Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about research planning. How do you know which sources to search? It comes from the work you’ve done previously. You have reviewed all the known information and organized it chronologically. You have reviewed the locality and what records are available. Now create a hypothesis and think of records that could test it. Brainstorm a list of sources to search that could answer your objective and then prioritize...
Have you thought about the steps to take to work through a DNA research project? Have you ever been stuck or lost during a project and wondered what you should do next? What do you do? I’ve thought about it a lot, and it motivated me to create DNA Process Trees that have a stepwise model/instructions/flowchart of the main steps to take when working through a DNA research objective. The steps help me maximize the...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about locality research. As we revisit the steps of the research like a pro process, we are discussing Diana’s project about Nancy Briscoe. Nancy lived in several places, but this objective focused on her early years, during which time she lived in Arkansas and Missouri. Diana created two simple locality guides for two Missouri counties and used the Arkansas state guide she had already created. We...
What additional records can you use to research African Americans in the United States? You might be surprised to learn of the many documents created by WPA projects during the 1930s. These projects provided thousands of jobs and recorded hundreds of first-hand accounts of slavery from interviews of the previously enslaved still living at that time. Learning more about these records can give you another avenue to research in your quest to discover family connections....
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about the second step in the research like a pro process – timelines and analysis. This is where you gather everything you know about the objective – previous research, known information from published trees, etc. You compile it into a timeline, then analyze each piece of information for reliability. We talk about source, information, and evidence analysis. Links Airtable DNA Research Log for Multiple Test Takers...
Imagine starting on a brand-new research project with DNA matches and an unfamiliar family tree. You want to get the most out of your precious research time and efficiently organize the DNA matches so you can focus on the family line(s) of interest. – What do you do first? – What’s the most effective method? Great questions! Try the methods outlined below to get started efficiently and effectively. Make a Leeds Method chart Spend 10-20...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is the first in our new series of revisiting the research like a pro steps. We start with discussing the beginning of any research project: objectives. Diana shares her research objective for a project we will be following through this series: The objective for this project is to discover more about the life of Nancy E. Briscoe, born 7 February 1847 in Benton County, Arkansas. Nancy married Richard...
As you follow the research like a pro process and perform locality research, you may wish to purchase books and guides that help you with a particular region. Many guides exist, and today I’m spotlighting on from Genealogical Publishing Company. They sent me a copy of their updated Virginia Genealogy Research laminated guide by Carol McGinnis. This four-page research aid contains basic facts about Virginia, its history, settlement, and record sources. Records highlighted include vital,...
If you are conducting African American research you might wonder what records are available? Could land and military records reveal information about an African American ancestor? Those records created by the United States government in the years before emancipation, during the reconstruction era, and post reconstruction do pertain to African Americans and this article will give a brief overview of the history involved and what records could be searched. Part 1 of this series focused...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about how FamilySearch hints can point you to new record collections you may not have known about. We discuss some essential considerations for using hints and suggestions for doing additional research after attaching a hint. Links The Value of Family Search Hints by Diana Research Like a Pro eCourse Study Group – more information and email list Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide by Diana Elder...
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