Family Locket

DNA Day – April 25th

Whether you’re an experienced genealogist or just starting in your journey to learn more about your family, DNA Day – April 25 – is coming right up, and it’s a great time to purchase a DNA kit! Why April 25? On this day in 1953 the structure of the DNA molecule was published in a scientific journal – a turning point in DNA understanding and research (the molecule itself was actually discovered in the late 1860s by Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher). While Watson and Crick are credited with the discovery of its structure, many other scientists contributed to their work...

By Robin Wirthlin April 22, 2019 DNA, Research Tips No Comments

RLP 41: FamilySearch FamilyTree and the GPS

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss how to apply the genealogical proof standard (GPS) as you work in collaborative trees - specifically the FamilySearch Family Tree. We talk about each element of the GPS and how you implement it with small changes in the way you add reason statements, sources, and additional explanations about your research to the tree. Links How to Improve the FamilySearch Family Tree with the Genealogical Proof Standard - post by Diana and Family Locket Genealogy Standards, 2nd Edition - affiliate link to Amazon.com Information about the Genealogical Proof Standard on the Ethics...

By Nicole Dyer April 22, 2019 Research Tips No Comments

Celebrating Your Family’s History at Family Reunions

Summer and family reunions are just around the corner! Sharing family history has long been on the agenda of many family reunions. The idea of family history at a reunion can sound boring to some, but there are ways to incorporate family history into any reunion that will be fun for family members of all ages. A few years ago I got really brave and planned a family reunion focused entirely on celebrating our family's history. Ancestors on both sides of my family settled in Parowan, Utah, and the town is rich with evidence of their lives. We gathered for...

By Alice Childs April 19, 2019 Research Tips 3 Comments

What Do You Want to Know? 3 Steps to Focus Your DNA Research

If you've been following this series of DNA blog posts, you are ready to create a research objective and move ahead in your genetic genealogy journey. With access to DNA results and information about matching relatives, you now have a tool that is like a sledgehammer that can break down brick walls in your family history research. DNA alone does not tell you anything about your family history. But when it is used in conjunction with time-honored, traditional genealogical research you have a powerful tool that will help you find your ancestors. With DNA, you need to understand what you’ve...

By Robin Wirthlin April 16, 2019 Research Tips No Comments

RLP 40: DNA, Mind Maps, and Diagramming

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss one of our new favorite tools, Lucid Chart! After Robin Wirthlin, our genetic genealogist friend and guest blogger, wrote about using LucidChart, and helped Nicole get started using it, we quickly realized how useful it is when doing client projects involving DNA matches. We talked about how Diana found her sister's biological parents with DNA diagramming complex relationships of matches with MindMup, a free open source Mind Map program. Now she uses LucidChart. We also mentioned some other alternatives. Links Seeing the Big Picture: 3 Ways to Chart Your DNA Matches...

By Nicole Dyer April 15, 2019 Podcast No Comments

Why Miracles Occur in Temple and Family History Work

I'm excited that I'll be speaking at Brigham Young University's Education Week again this year, August 19-23. Education Week is a unique conference experience where classes are part of an overarching course with a unifying theme. Last year, I taught a course with Olivia Jewell entitled "Families Doing Family History Together." There were four classes within that course, and one of them was entitled "Experiencing Miracles Together through Family History. I enjoyed preparing that lecture so much, that I proposed the subject as its own course this year. It was accepted, and I'm looking forward to teaching four classes about...

By Nicole Dyer April 14, 2019 LDS Family History No Comments

“Before We Were Yours” and a True Life Adoption Story from the Tennessee Children’s Home Society

With DNA testing turning up skeletons in the closet left and right, I was interested to read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. This fictional account of a family describes the horrific Tennessee Children's Home Society operated by Georgia Tann in Memphis, Tennessee, from the 1920s to 1950. (The above is an affiliate link). Wingate created her story based on recollections of children who were kidnapped from their families and put into Tann's "orphanage." It is estimated that Tann stole over 5,000 children. Many of them were adopted out to wealthy families, mostly in New York or California. The adoptive...

By Diana Elder April 12, 2019 Book Club, DNA No Comments

RLP 39: Tools for Using Your Ancestry DNA Matches

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss three tools we love in AncestryDNA for sorting and using cousin matches. In addition to those three tools, we discuss some of the new features that AncestryDNA just announced at RootsTech as well! We talk about adding notes to your matches, using the shared match tool, and using unlinked family trees. We also discuss the new beta features called "New & Improved DNA Matches" that you can sign up for. This includes new ways to filter, relationship probabilities, and adding colors to groups of matches. Lastly, tune in to hear...

By Nicole Dyer April 8, 2019 Research Tips No Comments

Writing Letters to Connect Generations

Alexis Maurer who writes the blog The Adventures of the Baby Genealogist is sharing a guest blog post about family history for children. I'm excited for you to hear her great ideas! She does a lot of fun things to teach her small children about family history. -Nicole There is a power in connecting with another person. When we create that special bond in our families, our children and grandchildren are affected for the better. Letter writing can be a powerful way to connect. I feel it is slowly becoming a lost art to actually take the time to write something...

By Alexis Maurer April 5, 2019 Creating and Sharing Family History, Families and Children No Comments

Back to the Basics with Land Records: Part 3 – Land Grants & Patents

How did your ancestors receive their land? Did they win the land lottery? Could they have received a bounty land grant for military service? Perhaps they homesteaded and lived on the land long enough to obtain a land patent. If your ancestor was the first person in the chain of land transfer, he would have either received the land directly from the colony/state or from the federal government. After the initial land distribution, the subsequent transactions for that parcel of land were recorded in deeds at the county courthouse. It is possible to trace the land an ancestor owned back...