TV Genealogy Shows, a Popular trend

Genealogy is a major trend right now. More people than ever are engaged in researching their family trees. Libraries are offering classes and professional assistance. Ancestry.com, among other genealogy websites, is one of the fastest growing databases online. TV shows are based on genealogy of celebrities and regular folks. It would be interesting to determine the cause of this social phenomenon.

I don't miss an episode of any of these shows! It is fascinating to me to follow the research trail of expert genealogists as they uncover the family histories of people of all races and nationalities. The emotional reactions of these subjects as they learn the personal and sometimes tragic stories of their ancestors are completely understandable to me. I've experienced some of the most emotional moments of my life during my own family tree explorations.

Popular TV shows include:

Finding Your Roots (TLC)
Who Do You Think You Are (TLC)
Genealogy Roadshow (PBS)
Long Lost Family (TLC)

This morning I am catching up on the latest episode of Who Do You Think You Are. This episode features the ancestry of actress Courteney Cox. As the genealogist quickly traces Courteney's line back to England, some familiar names begin to pop up...Thomas Berkeley...Edward II...and I realize that they are also my own ancestors! The stories in this episode are shocking and terrible.

Here is the lineage back in time (forgive the lengthy list - just want to establish the connection):
Me
my father
my paternal grandfather, Ernest Earl Zaun, 1909-1959
my great grandmother, Georgia Powell, 1885-1973
her mother, Marie Louis Judd, 1859-1925
3X gg Orrin Bishop Judd, 1816-1892
4X gg Jotham Chester Judd, 1773-1850
5X gg Elnathan Judd, 1738-1808
6X gg Joseph Judd, Jr., 1707-1757
7X gg Joseph Judd, Sr., 1672-1757
8X gg John Judd, Deacon, 1640-1714
9X gg Thomas Judd, Deacon, 1608-1688 (the 1st ancestor to come to America)
10X gg Katherine Elizabeth Norwood, 1575-1632
11X gg  Lady Catherine Throckmorton, 1532-1581
12X gg Sir Robert Throckmorton, High Sheriff of Warwick, 1510-1581 (married Muriel Berkeley, daughter of  Lord Thomas Berkeley V)
13X gg Anna Catherine Vaux, 1488-1571
14X gg Lady Elizabeth Fitzhugh of Ravensworth, 1465-1513
15X gg Alice De Neville, Lady Fitzhugh, 1436-1503
16X gg Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, 1400-1460 (beheaded)
17X gg Joan De Beaufort, 1379-1440
18X gg John Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster, 1340-1399 (also called John of Gaunt, or Ghent)
19X gg King Edward III, 1312-1377
20X gg King Edward II, 1284-1327 and Isabella, 1295-1358 (daughter of Phillip IV of France)

According to the expert genealogist on the show, this line can be traced all the way back to William the Conqueror. Queen Isabella was the granddaughter of Queen Isabelle of Aragon. I wish I had paid more attention in history class!

There are all kinds of sordid affairs, gruesome executions, and murderous plots among the various members of  this tree. The Courteney Cox episode of the TV show focused on the plot to overthrow King Edward II (he was apparently a terrible king). His wife Isabella conspired with her lover Roger Mortimer to seize the throne for her son. King Edward II (thereafter referred to as "the king's father") was imprisoned for months and later murdered in his chamber at Berkeley Castle (which you can visit today).

The Berkeleys - pronounced "bark-lee"- were an important family, second only to royalty in England. My ancestor Thomas Berkeley I was tried and found not guilty of the murder of King Edward II. To add to the family history drama, King Edward II's chamberlain Hugh DeSpenser was publicly executed - we are also directly descended from him through his daughter Elizabeth who married Maurice de Berkeley, son of Thomas. Side note: we are connected to the famous Berkeleys of Virginia, but not directly.