Family Locket

RLP 184: Revisiting Research Objectives Again

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about research objectives. Learn about this first step in the research like a pro process. This is a replay of episode 113, with commentary at the beginning and end by Diana and Nicole. We talk about Diana’s experience discovering more about her 2nd great-grandmother, Nancy Briscoe as part of a 14 Day mini-Research Like a Pro challenge. Links RLP 113: Revisiting Objectives – https://familylocket.com/rlp-113-revisiting-objectives/ 14 Day Research Like a Pro Mini Challenge Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/622136844888483/ Research Like a Pro Resources Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide book by Diana Elder...

By Nicole Dyer January 17, 2022 Podcast No Comments

Identifying John Wilson’s Irish Origins, Part 2: Autosomal DNA Analysis

Having identified the probable ancestral origin of John Wilson (1716-1799) using Y-DNA in Part 1 of the blog post series, Part 2 uses autosomal DNA (at-DNA). The purpose here is to provide corroborating evidence that John’s ancestral origin is County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland as well as to offer greater geographic specificity within the county. Compared to Y-DNA, at-DNA has the benefit of identifying more recent cousins (possibly as far back as six to eight generations). Also, both males and females can take the test enabling a larger pool of people who can ultimately help answer the research question. For...

By Rick T. Wilson January 16, 2022 Research Tips No Comments

RLP 183: American Nations Part 2 with Heidi Mathis

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. Heidi Mathis gives us a snapshot of these 11 nations so that no matter where your ancestors settled in the U.S., you may learn something about the “nation” they lived in. Links DNA Research Plan – https://familylocket.com/product/10-hour-dna-research-plan/ DNA Research Consultation – https://familylocket.com/product/dna-research-consultation-3-hours/ Merging DNA and History: American Nations by Colin Woodard: Part 2 – https://familylocket.com/merging-dna-and-history-american-nations-by-colin-woodard-part-2/ American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America – https://amzn.to/3E0IvGR (affiliate link)...

By Nicole Dyer January 10, 2022 Podcast No Comments

Identifying John Wilson’s Irish Origins, Part 1: Y-DNA Analysis

I’m delighted to introduce a new guest blogger to Family Locket – Rick T. Wilson. Rick joined us in our Research Like a Pro Study Group #7 and is a skilled researcher and writer. He is sharing a three-part series about his research to identify John Wilson’s origins using Y-DNA, autosomal DNA, documentary evidence, and historical context. Enjoy! -Nicole Identifying John Wilson’s Irish Origins, Part 1: Y-DNA Analysis by Rick T. Wilson Have you been fortunate enough to trace one of your American ancestors back to the 1700s but found no records indicating where in Europe they originated? Oh,...

By Rick T. Wilson January 8, 2022 DNA, Research Tips 1 Comment

How To Research in 30 Minutes a Day: Research Like a Pro 14-Day Mini Challenge

What progress can you really make in setting aside 30 minutes a day to research your family history? You may feel that you need a block of several hours at a time for research, but if you use a focused process, each day can build on the previous work. You’ll find yourself coming to the end of a project either having solved your objective or having laid a foundation for moving the research forward. I developed the Research Like a Pro process knowing that I wasn’t the only researcher spinning their wheels, repeating searches, not using a research log effectively,...

By Diana Elder January 7, 2022 Research Like a Pro, Research Tips 2 Comments

RLP 182: American Nations Part 1 with Heidi Mathis

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is a discussion of the book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. Heidi Mathis, one of our researchers, joins us to discuss the general idea of American Nations. The book gives us a hypothesis to understand U.S. history as we research our ancestors. Also, the book excitingly has DNA evidence to back up the hypothesis it proposes for understanding U.S. history. Links American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America – https://amzn.to/3E0IvGR (affiliate link) Merging DNA and...

By Nicole Dyer January 3, 2022 Podcast No Comments

Looking Back at 2021: Top Ten Blog Posts

With 2021 coming to a close, we reflect on lessons learned. What progress did we make in our research? What do we want to learn in 2022? One of my favorite things about family history is the opportunity to research in new locations and times – opening up the opportunity for using new records and methodologies. One of the hot topics in the genealogy world is DNA and it comes as no surprise that seven out of our top ten viewed posts focus on helping you understand more about how to use DNA in your research. We also published two...

By Diana Elder December 31, 2021 Research Tips No Comments

RLP 181: RootsFinder Triangulation Network Graphs with MyHeritage Matches

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is how to use RootsFinder, a family tree building online tool, to analyze your DNA matches and create a network graph – this time, with MyHeritage DNA matches. MyHeritage is unique because it shows you which of the shared matches triangulate. Network graphs consist of DNA matches, the nodes, and shared match connections, the lines between the nodes. With MyHeritage matches, you can create two types of network graphs at RootsFinder – a shared matches network graph, or a triangulation network graph. Join us as we discuss both of these. Links How to...

By Nicole Dyer December 27, 2021 Podcast No Comments

GeneticAffairs AutoKinship: A Tool to Build Family Trees Based on Amounts of Shared DNA

Do you sometimes feel frustrated as you try to sort out the connections between DNA matches and shared ancestors? I do, and I think we all need help with this from time to time. The AutoKinship tool at GeneticAffairs.com can quickly offer possible solutions to the problem. AutoKinship can help you construct a family tree of DNA matches that point to shared/common ancestors when there are few clues about who those ancestors are. How can this help you? The AutoKinship tool can reduce the amount of time you need to spend to discern connections between yourself and DNA matches. This...