I don't want to violate a copyright by giving the entire article, but here
are several statements from the article in today's Winchester Star. 

 

Oprah's Roots' debuts on PBS 
Area genealogist assists with research for book, program 

By Kathryn Parker 
Special to The Winchester Star 

Winchester - Jane Ailes, a professional genealogist who lives in White Post,
has been helping Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to tell
the story of African-American roots for millions of PBS television viewers. 

The first program, "African American Lives," aired in February 2006. The
sequel, "Oprah's Roots," will premiere at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. It is about
Oprah Winfrey, her ancestors, and the methods used to discover them. Ailes
appears in both shows. 



Genealogist Jane Ailes looks through a record book in the Frederick County
Circuit Court clerk's office in Winchester. She assisted with a genealogy
program, "Oprah's Roots," which will premiere at 8 p.m. on Wednesday on PBS.

(Photo by Rick Foster) 

"What moved people in 'African American Lives' was the genealogy," said
Gates in a recent phone interview. 

Audiences were so affected by the conversations between Gates and Winfrey
that the second of the series focuses totally on Winfrey. 

"If you have ever wondered why Oprah is Oprah, look at her family tree. Look
at Constantine Winfrey, her great-great-grandfather," Gates said. 

Constantine's story is told in "Oprah's Roots." 

Gates and Winfrey also discuss the fact that slavery was never mentioned by
their families and the probable reasons in this very personal program. 

Gates calls Ailes, who helped with the research, one of the finest
genealogists in America. "She's a genius. I hired her to do my own
genealogy." 

Born and raised in Romney, W.Va., Ailes is an eighth-generation descendant
of early Hampshire County settlers. She studied biology at Bridgewater
College and the University of Virginia and genealogy at the University of
Toronto. 

As a professional genealogist, Ailes knows what she is seeking and how to
find it. She has experience with database design and is used to dealing with
large sets of data. 

...more to the story plus a list of valuable references and sources.

 

Wilmer L. Kerns

 

 

Dear Wilmer:

 

I couldn't open up your link as it requires a login password.   Is this the 

African Lives program that appeared this past Feb. highlighting the
geneaology 

of 8 prominent black Americans?   It so, it was pretty fascinating the
results 

that they came up with and several people had a few surprising twists when 

their DNA was analyzed.  I think the emphasis of the program was more on 

geneaology per se than the slavery connection but the geneaology discussed
is on the 

level of a nongeneaologist who knows nothing.    Someone with more 

sophisticated geneaology skills will feel somewhat "less full" with the
explanations that 

are given in the program.   Still the presentation and the stories being
told 

keep your interest.

 

Anita L. Henderson

 

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