On the podcast episode, Nicole shares her experience identifying people in old family photos, specifically those of her great-great-grandparents, Daniel O’Connell Elder and Jessie Estelle (Ross) Elder, and their children. Nicole begins by describing a 1914 photo where only a few people are identified. She uses letters and information shared from a relative who was a DNA match to figure out who some of the people are. Then, Nicole discusses a tool called Related Faces,...
This podcast episode discusses visiting county courthouses for genealogical research. Diana shares her experience at the Chambers County Courthouse in Alabama, where she researched her ancestor, Thomas Beverly Royston. She explains the importance of preparing a research plan before visiting, including creating a timeline and identifying potential records. She also mentions learning about what records are available beforehand, either online or by contacting the courthouse. Diana describes the process of researching at the courthouse, such...
Tracing the enslaved in U. S. records is challenging and time-consuming. Because enslaved people typically only had first names until emancipation, we hope to find identifying information, such as age and possible family groups, in records like the 1850 and 1860 slave schedules. We also look for records post-emancipation, such as the 1867 Voter Registration and the 1870 census. Tracing people forward in time presents its own challenges because the formerly enslaved may have chosen...
This podcast episode centers around Diana’s research trip to the Alabama Department of Archives & History (ADAH) in search of information about her ancestor, Thomas B. Royston. Diana shares how she wanted to fill gaps in his timeline, particularly regarding his move to Chambers County, Alabama. She details the process of researching at ADAH, from registering and receiving a research card to working with archivists. Diana sought tax records specifically, as they often reveal residency....
In this episode, Nicole and Diana discuss the ancestral home of Diana’s great-grandparents, Charles Cannon Creer and Mary Margaret Peterson. Nicole introduces the topic of researching ancestral homes, emphasizing the importance of exploring the architecture and records like city directories, taxes, maps, and newspapers. Diana shares the story of Charles building a home in Spanish Fork, Utah, for his bride in 1892, which remained in the family for over a century. They talk about Charles’...
Several million people have immigrated to the U.S. over the last couple of centuries, or so. Most came with hopes of improving their lives, some came for the adventure of the unknown, and some came to hide. Once here, many did their best to fit into their new society, including Americanizing their names. As time passed, memories faded, and birthdates, ages, and immigration years might have started to vary in the records. With all...
In Episode 360 of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast, Diana and Nicole discuss Eliza Lucas Pinckney and her contributions to 18th Century South Carolina. They focus on Eliza’s life, detailing her early years in Antigua and England, her move to South Carolina, and her management of plantations. They highlight Eliza’s interest in botany and her successful cultivation of indigo as a valuable export. The hosts describe Eliza’s marriage to Charles Pinckney and her...
This podcast episode focuses on the 1875 divorce case of Belle Carpenter and John W. Carpenter in Dallas County, Texas. Diana discusses discovering the divorce case while researching her ancestor, Isabella Weatherford. She shares how a newspaper article led her to find the court documents and describes using AI to transcribe and analyze the case file. They talk about the details of the court case, including Belle’s accusations of cruel treatment and abandonment, John’s response,...
Court records can be challenging to research for a number of reasons: difficulty finding them, transcribing them, and understanding them. With new artificial intelligence tools at our disposal, we now have an assistant that can tackle each of these challenges. My recent project to discover the father of Henderson Weatherford led me to the Lawrence County, Arkansas, court records. Transcribing and interpreting them gave me insight into a previously unknown Weatherford individual who might be...
This podcast episode of “Research Like a Pro” focuses on the common ancestors of Joseph Knight Sr. and Jemima Griggs. Nicole shares how Joseph Knight Sr., who aided Joseph Smith Jr., is her half third cousin eight times removed, connected through her paternal grandmother’s fourth-great-grandmother, Jemima Griggs. They both descended from John Knight. Nicole explains how she uses the Relative Finder application on FamilySearch to find genealogical connections. Diana and Nicole talk about the multiple...
