• secrets to glean more ancestral information from free sites and databases

• how to search the web more effectively

• the best free online genealogy tools—including those you’re not already using

• Google Earth and using maps in your research, with Lisa Louise Cooke
• photo restoration, with Denise Levenick
  
• using a genealogy research log, with Thomas MacEntee
• immigrant ancestors and their foods, with Gena Philibert-Ortega
• German place-names, with James M. Beidler

Watch Michelle Rodriguez's Puerto Rican Roots on PBS. See more from Finding Your Roots.

Here's a video sneak peek at the show:

You can watch the episode online at PBS.org.

Though not related, the two had a lot in common: Both were expectig baby No. 2 at the time of filming, both have parents in the film industry, both have Eastern European Jewish roots on one side of the family, and both also have ancestors in America before the Revolutionary War.

Gates' team could trace the Jewish roots only to the third-great-grandparent generation, but for each actor's other branches, Gates unrolled an enviably long family tree with many generations. (See closeups on the Genea-Musings blog.)

Gyllenhaal learned how her family really got its last name. The story was that a Swedish ancestor created a beautiful book about butterflies and the king rewarded him with a wonderful home known as "Golden Hall." What really happened was that an ancestor took the name after being knighted during the Thirty Years' War.

But like many family stories, there was a grain of truth. Another relative had amassed a collection of beetles that later became world-renowned.

Each star also took a DNA test, and Gates prompted them to compare the roles of nature versus nurture in making up their being. My favorite question of the night was when he asked Downey "Do you think that what happened in your family tree between 1300 and 1965 [the year of Downey's birth] has shaped who you are?"

I do believe that our ancestors' successes and struggles affect the next generation, that each of us can't help but carry these experiences inside us. Genealogy is partly a way of figuring out what's in there.

BTW, in the July/August 2012 Family Tree Magazine, we'll have Gates' answers to five of our burning questions about his genealogy work.

• Family Tree Magazine Swedish Genealogy Guide digital download

• Family Tree Magazine Jewish Genealogy Guide digital download

In this preview, she tries to find out the identity of an unknown figure on her family tree.

Here's another preview:

Remember to watch "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr." this Sunday evening at 8 p.m. ET on PBS. It'll feature the family histories of tv journalist Barbara Walters and Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone.

Bonus: You'll also see  New England Historic Genealogical Society senior researcher Rhonda McClure in action solving Canada's ancestral mysteries.

Here's a preview video in which Canada visits the farm where his enslaved ancestor Thomas lived.

Watch Both Sides of Slavery on PBS. See more from

Here, she meets her uncle for the first time. Word of advice: Grab a tissue.

Incidentally, Bulgaria can be a difficult place to research genealogy, as we pointed out in the September 2007 Family Tree Magazine. If your ancestors hail from there, this show may hold some valuable tips.

If you’re on Twitter, go to the early bird tweet-up beforehand, where you can meet the ceremony speakers and chat with a genealogy expert. RSVP to 1940census@archives.gov.

The archives also is hosting and participating in 1940 census workshops across the country. View the Washington DC events schedule here, and events around the country here and here.

Libraries and genealogical societies all over the United States are holding their own workshops to help you find ancestors in the 1940 census. Here's a sampling—check library and society websites for classes near you:

• Alabama: At the Birmingham Public Library Central Branch, you can attend 40 is the New 30: Using the 1940 Census, April 21 at 10 a.m. Registration costs $5.

• California: Live it up in Oakland at a 1940 Census Party, organized by the African-American Genealogical Society of Northern California, the California Genealogical Society and Library, and the Oakland Family History Center. The event is April 9, 2012, from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Oakland Family History Center. Learn more an d register here.

• Indiana: The Indiana State Library will hold a Clues to Researching the 1940 Census workshop Saturday, May 19, from 10 to 11 a.m. in the History Reference Room.

The Allen County, Ind., public library is holding Introduction to the 1940 Census workshops April 2 at 2:30 p.m. and April 7 at 10 a.m. Get more details on the library's events calendar.

