In the first post in this series, Heidi Mathis provided a great overview of the push and pull factors that motivated our Pennsylvania German ancestors to come to America. In this post, I will answer the questions “How did they get here?” and “What happened once they arrived?” I will also discuss records that might (or might not) have been created along the way. Preparing to Leave the Homeland In order to leave Germany,...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about creating a research plan. This is a replay of episode 116, with commentary at the beginning and end. We discuss Diana’s plan to research Nancy Briscoe’s early life and the historical context of the time period. Join us as we discuss how to make an effective research plan and share Diana’s example. We also discuss research planning and client work. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is episode...
Are you one of the millions of Americans who have a German in your family tree? In an earlier series, Tracing Your 19th Century German Ancestors, I distinguished the largest wave of German immigrants to the U.S. who came in the 19th century from the smaller group who came in the colonial period. Colonial Germans, or as they are better known, the Pennsylvania “Dutch” (a misnomer of Deutsch, or German), make up one of...
February is Black History Month and for genealogists, a chance to reflect on how we can help researchers with African American heritage discover their ancestors. As a southern researcher, I come in contact with many records naming enslaved individuals and have wondered how best to share those with others. I’ve written previously about the Slave Name Roll Project and the Beyond Kin Project. In this guest post by genealogist, Connie Davis, we learn about another...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about locality research. This third step in the RLP process helps you understand the historical and geographical context of your research project. It also helps you find record groups that might be relevant to your research planning. This is a replay of episode 115 with new commentary at the beginning about Diana’s Missouri locality guide. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research Like a Pro episode 186, Revisiting...
When you start a family history research project and want to incorporate Family Tree DNA test results in the search for your ancestors, I have a hot tip for you! Use the AutoTree tool at Genetic Affairs. I recommend you use it at the beginning of the research project. The AutoTree report gives you a headstart on grouping your DNA matches in clusters of related individuals, connecting their family trees, and it gives...
If you have an ancestor who came into what is now Texas in the 1700s or 1800s, understanding the history, jurisdictions, and records will be key to your research. This is the first of a three-part series where we’ll explore the Spanish, Mexican, Republic, and Statehood eras of Texas, specifically focusing on the land grants. Several push/pull factors would have influenced our ancestors in their choice to move to Texas. A major reason was land...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about timelines and analysis. Learn about this second step in the research like a pro process. This is a replay of episode 114, with new commentary at the beginning by Diana and Nicole. Nicole shares Airtable timeline column headers. We talk about Diana’s second great-grandmother, Nancy Briscoe, who Diana researched as part of a 14 Day Mini-Research Like a Pro challenge. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is Research...
Using both Y-DNA and autosomal DNA (at-DNA) in the previous two blog posts, the ancestral origin of John Wilson (1716-1799) appears to be in an area east of Enniskillen, which is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The purpose of the final blog post is to use documentary evidence to corroborate previous findings and use historical writings to provide rich context to John Wilson’s story of immigration to America. For the documentary portion...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about research objectives. Learn about this first step in the research like a pro process. This is a replay of episode 113, with commentary at the beginning and end by Diana and Nicole. We talk about Diana’s experience discovering more about her 2nd great-grandmother, Nancy Briscoe as part of a 14 Day mini-Research Like a Pro challenge. Transcript Nicole (1s): This is a Research Like a Pro...
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