Monday 13 February 2017

Why I do what I do: Data Mining the Deceased

A few weeks ago, a fascinating documentary about the business of genealogy, social genealogy and genetic genealogy aired on TV Ontario (TVO), my province's public broadcaster. I wasn't able to watch it then, but just finished watching it online. It reinforces for me why I do what I do -- my passion for genealogy.

Here's the blurb on TVO's website about the documentary:
"More than half of North Americans are fascinated by genealogy and invested in their family histories. The emotional impact of uncovering one’s ancestors, culture and country of origin can be profound, but there is another side to the rise in genealogy that goes beyond human interest. This documentary explores what may be the largest historical enterprise in the world, and one of the largest date-mining operations and how it is driven by big religion, big technology and big business."
The wide-ranging documentary interviews representatives of Family Search, Ancestry.com and AncestryDNA; academics and ordinary people in Canada and beyond, all seeking answers about their genetic and family history.

Did you know that the genealogy of every person living in Iceland is tracked back generations? I didn't know that either.

I'm not sure if readers outside of Canada will be able to access the streaming link of Data Mining the Deceased but be warned -- this link will only be available until March 1st. It runs just under an hour. Try to watch it if you can -- it's very good.

The never ending story continues....


© Margaret Dougherty 2016-2017 All rights reserved

About the Family of Robert Young and Isabella Knox

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