• Ohio: The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County will present the 1940 Census Is Here: Techniques for Achieving Top Search Results with Genealogy and Local History Department Manager Patricia Van Skaik. The program takes place Saturday, April 7 at 2 p.m.

• New York: The Broome County, NY, public library is holding a Finding Your Relatives in the 1940 Census workshop April 11 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Attend Searching for your ancestors in the 1940 Federal Census April Thursday, April 12, at 3:15 at the New York Public Library in New York City.

• South Carolina: The South Carolina State Library in Columbia will host a free workshop about the 1940 census on Friday, April 20, 10 a.m. to noon.

• Tennessee: On April 14, the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville will host a seminar on the 1940 census April 14 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. It's free, but reservations are required due to limited seating availability. Click here for contact information.

• Online Census Secrets on-demand webinar: Learn strategies for finding ancestors in online collections of censusrecords, 1790 through 1940.
  
  
• Finding Ancestors in the US Census: Online and Offline Research Strategies Family Tree University course
  

• Our free 1940 census video class, which shows you how to find your ancestors' 1940 enumeration districts. Find the class and other 1940 census tips on FamilyTreeMagazine.com.

Gates, a Harvard history professor who's hosted previous genealogy shows for PBS including African-American Lives and Faces of America, will explore the roots of 24 well-known Americans including Harry Connick Jr., Barbara Walters, Kevin Bacon, Condoleezza Rice, Sanjay Gupta and Martha Stewart.

Here's the twist that makes this show different: Each episode will feature a pair of celebrities "bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link." DNA testing takes over where paper trails leave off.

The staff of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and Johni Cerny, co-author of The Source: Guidebook for American Genealogy, contributed research to the series.

You can watch several clips on the show's website, including this extended preview:

Watch Extended Preview on PBS. See more from Finding Your Roots.

The Virtual Conference, sponsored by Flip-Pal mobile scanner, is next weekend, March 9-11.

You can log in anytime over the weekend to take classes, participate in live chats with genealogy experts, visit the exhibit hall and more. (And there's a swag bag—who doesn't love swag?)

Newspapers are invaluable for getting details about your ancestors' lives and for tracing brick-wall ancestors (case in point: last Friday's "Who Do you think You Are?" with Blair Underwood). But historical newspapers can be hard to find and use—so you'll want to hear about the tools Lisa uses.

Learn more about the Spring 2012 Virtual Conference at FamilyTreeUniversity.com.

• Mocavo Rolls Out New Content, Features
• GeneTree Introduces New Test, Consultation Service
• 1940 Census Community Project Update
• Brightsolid to Launch 1st Pay-As-You-Go Census Records Site
• Ancestry.com to Live-Stream its RootsTech Presentations
• RootsTech: Sessions You Can Watch From Home
• Four Genealogists to Compete for Top Honors at RootsTech

Next year, RootsTech will be a little later in the year, March 21-23, in Salt Lake City.

Here's a quick preview of season 3 (I know that's not Martin Sheen below):

I was already excited about the season, but even more so after a media conference call with Sheen on Monday. He was brimming over with enthusiasm about the ancestors he discovered through the show. You'd think he met them in person.

I asked about the location where he felt most connected to his roots, and he spoke about the cathedral in Tui, Spain. (You can see it here.)

"That is a place that I have visited many times since 1969, when I made my first trip to Spain and to visit my father's community. And I only learned during this last trip with "Who Do You Think You Are?" that my great- great-great-great-grandfather is buried in that cathedral," Sheen said. "And I never knew that.

"In fact I used to walk over his burial spot in the cathedral. Everybody did. You are just walking along. And when I got to the show—I don't think it is included in the show—but they showed me where it was. I was not aware until we did the show of how intricately connected my heritage was with that town and specifically that cathedral."

The Martin Sheen episode starts tonight on NBC at 8 p.m. ET (check your listings for local times). If you miss it, you'll be able to catch it on Hulu and on the show's website (which is probably how I'll see it, unless a certain one-year-old observes his bedtime to the minute).

