Episode 349 - Kenyatta Berry On Escapes And Attempted Escapes Of The Enslaved / Ancestry’s Todd Godfrey On Huge New Marriage Database

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.com. Fisher talks about his latest heirloom acquisition… an 1851 Bible with a special family inscription. The guys then pass 100th birthday greetings on to an American flying legend. David shares a story of a recent wedding that featured a surprise for his bride she will never forget.  (And it involved her late grandmother!) “Pepper’s Ghost” is “reappearing” in London. Hear what it is and how it got started.  Finally, the guys touch on the story of how and when controversial Columbus Day got its real start in our country. Next, Fisher visits with slavery expert Kenyatta Berry. The two talk about the formerly enslaved individuals, including Frederick Douglass, who sailed to Britain in the late 1840s to reveal to the public there the horrors of slavery, and to create international pressure on the US to end it. They also talk about some successful escapes, and the challenges of even making the attempt. Todd Godfrey, the VP of Global Content for Ancestry.com, joins the show next to talk about their huge new database release, the Newspapers.com Marriage Index. Created by artificial intelligence, it’s the latest use of this advanced technology to bring us some very valuable records. David then rejoins Fisher to talk about collecting heirlooms and the use of eBay in your quest. That’s all this week on Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show!