Blog – Page 27 – Family Locket

RLP 250: RLP with DNA 12 – What’s Next

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Chapter 12 of Research Like a Pro with DNA, “What’s Next? Publishing, Productivity, and Further Education.” We discuss updating family tree software at the completion of a project, sharing reports, anonymizing living individuals, asking DNA matches for permission to be included in a publicly shared report or proof argument, and ideas for how to share your written conclusion. We also discuss DNA proof arguments and meeting […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 24, 2023 Podcast

Making ChatGPT a Valuable Genealogy Assistant

By Laura Clark Murray Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, this artificial intelligence “bot” has been wowing users by engaging in detailed conversations, answering questions, and even writing stories and essays. But at its core, ChatGPT lacks the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction. Since facts are critical to what we do as genealogists, it’s important to understand how to keep the tool in the realm of reality. If you do that, […]

By Laura Clark Murray April 20, 2023 Research Tips

RLP 248: RLP with DNA 10 – Research Logs

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about using a research log to track your DNA research. We discuss spreadsheets and databases as the optimal tools for your research log, and discuss Airtable as a possible relational database that you can use. We talk about various sheets/tables to include in a DNA research log and how you might want to organize the columns in each table. Transcript Nicole Elder Dyer (1s): This is […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 10, 2023 Podcast

Anglicizing a Name and Discovering a Migration Path: John D. Isenhour (1778-1844)

Ancestor surnames can be a challenge in research – especially when they begin with a vowel! Take, for instance, my Eisenhaur/Isenhour ancestors. My earliest ancestors emigrated from the German region of Europe in the 1700s and retained the spelling Eisenhauer until my ancestor, John, anglicized the spelling to Isenhour. Some branches of the family still use the Eisenhower spelling – such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, my 4th cousin, 5 times removed. Nicole wrote about […]

By Diana Elder April 9, 2023 Research Tips

RLP 247: RLP with DNA 9 – Research Planning

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about chapter 9 of Research Like a Pro with DNA, about research planning. We talk about how to use what you’ve learned about available records and DNA tools to help you make a research plan. The steps for research planning include reviewing the known information and DNA starting point, creating a hypothesis, identifying possible sources and methods, then prioritizing your research strategy. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer April 3, 2023 Podcast

Gone Too Soon: Mary Margaret (Peterson) Creer 1871-1926

Do you have an ancestor who died fairly young? Have you discovered their story? My great-grandmother, Mary Margaret (Peterson) Creer, died in her mid-50s. Her daughter, Florence Matilda (Creer) Kelsey, my grandmother, was expecting her fifth child when the family gathered and took their last photo together in 1925. Mary would miss meeting most of her grandchildren and seeing her youngest children grow up. Although I never met Mary Margaret, stories and photos shed […]

By Diana Elder April 1, 2023 Creating and Sharing Family History

RLP 246: RLP with DNA 8 Part 2 – Segment Data Tools

Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the second half of Chapter 8 in Research Like a Pro with DNA. This part of the chapter focuses on tools that use segment data to help you find common ancestors with your matches. We discuss chromosome browsers, segment triangulation, chromosome mapping, DNA Painter, visual phasing, and several third party tools. We also review tools to help analyze mitochondrial DNA, Y-DNA, and X-DNA matches. Transcript Nicole […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer March 27, 2023 Podcast

John Royston’s Orphan: Lucky Winner of the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery

Do you have any ancestors who were lucky? Perhaps things always seemed to go their way or perhaps they really did win the lottery. Such was the case with John Royston’s orphan. Not only was this individual lucky in the land draw, but I was also lucky that this record was created because it became a key piece of evidence in linking generations. The Georgia 1827 Land Lottery Georgia is a state-land state meaning that […]