Episode 299 - Genealogy And Crime: Descendants of Kidnap Victim Found Through DNA / Finding Ancestral Mug Shots / New Podcast Investigates Mob Wife

Host Scott Fisher opens the show with David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and AmericanAncestors.org. The guys open Family Histoire News with the story of the discovery of a 3,200 year old sword! Hear how and where it was found. Then, a stash of 18th and early 19th century family letters have been donated to an archive in Connecticut. Hear which family benefits from this great gift. Then, the guys talk about an 1890 scare involving library books and disease. Learn what triggered the concern and how long it lasted. David then reveals the new genealogical television show that's coming soon. Find out which network is carrying it and what it's about. David's blogger spotlight this week shines on Amie Tenant's blog on FamilySearch.org about the 1930s WPA interviews of formerly enslaved African-Americans.

Next, Fisher visits with Michael Seligman and Jessica Bendiger, hosts of Stitcher's episodic podcast "Mob Queens." Michael and Jessica have been using genealogical techniques to research the history of the wife of mob boss, Vito Genovese. The story is garnering a lot of attention (though parts of the story could be considered "adult" in nature).

Then, Terri O'Connell of Chicago tells the story of the kidnapping of an infant relative in the 1890s. It's a tale that's been told in the family for well over a century. But now, thanks to DNA, she and her family now know what became of the kidnapped baby!

In Ask Us Anything, we keep with the crime theme as Photo Detective Maureen Taylor answers a question about how you may be able to find your criminal relatives' mug shots.

That's all this week on Extreme Genes, America's Family History Show.