In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss the process of making a locality guide. If you are feeling unsure about how much information to add and how to know if you’re finished, you’ll want to take a listen! Links ArchiveGrid – 5 million records describing archival materials held in archives, libraries, museums, etc. Periodical Source Index (PERSI) at FindMyPast.com FamilySearch Research Wiki FamilySearch Catalog Purchase our book Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s...
The episode centers on the process of locality research for Cass County, Georgia, as Diana continues her project to find the father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Diana explains her research objective is to discover a candidate for Cynthia’s father residing in the county during the 1830s. Nicole discusses the importance of narrowing the time frame for a locality guide, focusing on the county’s earliest years from 1832 to 1860. They then compare their process for...
Researching a new locality is always exciting. Finding the extant records and learning the background of the area sets the stage for the research phase. My latest project on finding the father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston involves research in a new area of Georgia. Using AI to help create the locality guide for Cass County, Georgia, speeded up this part of the Research Like a Pro process and gave me good insights. Here is the...
In this episode of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole discuss using AI in locality research, focusing on the Isabella Weatherford project. They emphasize the importance of locality guides in genealogical research, as they provide essential historical context, help researchers understand available records, and shed light on migration patterns and local events that may have impacted ancestors’ lives. The hosts explore how AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity can...
Welcome back to our “Research Like a Pro with AI” series! In this blog post. I’ll explore how artificial intelligence can enhance our locality research process. Using examples from my ongoing Isabella Weatherford project, I’ll demonstrate how AI helped create a comprehensive locality guide for Dallas County, Texas, in the 1870s. Why Locality Guides Matter Before diving into the AI-assisted process, let’s remind ourselves why locality guides are crucial: They provide historical context for our...
Which Rasmus Gudmundsson is ours? Separating Identity using Swedish Tax and Church Records In part one of this four-part series on Scandinavian research, we discussed patronymics and naming traditions common in Scandinavian genealogy. We also identified two research objectives as we are trying to uniquely identify Rasmus Gudmundsson, born in Malmöhus, Sweden, around 1719. However, before we can start researching, we need to understand which records are available for Malmöhus County in the 1700s and...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about chapter 7 of Research Like a Pro with DNA. We discuss ethnicity estimates and how they can help with your genealogy research. We review the ethnicity estimates from each testing company and GEDmatch. We also discuss locality research and three small case studies showing how ethnicity and location were instrumental in solving the case. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like A Pro. Episode 244 RLP...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s Clemsy Cline project. She researched three counties and made locality guides to help with research planning. Then she prioritized which collections to search. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like a Pro episode 227 Finding A Female’s Father, Locality Research, and Research Planning. Welcome to Research Like a Pro a Genealogy Podcast about taking your research to the next level, hosted by Nicole Dyer and...
When researching our female ancestors who have few records naming them, to make progress, we need to do cluster research. We determine the people in her FAN club (Friends, Family, Associates, and Neighbors) and research them! My first post in this series discussed my ancestor, Mary Clemsy Cline, who was born about 1817 in Alabama and died after 1880 in Wise Couty, Texas. My initial analysis showed three individuals I want to explore as part...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about locality research. This third step in the RLP process helps you understand the historical and geographical context of your research project. It also helps you find record groups that might be relevant to your research planning. This is a replay of episode 115 with new commentary at the beginning about Diana’s Missouri locality guide. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like a Pro episode 186, Revisiting...
