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 140: Pre-1850 U.S. Census Research

Mar 15, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about pre-1850 U.S. census records. We talk about the challenges of using these census records as well as the helpful information you might find within them. We’ll share examples of evidence found in pre-1850 census records and tips for searching them. Join us as we discuss this important record group! Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like a Pro episode 140 Problem Solving with the Pre...

RLP 139: Adding DNA Matches to Your Ancestry Tree

Mar 8, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about organizing your DNA matches by adding them to your Ancestry tree. We talk about building trees for your matches within one master tree so you don’t have a long list of Ancestry trees. We also go over how to add a floating or disconnected branch to your Ancestry tree to allow you to build your matches’ trees and find the common ancestor. We review privacy settings...

RLP 138: Chinese Ancestry with Linda Yip

Mar 1, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Chinese Ancestry. We talk with Linda Yip, author of the website Past Presence and the new book, Getting Started in Chinese Genealogy. Linda tells about how to research Chinese ancestors in Canada or the United States. She also teaches us about Jiapu, Chinese clan genealogies and how they can stretch back 24-36 generations. We review the laws and history for Chinese immigrants and how that affected...

RLP 137: Irish Research Part 2

Feb 22, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about researching in Irish records. Jessica Morgan, AG, joins us again and shares her extensive experience researching Irish ancestors. We discuss the importance of historical context, the record scarcity in Ireland, and what is possible to find in the records that do remain. She also teaches us about Irish jurisdictions and the power of local history. Join us as we go over Irish record types and...

How to Add DNA Matches to Your Ancestry Tree

Feb 18, 2021

Using a family tree program to organize your DNA matches is useful for several reasons. You can: – add DNA matches to your tree and link them back to your common ancestor – include DNA matches from various testing databases in one central location – check the evidence for each parent-child relationship and add documentation – build quick trees for DNA matches who haven’t shared a full tree – do descendancy research to find potential...

RLP 136: Irish Research Part 1

Feb 15, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the essential questions to ask before you start researching your Irish immigrant ancestor in Ireland. The first questions have to do with learning about an Irish ancestor’s birth year range, year of immigration, friends and family, and county of origin. Finding these details will help you know where to focus once you begin researching in Ireland. Join our Irish research expert, Jessica Morgan, AG, as she...

RLP 135: BYU Record Linking Lab and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Feb 8, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the Record Linking Lab (RLL) at Brigham Young University. Professor Joseph P. Price talks with us about how his background in economics and interest in his personal family history led to the creation of the RLL. By using machine learning and making connections across data, the RLL hopes to provide better family history experiences for others whether they are using FamilySearch’s Family Tree or visiting a...

RLP 134: Daugherty Case Study Part 2

Feb 1, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is a continuation of Nicole’s research on Robert Daugherty and Sarah Taylor of Craven County, North Carolina and Warren County, Kentucky. In the last episode, we reviewed the objective of the project, to find the children of Robert and Sarah, the timeline, and the locality research. This episode focuses on the research plan, log, and findings and how those were presented in the report. Read the report below. ...

RLP 133: Daugherty Case Study Part 1

Jan 25, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Nicole’s research on Robert Daugherty and Sarah Taylor of Craven County, North Carolina and Warren County, Kentucky. We review the objective of the project, to find the children of Robert and Sarah, the timeline, and the locality research in Warren County, Kentucky. This was the first phase of a project to discover more about a cluster of DNA matches who seem to be connected to the...

RLP 132: Grafting Family Branches Part 2

Jan 18, 2021

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about our ancestor, Elizabeth Malissa Welch. We continue our discussion of pruning and grafting branches of our family tree by discussing the case of Malissa’s parents. We had previously concluded that Meredith and Susannah Welch of Sumter County, South Carolina were her parents, but as we revisited the conclusion, we found a different set of parents that fit the evidence better. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research...