Of course we'll be blogging all about it. Keep up with this season and get our beginning genealogy guidance—for yourself or for friends who get inspired watching "Who Do You Think You Are?"—on our "Who Do You Think You Are?" landing page.

• PBS' Winter-Spring 2012 lineup includes a 10-episode celebrity genealogy series called "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr." premiering Sunday, March 25 at 8 p.m.
  

Gates will delve into the genealogy and genetics of famous Americans including Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey, Jr., Branford Marsalis, John Legend, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters and Rick Warren. The show's website is here, though is hasn't yet been fleshed out with any content.

• A few updates to the genealogy web search engine Mocavo.com: You can now upload files to your account using Dropbox; just follow these instructions on the Mocavo.com blog. Also, if you log in before you search, you can mark off Mocavo.com search results you've already looked at with an "I've Read This" button, and you can rank matches as “The Person I’m Looking For," “Maybe A Good Match," “Not Who I’m Looking For” and “Broken Link.”
  

Finally, the site has introduced Mocavo Plus, an advanced version the site's developer says will get you more-relevant matches with features such as wild card searching, date-range searching, GeoSearching (in the US) and more. Subscriptions cost $9.95 per month or $79.95 (a sale price) per year.

• The California State Genealogical Alliance (CGSA) has started two new blogs: the CSGA Blog, with a goal to keep the California Genealogical community informed, and the Csgacopyright blog, which helps the genealogical community understand copyright issues. Learn more about the CGSA on the organization's website.

• The National Archives and Records Administration has launched "Know Your Records" online videos from the popular genealogy how-to workshops hosted at its facilities on topics such as such as census, immigration and military records. Catch the videos on the archives' YouTube channel.

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced its schedule of upcoming workshops at its Boston research library. If you'll be in the area, you can learn about the library's resources, local history, researching African-American ancestors and more (NEHGS also is organizing a research trip to Belfast in May). Check out the schedule on the AmericanAncestors.org website.
  

• Genetic testing site 23andme, which provides test-takers with medical- and ancestry-related analyses, has generated some controversy in changing site policies. Now, those who let their 12-month subscriptions lapse will lose access to their Relative Finder matches, Health Reports and other features that rely on their genetic data. They'll still have access to the raw data. Read more about the controversy on the Your Genetic Genealogist blog.

It was the first official word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona was destroyed, killing 1,177 officers and crew. The USS Oklahoma capsized. About 2,400 Americans were killed.

As the number of survivors of the attack—now around 2,000—dwindles, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association has elected to dissolve at the end of this year.

Now it's even more important for those who didn't witness the attack firsthand to preserve the memories of that day. Here are a few places to start: 

• The names of servicemembers and civilians who died in the attack are listed here.

• The free Interactive USS Arizona Memorial on Fold3.com lets you search for a name and leave a virtual tribute, story or photograph of a crewmember.

• Virtually visit the National Park Service's USS Arizona Memorial here.

• National Archvies digitized records related to the Pearl Harbor attack, including military dispatches regarding the attack, photos of the aftermath and official correspondence. You also can watch the Archives' video about US Navy deck logs, records that contain sailors' accounts of the day's events.
  
  
• WWII genealogy resources
  

Even if you missed the conference, you can take advantage of 17 great classes, including

• Irish Genealogy Online with Rick Crume
• Finding Your East European Ancestors' Village with Lisa A. Alzo
• Build Your Research Toolbox with Thomas MacEntee
• Platting Metes and Bounds Properties with Diana Crisman Smith
• Digital Preservation for the 21st Century with Sunny Jane Morton

Virtual Conference video classes are available individually or in packages. They’re already on sale—now’s your chance to save another 20 percent. Click here to check them out.

• If you're interested in researching a military ancestor, check out the National Archives' new video short on how veterans and other interested parties can obtain copies of service records. It'll also show you inside the new National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, where many veterans' records are stored. (You'll also find veterans' records—particularly those from earlier wars—in the archives' DC-area facilities—see the November 2008 Family Tree Magazine "Operation Online Records" article for more info.)

