Nicole and Diana discuss the life of Phinehas Richards, Nicole’s husband’s 4th-great-grandfather. Nicole shares details about Phinehas’s life, including his birth in Massachusetts, his marriage to Wealthy Dewey, and his work as a cabinet maker. She recounts Phinehas’s conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his baptism by Brigham Young, and his ordination as a high priest. Diana talks about Phinehas receiving a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith Senior in Kirtland, Ohio....
What can you find at the county courthouse? Records kept on the county level, such as deeds, mortgages, marriages, wills, guardianships, etc., are vital for our research. Although many of these items may be available online, some likely exist only at the courthouse. A trip to the courthouse may be in order if we want to perform reasonably exhaustive research. I recently visited Chambers County, Alabama, the residence of my ancestor, Thomas Beverly Royston, from...
Nicole and Diana discuss citing digitized records from FamilySearch. Nicole explains that FamilySearch has billions of digitized records that can be attached, downloaded, or added to a research log. They emphasize the importance of precise source citations. Diana illustrates the challenge of citing digitized microfilm records, using an example from Russell County, Alabama’s Orphan’s Court Docket. She explains that the same record can be accessed through “Images” or the FamilySearch Catalog, resulting in different image...
After exhausting online resources, genealogists often wonder what else can be found in a government archive. These important repositories house many collections important to researchers, such as government records, county records, manuscript collections, and more. In my recent visit to the Alabama Department of Archives & History, I discovered another record that shed light on the life of my ancestor, Thomas B. Royston. I had researched him extensively in both DeKalb and Chambers County Alabama...
Nicole and Diana discuss Levi Richards’ journal account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision. Nicole shares her personal connection to Levi Richards, who is her husband’s 4th-great-granduncle and the brother of Willard Richards. They talk about Levi’s life, his mission to England, and his role as a physician. They then focus on Levi’s journal and its significance as a historical source, specifically the 11 June 1843 entry where Levi recorded Joseph Smith’s testimony about the First...
In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Diana and Nicole discuss the challenge of separating women with the same name in genealogical research, specifically focusing on two women named Cleo Zinn. Diana explains how she encountered a mystery DNA match that led her to research Mary Clem Carpenter and her daughter, Cleo. She discovers conflicting information about Cleo, including multiple husbands, death dates, and birthplaces. Diana details how she uses her Airtable research log...
In Episode 350 of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole discuss Florence Matilda (Creer) Kelsey’s first job. Diana begins by asking Nicole what she has been working on or reading. Diana recaps RootsTech, mentioning classes on AI, locality research, and transcriptions, as well as meeting listeners. Diana then introduces the subject of the episode by asking listeners if they remember their first job outside the home. She notes that ancestors also...
In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss several new genealogy tools and features. They cover the AncestryDNA “Matches by Cluster” feature, which is a visualization tool for Pro Tools users to identify related DNA matches. They also discuss the improved AncestryDNA feature that allows users to attach DNA matches’ lines to their family trees. Nicole explains the updates to the FamilySearch catalog, focusing on the site architecture and place standardization....
Family history serendipity is real. Thanks to a kind fellow researcher, I recently discovered my ancestor’s divorce case that answers the question of what happened to Isabella Weatherford’s first husband, John W. Carpenter. I had her marriage on 3 January 1875, the birth of her first daughter, Clem, on 3 October 1875, and a second marriage to Robert Royston on 16 January 1877. With no death record, I assumed that perhaps John had died or...
In this episode of Research Like a Pro, Nicole and Diana discuss their ancestor, William Henry Kelsey, and the spiritual manifestations he recorded in his diary. They explore William’s early life in England, his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his missionary service. The discussion includes details about William’s family, his various residences, and his marriage to Harriet Huggett. Nicole shares specific entries from William’s diary, including accounts of spiritual...
