episode explores how DNA can unlock not just names and dates, but entire worlds of family legacy and how discovering where you come from can transform your understanding of who you are. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||
| Minnesota: Santa Claus, a Corn Cob Pipe, and Nellie Oleson (with Lisa Elzey) | Episode 87 | 27 Nov 2025 | 00:48:05 | |
What if your family's pioneer past looked exactly like your favorite childhood TV show? When Lisa Elzey discovered her great-great-grandfather's story, she realized she'd been watching his life every Monday night on Little House on the Prairie. Complete with homesteading, hand-hewn cabins, and a white beard down to his belly. In this episode, Lisa shares how a purple-inked memoir written by her great-grandmother's half-sister unlocked the story of Johann Heinrich Seba, a German immigrant who arrived alone at 18, hacked through Minnesota wilderness for a mile and a half in a single day, and became so beloved his community lowered flags to half-staff when he died. For decades, Lisa and her mother searched for his origins in Germany, writing letters to archives and scrolling through endless microfilm reels. Then in 2016, a single search on Ancestry revealed not just where he was from, but a family secret hidden in Lutheran christening records that changed everything they thought they knew. Discover how one ancestor's story can bridge four generations of women, why a steeple clock matters more than any antique collection, and what happens when patience meets the right record at exactly the right time. 〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️ | |||