Features
Unearthing Family Histories and Mysteries
U of G history prof to appear on new television genealogy series airing this fall
BY DAVID DICENZO
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| Prof. Kevin James has been poring through library resources in his research for the History Channel show Ancestors in the Attic. Photo by Martin Schwalbe |
Most professors have a bit of the thespian in them. Standing up in front of a packed lecture hall or a large conference gathering requires an inherent ability to perform. Prof. Kevin James, History, can relate to that, though he's taken the concept further than most in his field.
In June 2005, James received an unexpected call from a talent scout who was looking for genealogists to work on a TV pilot project called Ancestors in the Attic, a History Channel program showcasing everyday Canadians trying to unearth the mysteries of their past.
James, a specialist in Scottish studies, was invited to audition and was soon enveloped in the frantic pace of the entertainment world.
“The audition was like nothing I had ever experienced,” he says. “The whole experience was so different — the professional evaluation isn't the same as that applied to academics. I didn't think the audition had gone very well, but then I heard back a few weeks later that I was one of the people they had chosen.”
As a panellist featured in the last of three segments on the fast-paced show, James joins with two other genealogists to take viewers on a forensic journey to solve family mysteries, be it the identity of a murder victim or the final resting place of a war hero.
Hundreds of story ideas were submitted from across Canada for the show, and the successful pilot was parlayed into a full season of 15 episodes — 10 of which feature James — with a second season already being planned. Host Jeff Douglas, known for his work in the “I Am Canadian” commercials and the show Things That Move, travels the world with staff genealogist Paul McGrath to help break down the barriers that prevent the people featured on the show from solving their family mysteries. In the final segment of each episode, the panellists offer their analysis of the case and explain how they reached their conclusions.
“I'm amazed that so many people are engaged in the kinds of quests that a lot of historians undertake,” says James. “They want to know about their family members, but also the social context. They want to know how their family member fits into much bigger pictures and into the time period they were living in. That's part of the role that I, in particular, play on the show.”
He notes that one of the challenges of the show is “distilling these exceptionally complex stories and weeks of research into very short segments in which we explain the steps we follow and offer advice for people who are undertaking genealogy themselves.”
With the show set to debut Oct. 18, James and the Ancestors in the Attic crew recently learned that one of the panellists, Ryan Taylor, had died suddenly. Originally from Oshawa, Taylor was a genealogical librarian at Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind.
“He was a joy to work with,” says James. “I hope the show is in some way a tribute to his skills and research. Ryan did a lot of work behind the scenes to solve some of the protracted problems we encountered.”
Despite the sadness surrounding his colleague's death, James says working on the show has been an inspiring experience. He's been impressed with the show's crew since they first did the pilot, and that has whetted his appetite for “television genealogy,” he says.
The pilot explored the story of an American slave who came to Canada and settled. James knew immediately that the show would involve much more than simply answering a question about someone's family history.
“I found that to be a fascinating story that ended up being as much about the historical period as it was about this individual slave. It could be used to access all kinds of stories about the time period, about Canada and the United States, about slavery and racism, about citizenship. There were so many broader themes. That really stayed with me.”
James believes Ancestors in the Attic has the potential to introduce genealogy to a much wider and younger audience. That's important because the best time to become interested in genealogy is when you're young, he says.
“It's a good time to ask questions. If you still have living relatives, it's a lot easier in your teens or your 20s or 30s to find out information than in your 50s and 60s, when you may not have surviving relatives who can answer the questions.”
Sometimes those questions get unexpected answers. Through the hectic first season of shooting, James found that results of the individual stories varied dramatically. In some cases, the individuals found what they were looking for. In others, there was no definitive answer, but the family member featured was armed with the tools to get more information. Occasionally, they discovered shocking truths about the family tree that were completely unexpected.
“I like the diverse range of reactions because that mirrors what we all encounter in history research,” he says. “We very often encounter surprises, we very often encounter disappointments and we very often take new directions that we hadn't anticipated. In that respect, I think the show has been faithful to the broader experience of people who undertake family history.”
Although genealogy intrigues James, he figures most of his work will continue to occur on campus rather than in a studio. A gruelling early morning taping schedule, combined with 30-minute makeup sessions and ongoing wardrobe issues, will ultimately prevent him from delving too deeply into the television world.
“I'm glad the University is my day job,” he says.