• New military records at UK genealogy subscription/pay-per-view site Genes Reunited today include the National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918, which has brief soldier biographies and information on support personnel (such as nurses and civilians), 1861 Worldwide Army Index, De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour and more. You can see what's in Genes Reunite's military collection and search the records here.

• Another UK genealogy subscription site, FindMyPast.co.uk, has added a collection of records from the Cheshire Archives and Local Studies. They include workhouse records, parish registers, bishop’s transcripts and electoral registers spanning more 350 years. Search the Cheshire Collection here.

Fulmoth Kearney (“Falmoth Cainey” on his passenger list), age 19, arrived in New York March 20, 1850.

This Irish Times article explains how the connection was made to Obama’s Irish roots through professional researchers in the United States and local church officials in Ireland. 

There’s even a song about the president’s ancestry: “There’s No One As Irish As Barack O’Bama” by Ireland’s Corrigan Brothers. 

The song is the soundtrack for a documentary called Barack Obama's Irish Roots,  which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. You can see a promo clip here. 

You can get Irish genealogy tips from the articles in Family Tree Magazine's Irish Research Toolkit or download our $4 Irish Genealogy Guide.

We've got a special digital edition coming out today, April 1 -- and you can vote on which cover you like best! Click the image above to see it larger. And here's a sneak peek of the inside:

Click the image to see a larger version and read all the insider tips about the 1940 census. You can download a copy the 1940 Census cheat sheet to share here. (To help interpret some of the markings, you may want to watch this video.)

By the way, happy April Fools Day! :)

And here's some real census advice:

• Looking Forward to '40
• Online Census Secrets CD
• Family Tree Magazine's May 2010 special census issue

Canadian author and genealogist Dave Obee recently opined on his Facebook page, “I've been hearing about the pending death of the book for several years now. One of these days, the prediction might turn out to be true.”

Obee’s comment kicked off an interesting online conversation. For many genealogists, the surge in online books can sound like a threat to the paper tome. But, as with all things, the market drives business and innovation, and the convenience and flexibility of digital books is very appealing. Here are some Tech Tips to help you dive in and reap the benefits of this growing phenomenon:

Get Started
Allison Stacy, editor of Family Tree Magazine, made this great video for getting started with Google Books.

See How Other Genealogists Use Google Books
Miriam Robbins Midkiff, author of the popular genealogy blog AnceStories: The Story of My Ancestors was featured in this video produced by Google.

Search Within a Book
After conducting your initial search and selecting a particular book, you can search within that book by simply typing specific keywords in the search box found in the column on the left side of the book’s page. This box searches only the book currently being viewed and makes quick work of finding a desired surname on individual pages of a large volume. (Find this tip in my new book The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox.)

Keep Up To Date
The Inside Google Books blog is a great way to keep up to date on the latest news at Google Books. Add the RSS feed to your iGoogle page or favorite reader by simply clicking the Feedburner button found in the column on the right.

Google eBooks
Have you noticed that the Google Books homepage looks different these days? That’s because they have introduced the Google eBookstore to the offering. Here’s a terrific little video that explains the benefits of online books in a fun and simple way:

Google eBooks
Don’t skip Google eBooks just because they offer books for sale. Try this handy tip to unearth free gems:

1. Go to Google Books.
2. Click blue Go to the Google eBookstore Now button
3. Type family history in the search box and click the Search All Google eBooks button.
4. Click the Free Only link in the light blue box at the top of the page.
5. You’ll get a results list full of free books, many hard to find self-published family histories.

Look Elsewhere
When it comes to digital family history books, Google Books isn’t the only game in town Check out the Family History Archive, then watch the video below to learn more about how to use this robust resource.

I've had such a great time sharing Tech Tips with you these last 2 months. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll join me at the free Family Tree Magazine podcast and Genealogy Gems podcast for more lively conversation about genealogy!

—Lisa Louise Cooke

• These are the readers’ momilies featured in the September 2009 Family Tree Magazine.

• … and these are even more sayings that readers submitted to our Forum (anyone can read them, but you must be a registered Forum member to post a reply).
  

• “For crying out loud!”
  
