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.

Get Inspired! Connect. Belong. RootsTech 2018 Pass Giveaway

Oct 31, 2017

RootsTech has been an enormously inspirational event for me. RootsTech 2016 was my first year attending the conference in person and 2017 was my first year as an ambassador and speaker. It is by far my favorite genealogy experience. Diana and I feel privileged to be RootsTech ambassadors again for 2018. We are both speaking at the conference this year, which we are thrilled about. So, I mentioned that RootsTech is inspirational. Both times I have attended, I...

How to Turn a Family Story into an Illustrated Storybook

Oct 17, 2017

When he was 9 years old, my grandpa got shot in the cheek while playing cowboys and Indians. He told us this story over and over, showing us his gold tooth that replaced the one that got shot out. I made the story into an illustrated storybook for my children. I’m going to share how I did it today as part of our “Family History for Children” blog link up. This month’s theme is about...

Photo Family Tree Activity

Oct 16, 2017

A couple years ago, I made photo felt family trees for my nephews and niece for Christmas. I glued velcro to the back of each circle so the kids could move the family members on and off of the family tree and play. This is a wonderful teaching aid or storytelling aid that I use often when I’m teaching children about family history and relationships to ancestors. I wrote a tutorial for making your own...

How to Verify Family Names for the Temple

Oct 11, 2017

Recently I wrote about the Take a Name app which helps LDS members find family names who need ordinances performed at the temple: Find Family Names for the Temple with the Take a Name App. A friend commented that we need to be sure to verify these names that were found with the app before taking them to the temple. I’m so glad she mentioned it, because I think there is still temple work being repeated...

What Are Your Favorite Family History Innovations? #RootsTechInnovation

Sep 29, 2017

I’m excited to talk about innovation again as a RootsTech ambassador! This article is about some of my favorite innovations that I learned about at RootsTech and also about the changes coming for RootsTech 2018. With the announcement from RootsTech that they are moving away from the Innovator Showdown to the all new “Innovator Showcase” at the 2018 conference, I’ve been thinking about my favorite family history innovations that I learned about at RootsTech. Here’s...

Children can design their own chart with Family Tree Prints

Sep 28, 2017

Family Tree Prints is a new service that helps you create custom family tree charts for you to download and print in ten minutes. Jane from Family Tree Prints reached out to me and asked me to try creating a complimentary chart in order to share my experience. I was impressed! There are many features that allow you to customize your chart. I have been frustrated in the past with the way charts turn out...

Family History Gifts for Children – Blog Link Up

Sep 25, 2017

Are you already preparing for the holidays and thinking about something special to give the children in your life? It’s that time again. Sometimes I put off thinking about gifts until the last minute, but with special or homemade gifts, I know that I have to get going on those a few months in advance. What wonderful gifts have you given or received that relate to family history? My mother has given us several special...

Family History and Project Based Learning at School

Sep 20, 2017

As a genealogist and a former teacher, I am fascinated by the idea of students discovering history by researching their own ancestors. When I taught U.S. and World History to 6-8th graders, I was so overwhelmed by the amount of work required, that I barely had enough time to create each of my 3 lesson plans per day! Now that I stay home with my children, I’m constantly thinking how I would incorporate genealogy and...

School and Family History – September Blog Link Up

Sep 11, 2017

Do students learn history better through the eyes of their own ancestors? I think so! When I was in 8th grade, our school held a cultural fair. It was one of the most memorable school projects I did. Not only was my teacher that year one of my favorite people ever, but she had a knack for inspiring us to go above and beyond and do something spectacular – really stretch ourselves. Most of the...

Find Family Names for the Temple with the “Take A Name” App

Sep 7, 2017

At RootsTech in February, a reader pointed us to a new app for finding family names for the temple. It’s called “Take A Name” by Kinpoint. I tried it out, and it’s pretty great! Within about 15 minutes, the app scanned my tree and found 70 names and 174 ordinances. It also told me how I was related to each person, which I really like. I know many people who want to take their...