Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates

This weekend PBS is beginning a new Henry Louis Gates series called "Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates." According to my KCTS9 guide, the first two shows in the 10 part series will be aired this Sunday, March 25th, at 8:00 and 9:00 pm. Unfortunately, it doesn't tell me which celebrities will be featured. According to the show's website (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/), it could be any of the following: Branford Marsallis, Harry Connick Jr., John Lewis, Cory A. Booker, Barbara Walters, Geoffrey Canada, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Angela Buchdahl, Rick Warren, Yasir Qadhi, Samuel L. Jackson, Condoleezza Rice, Ruth Simmons, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Sanjay Gupta, Margaret Cho, Martha Stewart, John Legend, Wanda Sykes, Michelle Rodriguez, Adrian Grenier, and/or Linda Chavez. Given that there are 24 names and 10 shows, I'm guessing that some "celebreties" will get more air time than others.
I have to admit not recognizing all of the names in the above list. Guess I'll have to watch the show to find out who they are and why they were selected.
And, of course, I'll be watching "Who Do You Think You Are?" tonight to find out about Helen Hunt's ancestry.

Amazing Records at NARA

If you'd like to see some truly amazing record images, click here.
These are images of family records found by NARA staff in the case files of Revolutionary and War of 1812 pension and bounty land warrant applications.
It appears to me that "Wikimeda Commons" has provided two images of each record, one at a high resolution and the other at a lower resolution. They are labeled, but I haven't figured out how to get a list of the captions so you can scan the surnames.
If any of these records are for YOUR family, I'd love to hear it!