When “Genealogy Roadshow” filmed an episode at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, people showed up to ask about their possible connections to a Loyalist, a Black Panther and Viking royalty.
Yes, indeed, researchers told the first, the ancestor who served with the patriots in the American Revolution before abandoning the cause to move to what is now Saint John, New Brunswick, was a Loyalist.
The second, a young lady curious about a relative who supposedly had been a member of the Black Panthers in the 1960s, was told how to follow up on the political group.
As for the man who had read that his direct descent from Nathaniel Dickinson in 17th century Massachusetts gave him a line to Viking royalty, he was right to be a little skeptical about the reference that “skipped generations” on its way to the Vikings.
Despite the mention in “Descendants of Thomas Dickinson,” genealogists found no likely royal Viking ancestry for Nathaniel Dickinson. But, they did establish the questioner turned out to be a sixth cousin, five times removed, from poet Emily Dickinson. Both the man asking the question and his wife said they were pleased to have that connection.
With the success in recent years of “Who Do You Think You Are?” on NBC, “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” on PBS and last fall’s CNN segments tracing the ancestry of several of its well-known news correspondents, I often hear questions about why TV shows don’t focus on the genealogy stories of the average person.
My answer has been that focusing on well-known celebrities, such as actors, authors, musicians, athletes and other public figures, brings in viewers who aren’t necessarily involved in doing their own genealogy.
“Genealogy Roadshow,” on the other hand, does offer genealogy stories related to people more like the rest of us, it seems.
One observation I have after seeing only a couple of episodes of “Roadshow” is that the program seems to pursue more stories in the course of an hour, and thus, doesn’t share as much of the process. Nothing was shared about how researchers established the man’s connection to Emily Dickinson, even though many people are interested in the concept of cousins who are “removed” by one or more generations.
Programs sharing ancestry of famous people seem to spend a little more time on whatever line is being traced. Even if I as a viewer have no connection genetically or geographically to the story I’m watching, an impression is made on me as the researcher shows the subject a census record or a land deed or an old obituary or a newspaper story relating information about a crime or other circumstance.
“Genealogy Roadshow” airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on Maine Public Broadcasting Network, at 2 a.m. Fridays and sometimes at other random times. Some episodes also can be viewed at PBS.org/genealogy-roadshow.
I didn’t know Fran (Pitts) Eaton Wilcox well, but family stories about the mother of five boys make it plain she was quite a woman. It was a privilege to hear these stories after her recent passing, including a tribute by Heather Rideout Wilcox, wife of her youngest son, Chris Wilcox Sr.
Fran was the Virginia-born great-grandmother of my Perry and Saucier grandchildren in Maine, so her ancestry has given me the opportunity to look at census records and other items for places, such as Petersburg, Virginia.
She was Frances G. Pitts in census records, but her older brother was Richard D. in the 1930 Census, and David Richard in the 1940 Census, both names which have been continued in recent generations.
I don’t have the Pitts line back beyond their father, Irving, who died when they were very young, but information on the mother, Mary E. Sadler, was available from her second marriage to Joseph Drury in 1935.
Mary’s parents, her marriage record states, were Emma and David E. Sadler, who would be my grandchildren’s great-great-great-grandparents.
The city directory for Petersburg in 1917 lists David E. Sadler as a trunkmaker living at 121 Bollingbrook. In 1931, the city directory gives his address as 224A Grove Ave., a listing that resonates with her family.
Especially near the end of her life, Fran Wilcox had talked about living on Grove, Heather Wilcox told those at the service.
“She’s back home now,” Chris Sr. said of his mother afterward.
For information on researching family history in Maine, see Genealogy Resources under Family Ties at bangordailynews.com/browse/family-ties. Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402, or email familyti@bangordailynews.com.