A Fiction Movie About Genealogy Research – Family History Mysteries: Buried Past

If you have followed my journey for any amount of time, then you know that I love genealogy/family history and TV/movies. One of the best things is when I find TV shows and movies that are about genealogy. For the most part, I have only been able to find TV shows like Relative Race, Finding Your Roots, and Who Do You Think You Are that combine TV and genealogy. Of course there’s my favorite of all time Alex Haley’s Roots and Roots: the Next Generations. These are all shows about actual families and the research. Until recently I hadn’t found a show that was more of a fictional story.

While off during the holidays I came across a movie on the Hallmark channel, Family History Mysteries: Buried Past. I must admit that Hallmark isn’t a channel I watch on a regular basis. But when I saw that Family History was in the title of the movie I immediately became interested.

***Movie synopsis***

Sophie McClure, a professional genealogist who is an expert at digging up the past and bringing families together.  When her close friend Jonathan urgently needs to find a bone marrow donor, it brings his twin brother (and Sophie’s old flame) Jackson back into her life. With Jackson’s help, Sophie must use her genealogy skills to track down the brothers’ long-lost birth father, a man they never even knew existed, in time to save Jonathan’s life.  Ultimately, growing closer to Jackson on this search gives Sophie the push to finally explore the mystery of her own adoption.

This movie blends together the excitement of solving mysteries with all the aspects of genealogy including methodology and genetic DNA testing. The plot combines elements of detective work with family emotions and drama that keep me engaged until the end. I loved being able to watch a movie where genealogy was the main topic. This movie was based off of a series of books, the Family History Mysteries by Brynn Bonner. My hope is that Hallmark will create a sequel to this movie. If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly suggest you give it a chance. If you have seen this movie or read the book, let me know what you thought about them.