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 6: Research Planning

Aug 20, 2018

Today’s podcast episode is all about why you need to start creating research plans for every project, and how to do it. There are fives steps: Create a document with objective at top, compile a summary of known facts, write a hypothesis, make a list of sources to search, then finalize a prioritized strategy. We will talk about the need to be flexible as we follow our research plans, since plans change once you find...

Teaching at BYU Education Week

Aug 20, 2018

Diana and I are teaching several classes at Brigham Young University’s Education Week in Provo, Utah this week. If you are attending, we would love to see you! Below are the pages in the schedule booklet that show our class information. If you haven’t registered yet but still want to attend, you can do at-the-door registration for $73 for Tues-Fri: BYU Education Week Registration Information (click the At-the-Door Prices tab). We will be posting to...

Find Names for the Temple Part 3: Analyze Descendancy Trees

Aug 16, 2018

This is week 3 in the Find Names for the Temple Series! You can find the other posts here: Part 1: Review the Accuracy of Your Tree Part 2: Analyze Your Pedigree Part 3: Analyze Descendancy Trees Part 4: Research Part 5: Record Your Findings Part 6: Reserve Temple Ordinances To view all the articles detailing each step, click here: Find Names for the Temple Articles. After making a list of ancestors for starting points...

RLP 5: Locality Research Part 2

Aug 13, 2018

Today Diana and I are going to wrap up our discussion of locality research. In last week’s episode we talked about the first two question to ask: “What happened?” and “Where did it happen?” Today, we are talking about the last question: “Why did it happen?” This episode is all about the historical context that affected our ancestors lives. What is your favorite way to learn about historical context? We suggest several ideas, including county...

Find Names for the Temple Part 2: Analyze Your Pedigree

Aug 9, 2018

Welcome back to our series about Finding Names for the Temple! In the last step, we talked about how to start finding names for the temple by building a strong foundation of accurate links from child to parent. View all the steps in the series here: Part 1: Review the Accuracy of Your Tree Part 2: Analyze Your Pedigree Part 3: Analyze Descendancy Trees Part 4: Research Part 5: Record Your Findings Part 6:...

RLP 4: Locality Research Part 1

Aug 6, 2018

Today we’re talking about preparing to research by learning more about the where your ancestor lived. Doing locality research is absolutely essential! Previously, we talked about objectives in epsidode 2, and analysis in episode 3. Those are the first steps in a research project. Today, Diana and I are going to dive in to the next step, locality research, and talk in depth about all the ways you can learn more about a location. Before...

Find Names for the Temple Part 1: Review the Accuracy of Your Tree

Aug 2, 2018

I’m excited to be sharing a new series with you about how to find names for the temple. This follows the chapters in our new book, Find Names for the Temple: A Step-by-Step Method for Success. To view all the articles detailing each step, click here: Find Names for the Temple Articles. Here are each of the steps: Part 1: Review the Accuracy of Your Tree Part 2: Analyze Your Pedigree Part 3: Analyze Descendancy Trees Part...

Introducing…The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast!

Jul 31, 2018

Diana and I decided to start a podcast to be able to share with more people our research methods and strategies. We are so excited for you to join us! In the Research Like a Pro podcast, we will discuss how to take your family history research to the next level and uncover more of your family tree. Learn about research objectives, analysis, locality research, research planning, source citations, report writing, case studies, and more....

RLP 3: Analyze Your Sources

Jul 30, 2018

Today, Diana and I are talking about analyzing your sources – the next thing to do in your research project after creating an objective. In order to establish what you know and determine how reliable it is, you must analyze the source, information, and evidence on a record. Start by gathering up all the sources that you’ve already found. Talk to close relatives who have knowledge or information about the project. Check online family trees...

New FamilySearch Pioneer Discovery Experience Online

Jul 23, 2018

FamilySearch has made a wonderful pioneer discovery experience available for the public just in time for Utah’s Pioneer Day. According to the press release, about 1.5 million descendants of pioneers have been identified through millions of worldwide contributions to the FamilySearch Family Tree. Read more at the FamilySearch Newsroom, here: FamilySearch Pioneer Discovery Experience Online. I was impressed to see that twenty of my relatives were listed in my discovery experience. To see yours, go...