PROVO, Utah, July 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the new season of TLC's Emmy-nominated series "Who Do You Think You Are?" Ancestry.com researchers mined thousands of historical documents to help producers make new family history discoveries for an all-star line up of celebrities. The new season premieres tonight and will feature Cynthia Nixon, Rachel McAdams and Kayleen McAdams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Valerie Bertinelli, and Kelsey Grammer.
Amassing thousands of hours, Ancestry.com researchers explored 18th and 19th century America, Canada, and even Victorian England, to research topics that range from women's rights, Italian heritage, and an American Loyalist who sided with the crown. There was even exploration of the Oregon Trail and adventure through the freezing temperatures of the Klondike Gold Rush.
"We are thrilled to again sponsor this new season of 'Who Do You Think You Are?' and provide research support that helped celebrities experience a family history journey that connected them to new ancestors and new discoveries," said Jennifer Utley, Lead Researcher for the project at Ancestry.com. "It's always exciting to see where records will lead you when researching your family history. This season we explored stories that were at times tragic, and others uplifting, as life, no matter place or time, can be."
Every day on Ancestry.com, members discover their family history through billions of historical records spanning different places and time. On this season of "Who Do You Think You Are?," celebrities become acquainted with a variety of ancestral stories spanning historic moments.
- While embarking on a journey to learn about her father's side of her family Cynthia Nixon discovers that the harrowing experiences of an ancestor in mid 19th century Missouri, played a pivotal role that improved the future lives of women in prisons.
- While looking to learn more about his father's side of his family, Jesse Tyler Ferguson travels from Maryland and New York to the far reaches of Alaska where his great grandfather embarked on an ambitious gold expedition across the Klondike.
- Rachel McAdams and her sister Kayleen explore the history of two ancestors: one a Loyalist/Tory during the American Revolution, and the other a butler in Devon with a "downstairs" romance.
- California's social history and letters from the Oregon Trail are examined while exploring the ancestors of Kelsey Grammer.
- Valerie Bertinelli embarks on a journey that will connect her to Quaker ancestors and English heraldry, while exploring her Italian heritage.
The new season is the second time Ancestry.com has teamed up with TLC as a sponsor, and the fifth time it has worked with the program. As part of sponsoring the show, Ancestry.com provides exhaustive family history research on each of the featured celebrities, which is used to build out the story of each episode.
For more about Ancestry.com and weekly recaps for each episode, including research approach and topic explored visit http://www.ancestry.com/who-do-you-think-you-are.
About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com is the world's largest online family history resource with approximately 2.7 million paying subscribers across all its websites. More than 14 billion records have been added to the Ancestry.com sites and users have created more than 60 million family trees containing more than 6 billion profiles. In addition to its flagship site www.ancestry.com, the company operates several global Ancestry international websites along with a suite of online family history brands, including Archives.com, Fold3.com, Newspapers.com, and offers the AncestryDNA service via its subsidiary, Ancestry.com DNA, LLC, all of which are designed to empower people to discover, preserve and share their family history.
Forward-Looking Statements
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