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.

RLP 124: Researching African American Ancestors Part 4

Nov 23, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the Southern Claims Commission. This record set was created for loyal southerners to seek redress for supplies seized by the Union Army during the Civil War. Many free people of color filed claims. Many witness and personal statements of former slave owners and the formerly enslaved are included. To access the records, use the index at Ancestry.com and follow the ideas at the FamilySearch Wiki article...

RLP 123: African American Research Part 3

Nov 16, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about records created during the New Deal in the 1930s that can help research African American ancestors. This is the third part in our series on researching African Americans in federal government documents. Diana shares more record groups she learned about during her IGHR course, including the 1940 census, WPA Personnel records, CCC Enrollee Records, the American Guide Series, Slave Narratives, and the Historical Records Survey. Transcript...

How to Evaluate an AncestryDNA Thrulines Hypothesis

Nov 15, 2020

Are you wondering how to tell if an AncestryDNA Thrulines estimate is reliable, or even possible? The Thrulines algorithm works by comparing your DNA matches, their trees, and all the searchable trees in the Ancestry public member tree database. If the algorithm can make your tree and your DNA match’s tree connect somewhere, the hypothesis shows up in Thrulines. One problem with this is the many errors in the public member trees database. Also, Thrulines...

RLP 122: African American Research Part 2

Nov 9, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about researching African American ancestors in United States federal records using land and military records. We discuss laws that impacted free black people and freedmen in the reconstruction era. Many records were created because of the Homestead Act of 1862 and Southern Homestead Act of 1866. We go over a brief history of African American involvement in wars beginning with the Revolutionary War up until the Vietnam...

How to Write and Publish a Proof Argument with DNA Evidence

Nov 8, 2020

Updated 11 November 2020 Have you solved a case using DNA evidence and want to write a proof argument? Selecting an organizational structure, preparing figures and tables, requesting permissions, and reviewing DNA standards are important steps in the process. Perhaps you are finished with your proof argument and wondering how to submit it for publication in a genealogical journal. Several authors whose DNA cases were published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) shared insights...

How to Prepare DNA Research Reports for Sharing

Nov 6, 2020

After you write about your DNA research results, you may want to share your report. What should you do to prepare your report for sharing and/or publication? When your research includes living people and their DNA match information, how does that impact the steps you take? There are several considerations, including private vs. public sharing, permission, and safeguards against separation. Once your document is ready to share, how do you post it? Ancestry trees, the...

RLP 121: African American Research Part 1

Nov 2, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about researching African American records in U.S. Federal government documents. This is part one in the series. We discuss the Freedmen’s Bureau, the Freedmen’s Bank, and the U.S. Federal Census. Join us as Diana shares what she learned from the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) in Deborah A. Abbott’s course, “Researching African American Ancestors: Government Documents and Advanced Tools” and from exploring these record sets....

RLP 120: Identifying and Preserving Photographs with Maureen Taylor

Oct 26, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about identifying family photos and using family photos as a genealogical source. Learn how to use clues in the photo to figure out the date and the people in the picture. Maureen shares expert tips from her experience working with old photographs. She also shares a little about some of her photo projects, including the Last Muster project and Old Providence. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research...

RLP 119: Revisiting Report Writing

Oct 19, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about how to write a research report after your have completed your research plan. Typically a client report is about research in progress. You discuss what was found in the amount of time that was allotted. A report for yourself can be similar. Discuss the starting objective and what was known, then go through the searches that were performed and what was found. Join us as we...

RLP 118: Revisiting Research Logs

Oct 12, 2020

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about recording your searches in a research log. We talk about the benefits of using spreadsheet over a document for a log and discuss the tools we like to use – Excel, Google Docs, Airtable. We go over an example from Diana’s Nancy (Briscoe) Frazier research log for how to fill out the columns. We also discuss what to do with your research log when you get...