What does locality research have to do with DNA research? Turns out a lot. As I’m working through a research project using documentary sources in tandem with DNA sources, I’m following the Research Like a Pro process to make progress. This portion of the process is all about discovering the locality of my research subject. What records are available to search? Do the localities of my DNA matches match? Taking a look at the place...
What types of cemetery records are available to shed light on your ancestor’s life? Have you considered searching for more than the headstone? A cemetery record can contain important genealogical information such as birth and death details, family relationships, and more. If we’re going to discover all we can about our ancestors, we need to be aware of the variety of cemetery records and what can be found in them. In Back to the Basics:...
Are you hoping to use your DNA test results to break down a long-standing brick wall in your family tree? What are the steps you need to take? I’m using the Research Like a Pro process combined with DNA to tackle one of my mysteries and sharing my experience here. The first step in the research process is to create an objective based on your research question. In Creating an Objective for a DNA Research...
Memorial Day and summer are approaching and you may be getting ready to do some hands-on cemetery research. If you’re not able to visit a cemetery in person right now, can you still do cemetery research? What are the basics that you need to know? In Part 1 of this series we’ll cover the types of U.S. cemeteries and strategies for locating a cemetery for your ancestor. Why Cemetery Research Why should you explore cemetery...
Are you wondering how to blend DNA and traditional genealogy research? Have you been thinking you’d like to try a DNA project to solve a brick wall or prove a conclusion in your research? With my southern U.S. heritage, I have a lot of empty spaces on my pedigree chart. These brick wall ancestors are brick walls for a reason. Records connecting them to parents haven’t been discovered and may not exist. I’ve used indirect...
Do you have a lot of people with the same surname in a locality and don’t know how to sort them out? I run into this situation occasionally. What do I resort to using? My large whiteboard and a set of dry erase colored markers. If you have a similar family history challenge, I’m sharing the steps I take to sort out the generations and the families. When finished, my whiteboard may look sort of...
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...
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...
Can you imagine losing your way as a five-year-old child? Not being able to find your way home? Living on the streets for a few months and then being adopted by a family who spoke a different language and looked different from you? Would you look for the home you remembered? The mother and siblings lost to you? How would you find them in a country of a billion people? Is you interest piqued yet?...
Are you ready to make new discoveries in land records for your ancestors? In Part 1 of our series on land records, I shared several reasons to research the land. A land record may reveal the following: a family relationship, clues to past or present residence, associates, evidence of migration, and more. I also explained the differences between “state land states” and “federal land states” in the United States system of land distribution. We looked...
14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge Workbook - Digital Only
Original price was: $32.99.$22.99Current price is: $22.99.
Research Like a Pro Webinar Series - 2023
Original price was: $60.00.$45.00Current price is: $45.00.
Research Like a Pro Webinar Series - 2024
Original price was: $60.00.$45.00Current price is: $45.00.
© 2025 · FamilyLocket
