Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, that's her real name), author of Honoring Our Ancestors: Inspiring Stories of the Quest for Our Roots, In Search of Our Ancestors: 101 Inspiring Stories of Serendipity and Connection in Rediscovering Our Family History, and They Came to America: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors, has been an avid genealogist since the 6th grade and is skilled in many aspects of family history research.

Megan is honored to serve as Chief Family Historian and North American spokesperson for Ancestry.com, the largest genealogical company in the world. She is also co-founder of Roots Television, a pioneering and popular online channel of genealogy and history-oriented programming. Among the many shows available for viewing is the New York City press conference about Annie Moore, where Megan corrected history by revealing the true story of the first immigrant through Ellis Island. This story was featured on the front page of The New York Times and in a variety of other publications, such as the Irish Echo, Time for Kids, and The Wall Street Journal. The story was also covered by NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS's Out of Ireland, and numerous other TV and radio shows. More recently, she made another interesting Irish connection when she traced a branch of Barack Obama’s family to Moneygall in County Offaly.

Megan also made news when she discovered a startling connection when requested by Austin Fenner of the New York Daily News to research the roots of Rev. Al Sharpton. Much to her astonishment, she learned that Rev. Sharpton's great-grandfather had been owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond.

After she walked him through his family tree, she traveled with him to Edgefield, SC to see first-hand the plantation and slave quarters (still standing) where his family had lived and the slave cemetery where some of his family is likely buried.

Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree, her latest book (co-authored with Ann Turner, M.D.), has been featured in Newsweek, The New York Times, on NPR, and in the Book of the Month Club. If you're interested in learning more about the fascinating topic of genetic genealogy, please visit Megan's sister site, genetealogy.com.

Megan has appeared on Good Morning America (featured in roots segments on Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion), the Today Show, CNN, BBC Breakfast, Ancestors, TimeWatch, NPR, BBC Radio and a number of local television and radio shows, and has spoken at the National Genealogical Society, Federation of Genealogical Societies, Who Do You Think You Are LIVE! and numerous other genealogical, historical, military, ethnic and literary events (21 states, Washington, D.C., England, Canada and Mexico so far!).

As lead researcher for the PBS Ancestors series, she delved into over 5,000 genealogical stories and developed much of the content for the companion website. She has subsequently consulted for other television programs, including They Came to America and African American Lives for PBS, and BBC’s Timewatch (regarding the identification of sailors’ remains recovered from the USS Monitor).

Since 2000, Megan has also been a consultant with the U.S. Army's Repatriation project to trace families of servicemen killed or MIA in Korea, WWII and Vietnam. The intent is to develop a DNA-database from relatives' blood samples so that remains that are now being repatriated can be identified and interred. She has supported this and more than 75 other genealogical initiatives through her Honoring Our Ancestors Grants Program.

Recipient of International Society of Family History Writers and Editors awards in 2003, 2004 and 2005, Megan has written articles for Ancestry, Ancestry Daily News, Family Chronicle, Family Tree Magazine, Genealogical Computing, Heritage Quest, NGS NewsMagazine, Everton's Family History Magazine and APG Quarterly.  She's a former board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and is also delighted to be the 2004-2005 winner of the Bo Peep Award, given by the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists to those who have "contributed significantly to the betterment of the community of historical and genealogical researchers."

Formerly an international marketing consultant, she has traveled to more than 70 countries and holds a BSFS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, MBA in International Business from George Washington University and MAS in Information Technology from Johns Hopkins University.

To view a sampling of the genealogical stories that Megan has gotten mixed up - from Annie Moore of Ellis Island to the Sharpton-Thurmond discovery to her double-Smolenyak name, click here to hop on over to Megan-TV.

 

Remembering Our Ancestors

Keynote Address: 9:15 - 10:15 a.m.

The author of Honoring Our Ancestors and In Search of Our Ancestors shares favorite stories from both books.  Let yourself be amused, amazed and touched by stories of the many creative ways people have developed to pay tribute to those who came before use, as well as tales of how some stubborn brick walls have come tumbling down in the most unexpected ways.  You'll leave convinced that our ancestors want to be found as much as we want to find them, and equipped with some creative ways to pay tribute to them.

 

Trace Your Roots with DNA

Session 1: 10:30-11:30 a.m.

With amazing swiftness, "genetealogy" (the marriage of genetics and genealogy) is graduating from pioneering research to standard practice. But what is it exactly and how can we use it to further our genealogical endeavors? Come hear one of the co-authors of Trace Your Roots with DNA discuss her own and others' experience launching and managing a DNA project, including such considerations as test and vendor selection factors, privacy, and convincing others to participate.

 

Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options

Session 2: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Surname studies using Y-DNA tests are a popular and obvious application of genetic testing for genealogical purposes, but are you aware of your other options? Come learn about mtDNA, SNP, BioGeographical and ethnic tests, as well as the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and the Genographic Project, and determine if one or more of them is right for you.

 

Reverse Genealogy: Techniques for Finding Your Lost Loved Ones

Session 3:  3:15 - 4:15 p.m.

Although genealogy is at its heart the study of long-deceased ancestors, connecting with living relatives has become almost as important to many family historians. Some seek living kin in an effort to track down family photos; others do it to find family history playmates or DNA project participants. A few pioneers have begun exercising their skills to save lives - to locate potential donors or warn of possible medical dangers. Whatever the motivation, one of the most addicting aspects of genealogy is the thrill of finding distant cousins, or in some cases, parents, children, or siblings. But this "reverse genealogy" (working from the past to the present) has its own special challenges and requires the researcher to be part genealogist and part private investigator. This presentation covers proven techniques for tracing 20th century friends and relatives from the past to the present.