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.

New Features and Apps Announced at RootsTech 2025

Mar 10, 2025

During the last in-person class I taught at RootsTech, on Saturday afternoon, I asked attendees which tech announcements they were most excited about. The answers included Ancestry’s upcoming clustering tool, FamilySearch’s new catalog, Ancestry Networks, and the FamilySearch Together app. These are just a few of the many exciting announcements made at RootsTech 2025! It’s fun to see so many companies announce new technology that will help us with our genealogy research. Here are a...

RLP 347: Effie Kelsey and BitterSweet-A Poem, Researching Material Culture

Mar 3, 2025

In episode 347 of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole discuss researching material culture through family heirlooms, specifically a book. They use a historical research process similar to the genealogical research process to examine the poem BitterSweet by J.G. Holland, which Diana inherited from her great aunt Effie. Diana inherited the book and, using Gena Philbert Ortega’s methods from her institute course on Material Culture, researches its origins and significance. The...

RLP 346: The Mystery of Claude “Dock” Harris’ Nickname

Feb 24, 2025

Diana and Nicole explore the mystery of Diana’s great-grandfather’s nickname, Dock Harris. They discuss how his name was recorded as D.H., Dock H., or Dock in records, which was puzzling because it seemed like a nickname. They explain how this caused confusion for Diana’s father, Bob, when he began researching the family history. Bob knew his grandfather as Grandpa Harris and had no other information to go on. The family bible even listed his name...

Jemima Griggs and Joseph Knight Sr.

Feb 24, 2025

Joseph Knight Sr. and his family were instrumental in Joseph Smith Jr.’s work to translate the Book of Mormon. I learned this week that he is my half third cousin eight times removed—the half third cousin of my paternal grandmother’s fourth-great-grandmother, Jemima Griggs. Joseph Knight and Jemima Griggs’ son both joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1830s. This week’s Come Follow Me Lesson was February 17–23: “Upon You My Fellow...

RLP 345: Edward Raymond Kelsey – Horseman and Sheriff’s Posse Member

Feb 17, 2025

In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Diana and Nicole discuss how to choose a favorite photo out of a large collection. Diana shares a photo of her grandfather, Edward Raymond Kelsey, on his horse, Pal, and talks about his love for horses. She experimented with using AI to analyze the photo and shares her findings. Diana used Mark Thompson’s Historical Photo Analyzer custom GPT and was impressed with the results. The AI provided...

Clarinda Knapp Allen and Jerusha Barden Smith

Feb 17, 2025

This week’s Come Follow Me lesson was February 10–16: “That You May Come Off Conqueror, Doctrine and Covenants 10–11.” Section 10 was given to Hyrum Smith, who wanted to learn what he could do to assist with the work his brother, Joseph Smith Jr., was doing. To learn more about Hyrum, I thought it would be interesting to see if any of my relatives were related to Hyrum’s descendants. Unlike his brother, Joseph Smith...

RLP 344: Colonial American Research and “The Peopling of British North America”

Feb 10, 2025

In Episode #344 of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss Colonial American Research. Diana explains the difficulties of finding the original immigrant for ancestors who immigrated during the colonial years. Nicole suggests learning from historians who have studied immigration patterns and developing a hypothesis based on what is known about ancestors and their groups. They introduce the book “The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction” by Bernard Bailyn as a resource for...

Anna Nash and Phebe Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery’s Sister

Feb 9, 2025

This week’s Come Follow Me lesson is about Oliver Cowdery. I was surprised to learn that my husband’s third cousin five times removed married into the Cowdery family. My husband’s fourth great grandmother, Anna Nash, was born in Butternuts, Otsego, New York, 16 years before her second cousin, Aaron Nash Jackson, had a son named Daniel Jackson, also born in Butternuts. Daniel would grow up to marry Phebe Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery’s half sister, in Kirtland,...

Phinehas Richards and Joseph Smith Sr.

Feb 3, 2025

Today I’m writing about my husband’s 4th-great-grandfather, Phinehas Richards. This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson, “My Work Shall Go Forth,” Doctrine and Covenants 3-5, includes a revelation to Joseph Smith Senior, who was an associate of Phinehas. I enjoyed learning about both of them. I received an authored source that has been extremely helpful for learning about the Richards family, Richards Family History, edited by Joseph Grant Stevenson. The book is out of print, and...