  
• “Hold your horses” (and its close relative, “Don’t lose your britches”)
  
  
• “If [fill in name of childhood friend]’s mom said she could jump off a cliff, would you want to jump off a cliff, too?”
  
  
• “I could’ve yelled from here.”
  
  
• “Do you think someone’s going to steal your dinner?” (when I was hunched over my plate)
  
  
• We were never allowed to eat suckers in the car, because “If I have to stop suddenly, it’ll go through the roof of your mouth.”
  
  
• “You have until the count of three…”
  
  
• “A birdie’s going to come and sit on your lip" (when someone was pouting)
  
  
• “I have eyes in the back of my head.” (My sister says this to her kids, too, and her youngest thought for years that she really did.)
  
  
•  “I don't have a favorite. You’re all my favorites.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• March 5: Sarah Jessica Parker
• March 12: Emmitt Smith
• March 19: Lisa Kudrow
• March 26: Matthew Broderick
• April 2: Brooke Shields
• April 9: Susan Sarandon
• April 23: Spike Lee

• I wanted to point you to Thomas MacEntee’s Geneabloggers post about the genealogy reality series The Generations Project, produced by BYU Television, documenting the ancestral stories of “regular” people. New episodes air every Monday on cable on BYU-TV (for help finding the channel, US residents click your state on this map; Canadians click here); you also can the latest episode online.
  

Want to be on The Generations Project? See the show’s website to apply.

• Speaking of television, if you missed the second episode of Faces of America on Wednesday, you can catch it online.

• According to the National Genealogical Society Blog, you can now get access to information from the UK’s 1939 National Registration—if the person you want to find out about is deceased. The service, provided by England’s Information Centre for Health and Social Care (NHS IC), costs a nonrefundable 42 pounds (about $66) whether or not the search is successful. See the NHS IC site for instructions on making a request.
  

• The last Canadian veteran of WWI, John Babcock, has died at age 109 in Spokane, Wash. He enlisted at age 15, having lied about his age, but the war ended before he saw action.
  

You can learn about Library and Archives Canada’s WWI resources in the online Canadian Genealogy Center.

• Registration is open for the Southern California Genealogical Society’s annual (and popular) conference, the Jamboree, happening June 11-13. Check out the details and find out how to register on the Jamboree blog.

• The Library and Archives Canada announced its website will be unavailable tomorrow, Jan. 16, from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. See the original announcement here.

• Ancestry magazine, published for 25 years by Ancestry.com, will be discontinued after the March/April 2010 issue. For more information, see the staff's message on the magazine’s website.

• If you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, students, etc., you’ll find ideas for getting them interested in genealogy in a new video from researcher Elyse Doerflinger, who blogs at Elyse's Genealogy Blog.

• In case you missed it, NBC has announced that the US version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" will air Friday, March 5, at 8 p.m.

Click here to see the ancestral cover photo submissions on Flickr.

• Got St. Louis-area ancestors? Consider subscribing to Genealogy and House History News, a free monthly e-mail update listing additions to the Missouri History Museum's Genealogy and Local History Index (click the “Sign up for the E-mail List” link). If you find a relative, you can order a photocopy of the record.

• On Kimberly’s Genealogy Blog at About.com: Genealogy, Kimberly Powell reports that almost 200,000 Scottish burial records from the 1800s are now online on a UK pay-per-view site called DeceasedOnline. See Kimberley’s post for details about the collection.

• FamilySearch has added a few more databases to the Record Search Pilot, thanks to its hard-working indexing volunteers. You can search indexes and view images of Protestant church records from France (1612-1906).
  

The 1920 US census index (but not record images) was added for Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Carolina.

You can browse images of church records from Italy, Slovakia, Argentina and Mexico (these indexes are still being processed).

To find records associated with the place your ancestors lived, click Browse our Record Collections on the Record Search home page, then click an area of the map.

• Happy third birthday to RootsTelevision! The free genealogy TV Web site shared a list of its most popular videos, several of which relate to family history happenings that broke into “mainstream” news. See the list on the Og Blog.