Oprah’s show today is titled Celebs Dig Up Family Secrets

Celebrity genealogy stories featured on TV may inspire you to do your own family research through census records, archival materials, and DNA testing.

Family research is full of surprises…something you may need to prepare yourself for.

For examples, evidence of known or unknown adoptions, births, jail or prison time, marriages, psychiatric commitments, war records, and slaveholdings may bring new questions, change what you know about your family values, history and structure, or trigger unexpected emotions.

You never know what  what family secrets may be unearthed when searching archival records.