Megan SmolenyakBarry Manilow Is a Limerick ManHow name changing hid his Irish heritageMar 3, 2021Mar 3, 2021
Megan SmolenyakGenetic Genealogy’s First DecadeThe Pioneering Days of 1999–2009Jun 20, 2024A response icon7Jun 20, 2024A response icon7
Megan SmolenyakHow I Found my Elusive John MurphyThe Deadly Trail that Finally Revealed a Phantom Branch of My Family TreeMar 8, 2024A response icon1Mar 8, 2024A response icon1
Megan SmolenyakTaylor Swift’s Formidable Female ForebearsThanks to this mother-daughter duo, she’s got cousins around the globeFeb 23, 2024Feb 23, 2024
Megan SmolenyakWe Finally Know What Happened to Arne Pettersen, the Last to Leave Ellis IslandAnnie Moore and Arne Pettersen were Ellis Island’s bookends. An Irish teenager, Annie was the first to arrive when the immigration…Dec 21, 2020A response icon3Dec 21, 2020A response icon3
Megan SmolenyakFinding Barry Manilow’s Mysterious GrandfatherHe did the crime, he did the time, and then he disappeared — again.Mar 9, 2021A response icon1Mar 9, 2021A response icon1
Megan SmolenyakNo Man Left Behind: Capt. Lawrence E. DicksonOn December 23, 1944, Tuskegee airman Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson went down in his P-51 Mustang in the vicinity of the Italian-Austrian…Feb 16, 2019A response icon1Feb 16, 2019A response icon1
Megan SmolenyakDNA Testing Dispels a Genealogical MythA bunch of people named Smolenyak, all hailing from the same tiny village, thought they shared a common ancestor. We were wrong.Apr 27, 2021A response icon8Apr 27, 2021A response icon8
Megan SmolenyakPhilip Reed, The Enslaved Man Who Rescued FreedomThis is an updated version of an article that was first published in the May/June 2009 issue of Ancestry (pages 54–56), which has become…Jan 10, 2021Jan 10, 2021
Megan SmolenyakCorrecting the Record of WWI Hero and Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Henry JohnsonA century ago, on the evening of May 14, 1918 while on post duty with one other soldier, Private Henry Johnson single-handedly repelled an…May 25, 2018A response icon4May 25, 2018A response icon4
Megan SmolenyakI Was the Only One Who KnewI’ve written an entire book of genealogical serendipity tales, but have been something of a wallflower in this regard. With a couple of…Jun 29, 2021A response icon2Jun 29, 2021A response icon2
Megan SmolenyakA Memorial Day Tribute to Dad for his Service in VietnamMy dad is the understated, modest type who’s reluctant to talk about his service in Vietnam. In fact, he will likely be irritated with me…May 22, 2019A response icon1May 22, 2019A response icon1
Megan SmolenyakThere’s Always a Kernel of TruthSolving a Long-held Family History Mystery Leads to an Enigmatic PlaywrightFeb 27, 2020A response icon5Feb 27, 2020A response icon5
Megan SmolenyakBest Babyhood EverAs the rest of the world commemorates what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday, I celebrate my 60th. More or less confined at home…Oct 9, 2020A response icon2Oct 9, 2020A response icon2
InThe ShadowbyMegan SmolenyakThe Gift of the Double CensusCensus records are a building block in genealogy for the simple reason that they provide so much information about our ancestors…Feb 10, 2021Feb 10, 2021
Megan SmolenyakName Game: Celebrities Have Nothing on the Rest of UsMuch has been made in recent years of the proclivity of celebrities to give their children unusual names. Who among us wasn’t at least a…Feb 17, 2021Feb 17, 2021
Megan SmolenyakAnimate Your AncestorsWelcome to the world of retro realityFeb 25, 2021A response icon2Feb 25, 2021A response icon2
Megan SmolenyakRock Out with Your AncestorsWhich animation will you choose from the menu?Apr 6, 2021Apr 6, 2021
Megan SmolenyakHappy 20th Anniversary, Ellis Island Immigrant Database!What a difference two decades makeApr 14, 2021Apr 14, 2021
