Diana Elder

About Diana Elder

Diana Elder AGⓇ AGL is a professional genealogist, author, and speaker. She is accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Diana graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Elementary Education and has turned her passion for teaching to educating teens and adults in proven genealogy techniques. Diana is the author of Research Like a Pro: A Genealogists Guide and creator of the “Research Like a Pro” study group. She writes regular articles for FamilyLocket.com, the genealogy website created by her daughter, Nicole Dyer. She presents regularly at genealogy conferences, sharing the methods she uses every day to solve challenging genealogical problems.

Navigating the Unique Texas Land Grant System: Mexican Era 1821-1836

Feb 13, 2022

If you have an ancestor who came into what is now Texas in the 1700s or 1800s, understanding the history, jurisdictions, and records will be key to your research. This is the second of a three-part series where we’ll explore the Spanish, Mexican, Republic, and Statehood eras of Texas, specifically focusing on the land grants. In part one we looked at a historical overview of the settling of Texas and the Spanish land grants. In...

The US Black Heritage Project at WikiTree

Feb 4, 2022

February is Black History Month and for genealogists, a chance to reflect on how we can help researchers with African American heritage discover their ancestors. As a southern researcher, I come in contact with many records naming enslaved individuals and have wondered how best to share those with others. I’ve written previously about the Slave Name Roll Project and the Beyond Kin Project. In this guest post by genealogist, Connie Davis, we learn about another...

Navigating the Unique Texas Land Grant System: Spanish Colonial Era 1703-1821

Jan 27, 2022

If you have an ancestor who came into what is now Texas in the 1700s or 1800s, understanding the history, jurisdictions, and records will be key to your research. This is the first of a three-part series where we’ll explore the Spanish, Mexican, Republic, and Statehood eras of Texas, specifically focusing on the land grants. Several push/pull factors would have influenced our ancestors in their choice to move to Texas. A major reason was land...

Discovering Family Stories: Murder in Matera – A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy

Jan 23, 2022

As family historians, we often confront the challenge of discovering the truth behind family stories. In Murder in Matera – A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy, we follow Helene Stapinski’s journey to unravel stories heard as a child about her great-great-grandmother, Vita. The book takes us along as Helene travels multiple times to her family’s hometown in Southern Italy. Through a series of fortunate events, she locates documents that tell...

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

Jan 7, 2022

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...

Looking Back at 2021: Top Ten Blog Posts

Dec 31, 2021

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...

Preparing for the 1950 U.S. Federal Census Release

Dec 22, 2021

Mark your calendar for 1 April 2022 – not because it is April Fool’s Day – but because the National Archives will release the 1950 U.S. Federal Census on that day. What will this census offer us as genealogists? How can we access the data? How should we prepare? Let’s consider each of these questions in turn. What Information will the 1950 U.S. Federal Census Hold? The United States Census Bureau has made the 1950...

RLP with DNA Study Group Part 8: Report Writing

Nov 24, 2021

How do you wrap up a research session so that you don’t forget all the connections made? Writing a report is the perfect way to not only make sense of the research, but to also correlate the findings, both with the documents and in the DNA analysis. In this final article of my series on using DNA in the search for Cynthia (Dillard) Royston’s father, I’ll share my process for writing the report as well...

RLP with DNA Study Group Part 7: Research Logging

Nov 14, 2021

We all love the thrill of the research – entering in the search terms and waiting while the website spins then returns what we hope will be the record we’re hoping for. What if it doesn’t? Do we record that search or do we keep clicking around in search of the elusive perfect record? Following a research plan and keeping a research log works wonders to eliminate the bright shiny object chase. Working with a...