Monday, April 13, 2009

A History Detective Up Close and Personal


Dr. Tukufu Zuberi is heading in to his seventh season with the hit PBS television show History Detectives. And through the years, many stories he has investigated have stood out to him. But when asked for a favorite, one in particular came immediately to mind.

"It was a story about Sam - the first black ventriloquist dummy to appear on Broadway. It led me to do the genealogy of this dummy. Where did it come from? Was it related to Charley McCarthy?"

Zuberi laughs at the thought, and yet it was a fascinating adventure to track Sam down to a shelf in the kitchen of the daughter of the man who had operated him on the vaudeville stage at the turn of the century.

But of course in additon to Sam's genealogy, Zuberi has much to say about the journey we are all on to discover our own family history.

Listen to episode 63 of The Genealogy Gems Podcast to hear the entire interview and to learn more about how you can hear Tukufu speak in person at the Southern California Genealogical Jamboree at the Friday night banquet on June 26, 2009.

Be sure and sign up for the FREE Genealogy Gems e-newsletter for updates on what's coming up in both podcasts as well as extra tips & great websites. And best of all you'll receive a link to the free downloadable 20 page e-book 5 Fabulous Google Research Strategies for the Family Historian as a thank you gift!

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