The Passage Project

The Miseducation of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865 - No, Make That 1864

   Courtesy of the National Archives

American history buffs everywhere shared a collective groan today as we learned from a that amateur historian Dr. Thomas Lowry of Virginia tampered with the April 14, 1864 presidential pardon of Civil War veteran Private Patrick Murphy of California who was court-martialed for desertion, according to a press release issued by the National archives. It appears that while visiting the National Archives about 13 years ago Lowry took matters into his own hand with his Pelikan pen and changed the year manually to 1865 on the original document.

And why would he do this, you ask? Attention. Greed. Perhaps a wee bit of crazy. After news spread regarding his "find" he received nationwide attention for locating a document that might possibly be Lincoln's last act as President before his assassination later that evening during a production of Our American Cousin at Washington D.C.'s Fords Theatre.

 

 

 

Genealogy Comes to the Apple Store & NBC: Who Do You Think You Are

I got yet another genealogy fix this week. On Wednesday night I attended the SoHo Apple store's Who Do You Think You Are event. On stage were the shows producers Dan Bucatinsky and Lisa Kudow, plus Brook Shields who will be featured on one of the shows seven episodes.

Shields was by far the most engaging of the three. When discussing what she learned about her family history, she went into great detail about what she discovered and how it changed the way she looked at herself and her family. Not only was she able to trace her ancestry to 950 A.D., she also learned about the troubling times that most likely caused some of the disturbing behavior of family members. She specifically mentioned her maternal grandmother when speaking on the subject.

Though I am looking forward to the series, I was disappointed that the event did not include much discussion about the methodology behind the program's research. Kudrow and Bucatinsky seemed to know little about the actual work the genealogists and historians did regarding the show the two are producing. When asked by someone in the audience about the process, Kudrow seemed to continue to  chant the name of the show's sponsor, Ancestry.com. The presence of an actual historian or genealogist would have been beneficial, but maybe organizers sensed a larger crowd would turn out with a celebrity lineup. The presence of Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak would have been a huge asset, especially because she wrote the companion book to the series. (I got it at work a couple of months ago and can't wait to read through it.)

I'm not expecting this program to be as cerebral as the illuminating PBS series Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr.  But I do expect to be thoroughly entertained by the journey of each guest.

Nina Jablonski on the Nature of Skin

I was recently referred to an insightful TED Talk presentation by anthropologist Nina Jablonski discussing the science behind skin color. Filmed earlier this year, it's a true celebration of our diversity and what makes us all beautiful.

Her book Skin: A Natural History will definitely be on my bookshelf any day now.