Family Locket

RLP 354: Ancestor Journals: Phinehas Richards in Church Archives

Nicole and Diana discuss the life of Phinehas Richards, Nicole’s husband’s 4th-great-grandfather. Nicole shares details about Phinehas’s life, including his birth in Massachusetts, his marriage to Wealthy Dewey, and his work as a cabinet maker. She recounts Phinehas’s conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his baptism by Brigham Young, and his ordination as a high priest. Diana talks about Phinehas receiving a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith Senior in Kirtland, Ohio. […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 21, 2025 Podcast

A Day at the Chamber County Courthouse: Tips for Success

What can you find at the county courthouse? Records kept on the county level, such as deeds, mortgages, marriages, wills, guardianships, etc., are vital for our research. Although many of these items may be available online, some likely exist only at the courthouse. A trip to the courthouse may be in order if we want to perform reasonably exhaustive research. I recently visited Chambers County, Alabama, the residence of my ancestor, Thomas Beverly Royston, from […]

By Diana Elder April 19, 2025 Records, Research Tips

RLP 353: Citing Digitized Records on FamilySearch

Nicole and Diana discuss citing digitized records from FamilySearch. Nicole explains that FamilySearch has billions of digitized records that can be attached, downloaded, or added to a research log. They emphasize the importance of precise source citations. Diana illustrates the challenge of citing digitized microfilm records, using an example from Russell County, Alabama’s Orphan’s Court Docket. She explains that the same record can be accessed through “Images” or the FamilySearch Catalog, resulting in different image […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 14, 2025 Podcast

A Day at the Alabama Department of Archives & History: Thomas B. Royston’s Tax Record

After exhausting online resources, genealogists often wonder what else can be found in a government archive. These important repositories house many collections important to researchers, such as government records, county records, manuscript collections, and more. In my recent visit to the Alabama Department of Archives & History, I discovered another record that shed light on the life of my ancestor, Thomas B. Royston. I had researched him extensively in both DeKalb and Chambers County Alabama […]

By Diana Elder April 13, 2025 Research Tips

RLP 352: Levi Richards’ Journal and Joseph Smith’s Vision

Nicole and Diana discuss Levi Richards’ journal account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision. Nicole shares her personal connection to Levi Richards, who is her husband’s 4th-great-granduncle and the brother of Willard Richards. They talk about Levi’s life, his mission to England, and his role as a physician. They then focus on Levi’s journal and its significance as a historical source, specifically the 11 June 1843 entry where Levi recorded Joseph Smith’s testimony about the First […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 7, 2025 LDS Family History, Podcast

How to Match Individuals in Old Photos Using Related Faces

Old family photos are great for telling our ancestors’ stories. I’m writing about my great-great-grandparents, Daniel O’Connell Elder and Jessie Estelle (Ross) Elder, and wanted to use some early photos of their family. One of their sons is my great-grandfather Charlie. Charlie had many siblings, but I only have a few photos showing them together; and none of them show all the siblings at once. The main problem was that most people in these old […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 7, 2025 Creating and Sharing Family History

RLP 351: Separating Women of the Same Name: A Tale of Two Cleo Zinns

In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Diana and Nicole discuss the challenge of separating women with the same name in genealogical research, specifically focusing on two women named Cleo Zinn. Diana explains how she encountered a mystery DNA match that led her to research Mary Clem Carpenter and her daughter, Cleo. She discovers conflicting information about Cleo, including multiple husbands, death dates, and birthplaces. Diana details how she uses her Airtable research log […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer March 31, 2025 Podcast

RLP 350: Florence (Creer) Kelsey and the Challenge of a First Job

In Episode 350 of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole discuss Florence Matilda (Creer) Kelsey’s first job. Diana begins by asking Nicole what she has been working on or reading. Diana recaps RootsTech, mentioning classes on AI, locality research, and transcriptions, as well as meeting listeners. Diana then introduces the subject of the episode by asking listeners if they remember their first job outside the home. She notes that ancestors also […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer March 24, 2025 Podcast

“The Indigo Girl” – Eliza Lucas Pinckney and Her Contributions in 18th Century South Carolina

Reading historical fiction based on fact allows us to follow an engaging story and learn history simultaneously. The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd fulfills both possibilities. Who was Eliza Lucas Pinckney, the woman the novel is based on? She is credited with learning to grow the difficult crop of indigo in South Carolina in the early 1700s, which was a challenging task, especially for a woman in Colonial America. We’re reading The Indigo Girl for […]