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Ancestors.com Features Bridgeport High School Alum in Legendary National Ad Campaign

By Trina Runner on July 23, 2017 via Connect-Bridgeport.com

Two hundred and forty-one years ago, our forefathers gathered in Philadelphia to sign a document that would represent the freedoms we still live by today.  Now, a descendant of one of the delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence, who also happens to be a 1980 graduate of Bridgeport High School, is representing her heritage in a national advertising campaign.
 
Cindy Bohon Casten was selected as John Hart’s descendant in the recreation of John Trumbull’s famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Ancestry.com worked with the advertising gurus at Droga5 to select living relatives of 26 signers in order to demonstrate the diversity that has come about because of the freedoms detailed in the document.
 
Casten, who now lives in Chesterfield, VA, works for the government as a family assessor, mapping families and helping them capture important dates in order to connect with family.  She knew that many of Hart’s descendants had settled in Randolph County and she began her own genealogical research about 15 years ago to share with her children and family. 
 
“Ancestry.com has so many new options for connecting families to their lineage and helps them make family trees, look at newspaper clippings, and use current technology to help us understand our experiences,” said Casten.
 
When her husband Tim received an email regarding the ad based on the famous painting, Casten jumped at the chance.  She had a video interview and within a few days, was on her way to Hollywood for the taping. 
 
“They brought four or five of the descendants in at a time and explained the concept of the ad and allowed us time to meet one another,” said Casten.  “They had researched and verified our lineage prior to selecting us and I was one of the first ones there for the production, which took two days in FOX Studios.”
 
The photo used in the ad was also displayed as a mural in New York City from July 4-16, 2017.
 
“Ancestry.com used family trees, published research and gravestone memorial research to validate the lineage lines of the Founding Fathers in order to discover the 26 living descendants featured,” said Cathleen Hua, an account executive who worked with Casten on the project.  “They chose a variety of men, women and children from different ethnicities, life experiences, and geographies to represent diversity in America.”
 
“The diversity represented in the ad is what makes America so strong,” said Casten.  “We are still clinging to the ideals written by our forefathers and living the American dream.  I am blessed beyond measure to have been chosen for this ad and I am so proud to be a part of such a wonderful group of people.”
 
 
 
 
 


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