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...
Although we know there are likely more records of our ancestors somewhere, it is difficult to know precisely where to search when the known locations are exhausted. Full-text search by FamilySearch has been a game changer in this respect. Introduced at RootsTech 2024, I jumped on and started using it to discover more about my ancestor, Thomas Beverly Royston. I didn’t find anything new for him then, but during RootsTech 2025, I again did a...
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...
FamilySearch has billions of digitized records, many of which are indexed or available through the AI-assisted Full-Text search. When we find a record about our ancestor, we can attach it to their profile, download it to our files, or add a row to our research log. In each case, a precise source citation should be created to point back to the original record. One of the challenges with citing the source is that with the...
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...
Last week, we were fortunate to host Cathy Duncan for an enlightening webinar on her genealogical research combining Texas migration patterns and DNA analysis. Cathy, a member of our Research Like a Pro study group, shared her journey to connect Lucinda Wright Rinker to her father using a methodical approach that integrates traditional and genetic genealogy methods. This blog post summarizes the key insights from her presentation. This blog post was written by Claude Sonnet...
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...
Merged identities are always difficult in our research, but it is even more so with women. In the U.S., women have a maiden name and could have several different married names. Ensuring that the correct facts and sources are attached to a woman can be tricky without thorough research. However, using a research log and timeline helps put together a profile for a woman that can separate her from others of the same name. The...
