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.

Ancestry Tools [in Beta] for Genetic Genealogy by Neal Varner and Kelly Becker – Class Notes from RootsTech 2019

Mar 2, 2019

Kelley Becker and Neal Varner from AncestryDNA shared new genetic genealogy tools at their site! Some are in beta still, meaning they are brand new and still under development and you have to sign up to try them. Go to Ancestry.com/Beta to sign up to try these new features. I’m sharing my notes from their class at RootsTech 2019 yesterday. New & Improved Tools for DNA Matches [new filters] You can now easily switch between...

Adding Shared Matches and Genetic Networks to Your Research by Blaine Bettinger #RootsTech 2019

Feb 28, 2019

I attended Blaine Bettinger’s DNA class entitled “Adding Shared Matches and Genetic Networks to Your Research” today (Thursday) at RootsTech 2019. I’m excited to share my notes with you. Description Shared matching and genetic clusters are among some of the most powerful tools genealogists have to work with DNA evidence. We will look at some company and third-party tools that allow us to use these powerful networks! About Blaine Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D., is a...

Digging Deeper: Voter Registrations presentation by Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL at #RootsTech

Feb 28, 2019

Yesterday I had the privilege to attend a presentation by Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL entitled “Digging Deeper: Voter Registrations.” Rebecca holds Certified Genealogist® and Certified Genealogical Lecturer credentials. She focuses on research in Maryland and the War of 1812. Rebecca has lectured for the Maryland State Archives, NGS Conference, IGHR, RootsTech, and webinars for Legacy and APG. She is the Executive Director for the Board for Certification of Genealogists. I had so many light-bulb...

RLP 33: Negative Evidence vs. Negative Searches

Feb 25, 2019

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss what negative evidence really is, and how it differs from negative results. We will talk about a couple examples of negative evidence and negative results, and how you can create citations for your negative results. Links Speaking Negatively: The Difference Between Negative Results and Negative Evidence Research Like a Pro, Part 2: Analyze Your Sources RLP 3: Analyze Your Sources Research Like a Pro eCourse Study...

When to Use Waypoints in a Source Citation

Feb 20, 2019

I have been studying citations for my Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) virtual class, Intermediate Foundations. Sara Scribner, CG, is our wonderful instructor. She gave us a suggested reading list about citations. I studied a few different articles by Tom Jones and Melinde Lutz Byrne, along with some parts of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills, to understand how to cite online images. One (relatively) new way is to use waypoints, or steps to take to...

Family Locket RootsTech 2019 Classes and Booth

Feb 18, 2019

We would love to see you at RootsTech. Here is a list of our classes! To view the full schedule, go here: RootsTech Salt Lake City 2019 Schedule. For a full listing of all our activities, sales, and class materials from RootsTech, please go to our webpage here: https://familylocket.com/rootstech/. Diana The FamilySearch Catalog: A Researcher’s Best Friend, Diana, Wednesday 11am (Room 255) and repeated on Thursday 1:30pm (Room 254A) Perspectives on Accreditation, Power Hour, Diana...

RLP 32: Indirect vs. Direct Evidence

Feb 18, 2019

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss the difference between indirect evidence vs. direct evidence. Is a birth year calculated from a census record considered direct or indirect evidence? What about the birth year ranges in pre-1850 U.S. Censuses? And what does your research question have to do with the type of evidence? Links Genealogy Evidence Analysis – Free Template and Lucinda Keaton Sample Research Like a Pro, Part 2: Analyze Your Sources...

Resources for Temple and Family History Consultants

Feb 13, 2019

We just updated our Resources for Temple and Family History Consultants page today. With so many exciting new resources online to help with family history in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know you will find this helpful in your calling. Here are some highlights of the new additions to our resource list: Articles from the Souls to Bless blog A Possible Model for Youth Consultants – Suggestions for ways youth consultants can learn how...

RLP 31: 3 Tips for Ancestry DNA

Feb 11, 2019

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss three things you should do after taking a DNA test at Ancestry. We recommend downloading the raw DNA data and uploading it to the other testing sites that accept transfers so you can find more matches beyond the Ancestry database. We also recommend that you link a tree to your Ancestry DNA test results! This will help you and your cousin matches SO much. Lastly, we...

RLP 30: Put it in a Table

Feb 4, 2019

In our podcast episode today, Diana and I discuss how to put information from records into a table to help you organize the data and make connections. Nicole tells about a land study that she did and organizing lots of deeds by clustering the rows in the table by the names of the witnesses. Diana talks about showing data about a person’s age from each census year with a table. Join us for a discussion...