Nicole Elder Dyer

About Nicole Elder Dyer

Nicole Dyer is a professional genealogist specializing in Southern United States research and genetic genealogy. She is the creator of FamilyLocket.com and the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast. She co-authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist's Guide and Research Like a Pro with DNA and is an instructor for the study groups of the same name. She lectures at conferences and institutes and previously served as the secretary and publicity chair of the Pima County Genealogy Society. Nicole holds a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in History Teaching. At Family Locket Genealogists, Nicole is a project manager, editor, and researcher.

Meet Leo: The Handwritten Text Recognition Platform Built for Researchers

Apr 6, 2026

I recently had the opportunity to discuss Leo, a groundbreaking handwritten text recognition (HTR) platform with its creator, Jon Cooper. Jon gave me a hands-on demonstration, using a variety of documents that I selected specifically to see how Leo handled some common challenges genealogists face in their research. Go to the end to see the video! This blog post was written with the assistance of AI based on the transcript of the video. The Origins...

RLP 404: RootsTech 2026 Class Takeaways

Apr 6, 2026

This episode features listener takeaways from the recent RootsTech 2026 conference. Diana discusses the overall positive impressions of the event, noting the high quality of the presentations and the unanimous message about disclosing the use of AI and double-checking its work. Nicole and Diana review several classes on AI, including transforming family history into song, understanding AI’s role in archival stewardship, and mastering the basics of AI for genealogy. They share lessons on using AI...

RLP 403: Transforming Court Records Research with AI – Analyzing

Mar 30, 2026

Diana and Nicole discuss the analysis phase of their AI-assisted research into the 18th-century court orders between Samuel Daniel and the Roystons in Colonial Virginia. They explain how AI helps them understand complex legal terms like “imparlance,” “covenant,” “trespass upon the case,” and “replevin bond” within the context of the court cases. Going through a case-by-case analysis, they trace the legal strategy that began after apprentice John Royston ran away from Samuel Daniel in 1770....

RLP 402: Transforming Court Records Research with AI: Finding and Logging

Mar 23, 2026

In this episode, Transforming Court Records Research with AI: Finding and Logging, Diana and Nicole discuss how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the challenging process of working with historical court records. Diana introduces the topic by explaining that while court records are treasure troves of genealogical information, they are often unindexed and difficult to read, featuring archaic legal terminology. She presents a case study of her research to identify Samuel Daniel of Middlesex County, Virginia. She...

RLP 401: Airtable Research Log Updates for 2026

Mar 16, 2026

In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Diana and Nicole discuss the all-new Version 4.2 (2026) of the Research Like a Pro with DNA Airtable Research Log. The updates are designed to streamline the genetic genealogy workflow, making DNA research more flexible and reducing duplicate data entry. Diana details the biggest change: the “Test-taker” and “DNA Match” fields in the DNA Match Details table are renamed to “Person 1 (P1)” and “Person 2 (P2).”...

RLP 400: From Searcher to Researcher: Listener Takeaways from 400 Episodes

Mar 9, 2026

In this celebratory episode of the Research Like a Pro podcast, Diana and Nicole highlight the incredible impact the RLP process has had on their listeners by sharing several inspiring success stories. They read comments from researchers, one of whom explains how the RLP workflows help them conquer imposter syndrome, and another who shares a journey from feeling overwhelmed as a beginner to pursuing accreditation. Multiple individuals note that the RLP method turned them from...

AI Handwritten Text Recognition Tools at the RootsTech Expo Hall

Mar 8, 2026

At RootsTech, someone I spoke with mentioned choosing a theme ahead of time to help narrow down classes and Expo hall experiences — what a great idea! Her focus was DNA and AI. Looking back, mine was clearly AI Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) tools, which happened to be the topic of the class I taught in person and the common thread running through all the booths I visited. (Last year, in 2025, I taught about this...

Agentic Browsers and Native Integrations: Inside the New Edition of Research Like a Pro with AI

Mar 4, 2026

I’m excited to share that we have updated our Research Like a Pro with AI genealogy workbook! This second edition has all the latest updates in how artificial intelligence can be used for genealogical research and writing. What took the longest to update was understanding ALL the new features released by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Perplexity in the last year. The pace this technology is advancing is astonishing. Comparison Report: Research Like a Pro with...

RLP 399: Merging and Separating Identities with Jan Joyce

Mar 2, 2026

Diana and Nicole speak with Jan Joyce, AG, CG, CGL, who developed and coordinates the new virtual institute course, “Merging & Separating Identities: Strategies and Tactics to Solve.” Jan explains that the most common mistake genealogists make is failing to recognize they have a “same-name problem” and assuming multiple records belong to a single person. She notes that the challenge of merging and separating identity cases (M/S) is accelerating because of more digitized records, the...

23andMe New Clustering Feature and Returning Chromosome Browser

Mar 1, 2026

It’s been an exciting past few weeks for DNA users at 23andMe. They quietly rolled out a clustering feature (for all users) and recently brought back the chromosome browser (for premium users). This is definitely a step in the right direction! *Update – after this post, 23andMe officially announced DNA Relatives Clustering and stated it would only be for Premium+ Subscribers. Some people might complain that the chromosome browser is only for premium subscribers now,...