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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html