RAILROAD TIES: ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY FILM REVIEW

 

A short and sweet film, Railroad Ties is the perfect film to watch in celebration of Black History Month. Six people who did not know each other were found by Ancestry, the genealogy database company, to come to Brooklyn, New York to learn about the abolitionist preacher, the firey Henry Ward Beecher, at the Plymouth Church. They learn why slaves on the Underground Railroad avoided New York City. Slavery might have been illegal in the north but runaway slaves were still considered property and there were fewer slave catchers in Brooklyn. The Fugitive Slave Act meant they weren't safe till they got to Canada.

Another place on tour is the home of abolitionist Lewis S. Tappen. 

And so the reveal is that the six are connected by history and in five cases by genetics. One descends from Tappen. The others are cousins related to a woman slave he helped escape slavery.

It was touching. My only problem with the film is that we are not told how Ancestry found these people. Was it the traditional paper trail or DNA testing or both?

For those readers unfamiliar with The Underground Railroad, terminology like conductor and passenger and station were used but there wasn't a physical train. The terminology was suggestive. You may find archived posts by searching through this blog or clicking on the tag below.

C 2021 Ancestry Worship Genealogy